Journal of Database Management, 15(4), 71-87, Oct-Dec 2004 71 Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. Semantic Heterogeneity in Multidatabase Systems: A Review and a Proposed Meta-Data Structure Te-Wei Wang, Florida International University, USA Kenneth E. Murphy, Willamette University, USA ABSTRACT This article reviews current research on the issue of semantic conflict resolution in multidatabase system design. It is observed that in multidatabase systems, semantic conflicts need to be resolved at both schema level and instance level. Based on the literature review, a new taxonomy for differentiating semantic conflicts and a meta-data representation incorporating the taxonomy are proposed. It is argued that the new meta-data representation is effective for summarizing local schemata, and hence it can serve as a common protocol for multidatabase systems that require instance level conflict resolution. Keywords: meta-data representation; multidatabase; semantic conflict resolution; semantic heterogeneity. INTRODUCTION Semantic heterogeneity or semantic conflict is the main source of problems in multidatabase design. In this article, a brief review of previous work in semantic con- flict identification is presented which leads to the creation of a taxonomy for resolving conflicts in multidatabase design that is more inclusive when compared to existing frameworks, for example that of Batini et al. (1986). A meta-data structure, based on this taxonomy, will be proposed that can be used as a point of reference (a com- mon protocol) for semantic conflict resolu- tion. For last three decades, a significant quantity of multidatabase research has fo- cused on resolving the problem of seman- tic heterogeneity or semantic conflicts. Semantic heterogeneity is often present in multidatabase systems because of the lack of global schema definition. The situation is similar to common misunderstandings that occur in everyday interpersonal communi- cation. Misunderstandings can result from two people who speak different languages. They cannot understand one another un- This paper appears in the journal, Journal of Database Management, Vol. 15, No. 4, edited by Keng Siau. Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA ITJ2609 IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING