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Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge (2022)

Chapter: Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey

« Previous: Appendix A: Ontological Systems Referenced in the Report
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
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Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Actor Context Expected Goal Resource Stakeholder
A therapist planning treatment in a mental health clinic to improve clinical outcomes using a tool that summarizes all treatments patients
A student reviewing literature in graduate school to prepare a dissertation using an ontology of brain injury self
A parent investigating a child’s problem at home to determine whether the problem is serious using an ontology of symptoms parent and child
A policy maker exploring engagement strategies during a pandemic to promote use of masking and social distancing using an ontology of engagement practices the general public
An elementary school teacher who wants to engage her students in their classroom to improve social behavior using an ontology of social skills their students
A pediatrician reviewing research in a doctor’s office to offer guidance on better sleep using a search tool on sleep problems patients
A medical clinician in a clinical setting to provide a diagnosis and treatment plan using an ontology of symptoms and disorders other clinicians and patients
Clinical researchers in clinical and research settings to develop and test behavioral interventions using an ontology of constructs related to emotional well-being other clinical researchers, clinicians, and policy makers
A cognitive neuroscientist interested in social cognition in a research setting to understand the nomological net to understand and organize social cognition using an ontology of social systems and processes other neuroscientists and clinical researchers interested in social cognition and mechanism underlying psychopathology
A graduate student in clinical psychology in a clinical or educational setting to improve knowledge about psychopathology and learn how to diagnose effectively using an ontology of signs and symptoms of psychopathology other clinical students and professors
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
A program officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in clinical and research settings to write requests for proposals that can stimulate the development of brain-informed treatment protocols using an ontology of brain correlates associated with signs and symptoms of psychopathology NIH clinical researchers
A professor of the philosophy of the human mind in a research setting to derive conclusions about consciousness informed by empirical science using an ontology of validated cognitive constructs other professors, cognitive neuroscientists, and clinical researchers
An officer responsible for helping new immigrants acclimate to a new country in any setting to develop a digestible synthesis of available resources that make the process of integrating in a new state or country understandable through access to Web pages of government or state resources immigrants
Law enforcement officers and lawmakers explaining the rights and responsibilities of individuals in a specific situation at hand (e.g., for voting) in any setting to empower citizens to take ownership of the process with documents detailing the relevant laws citizens, the general public
Financial advisors in any setting to educate people about how to best manage money and finances with documents that codify best practices for managing credit and other aspects of finances the general public, particularly people from disadvantaged backgrounds
A researcher studying a new field formal or informal education to develop a synthesis of the documents that gives the researcher a big-picture view of the field and facilitates learning using sets of documents (books, scientific articles, etc.) chosen by researchers self
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Actor Context Expected Goal Resource Stakeholder
A person learning a new language (e.g., English) in any setting to facilitate learning through the organization of key concepts and their relationships in both languages, as well as correspondence between the two with a dictionary translating to/from person’s mother tongue from/to English self
Mental health counselors in a clinic or similar setting to improve patient care with the organization of notes on the patient’s habits/behaviors, how they relate to each other, and how they affect the patient between visits to counselors with notes taken by the patient or caretakers to monitor behavior and the effect of treatments on a day-to-day basis when away from counselor patients
A behavioral scientist in a research lab, classroom Move the field toward greater use of common manipulations, definitions, instruments, constructs, etc. with a shared set of construct names, definitions, and operationalizations in a specific behavioral science domain (e.g., emotion regulation) graduate students and fellow researchers
Mental health clinicians in clinical or similar setting to develop clearer links from models of psychopathology to a priori selected interventions based on established mechanisms of action with a functional taxonomy of emotion regulation dysfunctions patients
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
The NIH director in research and administrative settings to encourage standardization and sharing across research groups and enhance knowledge integration using reliable and valid classification of topics for behavioral intervention research funding agencies, Congress, the general public
Research foundations in research and clinical settings to enhance standardization and sharing across research groups for the increased likelihood of cumulative and synergistic knowledge increase using a systematic taxonomy of research topics relevant to the foundation’s mission (e.g., anxiety and depressive disorders) foundation beneficiaries and the public
Social scientists in academia and applied research settings to identify existing synergies and inconsistencies and encourage cross-disciplinary exploration using a taxonomy for an overarching construct/domain of knowledge, such as emotion the social science disciplines broadly construed, both quantitative and interpretive
Medical and other children’s experts at home and in doctors’ offices to improve communication among experts, patients, and families, to improve children’s mental health using an ontology of key symptoms and disorders that arise during a pandemic like COVID parents and their children
Health providers in a waiting room in a hospital or clinic to improve their knowledge of vaccine and encourage vaccination using an ontology as a knowledge base for vaccine education and promotion patients and their guardians
