MOD: Metadata for Ontology Description and Publication

Specification Document 02 September 2016 (v1.0,r0.2)

This version:
http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod.html
Latest version:
http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod.html

Copyright © 2015-2029 DRTC, Indian Statistical Institute (Bangalore, India)


This work can be refereed as follows: Dutta, B., Nandini, D. and Shahi, G. (2015). MOD: Metadata for Ontology Description and publication. In Proceedings of DCMI International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications (DC-2015), Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1-4 September 2015, pp. 1-9. Available here

For any queries, contact Biswanath Dutta at bisu@drtc.isibang.ac.in, or at dutta2005@gmail.com

Abstract

This specification desctibes MOD, a metadata vocabulary to describe and publish ontologies. The vocabulary is consisted of a set of classes and properties and is designed using W3C's RDF technology.

Note:This document is under progress, hence the document will be updated from time to time.


The "owl" file of MOD Ontology (v1.0, r0.2) along with an example is available at: http://www.isibang.ac.in/~bisu/ontology/mod-ontology-02Sep2016.owl

Table of contents

1. Introduction


Ontology is an important artifact in the Semantic Web applications. Today, there is an enormous number of ontologies available on the Web. Even then, finding and identifying the right ontology is not that easy. This is because the majority of the ontologies are either not described or described with a general purpose metadata vocabulary like, Dublin Core. On the other hand, ontology construction, irrespective of its types (e.g., general ontology, domain ontology, application ontology), is an expensive affair both in terms of human resources and other infrastructural resources. Hence, the ideal situation would be to reuse the existing ontologies to reduce the development effort and cost, and also to improve the quality of the original ontology.
MOD provides a set of terms which can be used by the ontology libraries (e.g., ontology registry, ontology repository, ontology portal), and in general by the Web developers to describe and publish the ontologies. The enriched description of ontologies, in turn, will help the users to search, discover, identify and select the required ontologies. This ultimately will promote the reuse of ontologies.


The MOD terms are standardised by using equivalent terms that are available in the existing metadata standards. The metadata standards that we have used for this purpose are Friend Of A Friend (FOAF) , Dublin Core (DC), and Simple Knowledge Organization System (SKOS). This way, MOD not only standardizes the vocabulary, but it also becomes part of the global initiative. This approach also ensures interoperability among the software programs.


The XML Namespace URI that must be used by implementations of this specification is: http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#


The suggested prefix for the namespace is "mod" to be used by implementations of this specification:


The following are the prefixes and XML Namespaces for the external metadata vocabularies used in MOD.


dc:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/
dcmi:http://purl.org/dc/terms/
foaf:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/
skos:http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#
pod:https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/

2. MOD: Metadata for Ontology Description and Publication


An alphabetical index of terms from the Metadata for Ontology Description and Publication (MOD), by class and by property, are given below. All the terms are hyperlinked to their detailed description for quick reference.


Classes: | Agent | Domain | Evaluation | EvaluationCriteria | EvaluationMethod | FileFormat | KnowledgeRepresentationFormalism | LevelOfFormality | License | Ontology | OntologyDesignLanguage | OntologyDesignMethodology | OntologyDesignTool | OntologySyntax | OntologyType | Organisation | Person | Project


Object Properties: | contactPoint | contributor | creator | endorsedBy | evaluatedBy | evaluationBasedOnCriteria | evaluationMethod | formalityLevel | format | hasEvaluation | knowledgeRepresentationFormalism | license | methodologyUsed | module | ontologyLanguage | ontologyInUse | sourceOntology | sponsoredBy | subject | syntax | toolUsed | type


Data Properties: | accessibility | acronym | address | altLabel | classes | competencyQuestion | country | creationDate | deprecated | description | document | evaluationDate | firstName | homepage | identifier | keyword | lastName | mbox | name | noOfAxioms | noOfIndividuals | noOfProperties | obsolete | phone | pin | rights | size | state | status | street | usedInApplication | version | vocabularyUsed

2.1 MOD Classes

Class: foaf:Agent

A resource that acts or has the power to act. Example of Agents include person and organization.

identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Agent
Data properties include:address country description document homepage mbox phone pin street
Has Subclass:Organisation Person

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Class: foaf:Organisation

An agent corresponding to social institutions such as companies, associations, etc., that has a collective goal.

identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Orgaisation
Data properties include:acronym address country description document homepage firstName mbox name phone pin street
Subclass of:Agent

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Class: foaf:Person

A human being (alive, dead, undead, real or imaginary).

identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/Person
Data properties include:address country description document homepage firstName lastName mbox phone pin street
Subclass of:Agent

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Class: mod:Domain

An area of knowledge or a flield of study that an ontology deals with. For example, Gene ontology, Movie onotology, Fishery ontology and Food ontology.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#Domain
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:Evaluation

The results of evaluating an ontology. An ontology can have more than one evaluations.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#Evaluation
Object properties include:evaluatedBy evaluationBasedOnCriteria evaluationMethod
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym evaluationDate description document

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Class: mod:EvaluationCriteria

The evaluation criterias, essentially the various aspects that are used in validating the quality of an ontology. These aspects may include for example, accuracy, adaptability, accessibility, clarity, completeness, computational efficiency, conciseness, informativeness, uniqueness, relevancy, reliability, usefulness and organizational fitness.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#EvaluationCriteria
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:EvaluationMethod

The methodology that is followed in evaluating an ontology, e.g., application based approach, assessment by human, data driven approach and golden standard.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#EvaluationMethod
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:FileFormat

A file format of an ontology. For example .rdf, .owl, .xml, etc.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#FileFormat
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:KnowledgeRepresentationFormalism

A representation formalism that is followed to describe knowledge in an ontology. Example includes description logics, first order logic, etc.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#KnowledgeRepresentationFormalism
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:LevelOfFormality

The degree or level of formality of an ontology. The level of formality varies from Rigorously formal, Semiformal, Informal, and Semiinformal.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#LevelOfFormality
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:License

A legal document giving official permission to do something with an ontology. Example includes Apache license, Creative Commons Attribution License, GNU General Public License and GPL.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#Lincense
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:OntologyDesignLanguage

Language in which the ontology is made, e.g Web Ontology Language 2DL

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#OntologyDesignLanguage
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:OntologyDesignMethodology

A method(s) by which an ontology is created. Example includes Methontology, Tove, Cyc and YAMO.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#OntologyDesignMethodology
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:OntologyDesignTool

A tool that is used to create an ontology. Example includes Protege, OntoEdit, TopBraid, etc. and animals.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#OntologyDesignTool
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:OntologySyntax

A syntax that is used to implement an ontology. Example includes RDF/XML, Notation3, n-triples, RDFa and Turtle.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#OntologySyntax
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:OntologyType

The kind of an ontology. Example includes Upper ontology, Domain Ontology, Application Ontology and Task ontology.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#OntologyType
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym description document

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Class: mod:Project

Any piece of work that is undertaken or attempted.

identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#Project
Data properties include:name altLabel acronym creationDate description document

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2.2 MOD Object Properties

Property: pod:contactPoint

The person who can be contacted to enquire about an ontology.

Identifier:https://project-open-data.cio.gov/v1.1/schema/contactPoint
Domain: Ontology
Range: Person

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Property: dc:contributor

An agent who has contributed in making an ontology.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/contributor
Domain: Ontology
Range: Agent

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Property: dc:creator

The creator of an ontology.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/creator
Domain: Ontology
Range: Agent

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Property: mod:endorsedBy

An ontology endorsed by an agent.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#endorsedBy
Domain: Ontology
Range: Agent

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Property: mod:evaluatedBy

An ontology which has been evaluated by an agent.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#evaluatedBy
Domain: Evaluation
Range: Agent

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Property: mod:evaluationBasedOnCriteria

This property makes a relationship between an evaluation and the evaluation criteria(s)/aspect(s) considered to judge the quality of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#evaluationBasedOnCriteria
Domain: Evaluation
Range: EvaluationCriteria

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Property: mod:evaluationMethod

