Introductory Review of Current Knowledge Organization Systems/Structures/Services (KOS) Marcia Lei Zeng Second International Seminar on Subject Access.

Introductory Review of Current Knowledge Organization Systems/Structures/Services (KOS)

Marcia Lei ZengSecond International Seminar on Subject Access to Information, Helsinki,Finland, 29-30 November 2007

M.L.Zeng @ ISSAI, Helsinki,2007 2

Purpose of this talk

• Introduce different types of knowledge organization systems/structures/services (KOS)

• Provide a common terminology and background


1. KOS overview (1)

Knowledge organization systems/structures/services (KOS) encompass all types of schemes for organizing information and promoting knowledge management. – (Gail Hodge, 2000)


1. KOS overview (2)

These systems • model the underlying semantic

structure of a domain, and• provide semantics, navigation,

and translation through labels, definitions, typing, relationships, and properties for concepts. – (Hill et al. 2002, Koch and Tudhope 2004).

A Taxonomy of KOS

Term Lists: Authority Files Synonym Rings

Classification &Categorization:

Subject Headings

Classification schemes TaxonomiesCategorization schemes

Relationship Models: Ontologies Semantic networksThesauri

Glossaries/Dictionaries Pick lists

GazetteersDirectories

Metadata-like Models:

Function

Structure


2. Fundamentals of KOS Approaches

• 2.1 Eliminating ambiguity • 2.2 Controlling synonyms or

equivalents• 2.3 Making explicit semantic

relationships– Hierarchical relationships– Hierarchical + other associate

relationships • 2.4 Presenting relationships as

well as properties of concepts


2.1 2.1 Eliminating ambiguityEliminating ambiguity

• Ambiguity: terms having the same spelling (homographs) that represent different concepts or meanings

• Ambiguity exists when a given term can be used to represent completely different concepts.

Ambiguity / Homographs

Source: Z39.19-2005, p.25


To eliminate ambiguity (1)

1. Adding a qualifier to a term -- one of the major methods

used by almost every type of KOS, especially lists of subject headings and thesauri.

• e.g., Mercury (automobile)


2. Providing a scope note-- another major method used

by almost every type of KOS, especially lists of subject headings, classifications, and thesauri.


Screenshot from MeSHhttp://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.htmlEntry: mercury


http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html



3. providing a context of a term


What are these?

• Flying Horse• King Fisher• Royal Challenge• Heineken• Budweiser• Miller-Lite• Bud-Light

Drinks• Flying Horse• King Fisher• Royal Challenge• Taj Mahal• Hayward’s 2000• Heineken• Corona• Budweiser• Miller-Lite• Bud-Light

Lists (Picklists)

A type of controlled vocabulary induced in NISO Z39.19 Standard


• ListsLists are used to describe aspects of content objects or entities that have a limited number of possibilities.

• Examples include: – geography (e.g., country, state, city), – language (e.g., English, French, Swedish),– format (e.g., text, image, sound), or– … …


Lists can be used effectively for both browsing and searching.

• In browsingbrowsing, items are directly accessed when the list of terms is reviewed and one term is selected


Source: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genome/guide/human/resources.shtml


• In searchingsearching, a list may be used to access content in a single term search, or the terms from the list may be used to limit a retrieved set by another attribute of interest for the user (one or more terms in the search).


Source: Google’s advanced search http://www.google.com

pick lists

Waterford County Image Archivehttp://www.waterfordcountyimages.org


Waterford County Image Archivehttp://www.waterfordcountyimages.org


List - Definition, Purpose, and Uses

• A list (also called a pick list) is a limited set of terms arranged as a simple alphabetical list or in some other logically evident way. – A list is a series of terms in

some sequential order. – Terms can be ordered

alphabetically, chronologically, numerically, etc.

Exercise: Which list is better?


• The defining characteristics of a list are that the terms:· are all members of the same

set or class of items (e.g., countries, products)

· are not overlapping in meaning

· are equal in terms of specificity (granularity)


Typical applications

• Lists are frequently used to display small sets of terms that are to be used for quite narrowly defined purposes such as a web pull-down list or list of menu choices.



