1	Taxonomies and Metadata for Information Architecture Alice Redmond-Neal Thesaurus Development Manager Access Innovations, Inc. - Booth 217 ared@accessinn.com Internet Librarian 2005
2	What we’ll cover Key definitions Taxonomies, metadata, information architecture How taxonomies and metadata influence information architecture Using taxonomies to enhance retrieval
3	Key points A taxonomy provides both a browsable outline and descriptive metadata. Metadata provide efficient searchable handles for content. Taxonomy-based subject metadata yields the most precise retrieval. Taxonomy is the basis for Information architecture. Information architecture that takes full advantage of taxonomy and subject metadata supports findability.
4	What’s a taxonomy? Words Controlled vocabulary for a subject area Descriptive labels Hierarchy Simple hierarchical view of a thesaurus Knowledge organization system Storage and retrieval aid
5	Info retrieval starts with a knowledge organization system Uncontrolled list Name authority file Synonym set/ring Controlled vocabulary Taxonomy Thesaurus Ontology Semantic network
6	Structure of controlled vocabularies
7	Taxonomy? Thesaurus? Often used interchangeably Thesaurus is a taxonomy with extras Related Terms Nonpreferred Terms (USE/Used for) Scope Notes more Use the word your audience understands Avoid confusion with Roget’s thesaurus
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9	Basic taxonomy / thesaurus features Hierarchy structure Broader Terms = more general concepts Narrower Terms = more specific concepts Related Terms = conceptual cousins Term equivalents Facets Scope notes Other elements as needed
10	Perspectives on taxonomies Taxonomist (aka Lexicographer, Thesaurus builder) Indexer Information architect Searcher Each has a different view and need for words in retrieving information. Each need relates to using a taxonomy for indexing / categorizing content.
11	Taxonomies for information retrieval online Conceptual framework for web content – reflects organization of knowledge in a domain Foundation for information architecture Term records contain valuable info Often 3 levels deep – depends on domain May be displayed in full or part, modified, or hidden
12	Taxonomy display depends on purpose Descriptive taxonomy Includes term variants, synonyms, nonpreferred terms Query term expansion links synonyms to valid taxonomy term Supports discovery through hierarchy, Related Terms Used primarily at indexing stage of content mgmt workflow to categorize documents Navigational taxonomy Reflects user’s mental model Reflects user’s vernacular Supports discovery through browsing May be modified version of full taxonomy
13	"Taxonomy" Taxonomy provides a way to describe the content -- the basis for subject metadata Metadata provide a way for that description to be captured for a website
14	What’s metadata? “When it comes to definitions, metadata is a slippery fish.” Data about data Tags used to describe documents, pages, images, software, video and audio files, and other content objects for the purposes of improved navigation and retrieval Finding tool Keywords not displayed to the viewer but available to search engines Viewable in HTML keyword meta tag field of most web sites
15	Data about data - like what? Title Author name Date of creation Language used in the creation Publisher Subject of the creation Keywords... our focus re: taxonomies Other stuff, depending on need
16	How does metadata work? Search engine / web crawler looks at the HTML header on a web page View à Page source Subject Metadata is one part of the HTML header <META NAME="KEYWORDS" CONTENT= … >
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19	Taxonomy terms as metadata Most precise topic identifiers – 100% relevant Searchable as metadata Gives more precise results than free text search – if you know what you’re looking for Prevents hit on random occurrence of your query word
20	What’s Information Architecture? The art and science of structuring and classifying web sites and intranets to help people find and manage information
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22	What’s an Information Architect?
23	What IA is not Graphic / visual design Software development Content management Knowledge management Coding (HTML, etc.) Usability engineering Library science
24	Information Architecture – major components Taxonomies Metadata Organization Search Labeling Navigation
25	1–Taxonomies aid site organization Taxonomy provides Framework for content organization Hierarchical outline of your content by subject categories Basis for faceted browsing
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27	Value of Category search Searchers find info 50% faster using browsable categories than using list returned from free text search Results even stronger when results not in top 20 returns Searchers prefer browsable category search Chen, H., and Dumais, S.
28	MediaSleuth – displaying taxonomy categories improves IA MediaSleuth is: Online source of educational media Videos, software, audio, etc. Over 96,000 products, nearly 64,000 titles Based on NICEM database (National Information Center for Educational Media)
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33	Taxonomy terms on documents help sort and organize the content M.A.I. suggests the correct terms from the taxonomy as descriptors M.A.I. rulebase recognizes term equivalents germs à Microorganisms vaccin* à Pharmaceutical drugs
34	Taxonomy descriptors become subject metadata Selected descriptors are XML-tagged and stored with document Descriptors available as webpage metadata Metatags enable precise document retrieval Term equivalence enables query expansion in search (coming)
35	Search: body growth 1,100 document sample Category search results 3 hits Complete database Free text search 8 hits — some irrelevant Free text search on titles 6 hits — limited recall Search by taxonomy descriptor (AKA category) 470 hits 100% relevant 100% recall
36	Sidebar: Recall, Precision, and Relevance
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41	Facets offer finer organization Add details about any term Pre-established aspects that pertain to each item Cross-cut a taxonomic hierarchy Basis for fine-tuning search results Market group / audience Price Color Size range Source / company Other attributes, varying by domain and need
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44	Alternative ways to display content organization Alphabetically Chronologically Geographically Permuted list of taxonomy terms Content management system management system, Content system, Content management
45	2–Taxonomies aid search Taxonomy provides Authority terms of a controlled vocabulary Synonyms and other alternative expressions Typos (lathes, laiths, laths, layth…) Obsolete names (Cooper’s plane / Lamb’s tongue) à Query expansion
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53	3–Taxonomies aid labeling Taxonomy provides Basis for labels on site/portal Concepts that can be re-worded for audience
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55	Adapt taxonomy terms for labeling What words do users use? Gather variants from Search logs User focus groups Subject matter experts Tailor site/portal labels to typical users Include variants as Nonpreferred terms (USE/Used for equivalents) in taxonomy M.A.I. can also capture variants as rules without formalizing them as Nonpreferred terms
56	4–Taxonomies aid navigation Taxonomy provides Major categories Expansion to Narrower Terms Additional term information
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59	Integrate taxonomy to enhance findability Browsable categories of a directory Browsable faceted navigation Smart search for term equivalents Taxonomy terms (original or modified) as labels Navigation aids incorporate taxonomy terms and relationships
60	Use software tools to support IA Thesaurus creation / management tools ANSI/NISO standards compliant Support features you need Customizable fields Import ability Categorization tools Human / automatic / hybrid categorizer Content management systems
61	"Foundation of information" Foundation of information architecture Source of subject metadata Path to portal usability
62	Recap Taxonomies and metadata are cornerstones of information architecture Taxonomies are the basis for content organization Taxonomies provide a browsable outline of your content Subject metadata using taxonomy terms yield 100% relevant retrieval Taxonomies are the basis for search, labeling, and navigation in information architecture Tools that recognize synonyms (query expansion) improve taxonomy implementation
63	References Aitchison, J., Gilchrist, A., and Bawden, D. Thesaurus Construction and Use: A Practical Manual (4^th edition). Aslib, 2000 Chen, H., Dumais, S., Bringing order to the web: automatically categorizing search results. Proceedings of the ACM SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI'00), ACM (2000) 145-152. Rosenfeld, L., and Morville, P. Information Architecture for the World Wide Web. O'Reilly, 1998. Sullivan, D., Proven Portals: Best Practices for Planning, Designing, and Developing Enterprise Portals. Addison Wesley, 2003
64	Thank you! Questions?