Add a tutorial on the delphi method for ontologies

[cmungall]

Tutorial Request:

A tutorial on the general principles of the Delphi method for developing ontologies.

Suggested materials

I know that Monarch has videos/tutorials on the Ontaccord implementation of Delphi using airtables, and these should be linked, but I think it would be good to start with high level general principles.

Some useful material from @timalamenciak here:
EnvironmentOntology/envo#1615

(he also has some useful slides, which I have attached)

03-04-2025 Ontology Update (1).pptx

See also
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.3233/AO-220273
Ontology development is consensus creation, not (merely) representation

Your nano-attribution (ORCID)

[timalamenciak]

I`d be happy to work with someone who has done this before. We are applying for ethics in the next week or two and I have a bunch of other literature that might be helpful. Is there someone who has done the Delphi process in full who would want to work together on this?

[matentzn]

Best person to help would be @jmcmurry but it would more to give guidance as I doubt she can spare a lot of time (a very senior member of Monarch, which has Delphi for ontologies as a passion project). But maybe her passion for the subject might incentive her to support you to draft :D

Thank your for reaching out @timalamenciak again, this is much appreciated. If this goes well, maybe we can also plan a OBO Academy seminar series on this in the summer as well.

[jmcmurry]

copying @sagehrke to kindly request that she add the links

[sagehrke]

Hi all - here is the link for the tutorial @jmcmurry just did for Monarch on the Ontaccord implementation of Delphi using airtables.

[timalamenciak]

Thanks so much for sharing this @sagehrke and @jmcmurry . There are very few papers on the Delphi Method and ontologies so I am doing a rapid review that will answer a few questions about appropriate sample size, number of iterations, etc. Your AirTable example is a great method.

Is the video publicly available outside of Google Drive? It would be great to cite it!

Also I am wondering if you have more detail on how the feedback would be implemented? Did you have processes to weigh contradictory feedback?

I plan to submit a short paper based on the results of the rapid review for the Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries 2025 conference in June. Open to chatting further and working together in whatever way might make sense!

[sagehrke]

Thanks Tim! If @jmcmurry is ok with it, I can post the video on our YouTube channel.

[timalamenciak]

Hi @sagehrke @jmcmurry @matentzn @cmungall - Apologies for the radio silence, but I've been working away. I have drafted a paper for submission to the Theory and Practice of Digital Libraries conference. I am planning on submitting it in the next couple of weeks. It's much more academic than a tutorial I'd write for the OBook (that's next on my list to write).

I really enjoyed your video. It's a great model. I used a similar approach with other survey software that takes a CSV as the input. I whipped up a short Python script that transforms an OWL ontology into a survey using templates. I wanted to find an approach that could be used with multiple platforms in case Airtable disappears one day.

Would any or all of you be interested in co-authorship on this short paper? (we have a limit of 8 pages). If so, I'd welcome any feedback here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1cQlKyGUjkzXaiQpxh3gSrD-WE2Zve1546xa6Rl1qiuM/edit?usp=sharing

The deadline for submission is June 12, 2025, so if you want to comment, I'd appreciate it by June 5 so I have time to make changes!