Centralized Taxonomy Management for Enterprise Information Systems

Centralized Taxonomy Management for Enterprise Information Systems Enterprise Search Summit Wednesday, September 24th, 2:00 pm – 2:30 pm Dow Jones Client Solutions ProQuest Synaptica Manager, Taxonomy Development [email_address] [email_address]

Dow Jones Taxonomy Solutions
Words
Dow Jones taxonomy licensing
Other taxonomy licensing (Taxonomy Warehouse)
Taxonomy customization
Taxonomy development
Expertise
Taxonomy Assessment
Taxonomy Consulting
Analysis
Recommendations
Implementation
Workshops
Tools
Synaptica:
Taxonomy / Metadata -- Management Tool

Some Definitions A taxonomy is a hierarchical topic structure to which information can be assigned through the dual processes of classification (filing to a location) and categorisation (tagging with relevant metadata ). A taxonomy provides browsable navigation and supports filtered search ing A thesaurus is a controlled vocabulary linking an organisation’s common language to its taxonomy structure. It accommodates synonyms, acronyms, language variants and other near equivalences. It also signposts non-hierarchical linkages within and across the taxonomy facets. A thesaurus is usually employed to interpret and guide user search queries An ontology is the working model of entities and interactions in a particular domain of knowledge or content set. It is a set of concepts - such as things, events, and relations - that are specified in some way in order to create an agreed-upon vocabulary for exchanging information. An ontology is increasingly used to visualise (or map) a set of search results and discover new or hidden connections

Classic taxonomy … groups things or concepts into families SIDEWAYS Traditional thesaurus … captures the different names of the family members and explores some more distant associations (cousins & close friends) Multi- Directional Emerging ontology … shows a network of multi-dimensional relationships and properties both within and outside the family groups UP DOWN

Telephones Is a broader term than Mobile Phones SIDEWAYS Mobile Phones AKA as Cell Phones & Hand Phones And Similar to Hand Held Devices & PDAs Multi- Directional Mobile Phones Are made by Phone Manufacturers And use the networks of Telecoms Service Providers UP DOWN

Metadata’s Evolutionary Path
Dictionaries & Flat Lists Hierarchical Taxonomies Controlled Vocabulary Thesauri Ontologies Structured Authority Files Metadata is evolving organically – the less complex metadata elements form the building blocks for creating the more complex structures

Portal navigation and browsable website menus
Conceptual access to large databases
Records management and cataloging
e-Commerce online product catalogues
Inventory control and de-duplication
Auto-classification of internal documents and email
Multilingual search and browse
Metasearch of enterprise-wide resources
Practical Applications

Centralized Taxonomy and Metadata Management As a centralized repository for multi-lingual semantic management that is: - Independent from systems like web-portal search and categorization systems - Scalable ; capable of evolving with emerging corporate semantic standards HTML CSV XML ZThes SKOS OWL Web Services Centralized Taxonomy Management System Synaptica ® Portals Portals Categorizers Portals Portals Search Engines Portals Portals Content Portals Multiple users working in collaborative and compartmentalized space P e r m i s s i o n s

Metadata can transcend information islands and data silos but only if the enterprise is committed to common standards
A centralized system that supports both collaboration and compartmentalization allows common metadata to be shared while also allowing user communities the independence to manage specialized metadata files
Why Centralized?

Enterprises are increasingly making use of multiple proprietary and open source software tools for categorization, search and portal tasks
While many of these tools support some level of metadata management the diversity of standards, data formats and business rules they support can actually result in exacerbating the data silo problem by creating metadata silos
Why Independent?

Where taxonomy fits with Search DMS CMS Shared Docs News & Research Data Search Engine Taxonomy & Metadata Platform Information Processing, Management and Storage

4 Good Reasons for Taxonomy Search Relevancy Search Completeness Search Federation Search Visualisation Effective Research/Risk Mitigation Knowledge Worker Productivity Discovery & Innovation Better & Faster Decisions

Improved Search Relevancy
Ambiguity of Language
Is a Blackberry a fruit or a handheld device?
By including this brand name in a taxonomy we can give context to the user search query
In a telecoms domain we can assume that the user means the latter and only return content tagged as such
Alternatively we can weight the results, promoting those documents about handheld devices above those that refer to the fruit
Either way the result is increased search precision which translates into time savings

2. Improved Search Completeness
Synonymous and Related Term Relationships
Mobile Phone (PT) = Cell Phone (NPT) = Hand Phone (NPT)
Mobile Phone is related to Hand Held Device (RT)
User Search Query = “Cell Phones”
The taxonomy simultaneously broadens the search and prioritises the returned results giving increased recall without compromising relevancy
Content tagged with Mobile Phone category are promoted over those not tagged using a weighting in the search algorithm
Content tagged with Hand Held Device category may also receive a weighting

3. Search federation and data integration
A snapshot or dashboard is often more desirable than a list of document titles or snippets, especially when looking for information on a customer, supplier or competitor
Also, information will most likely reside in a number of internal repositories, each with their own levels of metadata structure
Taxonomy allows the combination of news, internal CI reports, price plans, coverage data, market share data, share price etc. in one consolidated view by providing mappings or cross-walks
This is essentially applying business intelligence discipline to the world of unstructured information

