introduction to controlled vocabularies
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Introduction to Controlled Vocabularies. Presented by Fred Leise ContextualAnalysis, LLC The Round Table Conference Society of Indexers Sunday, July 13, 2008. About Fred Leise. Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Intuitect (software for website creators) ContextualAnalysis, LLC - PowerPoint PPT PresentationTRANSCRIPT
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Introduction toControlled Vocabularies
Presented by Fred Leise
ContextualAnalysis, LLC
The Round Table Conference
Society of Indexers
Sunday, July 13, 2008
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About Fred Leise
Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer, Intuitect (software for website creators)
ContextualAnalysis, LLC
Specializing in metadata and controlled vocabulary development
www.contextualanalysis.com
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About Fred Leise
Recent Clients
Scripps Newspapers
Disney Studios
Harpo, Inc. (Oprah.com)
Dow Corning
Abbott Laboratories
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About Fred Leise
Freelance back-of-book indexer since 1995
Scholarly texts in the humanities
President, American Society for Indexing
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Goals for This Presentation
Introduce basic concepts and terminology about controlled vocabularies
(Feel free to ask questions or contribute examples at any time)
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Workshop Overview
Indexes vs. Controlled Vocabularies (CVs)
An Introduction to CVs
Using CVs
Facets
CV Development Methodology Overview
CV Governance and Maintenance
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Terminology Problem
Taxonomy
generally, any kind of controlled vocabulary
also a specific type of controlled vocabulary
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Indexes vs. CVs
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Indexes vs. CVs
Similarities
Concept identification
Term selection
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Indexes vs. CVs
Differences
Item Indexes CVs
End product index term list
Usecontent locator
content tagging, website navigation, search enhancement
Project time weeks months
Methodology reading research
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About Controlled Vocabularies
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H. Wellisch
A list of terms that may be used for indexing, produced by the operation of vocabulary control.
What areControlled Vocabularies?
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F. Leise:
A list of terms and term relationships designed to:
1. Collect similar information,
2. Assist content authors in consistently tagging content, and
What areControlled Vocabularies?
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F. Leise:
3. Enable users to find the information they need by translating their language into the language of the information store.
What areControlled Vocabularies?
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Equivalence (Synonyms)
Country = Nation
Chief of State = Prime Minister
Brunei = Sultanate of Brunei = Negara Brunei Darussalam = سلطنة
دارالسالم = بروناي برني
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Hierarchical Relationships
Whole/Part
Automobile
Air bags
Engine
Seats
Steering
Wheels
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Hierarchical Relationships
Instances
Buildings
Great Pyramid of Giza
Madison Square Garden
Petronas Towers
Sears Tower
Taipei 101
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Examples
operation/agent turning : lathes
occupation/person social work : social worker
causal dependence friction : wear
agent/counteragent pests : pesticides
concept/opposite tolerance : prejudice
concept/origin water : water wells
Associative Relationship
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Synonym Ring
Words with equivalent meanings (in a given context)
pound sterling = pound = quid
CD-ROM = CD = disk
chips = French fries
Houses of Parliament = Palace of Westminster
Types of CVs
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Authority File
Has all the features of a synonym ring, plus preferred terms (approved terms/keywords) for tagging content.
Types of CVs
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Authority File: Alphabeticalcommunity USE neighborhood
health and safety UF safety
levy USE tax
neighborhood UF community
parks UF recreation
rebate USE refund
recreation USE parks
refund UF rebate
safety USE health and safety
tax UF levy
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Authority File: Spreadsheet
Preferred Term Variant Terms
health and safety safety
neighborhood community
parks recreation
refund rebate
tax levy
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Taxonomy
Also called hierarchy
All features of authority files, plus:
Broader terms (BT)
Narrower terms (NT)
Types of CVs
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Taxonomy
All terms must be part of a hierarchical relationship (no orphan terms).
May be presented in indented (hierarchical) or alphabetical format.
