Order Out of Chaos: Creating and Valuing Taxonomies Information Highways Conference e-Content Institute April 6, 2005

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno2 Agenda Fun! Controlled vocabularies Value of taxonomies Types of taxonomies Taxonomy development

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno3 “The value of knowledge is largely tied to the way in which that knowledge is organized. If you can’t find it, it’s not likely to be of much use to you.” Marc Rapport Unfolding Knowledge Knowledge Management E-zine

Exercise Put the slips in some sort of order so that they are of use to you.

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno5 Taxonomies, Metadata and Classification 8-week course Professional Learning Centre Faculty of Information Studies University of Toronto Bonus: Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre

Controlled Vocabularies

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno7 Definitions Controlled Vocabulary An indexing language, i.e., a standardized set of terms and phrases authorized for use in an indexing system to describe a subject area or information domain. A collection of preferred and non-preferred terms that are used to assist in more precise retrieval of content.

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno8 Purpose Translation From natural language of authors and users into a vocabulary used for indexing and retrieval Consistency In the assignment of index terms Indication of Relationships Semantic relationships among terms Retrieval Searching aid in retrieval of documents (source: ANSI/NISO Z , Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Thesauri)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno9 Types of Controlled Vocabularies dd (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno10 Pick List A list of words Most basic of controlled vocabularies No synonyms identified No guidance provided

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno11 Synonym Ring A list of words to be treated as equivalent in meaning for the purposes of searching Every term in the ring in synonymous to the others

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno12 Synonym Ring (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno13 Authority File Provides higher level of control than a synonym ring Designates one term as being preferred Includes references from synonyms, abbreviations, and acronyms to the preferred term AKA a subject list

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno14 Authority File (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno15 Taxonomy Defines hierarchical relationships between the terms Goes from the general to the specific Strict taxonomy is a Genus/species relationship, i.e. “is a” relationship e.g. russet “is a” type of potato

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno16 Taxonomy (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno17 Taxonomy “Taxis” – arrange, put in order “Onoma” – name Is the end result of the science, laws, or principles of classification

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno18 Taxonomy (F rom Greek “taxis” meaning arrangement or division and “nomos” meaning law) is the science of classification according to a pre-determined system, with the resulting catalog used to provide a conceptual framework for discussion, analysis, or information retrieval. In theory, the development of a good taxonomy takes into account the importance of separating elements of a group (“taxon”) into subgroups (“taxa”) that are mutually exclusive, unambiguous, and taken together, include all possibilities. In practice, a good taxonomy should be simple, easy to remember, and easy to use. (source:

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno19 Taxonomy “Structures that provide a way of classifying things – living organisms, products, books – into a series of hierarchical groups to make them easier to identify, study, or locate. Taxonomies consist of two parts – structures and applications. Structures consist of the categories (or terms) themselves and the relationships that link them together. Applications are the navigation tools available to help users find information.” (source: Jean Graef, Montague Institute)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno20 Thesaurus A type of controlled vocabulary that shows the following relationships among terms: hierarchical (e.g. parent-child BT, NT) associative (e.g. related RT) equivalent (e.g. synonymous U, UF) Also includes scope notes (definitions)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno21 Thesaurus (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno22 User Warrant Justification for the representation of a concept in an indexing language or for the selection of a preferred term because of frequent requests for information on the concept or free-text searches on the term by users of an information storage and retrieval system (source: ANSI/NISO Z , Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Thesauri)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno23 Classification Classification refers to the systematic grouping of like things or objects into classes or categories according to some shared quality or characteristic. Implies the separation of things according to their degree of unlikeness. The term “classification” can refer either to the process of defining the categories and structure of a classification scheme or to the process of assigning documents to their appropriate categories. (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno24 Classification Scheme A scheme for arranging a collection of information in a hierarchical order using a controlled vocabulary to express the categories. Frequently referred to as a “taxonomy”. Also known as a file plan. (source: U of T, Professional Learning Centre, Intranet Taxonomy Resource Centre)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno25 Metadata Data about data “Metadata is structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes is easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information resource.” (source: ITRC)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno26 Important A taxonomy describes the domain (e.g. subject) being used for classification, but is not itself metadata However, it can be used in metadata Does not address naming conventions for individual files (records) Separate policy/procedure

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno27

Value of Taxonomies

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno29 “…the primary motives for developing an internal taxonomy were to improve information access and to save time by streamlining the search process.” Taxonomies for Business:Access and Connectivity in a Wired World, TFPL Ltd.

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno30 Information Environment Paper Facsimiles Electronic docs Chat boards White boards Legacy databases Instant messaging Intranet materials Internet materials Workflow Video Audio Microforms

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno31 Information Environment No standards for info design or else too vague or incapable of being enforced Separate offices/divisions, many with own IT shops, build separate info systems Cultures of competitiveness or mistrust Legacy systems difficult to change Managers still looking for silver bullet

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno32 Value of Taxonomies Identification – Controls the glut of information by filtering, categorizing and labeling information Navigation – Reduces the likelihood of becoming lost by moving along logical paths; facilitates browsing Discovery – Aids the serendipitous find, new associations via inference Searching – Provides context, reduces search time, improves search engine performance Delivery – Improves retrieval, for both browsing and free text searches

Types of Taxonomies

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno34 Structural Model - Hierarchies Generic (Genus/Species) “is – a” kind of relationship Mutual exclusivity Strictest of hierarchies (source: Barbara Kwasnik, The Role of Classification in Knowledge Representation and Discovery, Library Trends, Summer 1999, pp.22-47) Eye Diseases Conjunctival Diseases Conjunctival Neoplasm Conjunctivitis Keratoconjunctivitis Corneal Diseases (from MeSH)

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno35 Structural Model - Hierarchies Whole-Part Does not assume genus/species One-way flow of information Websites/directories Automobile Body Engine Block Pistons Valves Interior Upholstery

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno36 Structural Model - Hierarchies Musical Instruments Stringed Percussion Instruments Pianos Polyhierarchical Concepts belong to more than one category

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno37 Emphasis of Taxonomy Department Subject/Topic For a discrete body of knowledge Familiar to most users Product/Services Internal or external focus Audience User-centric Geography/Location

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Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno45 Emphasis of Taxonomy Function Functions represent the major responsibilities that are managed by the organization to fulfill its goals Source of information Government of Canada, Information Management Services, BASCS (Business Activity Structure Classification System) (

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno46 Function Taxonomy Example Collection Part Section Primary Secondary Collection 2: ABC Company Management Part 3: Financial Management Section 05: Financial Reporting and Auditing Primary 03: Audit Working Papers ( ) Secondary 01: Audit Confirmations ( ) Whole-Part Example: Function-based

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno47 “Though figuring out where to start can be frustrating, a good taxonomy is recognized as a central part of a knowledge management system.” Thomas Trimmer President, GrapeVine Technologies

Taxonomy Development

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno49 High-level Overview Domain and Purpose Rules Data Gathering Develop Draft Taxonomy Consult & Test Refine & Finalize Document Train & Educate Users Ensure Continued Development

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno50 IMPORTANT! Project  Process There is no “end”. A taxonomy is never “finished”.

Information Highways, April 6, 2005© Denise Bruno51 Denise Bruno Associate CONDAR Consulting Inc