Re: definition of terms

In message <[email protected]> on Thu, 25 Nov 2004, Umesh
Persad <[email protected]> wrote
>
>Dear List members,
> I would like to find out your definition of the following
>terms and how they are diferent:
>
>Classification and Characterisation
>Facet and Dimension
>
>Are they the same or are they diferent?
>
>Thank you very much,
>Umesh

As different people use terms such as these to mean different things,
confusion often arises. I am a member of a working party drafting a new
standard to replace the current British Standard for thesaurus
construction, BS5723, which is identical to the international standard
ISO 2788. In our draft we recommend various definitions; we do not claim
that these are "correct" and that other meanings are "wrong", but we
consider that it would be helpful if everyone used the same words with
the same meaning.

The definitions in the draft include the following:

================= Start of definitions ==================
array
= group of sibling terms

EXAMPLE In the following, outerwear and underwear are sibling terms in
the same array.

clothing
    outerwear
        overcoats
    underwear
------------------------------------------------------
characteristic of division
= attribute by which a concept can be subdivided into an array of
narrower concepts each having a distinct value of that attribute

EXAMPLE In the following, "age group" is the characteristic by which the
concept of "people" is divided.

people
    (people by age group)
    children
    youths
    adults
------------------------------------------------------
classification
= grouping together of similar or related things and the separation of
dissimilar or unrelated things and the arrangement of the resulting
groups in a logical and helpful sequence
------------------------------------------------------
facet
= high-level grouping of concepts of the same inherent category

NOTE Examples of categories that may be used for grouping concepts into
facets are: activities, disciplines, people, materials, living
organisms, objects, places and times.

EXAMPLE 1 Animals, mice, daffodils and bacteria could all be members of
a living organisms facet.

EXAMPLE 2 Digging, writing and cooking could all be members of an
activities facet.

EXAMPLE 3 Paris, the United Kingdom and the Alps could all be members of
a places facet.
------------------------------------------------------
faceted classification scheme
= classification scheme in which subjects are analysed into their
constituent facets

NOTE Separate schedules are compiled for each facet, and terms from
these may be combined according to prescribed rules to express a
compound subject.
------------------------------------------------------
node label
= label inserted into a hierarchical or classified display to show how
the terms have been arranged

NOTE A node label contains one of two different types of information:
either a) the name of a facet to which following terms belong; or b) the
attribute or characteristic of division by which an array of sibling
terms has been sorted or grouped.
------------------------------------------------------
sibling term
= one of two or more terms with the same immediate broader term

EXAMPLE In the following, "outerwear" and "underwear" are sibling terms
in the same array.

clothing
    outerwear
        overcoats
    underwear

==================== End of definitions ========================

I hope that these will make it clear what we mean by "classification"
and "facet". Note that in some literature the thing that we call a
"facet" is called a "fundamental facet" and the thing that we call an
"array" is called a "subfacet". I think that using the term "facet" for
both of these is misleading, because they are of quite different
natures.

I don't know how to interpret the word "dimension" that you ask about,
as it depends on context, but I suspect that it may sometimes be used to
refer to an array grouped by some specified characteristic of division,
such as "wines by colour". I would not use the expression "dimension"
for this.

I also don't know how to interpret "characterisation". It might mean
specification of attributes or characteristics, but again it depends on
context.

Another term sometimes found is "categorisation", which I think
generally means a form of broad or loose classification, but I don't
have a definitive definition for it.

I hope that this is of some help.

Best wishes

Leonard Will

-- 
Willpower Information       (Partners: Dr Leonard D Will, Sheena E Will)
Information Management Consultants              Tel: +44 (0)20 8372 0092
27 Calshot Way, Enfield, Middlesex EN2 7BQ, UK. Fax: +44 (0)870 051 7276
[email protected]               [email protected]
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