In the context of research methodology, what does the word 'ontology' refer to?

AConcepts and categories, their properties and relationships ✓ Correct

BResearch papers and journals and their citation

CCancers, diseases and their treatments

DA word indexing method

Correct answer: (A) Concepts and categories, their properties and relationships

Explanation

In research methodology ontology refers to concepts and categories, their properties and the relationships between them.

Research papers, journals and their citation belong to bibliometrics, not ontology.

Cancers, diseases and treatments describe a medical subject, not a philosophical concept.

A word indexing method describes information retrieval, not ontology.

Ontology concerns the nature of being and what exists within a domain.

Epistemology, its partner term, instead concerns how such knowledge is acquired.

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