Colecciones de datos abiertos enlazados: de la búsqueda al descubrimiento de información

Abstract

Projects for the publication of data, metadata and vocabularies have been carried out in the librarian field applying Linked Open Data model for some years. Mainly access to this data has been oriented to expert users - developers - who use SPARQL to query these repertories. In this context, the study focuses on specific solutions for end users that have been implemented by institutions immersed in linked open data projects. The aim is to make an approximation about the basic characteristics of the user interfaces in a sample of open data portals and draw conclusions about the search capability, usability and trends in the visualization of the information. For this purpose, preliminary criteria for the analysis of the selected initiatives have been formalized. The proposed methodology allowed us to make a first approximation about the basic functionalities of the search and visualization interfaces in these systems. The projects studied show the potential of semantic technologies versus collections that use a flat description model. The publication of linked open data by visual interfaces intensifies the discovery of information, enhances the contextualization of results and improves the user experience, both by increasing navigation capacity and by the interrelationships between data. However, in spite of the innovations, the present stage of development of the analysed platforms presents weaknesses, we highlight, the ones related to the information visualization -massive weight of text and few graphic innovations-, unintuitive environments, or customization and feedback limited.