Patterns for context-based knowledge fusion in decision support systems

•Types and effects of knowledge fusion are distinguished.•Knowledge fusion processes taking place in a context aware decision support system are analyzed and investigated.•Patterns of context-based knowledge fusion in the context aware decision support system are discovered.•Patterns criteria are preservation/changing of structures and autonomies of information/knowledge sources and context.

The here presented research focuses on the context-based knowledge fusion patterns. Patterns are discovered based on an analysis and investigation of knowledge fusion processes in a context aware decision support system at the operational stage of the system functioning. At this stage the context-based knowledge fusion processes are manifested around the context. The patterns are generalized in regard to the following three aspects: (1) the effects that the knowledge fusion processes produce in the system; (2) the preservation of internal structures for the context and multiple sources the information/knowledge is fused from; and (3) the preservation of multiple sources and the context autonomies. At that, seven knowledge fusion patterns have been discovered: simple fusion, extension, instantiated fusion, configured fusion, adaptation, flat fusion, and historical fusion.