Superimposed schematics: Introducing E-R structure for in-situ information selections

Considerable research exists on providing structured access to unstructured information sources, primarily for search and query. Little attention has been placed on (1) keeping the by-products of the process (e.g., connections between structured and unstructured data are typically forgotten and context is lost), (2) developing a rich, conceptual structure for this new layer of information (e.g., the structured data is often represented in simple relational tables), and (3) further elaborating and linking the new, structured information. We propose superimposed schematics to address these issues. Superimposed schematics offer E-R modeling constructs integrated with marks, where a mark holds an address to an information element in an underlying source. A superimposed schematic enables a conceptual addressing scheme for the information it contains (directly) and for the information it references (through marks). This addressing scheme can then be used for marking from additional layers of superimposed information. We consider schematics as a useful model for superimposed information and discuss how it fits into our general research on superimposed information.