Subject languages Scope and structure Semantics and syntax

Goals of subject languages Ranganathan: To provide a helpful sequence of documents, so that: Readers discover topics that may be useful. Books can display their potential to readers. Svenonius: To improve collocation in retrieval; to navigate the bibliographic universe; to represent knowledge (as opposed to information).

Components of subject languages Subject languages contain concepts represented as terms. The concept of “pH of water components of soil, and the effects of this pH on the soil’s use in supporting plant life,” may be represented as the term “soil acidity.”

Defining subject language scope What marks the composition and extent of a subject? Should a classification of “information organization” as a subject include information retrieval? Should it include philosophy of language? Should it include critical theory? How does one make such decisions?

Rationale for including, defining, and relating concepts in subject languages Varieties of warrant: Literary: classification concepts are derived from subjects of books. Terminological: classification concepts are derived from terms used in documents. Scientific/philosophical: classification concepts are derived from scientific consensus about what constitutes knowledge. Educational: classification concepts are derived from educational consensus about how to teach this knowledge.

Rationale for including, defining, and relating concepts in subject languages Varieties of warrant: Use: classification concepts are derived from cognitive structures of information seekers. Cultural: classification concepts are derived from values, beliefs, and perspectives of particular social groups. Ethical: classification concepts are derived from established ethical positions. Structural: classification concepts are derived from relationships between existing concepts.

Example of structural warrant atmospheric railway cable haulage railway counterbalanced railway water balance railway rope haulage railway gravity railway animal-powered railway horse railway locomotive railway electric railway From the MDA Railway Object Name thesaurus

Defining subject domains as discourse communities Hjorland and Albrechtsen argue that information systems should be based on discourse communities of academic disciplines. Psychology = what psychology researchers say, because this is the closest we can get to the “reality” of psychology.

Representing competing ideas in a subject domain But a behaviorist psychologist and a psychologist who adopts a psychoanalytic perspective may have widely differing views, even on basic concepts. Hjorland and Albrechtsen contend that a domain analysis should uncover these schools of thought that exist within a discipline, in order to represent them within an information system.

Understanding the significance of domain analysis The domain analytic approach acknowledges problems with the semantic validity of information systems and asserts the need for systematic and rigorous justification for knowledge representations. The domain analytic approach clarifies that a subject may have many interpretations and provides a means for validating some of those interpretations.

Understanding the limitations of domain analysis The domain analytic approach ignores concerns related to an information system’s audience and purpose. The domain analytic approach doesn’t explain how a designer of subject languages should decide between competing approaches to the subject.

Understanding your responsibility as a classificationist A domain analysis won’t actually make decisions for you. It will provide information for you to use in making authorial decisions—in concert with your audience description, classification purpose, and your own goals and editorial judgment. Every classification is a type of argument for a particular interpretation of a subject, and the classificationist is, ultimately, the author of that argument. Not “the domain.”

Performing a domain analysis Find documents that help you determine ontology (important things), epistemology (important problems, theories, methods and practices), and social structures in the selected domain. For example: –FAQs, beginners’ guides, and textbooks. –Bibliographies. –Professional organizations. –Online user forums. –Actual people!

First steps in your assignment: 1.Determine preliminary domain, or subject area. 2.Perform a basic domain analysis to identify potential concepts to include in the classification. 3.Begin to construct a version of the subject by selecting concepts that align with your audience and purpose, defining the composition and extent of the domain. In the second part of class, we will practice #3.

Next steps in your assignment: 4.Define and select preferred labels for concepts. 5.Establish relationships between concepts. 6.Clarify how concepts are to be used to describe and arrange documents (via usage notes). 7.Document your classification via alphabetic and classified representations. #5 can be complicated. We will talk about some elements of #5 today, and also over the next few weeks. In next week’s class, we will practice #5.

Structure of subject languages Alphabetical representation and classified representation. Synthetic structure and enumerative structure. Parallel hierarchies and facets.

Examples of alphabetic representation Architecture Art Biology Chemistry Engineering Fine arts Life sciences Architecture BT Fine arts NT Landscape architecture Biology BT Life sciences NT Evolutionary biology, molecular biology

Example of classified representation Arts and sciences Fine arts Visual art Architecture Landscape architecture Music Sciences Life sciences Biology New York Times information architecture

Examples of synthetic structure In Ranganathan’s Colon Classification, subjects are constructed by arranging concepts from the facets Personality, Matter, Energy, Space, and Time (PMEST). In the Dewey Decimal Classification, geographic information is appended to a class name by means of standard tables. An example from the Dewey blog: Bank deposit insurance—United States The number is built with plus 0 (extra 0 for standard subdivisions as instructed in the add table under 368.1–368.8 Specific kinds of insurance) plus T1—09 Geographic treatment plus T2—73 United States.

