Developing a Knowledge Organization System for Ethnic Groups in Lao PDR through Linked Open Data Techniques

The objective of this study is to propose a knowledge organization system (KOS) for the ethnic groups of Laos by utilizing linked open data (LOD) to standardize the metadata. Data of 49 Laos ethnic groups and the techniques of Linked Open Data were used. Linked data of ethnic groups in Lao PDR from other external standardized data sources, including DBpedia and Wikidata, was found. The results indicate that there is limited an information on the ethnic groups of Laos in online databases. This study aims to link and improve data on Laos ethnic groups by utilizing ontology and reconciliation techniques to link incomplete or outdated data, as well as using OpenRefine and RDF extension to link the source database. Although the country has implemented policies to promote the national identity and the tourism economy, much of the related information remains inaccessible to the public as it is only available in official documents. The available information in the online database system would be compared to foreign languages like Vietnamese, Thai, etc., because these areas and ethnic groups were close to each other, and the languages were in the same family.