• 2.1 Eliminating ambiguity

• 2.2 Controlling 2.2 Controlling synonymssynonyms or equivalents or equivalents

• 2.3 Making explicit semantic relationships– Hierarchical relationships– hierarchical + other associate

relationships

• 2.4 Presenting relationships as well as properties of concepts


2.2 Controlling synonyms 2.2 Controlling synonyms or equivalentsor equivalents• Synonyms: terms with the

same or similar meanings1. True synonyms (unusual)

– mean exactly the same thing and are used in precisely the same context

2. Near synonyms (most common)


1. True Synonyms• common and technical names

– salt vs. sodium chloride

• changes in usage of terms over time– electronic calculating machines vs.

computers

• in different languages– eyeglasses, spectacles, glasses

• acronyms– BBC, British Broadcasting

Company; MPG, miles per gallon

• variant spellings: – cancelled, canceled; honor, honour


2. Near Synonyms

• Same stem– computing, computers,

computed, microcomputers, supercomputers

• Overlapping concepts– medicine, drugs – fired, laid off – forest, woods– arid, dry

• General and specific termsCoffee– Double Espresso– Latte– Cappuccino– Short Black – Macchiato– Flat White– etc.


Synonymy

Source: Z39.19-2005, p.25


• Each distinct concept should refer to a unique linguistic form.

• Information or content that is provided to a user should not spread across the system under multiple access points, but should be gathered together in one place.

… … 150 World War, 1939-1945 450 European War, 1939-1945 450 Second World War, 1939-

1945 450 World War 2, 1939-1945 450 World War II, 1939-1945 450 World War Two, 1939-1945

Source: FAST: Faceted Application of Subject Terminologyhttp://fast.oclc.org/

Controlling synonyms: there will only be one term used to represent a given concept or entity.

or:

World War, 1939-1945 UF European War, 1939-1945 UF Second World War, 1939-1945 UF World War 2, 1939-1945 UF World War II, 1939-1945 UF World War Two, 1939-1945

European War, 1939-1945USE World War, 1939-1945

Second World War, 1939-1945USE World War, 1939-1945

World War 2, 1939-1945USE World War, 1939-1945

World War II, 1939-1945USE World War, 1939-1945

World War Two, 1939-1945USE World War, 1939-1945

Authority File

Thesaurus

http://fast.oclc.org/




Source: Art and Architecture Thesaurus (AAT)


Source: Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)

Synonym Rings

A type of controlled vocabulary induced in NISO Z39.19 Standard

astronaut

spaceman cosmonaut

spationaut taikonaut

A synonym ring connects a set of words that are defined as equivalent for retrieval.

An example from International SEMATECH.

A search for Silicon would look like this:

Your search was submitted as “CILICON” or “SI”


Synonym Rings are used--• to expand queries for content

objects – If a user enters any one of these terms as

a query to the system, all items are retrieved that contain any of the terms in the cluster.

• in systems where the underlying content objects are left in their unstructured natural language format – The control is achieved through the

interface by drawing together similar terms to these clusters.

• in conjunction with search engines

Poverty mitigation

Poverty alleviation

Poverty elimination

Poverty reducation

Poverty eradication

Poverty abatement

Poverty prevention

Poverty reduction

Rings can include all kinds of synonyms - true, misspellings, predecessors, abbreviations

Source: Bedford, 2006 ppt.


Exercise

• Find synonyms of this type of object:



• 2.1 Eliminating ambiguity • 2.2 Controlling synonyms or

equivalents

• 2.3 Making explicit 2.3 Making explicit semantic semantic relationshipsrelationships– Hierarchical relationshipsHierarchical relationships– hierarchical + other hierarchical + other

associate relationships associate relationships • 2.4 Presenting relationships as

well as properties of concepts


2.3 Making explicit semantic 2.3 Making explicit semantic relationships – relationships – Hierarchical relationshipsHierarchical relationships

Birds Cardinals Doves Robins Wrens

All specific names of birds are kinds of birds.

Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia

Subclass: Anapsida Order: Testudines

Suborder: Cryptodira Family: Dermochelyidae

Genus: Dermochelys Species: Dermochelys coriacea

(Leatherback turtle)

Scientific Taxonomy An example: Leatherback turtle


superordinate classes (e.g., parents). coordinate classes (e.g., siblings)

. . subordinate classes (e.g., children). . subordinate classes

. coordinate classes . coordinate classes

. . subordinate classes

relationship types: generic, instance, and whole-part

Classifications



Part / WholeCause / EffectProcess / AgentAction / ProductAction / PatientConcept or Thing /

