Research lattices: towards a scientific hypothesis data model

Abstract

As the problems of scientific interest raise in scale and complexity, scientists have to tacitly manage too many analytic elements. Hypotheses are worked out to drive research towards successful explanation and prediction, which characterizes science as a dynamic activity that is partially ordered towards progress. This paper motivates and introduces research lattices, carrying out a lattice-theoretic approach for hypothesis representation and management in large-scale science and engineering. The goal of this work is to equip scientists with tools to manipulate and query hypotheses while keeping track of research progress. We refer to SciDB's array data model and discuss how data and theories could be managed in a unified model management framework.