The BSSO Foundry: a community of practice for ontologies in the behavioural and social sciences

The behavioural and social sciences have produced a vast amount of research, yet the field faces substantial challenges. These include inconsistent and ambiguous use of terms across studies. Ontologies are structured frameworks to define terms and how they are related. They have been widely used in many areas of science, such as the biological and biomedical sciences. For example, the Gene Ontology describes and organises knowledge about the functions of genes across species. Recently, ontologies are being developed in the behavioural and social sciences to help systematically map and organise research plans and findings. For example, the Behaviour Change Intervention Ontology can be used to describe interventions that aim to change behaviour. However, to coordinate efforts, reduce duplication, and facilitate coherence and interoperability, we need a central community to enable exchange and support the use of ontologies. We have therefore set up the Behavioural and Social Sciences Ontology (BSSO) Foundry, a community of practice for the development, adoption, and use of ontologies within the behavioural and social sciences. We describe this initiative, including how to join and become involved.