Taxonomy

=Taxomony (Topic Selection) (GWU EMSE 216-8000)=

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Taxomony may not be a great topic for this wiki. Where also seems to be a problem. But, the author feels that more on Taxomonies might be useful so is capturing the information here.

"**Taxonomy** is the practice and science of classification." - [|Wikipedia] [1]
 * "[|Biological classification] (sometimes known as "[|Linnaean taxonomy]") is still generally the best known form of taxonomy." - [|Wikipedia] [1]
 * Taxonomies are traditionally and most commonly viewed as parent-child hierarchies. (Intepreting [|Wikipedia][1])
 * "A taxonomy might also be a simple organization of kinds of things into groups, or even an alphabetical list. However, the term vocabulary is more appropriate for such a list." - [|Wikipedia][1])
 * "The term taxonomy is sometimes applied to relationship schemes other than parent-child hierarchies, such as [|network structures] with other types of relationships." - [|Wikipedia][1]

This author believes that in today's web-to-be-dominated information world, taxomonies and ontologies get mixed up. Also while an ontology is "Traditionally listed as a part of the major branch of philosophy known as [|metaphysics], ontology deals with questions concerning what [|entities] exist or can be said to exist, and how such entities can be grouped, related within a [|hierarchy], and subdivided according to similarities and differences." ([|Wikipedia] [2]) In recent webinar's and discussions with people, ontologies have been categorized has web categorization tools. (Wikipedia remaps Ontology mapping to Semantic integration and mentions QWL languages). While the author clearly remembers a web site that discussed a type of taxonomy that had nodes with multiple upward connections, the author has been repeatedly and definitively told that non-strict parent-child types of relationship are ontologies, not a taxomonies.

"In current usage within [|Knowledge Management], taxonomies are considered narrower than [|ontologies] since ontologies apply a larger variety of relation types." - [|Wikipedia][1]

There may be misconceptions about taxnomies and ontologiues and the use of them and those terms should be well clarified.

"**Alpha taxonomy** is the [|science] of finding, describing and naming [|species] of living or [|fossil] [|organisms].[|[1]] The term "alpha" refers to alpha taxonomy being the first and most basic step in [|taxonomy]." - [|Wikipedia] [5]

"Mathematically, a hierarchical taxonomy is a [|tree structure] of classifications for a given set of objects. It is also named [|Containment hierarchy]. At the top of this structure is a single classification, the root node, that applies to all objects. Nodes below this root are more specific classifications that apply to subsets of the total set of classified objects. The progress of reasoning proceeds from the general to the more specific. In scientific taxonomies, a conflative term is always a [|polyseme].

"In contrast, in a context of legal terminology, an open-ended contextual taxonomy—a taxonomy holding only with respect to a specific context. In scenarios taken from the legal domain, a formal account of the open-texture of legal terms is modeled, which suggests varying notions of the "core" and "penumbra" of the meanings of a concept. The progress of reasoning proceeds from the specific to the more general." - [|Wikipedia][1]


 * Ontology **
 * "In [|computer science] and [|information science], an **ontology** is a formal representation of knowledge as a set of concepts within a [|domain], and the relationships between those concepts. It is used to [|reason] about the entities within that domain, and may be used to describe the domain." - [|Wikipedia] [3]
 * "**Ontology engineering** in [|computer science] and [|information science] is a new field, which studies the methods and methodologies for building [|ontologies]: formal representations of a set of concepts within a domain and the relationships between those concepts. A large scale representation of abstract concepts such as actions, time, physical objects and beliefs would be an example of ontological engineering." - [|Wikipeida] [4]

Ontologies have a lot more complex relationship information than (traditional) taxomonies. "Originally //taxonomy// referred only to the classifying of organisms (now sometimes known as [|alpha taxonomy]) or a particular classification of organisms. It is also used to refer a classification of **things** or **concepts**, as well as to the //principles// underlying such a classification." - [|Wikipedia][1]


 * Sources**
 * 1) Taxonomy. (2011, January 26). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 15:19, February 13, 2011, from []
 * 2) Ontology. (2011, February 11). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 15:19, February 13, 2011, from []
 * 3) Ontology (information science). (2011, February 12). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 15:32, February 13, 2011, from []
 * 4) Ontology engineering. (2011, February 8). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 15:32, February 13, 2011, from []
 * 5) Alpha taxonomy. (2011, February 10). In //Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia//. