Observation Type

• CURIE: gmeow:ObservationType
• IRI: https://blackcatinformatics.ca/gmeow/ObservationType
• Category: class
• Defined by: gmeow:slices/observations
• Box roles: TBox role (What is this?)

The kind of observation being made — a value vocabulary (individuals, never subclasses). Distinguishes measurement, sensory reading, standpoint claim, derived inference, and simulation output. The specific sub-discipline (radiocarbon dating, GPS survey, temperature sensing) is gmeow:observationMethod, not gmeow:observationType.

Structure

Subclass of: gufo:QualityValue

Practical Pattern

Use gmeow:ObservationType as a specialized kind of gufo:QualityValue. Add statement metadata or a standpoint when the assertion needs provenance, confidence, or vantage.

Usage Advice

Use when

• Use as the value vocabulary behind gmeow:observationType — the open set of individuals naming the broad KIND of observation (measurement, sensory reading, standpoint claim, derived inference, simulation, identity, naming, rights, kinship, streaming).

Avoid when

• Avoid minting per-type subclasses (types are individuals) and avoid using it for the specific protocol or discipline (that is gmeow:ObservationMethod); the type is the category, not the technique.

How to use

• Reference the seeded type individuals via the non-functional gmeow:observationType (an observation may carry several), and let the sub-discipline ride on gmeow:observationMethod and the typed-claim distinction on the Observation subclass.

Examples

• ex:reading gmeow:observationType gmeow:observationTypeMeasurement.