PropertiesConcept or Thing / OriginsThing or Action / Counter-

agentRaw material / ProductAction / Property

Antonyms

Bicycle / Bicycle WheelAccident / InjuryVelocity measurement /

SpeedometerWriting / PublicationTeaching / StudentSteel alloy / Corrosion resistanceWater / WellPest / PesticideGrapes / WineCommunication / Communication

skillsSingle people / Married people

Relationship Example

2.3 Making explicit semantic relationships – 2.3 Making explicit semantic relationships – Associative relationships (not hierarchical)Associative relationships (not hierarchical)



Source: Z39.19-2005, p.29

KOS in Use at World Bank

• Topic Thesaurus (500,000+ English terms, French and Spanish language versions in progress now)

• Topic Classification Scheme (30 top classes, 700+ subtopics, 300+ subsubtopics)

• Business Function Thesaurus (50,000 terms and growing)

• Business Function Classification Scheme (5 business areas, 30 lines of business, 300+ business processes)

• Country-Region classification scheme (6 regions, ca. 200 countries)

• Content Type Classification Scheme (8 content types, 300+ secondary content types – in refinement now)

• Media-Format Classification Scheme

• Country Name Authority Control (synonym, predecessor, successor sources)

• Edition Statements Authority Control

• Publisher Name Authority Control

• Organization Authority Control

• Language Authority Control

• Series Name/Collection Title Authority Control

• Translation Type Authority ControlSource: Bedford, 2007, ASIST


Pick lists Hierarchical taxonomy

Synonym Rings

Synonym Rings

Vision of An Enterprise Advanced Search

Source: Revised based on Bedford, 2006 ppt.


Synonym Rings

Thesaurus

Metadata

Source: Revised based on Bedford, 2006 ppt.

2. Fundamentals of KOS Approaches• 2.1 Eliminating ambiguity • 2.2 Controlling synonyms

or equivalents• 2.3 Making explicit

semantic relationships– Hierarchical relationships– hierarchical + other associate

relationships

• 2.4 Presenting 2.4 Presenting relationshipsrelationships as well as as well as propertiesproperties of concepts of concepts


2.4 Presenting relationships as well as properties of concepts• Entity types• Relationship types• Properties


Semantic networks

organize sets of terms representing concepts, modeled as the nodes in a network of variable relationship types.


UMLS Semantic Network

135 Semantic Types (link) and 54 Semantic Relation Types (link)

Source: Noy, N. F. and Tu, S.W. (2003).

Ontologies

Classes

attributes

instances




The Graph view of relations


A Taxonomy of KOS © 2007 Zeng

Ontologies Semantic networks

Thesauri

Glossaries/Dictionaries Pick lists

xxxxxpresenting properties

xxxxxxxxxestablishing relationships: associative

xxxxxxx xxxxestablishing relationships: hierarchical

xxxxxxxxx xxxxxxcontrolling synonyms

xxxxxxxxx xxxxxeliminating ambiguity

establishing

x establishing

xx

xx

function

Two-dimensions

Term Lists: Synonym RingsFlat

structure

Classification &Categorization:

Subject Headings

Classification schemesTaxonomies

Categorization schemes

Relationship Models:

GazetteersDirectories

Authority Files

Metadata -like Models:

Multiple dimensions

Maj

or fu

nctio

ns


Networked KOS NKOS

• KOS are not used in isolation;• KOS may be used, re-used, and re-

purposed in web-based services; • KOS are used for:

– organizing, indexing, cataloging, and searching, AND

– learning, knowledge modeling, reasoning, etc.

• NKOS need to be machine-processable, machine-understandable– (more to discuss later today)


References

• Hodge, Gail (2000). Systems of Knowledge Organization for Digital Libraries: Beyond Traditional Authority Files. Washington, DC: Council on Library and Information Resources. http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub91/contents.html http://www.clir.org/pubs/reports/pub91/pub91.pdf

• Hill, Linda, Buchel, Olha, Janee, Greg, and Zeng, Marcia L. 2002. Integration of knowledge organization systems into digital library architectures: In: Mai, Jens-Erik, et al. ed.: Advances of classification research, volume 13, proceedings of the 13th ASIST SIG/CR Workshop, 17 November 2002 Philadelphia PA, pp. 62-68.

• Koch, Traugott and Tudhope, Douglas. 2004. User-centred approaches to Networked Knowledge Organization Systems/Services (NKOS): Background. http://www2.db.dk/nkos-workshop/#Background

Introductory Review of Current Knowledge Organization Systems/Structures/Services (KOS) Marcia Lei Zeng Second International Seminar on Subject Access.

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