Knowledge Domain Navigation in Interdisciplinary Digital Landscapes

Arjun Sabharwal
2011 Journal of Library Metadata  
Knowledge domain navigation is vital to research activities, and this article addresses the epistemological and ontological dimensions of the knowledge domain navigation framework. The article addresses knowledge creation through the metadata record and how interdisciplinarity affects the metadata record. The discussion of the ontological dimension focuses on semantic navigation, interoperability, and the relationship of taxonomies to interdisciplinarity. A number of digital initiative projects
more » ... illustrate the concept of knowledge domain navigation. KEYWORDS knowledge domain navigation, interdisciplinary research, metadata, taxonomy, information architecture Knowledge domain navigation is vital to research in the interdisciplinary digital information space. Researchers navigate the knowledge domains within the scope of their interdisciplinary activities as well as navigate digital libraries, databases, catalogs, and information portals in a semantically connected environment held together by metadata, taxonomy, infrastructure, and professional communities supporting research. The conceptual framework for knowledge domain navigation has two dimensions: epistemological and ontological. The epistemological dimension identifies the intellectual condition for creating knowledge. Data, information, and knowledge in metadata records can support new knowledge creation. The ontological dimension focuses on hierarchies of interrelated concepts within and across multiple knowledge domains. Subject metadata fields are especially suited to controlled vocabularies organized in taxonomies.
doi:10.1080/19386389.2011.570655 fatcat:tqmm45brk5ctvhqu3t4zsbniu4