Terminology Services in the DACH region landscape - What are the essential requirements
Creators: name: Baum, Roman
name: Bouazzouni, Syphax
name: Fillies, Jan
name: Karam, Naouel
name: Koepler, Oliver
name: Oladazimi, Pooya
name: Sasse, Julia
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2025
Subjects: subject: Terminology
subject: Ontology
subject: Semantic web

description: Terminologies and terminology services are widely employed within the National Research Data Infrastructure (NFDI) domain and other related fields, particularly in the DACH region. To gain a structured understanding of how these services and terminologies are used in this context, a comprehensive requirement analysis was conducted. This analysis was part of the initialization phase of the Base4NFDI basic service Terminology Services 4 NFDI (TS4NFDI). The results of this analysis have been compiled into a detailed report which will inform the future direction of TS4NFDI. 

 

The primary goal of TS4NFDI is the standardization and harmonization of terminology services within the NFDI. By doing so, it aims to integrate individual solutions into a standardized, interoperable, and sustainable terminology service. This service will be embedded in the long-term infrastructure of NFDI, ensuring consistency and reusability of terminologies across different domains. The integration of the TS4NFDI services is expected to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of terminology management and usage, facilitating cross-domain collaboration and knowledge sharing within the NFDI community.

 

The requirements analysis was designed to capture the requirements of the NFDI consortia and to identify potential use cases to support the integration of terminology services into their applications. The analysis targeted three main groups: i) developers and ii) managers of web services which interact or wish to interact with terminology services and iii) users who work with terminologies or ontologies. A total of 69 participants completed the requirement survey, providing valuable insights into the current challenges and requirements for terminology services. 

 

This contribution will provide an overview of the survey design and structure, as well as the results of the requirements analysis. Key findings will be shared, highlighting the major needs and opportunities in the current implementation of terminologies and services. These insights will form the basis for the ongoing development and refinement of TS4NFDI services. In addition, the contribution will illustrate the practical application of these findings through a specific use case. This use case will demonstrate how a terminology service can interact with a web service to enhance access to and utilization of terminologies in a streamlined manner. It will provide concrete examples and practical insights into technical and organizational aspects of integrating terminology services into existing infrastructures, emphasizing best practices and lessons learned.

 

The requirement analysis of TS4NFDI not only presents the current needs in terminology use and management but also sets the foundation for future developments that will foster efficiency, sustainability, and collaboration across research domains. By addressing these requirements, TS4NFDI aims to enhance the NFDI data infrastructure, ensuring that terminology services evolve alongside the changing needs of the research community.

 

This record contains the slides of the Talk. The slides are in German Language