Supportfor

Supportfor is a term used in information science and knowledge representation to denote a binary relation in which one item provides support for another. It is commonly employed in knowledge graphs, argumentation frameworks, and evidence modeling to capture how data, observations, or citations underpin a claim, conclusion, or proposition. While not a universally standardized term, supportfor is used in contexts where tracing justification and evidence is important.

Formally, supportfor(A,B) can be read as "A supports B" or "A is evidence for B." The relation is directional: A is the support, B is the supported statement. It is often accompanied by metadata such as source, confidence, and timestamp, and may be composed with other relations like contradicts or undermines. In some schemas, supportfor is defined as non-reflexive and may be constrained to prevent cycles that would undermine clarity of justification.

Applications of supportfor include literature reviews, fact-checking, scientific workflows, debate analysis, and question-answering systems, where it helps to trace reasoning and evaluate the overall strength of conclusions. In knowledge graphs, supports are typically weighted by reliability or provenance, enabling more nuanced assessments of justification.

Relation to other concepts includes ties to evidence, justification, citation, and provenance. It is distinct from causality, which asserts a cause-effect link, whereas supportfor denotes that a given item lends support to a claim. Naming conventions vary across domains, with alternative terms such as hasSupport or supports used in place of supportfor. Its use emphasizes transparent reasoning and traceable justification in structured data.