Ontology discussion

Content:  This lecture was kind of ironic; we were discussing the vocabulary and organization schemas of ontologies.  This is very relevant to my current research, where we have been discussing using a pre-made ontology, glossary or taxonomy.  During lab meetings, I wasn't very clear on what the differences were between the different knowledge bases, and I didn't understand why we were having so much trouble deciding.   I also didn't understand why we wouldn't just make one to suit our particular needs.  After Dr. Fridsma lecture that has all become much clearer.  I also feel so  much better about my struggles in making a "perfect" glossary for our project.  I can see the efforts of others and I can see how much work goes into making these knowledge bases.  I also want to take advantage of the UMLS source that Dr. Fridsma gave us, when this source was brought up in our lab, it was ruled out because it was so encompassing and would be too cumbersome to work with, but I thought the web interface seemed inviting enough.

Posted by Laura Wojtulewicz