ENRES: A Semantic Framework for Entity Resolution Modelling

Entity resolution, the process of determining if two or more references correspond to the same entity, is an emerging area of study in computer science. While entity resolution models leverage artificial intelligence, machine learning, and data mining techniques, relationships between various models remain ill-specified. Despite growth in both research and literature, investigations are scattered across communities with minimal communication. This paper introduces a conceptual framework, called ENRES, for explicit and formal entity resolution model definition. Through ENRES, we illustrate how several models solve related, though distinctly different, variants of entity resolution. In addition, we prove the existence of entity resolution challenges yet to be addressed by past or current research.