[Sigia-l] my first taxonomy ( recieved answers )

[javier velasco]

Thanks a lot for helping.

These are the answeres I recieved:

Todd Levy wrote:

  > Hey there -
  >
  > Since this has been the most interesting question on this mailing list
  > for as long as I can remember, I've come out of a very long lurk.
  >
  > I can't really answer the questions about controlled vocabs, but I do
  > have some insights into the more theoretical stuff below.
  >
  >> a taxonomy consists of a hierarchical tree, where on every terminal
  >> point there is a special type of node where I can attach my keywords
  >> (terms) and associate the content. Each node's label is also a
  >> keyword in itself.
  >
  >
  > 1)- Is this model right?
  >
  > Essentially, yes.
  >
  > Most taxonomy arguments start over the difference between your basic
  > taxonomy, which is just classification according to a pre-determined
  > system, and pure taxonomy, separating elements of a group (taxon) into
  > subgroups (taxa) that are mutually exclusive, unambiguous, and taken
  > together, include all possibilities.
  >
  > Next people argue over hierarchical or not. Some are hierarchical, like
  > a family tree or the animal kingdom (also pure). Others are not
  > hierarchical, like IKEA Stores, the Lands End catalog, and most Web
sites.
  >
  > FWIW, the example below isn't de facto hierarchical as you could
  > accurately present it as...
  >
  >     -Music
  >         -Bands
  >             -Pop
  >             -Rock
  >         -Solo Artists
  >             -Pop
  >             -Rock
  >
  > ... even though I personal prefer your original model.
  >
  >> 2)- Can the higher level nodes also have related
  >> keywords and articles?
  >
  >
  > Yes, although some people do not do a good job of building Web pages to
  > accurately distinguish the drill-down portion of the page from the
  > related content portion.
  >
  >> 3)- Do each of my tree's nodes have to be unique?
  >> Can some structures be repeated in this fashion?:
  >
  >
  >     -Music
  >         -Rock
  >             -Bands
  >             -Solo Artists
  >         -Pop
  >             -Bands
  >             -Solo Artists
  >
  > No, and Sure. The nodes don't HAVE to be anything. And you CAN repeat
  > whatever you'd like. See above re: pure and not pure.
  >
  > I'm not sure if you're familiar with faceted classification, but that
  > may be work exploring for you contents.
  >
  > Music Items
  >
  > * Genres
  >   - Rock | Pop
  >
  > * Performer Types:
  >   - Solo Artists | Bands
  >
  > Definitely check out the Flamenco Image Browser
  > http://bailando.sims.berkeley.edu/flamenco.html




Adam Doerr wrote:

[ snipped some stuff that Adam didn't feel confident enough to share to
the list because it?s also his first attempt, but this comment is
important ]

  > It's unfortunate how few good resources there are in this area, at
  > least that I've found. There are library science resources, but very
  > little info on actually applying the principles. Let me know if you
  > find any good ones - best I've found so far is Thesaurus Construction
  > and Use: A Practical Manual, which basically a library science
  > textbook (expensive, too!), but it does cover some of these systems.
  > Unfortunately, very little applied info.




Kathryn Lewellen wrote:


  > Terminology can get very confusing when talking about
  > taxonomies-for example, taxonomies are controlled
  > vocabularies. Thesauri are controlled vocabularies
  > that leverage synonymous, associative and hierarchical
  > relationships.  Keywords are all together different,
  > at least in my mind.  You bring up a lot of questions
  > that  are difficult to clarify in an email.  You're
  > welcome to call me if your questions aren't answered
  > by other listers (work number is 919 990-9407).
  >
  > here's a post from the archives that may help:
  > http://www.info-arch.org/lists/sigia-l/0111/0075.html




javier velasco wrote: [original question]

 > Hi all:
 >
 > I'm finally having the chance to design a taxonomy, and I've run into
 > some questions along the way. I hope some of you can help me with these
 > questions:
 >
 > If I have understood correctly, a taxonomy consists of a hierarchical
 > tree, where on every terminal point there is a special type of node
 > where I can attach my keywords (terms) and associate the content. Each
 > node's label is also a keyword in itself.
 >
 > 1)- Is this model right?
 >
 > 2)- Can the higher level nodes also have related keywords and articles?
 >
 > 3)- Do each of my tree's nodes have to be unique?
 >
 >     Can some structures be repeated in this fashion?:
 >
 >     -Music
 >         -Rock
 >             -Bands
 >             -Solo Artists
 >         -Pop
 >             -Bands
 >             -Solo Artists
 >
 > The other issue that most confuses me is the way this works next to a
 > Controlled Vocabulary / Thesaurus.
 >
 > For what I've undesrstood so far, these are basically lists of preferred
 > terms (a dictionary with no definitions). A thesaurus has a more robust
 > set of rules to establish relationships between terms.
 >
 > 4)- How do you make these two elements work toghether?
 >
 > Dizzily yours...
 >


-- 
javier
http://mantruc.com