I2 Analyst's Notebook 7 User Guide - ISS Africa -Investigation ...

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Defining custom semantic types
Appendix B: The i2 Semantic Approach
This is informational data that is used to describe the data and not the item
it describes. For example, you might have a database field labeled Entered
by. In this instance, although the content will be people’s names, they
should not be assigned the Person Full Name semantic type. Instead, if you
need to assign a semantic type at all, you should define a custom semantic
type derived from the abstract type that has the correct data type, for
example Abstract Text.
It may be that an appropriate semantic type is not available in the i2 Semantic Type
Library. In this instance, you may need to define a custom semantic type to use.
The following rules apply when defining custom semantic types:
• Assign sensible names, synonyms and descriptions for custom semantic types
When defining a custom semantic type, it is important you use a sensible name
and provide appropriate synonyms. Names and synonyms are there to help
others when finding and showing the information. Descriptions also provide
valuable semantic meaning in addition to the name and synonyms. They also
provide a useful reference when reusing the custom semantic type in another
place within your data source, or when sharing custom semantic types for use
in multiple data sources, particularly when others will be using it.
• Define a custom semantic type derived from a sensible parent
Think about the parent when defining a custom semantic type. For example, a
custom property semantic type called Witness Name could be derived from the
Abstract Text property semantic type, but it is more appropriate to derive it from
the Person Full Name property semantic type. Be as specific as possible when
thinking about the parent. Failing to derive a custom semantic type from the
appropriate parent means that the expected behavior will not apply.
• Deriving custom property semantic types from Abstract Flag
There is a convention for the naming of custom property semantic types
derived from the Abstract Flag property semantic type. When defining these
types, the name should always start with a verb to provide a clear indication
that the type is a flag. For example, if you are defining a property custom
semantic type to indicate whether or not a person wears glasses, you might
name it Wears Glasses. Typically these are questions to which the answer is
yes or no.
i2 Analyst’s Notebook 7 User Guide: Customizing & Analyzing 363