Date of Award

2012-01-01

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Computer Science

Advisor(s)

Ann Q. Gates

Second Advisor

Paulo Pinheiro

Abstract

A common task for scientists is to collect data and apply algorithms to process the data. Scientists who aim to use data collected or processed by other scientists must be able to determine the applicability of the data. Supporting a scientist's capability to identify and reason about data can be achieved by associating the data with metadata about the conditions under which the data was collected and how it was processed, i.e., its provenance. This dissertation presents the Workflow-Driven Ontology (WDO) framework for representing formal knowledge about data with respect to how it is collected and transformed. Formally represented knowledge supports computing tasks that require reasoning capabilities, allowing scientists to use computers to support decisions about the appropriateness of data for use. The approach uses abstraction to capture the scientist's perspective of relevant components associated with collecting and transforming data, postponing technical nuances to a later stage. The contribution of the WDO framework is that it supports the creation of scientist-driven data process documentation by the combination of the following features: the capability to create ontological representations of end-to-end processes; the capability to create knowledge bases about data provenance, and; the capability to link documentation to actual data process resources.

Language

en

Provenance

Received from ProQuest

File Size

155 pages

File Format

application/pdf

Rights Holder

Leonardo Salayandia

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