1. Cognitive Networks and Abstract Terminology.
- Author
-
Hays, David G.
- Abstract
The design of codes and formats for information storage must be guided by the requirements of the processes in which the stored information is to be used. In the case of medical data, a code must be designed to facilitate several different processes, including case management, administration, evaluation and research. Design of such a system can be facilitated by an examination of the theory, in which knowledge is represented by a formal model consisting of nodes and arcs connecting the nodes. Arcs are of five types: paradigmatic, syntagmatic, discursive, attitudinal and metalingual. Metalingual arcs, which allow for shifts in level of abstraction, provide the only natural means of passage among the several languages of medicine. The technical problems raised by these shifts have been neglected in the philosophy of science, in linguistics and in information retrieval. Any cognitive network needs to record paradigmatic, syntagmatic, discursive and metalingual arcs; attitudinal arcs are also sometimes needed. Medical record files must be able to keep all types of linkages to provide accurate histories, and medical authority files need them to record the structure of the science. The SNOMed system provides some, but not all, of these linkages. (Author/SL)
- Published
- 1973