Representation and Comparison of Uncertain Temporal Data Based on Duration

Abstract

Although temporal data are often uncertain, especially in humanities, an appropriate standard method has not been established for operating them for retrievals and analysis. This study considered representing uncertainty of temporal data based on duration. Uncertain duration, which is a continuous range, was applied to represent duration of an uncertain time interval and temporal distance between two time intervals. Additionally, this study examined relation between two values of uncertain duration and observed that the relation portrayed three states, namely reliable, possible, and impossible. If these representations and relations are implemented using semantic Web technology and provided as Linked Data, uncertain temporal data are expected to be effectively used for retrieval, analysis, and other purposes.