My journey with data over this past year has been one of discovery. I used to think that data was very linear. I.e., metadata was assigned to a piece of data and then used in various media types - and that was it! But there is much more to discover with data, a more profound level that branches off into many tangents. My task was creating a connected database and then designing a presentation to go with it around a passion of mine - Star Wars.
Starting with structured data in a hierarchical database, I saw that the data was not connected even though I knew the connections between the taxonomies and controlled vocabulary. I needed to use a relational database to bring those connections together. It was interesting that I unintentionally created a schema map from mapping all the relationships.
Enhancing the data with metadata came next. I used various ontologies to achieve this goal, some being manual and some automated. Because Star Wars is a passion, I used thesauruses and atlases I already owned to enhance this data and a free open-linked database - Wikidata.
A big piece of the puzzle came next: my subsequent discovery of knowledge graphs. Having the data expressed visually in a knowledge graph opened my eyes to how data mapping relates to other ontologies. Schema also played a big part when I understood how RDF triples work and why the predicate is essential for humans and machines searching for data. This fundamental connection is how machines communicate with other machines in understanding what one piece of data means to another.
A knowledge graph can be a powerful tool when searching for data. However, not all people would prefer the data expressed this way. Another way I found was to use a visual interface by taking the data from a relational database. Having data in a visual form like an interface is easier to understand than in a spreadsheet.
So what does this imply regarding a client trying to sell a product? How is the data retrieved when you search for a product on Google? The methodology explained in the presentation video is how clients can capitalise on generating sales through having data connected to multiple databases.
My next challenge was summarising everything in a video that is both knowledgeable and keeps the audience hooked. I loosely stuck to the theme of Star Wars to keep the audience interested, and this was a great chance to use my creative skills. My idea was not to go too deep with each critical step in the journey but to guide the viewer on a data journey.
Taxonomies in a hierarchical database.
Controlled vocabularies in a hierarchical database.
Using metadata to search or retrieve products on Google.
Taxonomies in a hierarchical database.
