Developing a Domain Ontology of Information Science (OIS)

Ontology is the backbone of the semantic web and can overcome semantic barriers. A domain ontology provides a common understanding of the knowledge of a particular domain. Information Science, meanwhile, is an interdisciplinary science that is yet to be defined. It is necessary to develop an Ontology of Information Science (OIS) to represent the knowledge in the field. This paper presents a representation of specific domain knowledge by providing a definition, scope, and boundaries of Information Science (IS). The OIS has fourteen facets: actors, method, practice, studies, mediate, kinds, domains, resources, legislation, philosophy and theories, societal, tools, time and space. The methodology followed is Methontology, which is based on the IEEE standard for the development of a software life-cycle process. The paper then discusses the OIS ontology, particularly its structure.