EAGER: A Knowledge Aggregator for the Social Sciences

University Of South Carolina At Columbia, Columbia SC

Investigators

Abstract

This project will develop an integrated set of web-based tools for advancing theories about human individual and social behavior, called Wikitheoria. The primary goal is to facilitate the evolution of better and more useful theories by capitalizing on conditions for successful knowledge aggregation. The benefits cut at least two ways. Tools developed in various areas of information technology will be serving the social sciences by systematizing the theory-building process. The theory modules thus produced will, in turn, enhance research in cyber-human systems and other fields where assumptions that are made about human and group behavior are not always well-grounded in prior theory and research. In general, users that participate even minimally in Wikitheoria are likely to gain an appreciation for the benefits of more careful attention to the logic and terms of their theories. Assuming a threshold of participation is eventually surpassed, the project may even transform the way theory is produced and evaluated in the social sciences, and the way that social science theories are utilized in cyber-human systems and elsewhere. The lessons learned should also be applicable to the development of programs that facilitate Internet community formation through incentive systems, especially knowledge aggregation communities. The software will be made freely available, both as source code and as a hosted service for research use. A previous NSF grant supported the construction of a prototype that included, among other elements, introductory presentations, instructions, tools to submit "modular theories" to a library, and several crucial administrative subsystems. This innovative new work will develop a completed online system that generalizes beyond the prototype's basic functions, implementing a range of powerful services and infrastructure. These include automated logical and semantic analyses, recommender systems, extensive hyperlinking of the lexicon, analytics, instructional and pedagogical materials, and discussion boards. The system will support collective evaluation and cumulative enhancement of submitted materials, user incentive systems, cross-fertilization between disciplines, identification of integratable modules, evaluations of supporting research, theoretically informed applications, and support for students and applied researchers outside of the social sciences. Wikitheoria will provide tools for those seeking to advance knowledge, and resources for those seeking to apply that knowledge. The interactive nature of the site permits users at any level to ask questions about content, point out ambiguous terms and statements, and in general become part of the theory-development process in a way that is not possible with standard publication models. Thus Wikitheoria can become a valuable standard resource for computer and information scientists and engineers working on human-centered projects, who need to sharpen their theoretical ideas, learn what similar theoretical frameworks are already available, and situate their innovations in a wider cognitive and social context.