Different contextual interpretations of the same piece of information have often resulted in the inherent difference among different user groups. The differences suggest that it is not sensible to force users to use identical sets of terms for information retrieval. It is necessary to add some intelligence to the external view with which each user group is familiar. We hypothesise that ontologies lay the foundations for coping with a variety of users' needs. The general ontology consists of taxonomy and axioms.
Taxonomy represents concepts where axioms are established rules and principles for the concepts.
Taking an information retrieval task for example, the general ontology can be used to represent the content of information. However, it is important to address a general activity to a specific problem solving task in information filtering. The main goal of our proposed framework is to allow users to search for information using terms from domains with which they are most familiar. This framework allows users to browse and extend their search using concepts that are meaningful to them. Meanwhile, users need to describe their own problem solving processes, the task ontology.