Biomedical informaticians online to infer possible new hypotheses using an ontology as a knowledge graph that semantically integrates biomedical knowledge extracted from different sources scientists
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Actor Context Expected Goal Resource Stakeholder
Public health researchers in any setting to gather information about people’s health beliefs to provide needed interventions using an ontology as an information model to formally describe health belief models the general public
Nutrition experts with a mobile app to help users to manage their diets using an ontology to model related facts for fast and other food the general public
Public health researchers in any setting to ensure semantic interoperability using an ontology to formally model social determinants of health public health researchers
Information curator online to help them navigate the complex world of health information in an organized way using ontology-structured knowledge of a disease, treatment, outcomes patients, caregivers, and clinicians
Researchers in publications and research studies to improve the reusability of an existing dataset and the reproducibility of study results using annotated datasets with measurements other researchers
Funding agencies online to identify key areas where additional research are needed, to bridge the gaps in people’s mental models using standardized terminology and data resources to guide funding investments and harmonize study results across projects researchers
Researchers, funding agencies, and data producer online to produce harmonized datasets that have clear semantic definitions of variables, study designs, and other features using ontology-based metadata to support semantic integration of different data resources researchers
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Researchers online to standardize and communicate the important blocks of studies to ensure reproducibility using annotated study designs and executable documentation of studies, such as an ontology-annotated reporting of a study other researchers
Member of the general public online to gain insight into possible explanations of symptoms using an ontology of symptoms and disorders self or family member
Biomedical informatics researchers doing system development in a lab for more effective use of ontology in clinical applications using technical details of ontology construction and access users of results in applications
A health care provider in a clinical practice to enhance decision making with an ontology for underlying clinical decision support providers and their patients
A graduate school instructor on patient safety in a classroom to link medical errors to various cognitive factors using a taxonomy and an ontology of medical errors graduate students
Public health worker in a community to enhance public health interventions using an ontology of public health linking various health-related factors under consideration the general public and policy makers
A behavioral intervention scientist in clinical trials of behavior change to understand and change behavior using an ontology of behavior change components health care providers
A behavior science theorist in research, literature reviews, and theory proposals to advance theory using an ontology of theories of behavior change graduate students
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Actor Context Expected Goal Resource Stakeholder
Policy makers in health departments to investigate epidemiological advances in describing the health of the public using an ontology of human health behavior the general public
A behavioral scientist mentor in a social behavioral research team to improve the rigor of proposed studies using an ontology of behavioral measures junior scientists
A professor who is teaching in an applied research methods course to improve knowledge of social/behavioral research using an ontology of behavioral measures graduate students
An expert panel that has been asked for advice for future funding announcements to inform priority research areas using an ontology of behavioral measures funding agencies
A researcher on health disparities collaborating with other researchers for an NIH grant proposal to identify risk and protective factors of health disparities using an ontology for cultural/ethnic measures of behavior health care providers
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 135
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 136
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 137
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 138
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 139
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 140
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 141
Suggested Citation:"Appendix B: Example Use Cases Generated in a Committee Self-Survey." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/26464.
×
Page 142
Next: Appendix C: Biographical Sketches of Committee on Accelerating Behavioral Science through Ontology Development and Use »
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 Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge
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New research in psychology, neuroscience, cognitive science, and other fields is published every day, but the gap between what is known and the capacity to act on that knowledge has never been larger. Scholars and nonscholars alike face the problem of how to organize knowledge and to integrate new observations with what is already known. Ontologies - formal, explicit specifications of the meaning of the concepts and entities that scientists study - provide a way to address these and other challenges, and thus to accelerate progress in behavioral research and its application.

Ontologies help researchers precisely define behavioral phenomena and how they relate to each other and reliably classify them. They help researchers identify the inconsistent use of definitions, labels, and measures and provide the basis for sharing knowledge across diverse approaches and methodologies. Although ontologies are an ancient idea, modern researchers rely on them to codify research terms and findings in computer-readable formats and work with large datasets and computer-based analytic techniques.

Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge describes how ontologies support science and its application to real-world problems. This report details how ontologies function, how they can be engineered to better support the behavioral sciences, and the resources needed to sustain their development and use to help ensure the maximum benefit from investment in behavioral science research.

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