Putting open data to the test of life: conceptual schemas as a means to compare and measure social value

In a previous paper, we have investigated the different di- mensions of a classificatory framework suitable to support the assess- ment and benchmarking of the social value of open data initiatives. In this paper, we propose a methodology that compares and evaluates open data social value, and we apply it to the specific domain of hospital care. Through this case study we advocate that social value can be analyzed within a spectrum of measures going from intensional completeness to subjective meaning. We first suggest that open data made available on- line by an organization can be modelled in terms of the corresponding integrated conceptual schema, as a uniform construct. Then, a global schema is created with the integrated schemas, and intensional as well as extensional social value on data can be defined. Valuable information is then extracted from queries based on such constructs, and which may result useful in the different contexts and related needs that users may experience in the domain of health. Finally, we propose a psycho-metric questionnaire to assess the perceived value of the information extracted from open data schemas through the above queries, and applied to dif- ferent scenarios. In this way, we propose to compare and measure the social value of different open data initiatives, as it results from the anal- ysis of the information that can be modelled and extracted from their conceptual schemas, from the quality of their instances, and from the subjective perception of their valuable information in different contexts and for different needs.