Ontologies in the
Behavioral Sciences
Accelerating Research and the
Spread of Knowledge
Digest Version
Committee on Accelerating Behavioral Science
through Ontology Development and Use
Board on Behavioral, Cognitive, and Sensory Sciences
Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education
A Consensus Study Report of
THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, DC
www.nap.edu
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This activity was supported by contracts between the National Academy of Sciences and American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, Federation of Associations in Behavioral & Brain Sciences, National Cancer Institute, National Institute on Aging, National Library of Medicine, National Science Foundation (1729167), NIH Office of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research (OBSSR) (HHSN263201800029I/75N98020F00010). Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of any organization or agency that provided support for the project.
International Standard Book Number-13: 978-0-309-69519-0
International Standard Book Number-10: 0-309-69519-8
Digital Object Identifier: https://doi.org/10.17226/26755
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Suggested citation: National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2022. Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences: Accelerating Research and the Spread of Knowledge, Digest Version. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/26755.
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COMMITTEE ON ACCELERATING BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE THROUGH ONTOLOGY DEVELOPMENT AND USE
ROBERT M. KAPLAN1 (Chair), Clinical Excellence Research Center, Stanford University School of Medicine
DEMBA BA, Brain Science Initiative, Harvard University
LISA FELDMAN BARRETT, College of Science, Northeastern University
JIANG BIAN, Department of Health Outcomes and Biomedical Informatics, College of Medicine, University of Florida
KATY BÖRNER, Luddy School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering, Indiana University
BRUCE F. CHORPITA, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles
DAVID DANKS, Halıcıoğlu Data Science Institute and Department of Philosophy, University of California, San Diego
KARINA W. DAVIDSON, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Northwell Health
RANDALL W. ENGLE2,3, School of Psychology, Georgia Institute of Technology
CATHERINE A. HARTLEY, Department of Psychology and Center for Neural Science. New York University
MARK A. MUSEN1, Center for Biomedical Informatics Research, Stanford University
VIMLA L. PATEL, Center for Cognitive Studies in Medicine and Public Health, New York Academy of Medicine
FRANK PUGA, School of Nursing, University of Alabama at Birmingham
CARLA SHARP, Department of Psychology, University of Houston
TIMOTHY J. STRAUMAN, Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University
CUI TAO, School of Biomedical Informatics, University of Texas Health Center at Houston
JAMES F. WOODWARD, Department of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Pittsburgh
ALEXANDRA S. BEATTY, Study Director, Senior Program Officer
TINA M. WINTERS, Program Officer
J. ASHTON BULLOCK, Senior Program Assistant
___________________
1 Member, National Academy of Medicine
2 Member, National Academy of Sciences
3 Resigned from committee May 2021
BOARD ON BEHAVIORAL, SENSORY, AND COGNITIVE SCIENCES
TERRIE E. MOFFITT4 (Chair), Duke University
RICHARD N. ASLIN5, Yale University
JOHN BAUGH, Washington University in St. Louis
WILSON S. GEISLER5, University of Texas at Austin
MICHELE GELFAND5, University of Maryland, College Park
ULRICH MAYR, University of Oregon
KATHERINE L. MILKMAN, University of Pennsylvania
ELIZABETH A. PHELPS, Harvard University
DAVID E. POEPPEL, New York University
STACEY SINCLAIR, Princeton University
TIMOTHY J. STRAUMAN, Duke University
Daniel Weiss, Board Director
___________________
4 Member, National Academy of Medicine
5 Member, National Academy of Sciences
Contents
Challenges with Synthesizing and Applying Knowledge
Challenges with Generalizing Research Findings and Building and Structuring Knowledge
How Ontologies Facilitate Science
4 Ontologies in the Behavioral Sciences
A Formally Specified Ontology: The Behavioral Change Intervention Ontology
Classification Systems for Mental Health Problems
A Categorical Classification System: The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
A Dimensional Classification System: Research Domain Criteria
A Quantitative Approach: The Hierarchical Taxonomy of Psychopathology
