The document discusses the challenges and proposals related to the semantics of interoperable research information systems, focusing on the need for a core vocabulary in the context of bibliometrics and open data. It highlights the complexities of data archiving and the limitations of current research information systems in ensuring effective knowledge transfer and accessibility. The authors advocate for a conceptual model that balances expressivity and interoperability in representing research careers and information.

1. Data Archiving and Networked Services
Genericity versus expressivity –
reflections about the semantics
of interoperable research
information systems
Andrea Scharnhorst, Frank van der Most, Christophe Gueret,
Tamy Chambers (IU, Bloomington), Linda Reijnhoudt
Presentation at the ACUMEN workshop, March 8, 2013,
Copenhagen
DANS is an institute of KNAW and NWO

2. Andrea Scharnhorst – “science located”
•Head of eResearch at DANS and scientific coordinator of the Computational Humanities
programme at the eHumanities group of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and
Sciences (KNAW) – DANS=Data Archiving and Networked Services Institute (DANS)

3. ElectronicArchivingSYstem and NARCIS –
Core services (‘products’) of DANS
www.easy.dans.knaw.nl
DANS as non-proprietary information provider
contributes to transparence and accessibility
public funded research
www.narcis.nl

4. Overview
•How this research started?
•Bibliometrics, research information systems and Linked Open
Data
•The need for core vocabulary
•Our proposal
•Outlook

5. What is a “bijzondere hoogleraar”?

6. Overview
•How this research started?
•Bibliometrics, research information systems and Linked Open
Data
•The need for core vocabulary
•Our proposal
•Outlook

7. Quantitative studies of science
- scientometrics, bibliometrics, informetrics
Persons – Organizations - Projects
Input Output
Processes of knowledge creation
Number of scientists Number of publications
Number of PhD students /citations
R&D expenditure Number of PhD students
Instruments Number of patents
….. …..
Education Libraries
Libraries Books
Books Journals
Data Information Archives
Archives Information Data
Information resources
provision storage

8. What is a Research Information System?
Ref: KG Jeffery 2008 History of CRIS http://www.eurocris.org/Uploads/Web
%20pages/historyCRIS/3HistoryofCRIS.ppt
See also: Nick Sheppard. "Learning How to Play Nicely: Repositories and CRIS". July 2010, Ariadne Issue 64
http://www.ariadne.ac.uk/issue64/wrn-repos-2010-05-rpt/

9. What do we want ?
• The dream: single, user-curated, consistent and
up to date source that knows everything about
someone
• Many aiming at being the one

10. The Dutch situation – many players
Metis is very detailed, fed by admin (universities, KNAW)
but has a limited on-line interface.
CWTS is the ‘Scientific Observatory’ in NL for
Research Evaluation; but the databases are
not public.
NARCIS is the main national portal for those looking for information
about researchers and their work.

11. Courtesy of Nick Veenstra TU/e See: http://ehumanities.nl/vivo-symposium-january-18-2013/

12. VIVO
http://nrn.cns.iu.edu/
Katy Borner, Mike Conlon, Jon Corson-Rikert, Ying Ding (eds). 2012.
VIVO: A Semantic Approach to Scholarly Networking and Discovery, Morgan & Claypool Publishers.

13. Overview
•How this research started?
•Bibliometrics, research information systems and Linked Open
Data
•The need for core vocabulary
•Our proposal
•Outlook

14. Different concepts – different data representations
Data/Software …

15. Different concepts – different data representations

16. Result: Data does not travel well...
• Publications from Frank van Harmelen
• Decreasing number from system to system
148 38 13

17. Web of Science has 43 publications

18. and Google 283 !

19. Why is information lost ?
• Incentives
o Keeping one data source up to date is costly
o Keeping several is even more so!
• Standards
o Information that can not be expressed is lost
• Confusion
o Re-invent the well & (partially) duplicate
information

20. Overview
•How this research started?
•Bibliometrics, research information systems and Linked Open
Data
•The need for core vocabulary
•Our proposal
•Outlook

21. Conceptual model of the core ontology

22. Core vocabulary as ‘middle-ware’
US
NL

23. Scope Position
International
Hoogleraar
National
National
Institutional
Institutional Academisch
Hoogleraar
Individual
Individual
The core vocabulary proposal crosses the usual multi-purpose Expressivity
ontologies at different scales of scope. It has one purpose
(the presentation of a researchers career). It does not translate 1:1;
but defines shells of meaning (facets).
Up-scaled (higher scope) it losses expressivity;
down-scaled it gains expressivity in turn for lesser interoperability
of the fine-grained information.

24. Overview
•How this research started?
•Bibliometrics, research information systems and Linked Open
Data
•The need for core vocabulary
•Our proposal
•Outlook

25. Just another ontology?
There is no escape of machine-readable information
exchange and processing.
There is a limit at user-provided content.
There are institutional and national interests.
There is a tension of locally cared information and the
globalization of science.
Might not be ‘our’ system, but a system will come!
Discourse about this is needed!

26. VISION I: All research information
[change](P. Doorn) 26

27. Börner K, Klavans R, Patek M, Zoss AM, et al. (2012) Design and Update of a Classification System: The UCSD Map of Science. PLoS ONE 7(7):
e39464. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0039464 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0039464
VISION II: A way for researcher to presented themselves
(taylored) extracted from a research information ecosystem 27

28. eResearch DANS
Katy Börner
Indiana University
Frank van der Most Dirk Roorda Linda Reijnhoudt Visiting fellow DANS-KNAW
Rene van Horik NARCIS, Visualizations
Sustainability and Scientific careers and cultures Queries as annotations,
permanence, multi-media of data sharing, ACUMEN CLARIN, Circulation of
sources, APARSEN, NEDIMAH knowledge
Peter Doorn Christophe Guéret Albert Moroño Peñuela Ashkan Askpour
Semantic web, Semantic web, CEDAR History, information sciences,
eHistory, Clarin, Dariah,
complex networks IISH
Clariah
CEDAR, CEDAR
Director of DANS
PI: WikiReg
Leen Breure Cristian Dinu Marat Charlaganov
Enhanced publications, WikiReg WikiReg
eHistory
Thank you for your attention!
For more information please contact
Andrea.scharnhorst@dans.knaw.nl