Creating a controlled vocabulary for the ethics of human research: towards a biomedical ethics ontology.
ONTOLOGIES DESCRIBE REALITY IN SPECIFIC domains in ways that can bridge various disciplines and languages. They allow easier access and integration of information that is collected by different groups. Ontologies are currently used in the biomedical sciences, geography, and law. A Biomedical Ethics Ontology (BMEO) would benefit members of ethics committees who deal with protocols and consent forms spanning numerous fields of inquiry. There already exists the Ontology for Biomedical Investigations (OBI); the proposed BMEO would interoperate with OBI, creating a powerful information tool. We define a domain ontology and begin to construct a BMEO, focused on the process of evaluating human research protocols. Finally, we show how our BMEO can have practical applications for ethics committees. This paper describes ongoing research and a strategy for its broader continuation and cooperation.
Department of Philosophy, Delft University of Technology, Faculty of Technology, Policy and Mangement, Delft, The Netherlands. drkoepsell@yahoo.com
David
D
Koepsell
Robert
R
Arp
Jennifer
J
Fostel
Barry
B
Smith
D001331:Automation; D002965:Classification; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D026689:Ethical Analysis / Q000379:methods*; D028744:Ethics Committees, Research; D006801:Humans; D051188:Knowledge Bases; D017712:Peer Review, Research / Q000379:methods*; D012015:Reference Standards; D012660:Semantics; D014481:United States; D018875:Vocabulary, Controlled