A tree full of leaves: description logic and data documentation
Phil Edwards, Judith Aldridge, Karen Clarke
University of Manchester, United Kingdom
Email address of corresponding author: p.j.edwards@manchester.ac.uk
In this paper we consider the two principal approaches to conceptual documentation of social science data, "top down" and "bottom up". We identify shortcomings in both approaches - shortcomings which, we argue, derive ultimately from the distinctive properties of social science concepts, as distinct from those used in the natural sciences. We then describe a third approach, based on the formal documentation of ontological assumptions. Finally, we present a working example, constructed using the OWL-DL language.
