Fitness For Use Framework Ontology Vocabulary Extension

Title
Fitness For Use Framework Ontology Vocabulary Extension

Date version issued
2026-06-03

Date created
2025-05-10

Part of TDWG Standard
http://example.org/to_be_determined

Preferred namespace abbreviation
bdqffdq

This version
http://rs.tdwg.org/bdqffdq/extension/2026-06-03

Latest version
http://rs.tdwg.org/bdqffdq/extension/

Previous version

Abstract
This document is a reference for the BDQ standard, documenting additional axioms that extend the basic vocabulary of the Fitness For Use Framework Ontology.

Authors
Lee Belbin (Blatant Fabrications), Arthur D. Chapman (Australian Biodiversity Information Services), Paul J. Morris (Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University), John Wieczorek (Rauthiflor LLC)

Creator
TDWG Biodiversity Data Quality Interest Group Task Group 2: Data Quality Tests and Assertions

Bibliographic citation
TDWG Biodiversity Data Quality Interest Group Task Group 2: Data Quality Tests and Assertions. 2026. Fitness For Use Framework Ontology Vocabulary Extension. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/bdqffdq/extension/2026-06-03

Status
Draft Standard for Review

Table of Contents

• 1 Introduction (non-normative)

  • 1.1 Purpose (non-normative)
  • 1.2 Audience (non-normative)
  • 1.3 Associated Documents (non-normative)
    • 1.3.1 Term List Distributions (non-normative)
  • 1.4 Status of the Content of this Document (normative)
  • 1.5 RFC 2119 key words (normative)
  • 1.6 Namespace abbreviations (non-normative)
  • 1.7 Referring to Terms (normative)
  • 1.8 Key to Vocabulary Terms (normative)

• 2 Axiom Index (non-normative)

• 4 Vocabulary Extension (normative)

  • 4.1 Range Axioms (normative)
  • 4.2 Different From Axioms (normative)
  • 4.3 General Axioms (normative)
    • 4.3.1 Disjointness (normative)
    • 4.3.2 AllDisjointClasses (normative)
    • 4.3.3 EquivalentClass (normative)
    • 4.3.4 EquivalentProperty (normative)
    • 4.3.5 InverseOf (normative)

1 Introduction (non-normative)

1.1 Purpose (non-normative)

The purpose of this document is to define the official vocabulary extension for the bdqffdq: ontology. It provides additional axioms, such as range constraints and logical distinctions, that refine and extend the semantics of the core vocabulary terms in the BDQ Fitness For Use Framework.

These axioms enable more precise reasoning, validation, and integration with OWL tools. They are intended to complement the human-readable term list provided in the main ontology documentation without altering the open and minimally constrained design of the core Fitness For Use Framework. Additional normative expectations, which are not formally represented in the ontology or included here, are listed in Section 3 of the Fitness For Use Framework Ontology: Concepts and Use document to clarify the intended use of these terms in practice.

This extension follows the TDWG Standards Documentation Specification and maintains a clear separation between core term definitions and ontology logic.

1.2 Audience (non-normative)

This document is intended for ontology engineers, semantic modelers, and developers who are applying the BDQ Fitness For Use Framework in OWL environments. It will be especially useful for:

• Implementers using OWL reasoners or validators to enforce or explore logical structures
• Developers of semantic tooling and metadata pipelines based on the BDQ Standard
• Standards developers needing a detailed view of the formal semantics behind Fitness For Use Framework concepts.

This document assumes familiarity with OWL constructs, reasoning profiles, and RDF/OWL modeling practices.

1.3 Associated Documents (non-normative)

For the list and links to all associated documents see The Biodiversity Data Quality (BDQ) Standard.

Information about the bdqffdq: ontology, its usage, and its extensions can be found in the following subset of Biodiversity Data Quality (BDQ) resources:

• Fitness For Use Framework Ontology: Concepts and Use - Provides a visual and narrative introduction to the concepts and application of the ontology along with normative guidance.
• Fitness For Use Framework Ontology List of Terms - The term list document, which enumerates and describes the vocabulary terms.
• Fitness For Use Framework Ontology Vocabulary Extension - Defines additional axioms extending the core vocabulary (this document).
• Biodiversity Data Quality Fitness For Use Framework (Ontology) - The ontology, which provides the formal RDF/OWL representation of the vocabulary.

