Introduction to Ontologies for the Biosciences

Course provider:	The University of Manchester
Course contact:	Robert Stevens (robert.d.stevens@manchester.ac.uk)
Summary:	This unit aims to provide both the theoretical foundations of ontology design and hands-on experience in the construction of ontologies within the Protégé-OWL environment. Participants will use examples explicitly designed to help them to understand the modelling issues and to avoid common confusions. It is designed to actively promote team working and the development of networks for the rapid dissemination of new information and methods.
Syllabus:	Bio-ontologies now play a crucial role, both in the indexing of experimental data and in the provision of conceptual abstractions for aggregating results. This means that there is a need for domain experts to be trained in the formal and conceptual bases underlying ontology languages and modelling principles. Understanding of the underlying principles of ontology development is necessary if domain experts are to be enabled to develop ontologies that support inference, which is critical for automated verification.
Assessment:	Assessment task Length Weighting within unit Ontology ice breaker: an exercise to make people aware of issues and need for a common vocabulary. Assess discussion and summary. 5 hours 1 Review or compare and contrast two bio-ontologies. 15 hours 3 MCQ on what OWL statements mean. 1 hour 1 Little building project, justifying language chosen -- short report. 15 hours 3 Advanced OWL as a project. Annotation or analysis exercise to test use of ontologies 10 hours 2
Further details:	The module will be delivered entirely online, within a Virtual Learning Environment. Factual material (equivalent to lectures) will be provided via web pages. Exercises will include an ontology ice breaker, to make people aware of the issues and of the need for a common vocabulary, a review of two bio-ontologies and an MCQ. Students will also be required to allocate private study time for installing software and learning how to use it, reading and preparing for group work activities.
Technical requirements:	There are no specific technical requirements for this course. However, an awareness of bioinformatics tools and resources will be essential.
References:

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