Denoting Data in the Grounded Annotation Framework

Semantic web applications are integrating data from more and more different types of sources about events. However, most data annotation frameworks do not translate well to semantic web. We describe the grounded annotation framework (GAF), a two-layered framework that aims to build a bridge between mentions of events in a data source such as a text document and their formal representation as instances. By choosing a two-layered approach, neither the mention layer, nor the semantic layer needs to compromise on what can be represented. We demonstrate the strengths of GAF in flexibility and reasoning through a use case on earthquakes in Southeast Asia.