In this episode we talk to Dr Sharon Cox about developing an ontology around nicotine and tobacco products. Sharon also talks about the importance of ontologies and how they are essential for improving research. She talks about how to manage disagreements when developing a system that categorises and defines products, behaviours and properties.

“So as researchers, which we are, we should be pedants and we should think it’s important that the products we write about, we write about with accuracy.”

“Because we want to be clear, we want to be really clear with the public. We want to make sure that we’re writing lay outputs, developing ad campaigns advising companies….. we want to make sure that we’re communicating the science of our subject as clearly as we can. And that really starts with our academic work.” 

 

Original article: Toward an ontology of tobacco, nicotine and vaping products by Sharon Cox and colleagues. Published in Addiction (2022)


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