Integrating Data Sources for Smarter Interdisciplinary AI Solutions: Challenges and Opportunities
A special issue of AI (ISSN 2673-2688).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 January 2026 | Viewed by 44
Special Issue Editors
2. Department of Computer Science, University of Koblenz, Koblenz, Germany
Interests: AI applications in CSS and DH; AI ethics; knowledge representation; NLP
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Data integration is a key aspect in the development and evaluation of AI solutions. However, it is inherently interdisciplinary, as many application domains—such as the humanities, social sciences, and economics, as well as physics and engineering—each bring their own unique perspectives on data. On the one hand, there is a need for tailored data integration strategies and solutions to tackle domain-specific challenges. On the other hand, we recognize a shared methodological toolbox: both AI and data integration methods often transcend disciplinary boundaries. We view this Special Issue as a platform for interdisciplinary exchange, fostering discussions around common methodologies to support scholars from diverse fields, with a focus on both smarter interdisciplinary AI solutions, as well as methodological insights and critical reflections on data integration practices.
We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue with novel research on AI methodologies, evaluations of data integration methods, and critical reflections on both, preferably from interdisciplinary perspectives. The aim is to bridge the gap between scientific domains, foster interdisciplinary exchange, and discuss how domain-specific perspectives on data and their integration challenge current AI research. In particular, we are interested in fostering communications between researchers from different fields of computer science, application areas such as the social sciences, economics, and the humanities, and practitioners from different fields.
In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Relevant research areas may include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Data integration methods across various domains, including the social sciences, humanities, economics, life sciences, or medical research. Submissions may focus on theoretical, methodological, experimental, and applied research.
- AI approaches for linking data from different digital resources, including online social networks, web and data mining, medical research, data quality and reliability, integration of quantitative and qualitative data, anonymization, and data protection. Contributions on knowledge graphs, ontologies, knowledge representation, and reasoning are also welcome.
- Natural language processing, text encoding, computational linguistics, annotation guidelines, and OCR, especially within the context of the humanities, social sciences, and economics.
- Ethical and philosophical considerations of AI and data integration within research.
We look forward to receiving your contributions.
Dr. Jens Dörpinghaus
Dr. Michael Tiemann
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. AI is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- data integration
- AI solutions
- social sciences
- data sciences
- humanities
Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue
- Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
- Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
- Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
- External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
- Reprint: MDPI Books provides the opportunity to republish successful Special Issues in book format, both online and in print.
Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.
