A cooperative framework for integrating ontologies

Nowadays, there are systems and frameworks that support Ontology construction processes. However, ontology integration processes have not sufficiently been specified to date. In this article, by making use of a cooperative philosophy, we describe a real framework for the integration of ontologies supplied by a predetermined set of (expert) users, who may be interconnected through a communication network. This framework is based on a set of well-defined assumptions that guarantee the consistency of the ontology derived from the ontology integration process. Moreover, in the approach presented here, every (expert) user may consult the so-derived ontology constructed until a given moment in order to refine his or her private ontology. In addition to this, the model proposed in this work allows the experts involved in the construction of the ontology to use their own terminology when querying the global ontology obtained until a given instant from their own co-operative work. The validation of the framework is also included in this work.