In recent years the use of formal tools in information system modeling and development represents a potential area of research in computer science. In 1967 the term ontology appeared for the first time in computer science literature as S. H. Mealy introduced it as a basic foundation in data modeling. The main objective of this paper is to discuss the concept of ontology (from a philosophical perspective) as it was used to bridge the gap between philosophy and information systems science, and to investigate ontology types that can be found during ontological investigation and the methods used in the investigation process. The secondary objective of this paper is to study different design and engineering approaches of ontology as well as development environments that are used to create and edit ontologies.