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Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments

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Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments. / Whaley, Paul; Edwards, Stephen W; Kraft, Andrew et al.
In: Environmental Health Perspectives, Vol. 128, No. 12, 24.12.2020, p. 125001.

Research output: Contribution to Journal/MagazineJournal articlepeer-review

Harvard

Whaley, P, Edwards, SW, Kraft, A, Nyhan, K, Shapiro, A, Watford, S, Wattam, S, Wolffe, T & Angrish, M 2020, 'Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments', Environmental Health Perspectives, vol. 128, no. 12, pp. 125001. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6994

APA

Whaley, P., Edwards, S. W., Kraft, A., Nyhan, K., Shapiro, A., Watford, S., Wattam, S., Wolffe, T., & Angrish, M. (2020). Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments. Environmental Health Perspectives, 128(12), 125001. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6994

Vancouver

Whaley P, Edwards SW, Kraft A, Nyhan K, Shapiro A, Watford S et al. Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments. Environmental Health Perspectives. 2020 Dec 24;128(12):125001. doi: 10.1289/EHP6994

Author

Whaley, Paul ; Edwards, Stephen W ; Kraft, Andrew et al. / Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments. In: Environmental Health Perspectives. 2020 ; Vol. 128, No. 12. pp. 125001.

Bibtex

@article{b54c9d73c61e49fda7d37ba50cc7f8d3,
title = "Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments",
abstract = "BACKGROUND: Although the implementation of systematic review and evidence mapping methods stands to improve the transparency and accuracy of chemical assessments, they also accentuate the challenges that assessors face in ensuring they have located and included all the evidence that is relevant to evaluating the potential health effects an exposure might be causing. This challenge of information retrieval can be characterized in terms of {"}semantic{"} and {"}conceptual{"} factors that render chemical assessments vulnerable to the streetlight effect.OBJECTIVES: This commentary presents how controlled vocabularies, thesauruses, and ontologies contribute to overcoming the streetlight effect in information retrieval, making up the key components of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOSs) that enable more systematic access to assessment-relevant information than is currently achievable. The concept of Adverse Outcome Pathways is used to illustrate what a general KOS for use in chemical assessment could look like.DISCUSSION: Ontologies are an underexploited element of effective knowledge organization in the environmental health sciences. Agreeing on and implementing ontologies in chemical assessment is a complex but tractable process with four fundamental steps. Successful implementation of ontologies would not only make currently fragmented information about health risks from chemical exposures vastly more accessible, it could ultimately enable computational methods for chemical assessment that can take advantage of the full richness of data described in natural language in primary studies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6994.",
author = "Paul Whaley and Edwards, {Stephen W} and Andrew Kraft and Kate Nyhan and Andrew Shapiro and Sean Watford and Steve Wattam and Taylor Wolffe and Michelle Angrish",
year = "2020",
month = dec,
day = "24",
doi = "10.1289/EHP6994",
language = "English",
volume = "128",
pages = "125001",
journal = "Environmental Health Perspectives",
issn = "0091-6765",
publisher = "Public Health Services, US Dept of Health and Human Services",
number = "12",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Knowledge Organization Systems for Systematic Chemical Assessments

AU - Whaley, Paul

AU - Edwards, Stephen W

AU - Kraft, Andrew

AU - Nyhan, Kate

AU - Shapiro, Andrew

AU - Watford, Sean

AU - Wattam, Steve

AU - Wolffe, Taylor

AU - Angrish, Michelle

PY - 2020/12/24

Y1 - 2020/12/24

N2 - BACKGROUND: Although the implementation of systematic review and evidence mapping methods stands to improve the transparency and accuracy of chemical assessments, they also accentuate the challenges that assessors face in ensuring they have located and included all the evidence that is relevant to evaluating the potential health effects an exposure might be causing. This challenge of information retrieval can be characterized in terms of "semantic" and "conceptual" factors that render chemical assessments vulnerable to the streetlight effect.OBJECTIVES: This commentary presents how controlled vocabularies, thesauruses, and ontologies contribute to overcoming the streetlight effect in information retrieval, making up the key components of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOSs) that enable more systematic access to assessment-relevant information than is currently achievable. The concept of Adverse Outcome Pathways is used to illustrate what a general KOS for use in chemical assessment could look like.DISCUSSION: Ontologies are an underexploited element of effective knowledge organization in the environmental health sciences. Agreeing on and implementing ontologies in chemical assessment is a complex but tractable process with four fundamental steps. Successful implementation of ontologies would not only make currently fragmented information about health risks from chemical exposures vastly more accessible, it could ultimately enable computational methods for chemical assessment that can take advantage of the full richness of data described in natural language in primary studies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6994.

AB - BACKGROUND: Although the implementation of systematic review and evidence mapping methods stands to improve the transparency and accuracy of chemical assessments, they also accentuate the challenges that assessors face in ensuring they have located and included all the evidence that is relevant to evaluating the potential health effects an exposure might be causing. This challenge of information retrieval can be characterized in terms of "semantic" and "conceptual" factors that render chemical assessments vulnerable to the streetlight effect.OBJECTIVES: This commentary presents how controlled vocabularies, thesauruses, and ontologies contribute to overcoming the streetlight effect in information retrieval, making up the key components of Knowledge Organization Systems (KOSs) that enable more systematic access to assessment-relevant information than is currently achievable. The concept of Adverse Outcome Pathways is used to illustrate what a general KOS for use in chemical assessment could look like.DISCUSSION: Ontologies are an underexploited element of effective knowledge organization in the environmental health sciences. Agreeing on and implementing ontologies in chemical assessment is a complex but tractable process with four fundamental steps. Successful implementation of ontologies would not only make currently fragmented information about health risks from chemical exposures vastly more accessible, it could ultimately enable computational methods for chemical assessment that can take advantage of the full richness of data described in natural language in primary studies. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP6994.

U2 - 10.1289/EHP6994

DO - 10.1289/EHP6994

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33356525

VL - 128

SP - 125001

JO - Environmental Health Perspectives

JF - Environmental Health Perspectives

SN - 0091-6765

IS - 12

ER -