Transcript TAXONOMIES & CONTROLLED VOCABULARIES IN KM

Quo Vadis indexing? Skills in building taxonomies and
controlled vocabularies for a transformed South Africa
Gavin R Davis PhD
DEPARTMENT OF
LIBRARY AND
INFORMATION
SCIENCE
UNIVERSITY OF THE
WESTERN CAPE
BELLVILLE
E- mail: [email protected]
Taxonomies and controlled vocabularies
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Introduction
Concept clarification
 Controlled vocabulary
 Metadata
 Thesaurus
 Ontology
 Taxonomy
 Types of taxonomies
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Flat taxonomies
Hierarchical taxonomies
Faceted taxonomies
Network taxonomies
Conclusion
INTRODUCTION
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Are things still as we
know them?
Which one is a mouse?
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OR AN
Apple?
CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
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Controlled vocabulary - refers to a list of
terms or headings, each one having an
assigned meaning (Foskett, 1996; Cumming,
2005)
Broughton (2006: 210) regards controlled
vocabulary (also referred to as controlled
indexing language) as “ a system used for
classifying or indexing documents which uses
a more limited set of terms than are found in
natural language ( emphasis in the original).
CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
CONTD.
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Metadata - Broughton (2006: 216) refers to
metadata as data about data i.e.
“…information attached to a document or
resource that describes various features of
the document, such as its creator, title, date
of origin, subject content…”
Cervone and Fichter (2004:180): metadata
ascribe specific meaning to data elements
Critical component in a KM environment
CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
CONTD.
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Thesaurus - Cumming (2005): “…structured
sets of the terms used to index information.”
Foskett (1996: 89): “…consists of a list of
terms denoting single concepts, showing the
semantic relationships between them.”
Thesauri also have pre-coordinated headings
CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
CONTD.
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Ontology - Can be misleading as its origin
comes from Philosophy.
Cumming (2005): More specific in defining a
concept or item and its relationships.
Aitchison and Clark (2004: 16): “is another
term used quite loosely in different circles,
but in the artificial intelligence (AI)
community, it is often defined as a ‘formal,
explicit specification of a shared
conceptualization’.”
CONCEPT CLARIFICATION
CONTD.
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Taxonomy - Koenig & Srikantaiah (2004: 6):
two dictionary meanings (Webster)
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Study of the general principles of classification
(Library and Information Science)
Orderly classification of animals & plants
Cumming (2005): “a structured list, or ‘tree’,
formed into a hierarchy with broader terms at
the top.”
Each taxon (item) should be mutually
exclusive and unambiguous.
E.G’S OF TAXONOMIES
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Benjamin Bloom’s (1958) taxonomy - provide
some conceptual base regarding knowledge
counselling.
Therefore speaks of hierarchical taxonomy of
cognitive functions which is “a structured
framework for identifying information and
knowledge needs of individuals” (Debons, et
al., 2001: 461).
Is taxonomy always hierarchical?
E.G’S OF TAXONOMIES
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(Powell, 2004:225):
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Chemistry elements as found on the periodic table
developed by the Russian chemist, Mendeleyev in
1869
Aristotle, the Greek philosopher tried to classify
organisms on the basis of either having red blood
or not.
Genus / species relationships of the Swedish
naturalist Linnaeus in the 1750’s
TYPES OF TAXONOMIES
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Bedford (2004:209 - 210): Accuses KM
literature of advising KM architects to only
produce hierarchical categories for the
production of knowledge.
Flat, faceted and network taxonomies are
equally important in supporting KM
processes.
FLAT TAXONOMIES
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Categories in flat taxonomies are regarded as
co – equal, basically referring to no inherent
relationships among them (Bedford, 2004:
212)
Toys
Books
Video Games
Software
HIERARCHICAL TAXONOMIES
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These taxonomies group content into two or
more levels.
Education
Primary
Education
Secondary
Education
Tertiary
Education
Graduate
Postgraduate
POLYHIERARCHICAL TAXONOMIES
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Cumming (2005): A taxon can be reached by
different routes.
Fruit
Tree fruit
Grapes
Vegetables
Vine fruit
Root
Vegetables
Salad
Vegetables
Tomatoes
Carrots
Potatoes
FACETED TAXONOMIES
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Although these taxonomies resemble flat
taxonomies, their structure and purpose
differ.
Author
File size
Title
Electronic
Book
Country
Keywords
Format
Place of
Publication
NETWORK TAXONOMIES
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These taxonomies organize content into both
hierarchical and associative categories
(Bedford, 2004: 217)
Natural
Resources
Precious
Natural
Resources
Transport
Low – Impact
Transport
Natural
Resource
Markets
Village
Markets
Village
Banks
Villages
Village
Women
CONCLUSION
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Significance of all of these for
transformation?
Well – structured taxonomies
Adhere to metadata standards
Construct meaningful thesauri
Have controlled vocabularies which are user
friendly
THANKS! ENKOSI! DANKIE!
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Preserve for the future?