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Tech Report kmi-11-02 Abstract


Unsupervised data linking using a genetic algorithm
Techreport ID: kmi-11-02
Date: 2011
Author(s): Andriy Nikolov,Mathieu d'Aquin,Enrico Motta
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As commonly accepted identifiers for data instances in semantic datasets (such as ISBN codes or DOI identifiers) are often not available, discovering links between overlapping datasets on the Web is generally realised through the use of fuzzy similarity measures. Configuring such measures, i.e. deciding which similarity function to apply to which data properties with which parameters, is often a non-trivial task that depends on the domain, ontological schemas, and formatting conventions in data. Existing solutions either rely on the user's knowledge of the data and the domain or on the use of machine learning to discover these parameters based on training data. In this report, we present a novel approach to tackle the issue of data linking which relies on the unsupervised discovery of the required similarity parameters. Instead of using labeled training data, the method takes into account several desired properties which the distribution of output similarity values should satisfy. The method includes these features into a fitness criterion used in a genetic algorithm to establish similarity parameters that maximise the quality of the resulting linkset according to the considered properties. We show in experiments using benchmarks as well as real-world datasets that such an unsupervised method can reach the same levels of performance as manually engineered methods, and how the different parameters of the genetic algorithm and the fitness criterion affect the results for different datasets.
 
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Semantic Web and Knowledge Services is...


Semantic Web and Knowledge Services
"The Semantic Web is an extension of the current web in which information is given well-defined meaning, better enabling computers and people to work in cooperation" (Berners-Lee et al., 2001).

Our research in the Semantic Web area looks at the potentials of fusing together advances in a range of disciplines, and applying them in a systemic way to simplify the development of intelligent, knowledge-based web services and to facilitate human access and use of knowledge available on the web. For instance, we are exploring ways in which tnatural language interfaces can be used to facilitate access to data distributed over different repositories. We are also developing infrastructures to support rapid development and deployment of semantic web services, which can be used to create web applications on-the-fly. We are also investigating ways in which semantic technology can support learning on the web, through a combination of knowledge representation support, pedagogical theories and intelligent content aggregation mechanisms. Finally, we are also investigating the Semantic Web itself as a domain of analysis and performing large scale empirical studies to uncover data about the concrete epistemologies which can be found on the Semantic Web. This exciting new area of research gives us concrete insights on the different conceptualizations that are present on the Semantic Web by giving us the possibility to discover which are the most common viewpoints, which viewpoints are mutually inconsistent, to what extent different models agree or disagree, etc...

Our aim is to be at the forefront of both theoretical and practical developments on the Semantic Web not only by developing theories and models, but also by building concrete applications, for a variety of domains and user communities, including KMi and the Open University itself.