Knowledge Engineering or Conformism Engineering?

Abstract

In this paper, we focus on the construction process of ontologies from the social psychology perspective. We analyze, in particular, how an ontology, as formal psychosocial entity, is both the result of influences (normalization) and the subject of influences (conformism). We also analyze the role of experts whether as expert in the specific field of the ontology or as expert in the ontology building processes. Following these analyzes, we propose a number of recommendations on the methodology applicable to the construction process of an ontology. We conclude with a discussion about the implementation of our proposals.