Example of enumerative structure Warburg Institute classification: Image hierarchy main classes Primitive Art, Oriental Art, Classical Archaeology, Classical Topography, Classical Iconography, Numismatics, Greek Art, Roman Art, History of Art, Sources of the History of Art, Art Interpretation, Aesthetics, Topography, Iconography, Survival Of Ancient Art, Early Christian & Byzantine Art, Illuminated Manuscripts, Italian Art, Spanish Art, French Art, Flemish & Dutch Art, British Art, German Art, Scandinavian Art, Applied Arts, Art Collecting, 19th & 20th Century Art

Examples of parallel hierarchies 04 POLITICS 0406 political framework 0411 political party 0416 electoral procedure and voting 0421 parliament 0426 parliamentary proceedings 0431 politics and public safety 0436 executive power and public service 08 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 0806 international affairs 0811 cooperation policy 0816 international balance 0821 defence 10 EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES 1006 Community institutions and European civil service 1011 European Union law 1016 European construction 1021 Community finance From the Eurovoc thesaurus, used to describe EU government documents:

Examples of facets In the Bliss Bibliographic Classification (BBC v.2), the Human Biology and Medicine field is organized into the following facets: Types of persons Parts and systems of the person Processes in the person Actions on the person Agents of actions A document whose subject is nursing for children with cancer would be described as: (Type of person) Paediatrics - (Processes) - Pathological - Cancer - (Actions on) Nursing Example from Bliss Classification Association:

Internal structure of subject languages Hierarchical relationships. Equivalence relationships. Associative relationships.

Scope of hierarchical relationships Universal hierarchies (mammal -> dog). Always true! Perspective hierarchies (pet -> dog, or work animal -> dog, or food -> dog). Only true under a certain point of view or certain conditions. Can a subject language ever attain universality?

Types of hierarchical relationships Genus-species Follow the all-some rule—X is a type of Y if all X’s are Y’s but only some Y’s are X’s: all dogs are mammals but not all mammals are dogs. All the sibling concepts should follow the same principle of division and be mutually exclusive, or multiple principles of division should be elucidated through the structure. Whole-part Often treated as associative relationships in subject languages. A few exceptions: Systems and organs of the body Geographical locations Disciplines and subdisciplines Hierarchical social structures Instance Not types but instances: they involve proper names (Seas: Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea). Don’t use in your assignment.

Examples of genus-species relationships Single principle of division Programming languages Declarative languages Functional languages Imperative languages Object-oriented languages Procedural languages Multiple principles of division People (by family role) mothers fathers children (by occupation) opera singers information professionals mushroom hunters

A negative example Unclear principles of division Paintings Portraits Renaissance paintings Oil paintings Cave paintings Impressionist paintings Landscapes Murals These concepts do indeed describe types of paintings, but they represent multiple perspectives on painting. Mixing principles of division like this makes the structure difficult to understand and browse. (If we did need to place an item in one location, it would be impossible, as well.)

A better example Paintings paintings by representational focus Portraits Landscape paintings by style Renaissance paintings Impressionist paintings paintings by materials used Oil paintings paintings by means of support Cave paintings Murals These might be separate facets for a classification of paintings: Representational focus Style Materials Means of support

Trees According to Kwasnik, a tree is a looser form that shows a consistent principle of organization, but does not have the strict rules of inheritance and so forth that hierarchies have. Example: Grandparents Parents Children

Trees The tree information could also be expressed via ordering within a hierarchical level—more about this next week. Kinship roles Descent through direct hereditary lines Grandparents Parents Children Descent across hereditary lines Siblings of direct ancestors (aunts and uncles) Children of siblings (cousins)

Examples of subject languages Warburg Institute classification. Alcohol and Other Drugs thesaurus.

Assignment components Introduction. Classified representation. Alphabetical representation. Reflective essay.

Assignment tasks and schedule You might consider the following schedule: February 26-March 7: Subject research and analysis; concept “harvesting” (domain analysis). March 7-March 21: Develop classified representation. (Bring draft to class March 19.) March 21-26: Document alphabetical representation. March 26-April 1: Write introduction and reflective essay.