A platform for visualizing and experimenting with measures of semantic similarity in ontologies and concept maps

This article describes research in the ongoing search for better semantic similarity tools: such methods are important when attempting to reconcile or integrate knowledge, or knowledge-related resources such as ontologies and database schemas. We describe an extensible, open platform for experimenting with different measures of similarity for ontologies and concept maps. The platform is based around three different types of similarity, that we ground in cognitive principles and provide a taxonomy and structure by which new similarity methods can be integrated and used. The platform supports a variety of specific similarity methods, to which researchers can add others of their own. It also provides flexible ways to combine the results from multiple methods, and some graphic tools for visualizing and communicating multi-part similarity scores. Details of the system, which forms part of the ConceptVista open codebase, are described, along with associated details of the interfaces by which users can add new methods, choose which methods are used and select how multiple similarity scores are aggregated. We offer this as a community resource, since many similarity methods have been proposed but there is still much confusion about which one(s) might work well for different geographical problems; hence a test environment that all can access and extend would seem to be of practical use. We also provide some examples of the platform in use. © 2008 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.