Inproceedings,
Linking Phrases in Concept Maps: A Study on the Nature of Inclusivity
Proc. of the First Int. Conference on Concept Mapping, (2004)
Abstract
Computerized analysis of a concept map (CM) syntactic and semantic characteristics can become a complex task,whose results can be doubtful if the map contains either graphical or textual ambiguities. In the specific case of using CMs ineducation, the use of the results of automatic structural analysis of a map in learning assessment implies the existence of entirelycomputable maps, capable of coping with the inherently ambiguous nature of the language used in their construction, whichresults in imprecise concepts and linking phrases. This imprecision hinders initiatives toward computer processing of CMs. Inthis paper, we present a strategy to minimize the imprecision of linking phrases, by analyzing the nature of inclusivity inhierarchies of concepts in CMs. We present a formal extensible notation capable of distinguishing among the subtleties of thesehierarchies. Based on this formalization, it is possible not only to determine precisely the dimension of inclusivity specified in aproposition, but also to define methods capable of determining the semantic distance between propositions in CMs.
