In 2023, following publication of a scientific consensus report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine and approval by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Council of Councils, OBSSR launched its Ontology Program. The goal of this program is to promote the development of a cumulative BSSR knowledge base--creating an infrastructure that will enhance collaborative science, allow integration of multi-disciplinary findings, facilitate innovation, and ensure a solid evidence base for equitable dissemination and implementation of interventions.

What is an Ontology?

An ontology is a structured framework that represents knowledge within a specific domain, defining concepts and the relationships between them. In the context of social or behavioral science, an ontology can help researchers organize, categorize, and understand the complex and interconnected concepts that comprise individual behaviors, interpersonal interactions, and societal contexts.

Here are some examples of how ontologies apply across BSSR disciplines:

• Psychology: Defines concepts such as "personality trait," "emotion," and "cognition," and their relationships (e.g., "anxiety" is a subtype of "emotion")
• Sociology: Clarifies terms like "social network," "cultural norm," and "social institution," and their connections (e.g., "family" is a type of "social institution")
• Economics: Details relationships between concepts like "supply," "demand," and "market" (e.g., "price" influences "demand")

Why Ontologies Matter

Ontologies provide a systematic way to:

• Organize Knowledge: By formalizing key concepts and relationships, researchers can identify gaps, explore new research questions, and integrate findings across studies.
• Enhance Collaboration: A shared vocabulary enables researchers from different disciplines to communicate effectively and work together on complex problems.
• Improve Research Outcomes: Structured frameworks support transparent, reproducible, and integrative science, fostering deeper insights and strengthening the evidence base.

Applications in Behavioral and Social Sciences

Ontologies serve as valuable tools for social and behavioral scientists, helping them organize and interpret the vast and diverse knowledge within and across fields. Ontologies facilitate interdisciplinary collaboration by providing a common vocabulary and set of concepts that can be shared across different disciplines. This helps researchers from diverse backgrounds communicate more effectively and work together to address complex social and behavioral issues. By providing a shared framework of understanding, ontologies enable researchers to compare data, develop models, and communicate findings more effectively, ultimately fostering more impactful research.

Current OBSSR Ontology Projects

OBSSR issued two PARs on “Accelerating Behavioral and Social Science through Ontology Development and Use” (PAR-23-181 and PAR-23-182) and currently oversees five cooperative agreements with support from the National Institute on Aging, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research, and the Office of Data Science Strategy.

Each of the U01s focuses on a use case within health-related BSSR. Together with a U24 Coordinating Center, these projects aim to develop tools, share resources, and create interoperable systems to advance transparent and reproducible research across BSSR and related health disciplines.