The method that is followed in evaluating an ontology. This property makes a relationship between an ontology and the methodology followed in evaluating the ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#evaluationBasedOnCriteria
Domain: Evaluation
Range: EvaluationMethod

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Property: mod:formalityLevel

The level of formality of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#fomalityLevel
Domain: Ontology
Range: LevelOfFormality

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Property: mod:hasEvaluation

This property makes a relationship between an ontology and its evaluation result.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#hasEvaluation
Domain: Ontology
Range: Evaluation

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Property: dc:format

The file format of an ontological resource.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/format
Domain: Ontology
Range: FileFormat

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Property: mod:knowledgeRepresentationFormalism

A knowledge representation formalism (e.g., description logics, first order logic) followed to create an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#knowledgeRepresentationFormalism
Domain: Ontology
range: KnowledgeRepresentationFormalism

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Property: dcmi:license

A license under which an ontology is published.

Identifier:http:http://purl.org/dc/terms/#license
Domain: Ontology
Range: License

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Property: mod:methodologyUsed

A methodolgy follwoing which an ontology is created.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#methodologyUsed
Domain: Ontology
Range: OntologyDesignMethodology

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Property: mod:module

The part(s) of an ontology, may refer to the same ontology or may refer to a different ontology(ies).

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#module
Domain: Ontology
Range: Ontology

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Property: mod:ontologyDesignLanguage

A language that is used to create an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#ontologyDesignLanguage
Domain: Ontology
Range: OntologyDesginLanguage

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Property: mod:ontologyInUse

An ontology that is used in a project.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#ontologyInUse
Domain: Ontology
Range: Project

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Property: mod:sourceOntology

The ontology(ies) referred to while creating the present ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#sourceOntology
Domain: Ontology
Range: Ontology

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Property: mod:sponsoredBy

An ontology that is sponsored by and developed under a project.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#sponsoredBy
Domain: Ontology
Range: Project

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Property: dc:subject

The subject or the topic of an ontology.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/subject
Domain: Ontology
Range: Domain

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Property: mod:syntax

The syntax followed in the creation of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#syntax
Domain: Ontology
Range: OntologySyntax

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Property: mod:toolUsed

The tool used for the creation of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#toolUsed
Domain: Ontology
Range: OntologyDesignTool

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Property: dc:type

The nature or genre of the resource.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/type
Domain: Ontology
Range: OntologyType

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2.3 MOD Data Properties

Property: mod:accessibility

The degree to which an ontology is avilable. For instance, an ontology may be available to read, or to download.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#accessibility
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:acronym

A word formed from the initial letters of the several words in the name and pronounced as one word.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#acronym
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:address

The address of an agent.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#address
Has Sub-property:country pin state street
Domain: mod:Agent
Range: xsd:string

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Property: skos:altLabel

The address of an agent.

Identifier:http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#altlabel
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:competencyQuestion

A set of questions made to build an ontology at the design time.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#competencyQuestion
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:country

The country name.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#country
Sub property of:address
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:creationDate

The releasing date of a resource.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#creationDate
Domain: mod:Ontology foaf:Project
Range: xsd:dateTime

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Property: mod:evaluationDate

The evaluation date of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#evaluationDate
Domain: mod:Evaluation
Range: xsd:dateTime

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Property: mod:deprecated

This data property is used to discourage the use of any classes and/or properties of an ontology or a particular version of an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#deprecated
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: dc:description

Human-readable description with sufficient information to enable a user to quickly understand whether the ontology is of interest. The description can include, for instance, the purpose of the ontology, the scope, the area of applications of the ontology, the history, etc.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/description
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:document

A link to the documentation page on a thing.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#document
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:anyURI

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Property: foaf:firstName

The first name of a person.

Identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/firstName
Domain: mod:Person
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:homepage

An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#homepage
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:anyURI

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Property: dc:identifier

An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/identifier
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:anyURI

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Property: mod:keyword

A keyword(s) is used to describe the content of an ontology. Keywords are basically uncontrolled and author defined words. Multiple entries in a keywords list are typically delimited by commas.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#keyword
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: dc:language

The natural language of an ontology.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/language
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: foaf:lastName

The email address of an agent.

Identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/lastName
Domain: mod:Person
Range: xsd:string

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Property: foaf:mbox

The email address of an agent.

Identifier: http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/mbox
Domain: mod:Agent
Range: xsd:string

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Property: foaf:name

The name for some thing.

Identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/name
Domain: owl:Thing
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:noOfAxioms

The total number of axioms in an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#noOfAxioms
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:positiveInteger

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Property: mod:noOfClasses

The total number of classes in an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#altlabel
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:positiveInteger

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Property: mod:noOfIndividuals

The total number of individuals in an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#noOfIndividuals
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:positiveInteger

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Property: mod:noOfProperties

The total number of properties in an ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#noOfProperties
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:positiveInteger

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Property: mod:obsolete

The classes and properties of an ontology that are no longer in use.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#obsolete
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: foaf:phone

A phone, specified using fully qualified telelephone number.

Identifier:http://xmlns.com/foaf/0.1/phone
Domain: mod:Agent
Range: xsd:long

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Property: mod:pin

A pin code.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#pin
Sub property of:address
Domain: mod:Agent
Range: xsd:string

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Property: dc:rights

Information about rights held in and over an ontology. Typically, rights include statements about the property rights associated with an ontology, including the intellectual property rights. This property can also serve to provide an explanation for the values, such as {read, download} of the data property accessibility of an ontology. The property rights should also provide instructions on how to access an ontology in case the value of the property accessibility is read.

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/rights
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:size

The size of an ontology file.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#size
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:double

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Property: mod:state

The state or the province name.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#state
Sub property of:address
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: string

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Property: dc:status

The status of an released ontology (i.e. whether completed or an intermediated version, authorized or not, etc.)

Identifier:http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/status
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: string

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Property: mod:street

The street address.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#street
Sub property of:address
Domain: mod:Agent
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:usedInApplication

Provide information on the application(s) where an ontology is used. URIs can be provided pointing to the application(s), or link to the pages where the applications are described.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#usedInApplication
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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Property: mod:version

The version of the released ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#version
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:Double

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Property: mod:vocabularyUsed

A vocabulary(ies) that is used and/or referred to create the current ontology.

Identifier:http://www.isibang.ac.in/ns/mod#vocabularyUsed
Domain: mod:Ontology
Range: xsd:string

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3 Acknowledgement

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4 Disclaimer

MOD is not to replace/ compete with any of the existing metadata vocabularies for ontology descriptions. Instead it can be seen as a complementary to the others, if any.

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5 References

DCMI. (2014). Dublin Core Metadata Element Set, Version 1.1. Retrieved July 9, 2015, from http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/
Dutta, B., Nandini, D. and Shahi, G. (2015). MOD: Metadata for Ontology Description and publication. In Proceedings of DCMI International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications (DC-2015), Sao Paulo, Brazil, 1-4 September 2015, pp. 1-9. Available at: http://dcevents.dublincore.org/IntConf/dc-2015/schedConf/presentations
FOAF. (2014). Vocabulary Specification 0.99. Retrieved July 9, 2015, from http://xmlns.com/foaf/spec/
RDF. (2014). RDF 1.1 Concepts and Abstract Syntax. Retrieved July 9, 2015, from http://www.w3.org/TR/rdf11concepts/
SKOS. (2009). SKOS Simple Knowledge Organization System Reference. Retrieved July 9, 2015, from http://www.w3.org/TR/skos-reference/

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6 Change log

The changes from MOD (v1.0,r0.1, published in 05 August 2015) to MOD (v1.0,r0.2, published in 02 September 2016) are provided here.
Newly added classes Newly added object properties Newly added Data properties Deleted classes Deleted object properties Deleted data properties
Evaluation contactPoint rights None None None
EvaluationCriteria evaluationBasedOnCriteria deprecated
EvaluationMethod evaluationMethod obsolete
usedInApplication
evaluationDate

Besides the above changes, we have also updated the descriptions for the following MOD elements: accessibility, description, creationDate and size.

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7 To Do

Mapping of MOD elements to OMV.

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