4. Search Visualisation
The previous three scenarios assume the user knows what they are looking for
But what about serendipitous discovery?
By being able see across an aggregation of content and extract facts and relationships from deep within the information stores, true (and sometimes fortunate) discovery can take place

Document, Content & Records Management Synaptica ® Vocabulary & Metadata Management Thesauri Ontologies Filing & Storage Metadata Tagging (Categorisation) Process Search Engine Visualisation Navigation Intranet / Portal User Interface Back End Information Structure Front End Information Intelligence Librarians; Taxonomists; Indexers; Knowledge & Information Managers Information Creators; Records Managers; Content Managers; Librarians; Indexers Information Users (the business; the public) Taxonomies CIOs; CTOs; IT Architects

Paula R. McCoy Manager, Taxonomy Development ProQuest [email_address] Centralized Taxonomy Management for Enterprise Information Systems

Description of ProQuest Controlled
Vocabulary & Authority Files
Taxonomy Management -- Overview
Managing Terms Manually
Synaptica Thesaurus Management System
Topics of Discussion

Access to over 125 billion digital pages of content from magazine, trade, & scholarly publications, current & historical newspapers, original materials such as annual reports & civil war pamphlets, and daily wire feeds Subscription-based ProQuest® online information service available in academic and public libraries

ProQuest Controlled Vocabulary used to index
subjects; Authority Files used to index
company, geographic, personal, product names
CV applied to non-periodical & third-party
content via mapping, to allow cross-searching
of multiple DBs with one vocabulary

Created in 1970s for ABI/INFORM business database
Based on Library of Congress Subject Headings
Natural language, hierarchical vocabulary complying
with ANSI/NISO Standard Z39.19 (Guidelines for
the Construction, Format, and Management of
Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies)
ProQuest Controlled Vocabulary

ProQuest Controlled Vocabulary
Thesaurus subjects:
Business, economics & trade – 4300 terms Science, math & technology – 1600 terms Medicine – 1150 terms Humanities – 960 terms Government & policy – 850 terms Education – 400 terms
Merged with general reference vocabulary in 1980s
Major development effort in past 4 years to boost
science, education & medical terms

ProQuest CV: Statistics
Preferred terms: 11,046
Non-preferred terms: 5631
Scope Notes: 3194 (29%)
Cross-references (Broader,
Narrower, Related terms): 67,700
Terms added in 2007: 77
Terms added in 2008: 58+

Authority Files: Statistics
Corporate/Organization Names: 438,098
Names added in 2008: 5489
Personal Names: 416,239
Geographic (Location) Names: 34,331
Product Names: 38,210

The Taxonomy Manager’s Job
Add subject terms as dictated by new
concepts and new content to index
Maintain hierarchies & Scope Notes
Load updated Thesaurus to ProQuest interface
Manage authority files to maintain standards
& control file size

The Taxonomy Manager’s Job To ensure that indexers and searchers alike have access to a complete and accurate Thesaurus that they can use to maximize the discoverability of documents in ProQuest OBJECTIVE:

Sample Subject Term Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease SN: Any lung disease, such as chronic bronchitis or emphysema, causing obstruction of bronchial airflow UF COPD BT Disease BT Respiratory diseases NT Asthma NT Bronchitis NT Emphysema RT Airway management RT Lungs Preferred, or main term Scope note defining term and how it is used Non-preferred term: points to term used to index Terms broader in nature to main term: COPD is a disease, and specifically, a respiratory disease Terms narrower in nature to main term: these are chronic lung diseases Terms related to main term that might be used to narrow the search

New scientific content requiring a huge enhancement to vocabulary
Seven MS Word vocabulary documents—
English and foreign language (French, German,
Spanish)—printed for internal use only
Six authority files & 3 vocabulary files in Oracle
databases, requiring duplicate entry of subject
terms in Word and Oracle
Legacy editorial system in process of being
replaced
Managing Terms Manually

Thesaurus Management Systems Buying Criteria Thesaurus Management System: Requirements
Eliminate double entry
Improve editorial interface with vocabulary
Automate entry of reciprocal relationships

Life With Synaptica Word – Old, Bad  Synaptica – New, Good 

Adding Terms Today: 3 Easy Steps 2. Export report of new terms into Word 1. Enter term and relationships into Synaptica “ Item Details” window 3. Send Word document to editors

Improving Thesaurus Management Categories Feature

Subject Term Categories

CORP Names – Categories & Website

Foreign-Language Vocabularies Language Equivalents

Foreign-Language Vocabularies Life With Synaptica Spanish German French Spanish Alphabetical by language

Synaptica Updates
Synaptica version 6.0 released in early 2006
Synaptica version 7.0 is being implemented now:
Enhanced user interface
Semantic Web standardization (RDF, OWL, SKOS) and
Web Services integration
Expanded Reporting functionality
Enhanced adding and editing of term relationships
including “rapid-fire” simple drag-and-drop editing
Improved global term editing
Online help and user guides

Benefits of Synaptica
Greater awareness of thesaurus standards and
terminology, e.g.: “preferred” and “non-preferred”
instead of Use and Used For
Long-needed updating and improvement in term
hierarchies; ability to provide thesaurus statistics
Increase in Company name NPTs — from 1935 to
8952 today
Immediate responsiveness to indexer needs —
real-time term additions, esp. NPTs and SNs
Easier loading of updated Thesaurus on PQ interface

thank you!

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Centralized Taxonomy Management for Enterprise Information Systems

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