1.3.1 Term List Distributions (non-normative)

1.4 Status of the Content of this Document (normative)

Sections may be either normative (defines what is required to comply with the standard) or non-normative (supports understanding but is not binding) and are marked as such.

Any sentence or phrase beginning with "For example" or "e.g.", whether in a normative section or a non-normative section, is non-normative.

Section 1.8 Key to Vocabulary Terms (normative) identifies which values in Section 4 are normative and which are non-normative.

1.5 RFC 2119 key words (normative)

The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT", "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this document are to be interpreted as described in BCP 14 [RFC 2119] and [RFC 8174] when, and only when, they appear in all capitals, as shown here.

1.6 Namespace abbreviations (non-normative)

The following namespace abbreviations are used in this document:

1.7 Referring to Terms (normative)

In any technical treatment of the BDQ standard, a precise reference to a class or property term SHOULD be made using its qualified name (the namespace prefix followed by the term local name; e.g., bdqffdq:InformationElement) and the namespace IRI corresponding to the namespace prefix (e.g., https://rs.tdwg.org/bdqffdq/terms/ for bdqffdq:) MUST be provided. In less formal descriptions where the technical precision is not needed, the preferred label (skos:prefLabel, e.g., Information Element) or the term local name (e.g., InformationElement) MAY be used. The BDQ documents use all these methods.

1.8 Key to Vocabulary Terms (normative)

The terminology used to describe the terms in this vocabulary follows the TDWG Standards Documentation Standard (SDS) (SDS). Each term definition includes the original RDF definition, and may also provide a TDWG-specific interpretation from the SDS, as well as a definition tailored to this local context.

2 Axiom Index (non-normative)

• Range Axioms (normative)
• Different From Axioms (normative)
• General Axioms (normative)

4 Vocabulary Extension (normative)

4.1 Range Axioms (normative)

hasAuthoritiesDefaults

hasDateLastUpdated

hasExpectedResponse

hasResponseComment

aggregatesResponsesFrom

forAmendment

forIssue

forMeasure

forValidation

hasArgument

hasCriterion

hasDataQualityDimension

hasEnhancement

hasInformationElement

hasParameter

hasSpecification

hasUseCase

implementedBy

improvedBy

targetedIssue

targetedMeasure

targetedValidation

usesSpecification

4.2 Different From Axioms (normative)

COMPLETE

COMPLIANT

IS_ISSUE

NOT_ISSUE

AMENDED

EXTERNAL_PREREQUISITES_NOT_MET

FILLED_IN

4.3 General Axioms (normative)

4.3.1 Disjointness (normative)

None

4.3.2 AllDisjointClasses (normative)

4.3.3 EquivalentClass (normative)

None

4.3.4 EquivalentProperty (normative)

None

4.3.5 InverseOf (normative)

None

Glossary (non-normative)

A glossary of acronyms and terms additional to those in the various namespaces can be found in the Glossary (non-normative) section of the Biodiversity Data Quality (BDQ) landing page.

References (non-normative)

The references for the BDQ standard can be found in the References (non-normative) section of the Biodiversity Data Quality (BDQ) landing page.

Cite BDQ (non-normative)

To cite BDQ in general, use the peer-reviewed article:

Chapman AD, Belbin L, Zermoglio PF, Wieczorek J, Morris PJ, Nicholls M, Rees ER, Veiga AK, Thompson A, Saraiva AM, James SA, Gendreau C, Benson A, Schigel D (2020). Developing Standards for Improved Data Quality and for Selecting Fit for Use Biodiversity Data. Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 4: e50889. https://doi.org/10.3897/biss.4.50889

To cite this document specifically, use the following:

TDWG Biodiversity Data Quality Interest Group Task Group 2: Data Quality Tests and Assertions. 2026. Fitness For Use Framework Ontology Vocabulary Extension. Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG). http://rs.tdwg.org/bdqffdq/extension/2026-06-03

Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG)

This content made open by Biodiversity Information Standards (TDWG) is licensed under a Licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY) License.