Types of CVs
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total compensation . compensation . . base salary [salary]
. . deferred payments [deferred compensation] . . variable pay . benefits . . 401(k) plan . . health benefits . . . dental plan . . . disability insurance
Taxonomy Example (Indented)
401(k) plan BT benefits
base salary BT compensation UF salary
benefits BT total compensation NT 401(k) plan; health benefits
compensation BT total compensation NT base salary; deferred payments; variable pay
deferred compensation USE deferred payments
deferred payments BT compensation UF deferred compensation
dental plan BT health benefits
disability insurance BT health benefits
health benefits BT benefits NT dental plan; disability insurance
salary USE base salary
total compensation NT benefits; compensation
variable pay BT compensation
Taxonomy Example (Alpha List)
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Thesaurus (pl. thesauri)
All the features of taxonomies, plus the associative relationship of related terms (RT)
Types of CVs
Building Permits BT Permits
Business Licenses BT Licenses
Business Taxes BT Taxes
Fees BT Licenses, Permits & Taxes; RT Taxes
Licenses BT Licenses, Permits & Taxes; NT Business Licenses; RT Permits
Operating Permits BT Permits
Permits BT Licenses, Permits & Taxes; NT Building Permits, Operating Permits; RT Licenses
Taxes BT Licenses, Permits & Taxes; NT Business Taxes RT Fees
Thesaurus: Alphabetical
Thesaurus: Indented
Vocabulary Terms Related Terms
Licenses, Permits & Taxes
. Fees Taxes
. Licenses Permits
. . Business Licenses
. Permits Licenses
. . Building Permits
. . Operating Permits
. Taxes Fees
. . Business Taxes
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Synonym Ring
+ preferred terms
= Authority File
+ broader/narrower terms
= Taxonomy
+ related terms
= Thesaurus
Types of CVs—Summary
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International standards
ISO 2788:1986 Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of Monolingual Thesauri (BS 5723: 1987)
ISO 5964:1985 Guidelines for the Establishment and Development of Multilingual Thesauri (BS 6723: 1985)
www.iso.org; www.bsi-global.com/en
CV Construction Standards
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National standards
BS 8723-3:2007 Structured vocabularies for information retrieval. Guide. Vocabularies other than thesauri
BS 8723-2:2005 Structured vocabularies for information retrieval. Guide. Thesauri
www.bsi-global.com/en
CV Construction Standards
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Polyhierarchies
Terms live in multiple categories, have multiple parent/child relationships
Sultanates Countries
Audhali AlbaniaBrunei BruneiOman China
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Using Controlled Vocabularies
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Organizes content using CV terms as category labels
Represents vocabulary hierarchy by browsing levels
Navigation Taxonomy
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Level 1
Level 2
Level 3
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Offers options for expanding or reducing scope of search using broader or narrower terms
Differentiates between multiple meanings of terms
Search Enhancement
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CV Use: Search Results
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Synonym Ring
During search, when one of the words in a synonym ring is searched for, the search engine returns items containing any of the words in the ring.
“biscuit” = “cookies”
Search Enhancement
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Facets
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Facets
First introduced by S. J. Ranganathan in the early 1930s.
, Personality What is it?
; Matter What is it made of?
: Energy What action is it performing?
. Space Where is it?
‘ Time When is it?
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Facets
"research in the cure of tuberculosis of lungs by x-ray conducted in India in 1950"
L,45;421:6;253:f.44'N5
Components of this call number
Medicine,Lungs;Tuberculosis:Treatment;X-ray:Research.India'1950
P,P;M:E;M:E.S’T
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Fundamental categories by which an object or concept may be described
Example: facets describing a ball:
size, weight, shape, color, texture, material
What are some other possible facets describing this ball?
Facets
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Used for Browsing Hierarchies
Facets allow users to follow the path best matching the way they think.
Allows multiple paths to same information.
Example: epicurious.com > recipes > browse
Facets
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pcworld.co.uk Laptop Search
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alibris.co.uk Advanced Search
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Facets
Reference
Louise Spiteri, “A Simplified Model for Facet Analysis,” in Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science v23, 1-30 (April-July 1998).
Available at: http://iainstitute.org/pg/a_simplified_model_for_facet_analysis.php
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CV Maintenance
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CV Maintenance
Possible Taxonomy Changes
Add/delete facet
Modify facet label
Reorganize hierarchy
Add/delete taxonomy term
Revise taxonomy term
Add/delete related term relationships
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CV Maintenance
Change Control Process
Submit the changes for approval
Decide on changes to be made
SME validation?
Approve the changes
Edit the vocabulary file to make the changes
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CV Maintenance
Process for Submitting New Terms
Who submits proposed terms?
How are proposed terms submitted?
Who receives/processes term submissions?
Are provisional terms as part of tagging process allowed?
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Speed of Change
Facets
Hierarchy
Terms
Slowest
Fastest
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Impact of Change
Facets
Hierarchy
Terms
Most
Least
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CV Review
Establish regular reviews of all existing taxonomies
Frequency
Responsibility
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CV Ownership
Department/business unit responsible for taxonomy maintenance
Teams/individuals responsible for maintenance
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Resources
Fast, Karl, Mike Steckel and Fred Leise: series of articles on CVs and facets for BoxesandArrows.com
“Controlled Vocabularies: A Glosso-Thesaurus” available at:
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/ archives/controlled_vocabularies_a_ glossothesaurus.php
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Contact Information
Fred Leise
6530 N. Greenview Ave.
Chicago, IL 60626
773.791.2849
www.ContextualAnalysis.com
www.Intuitect.com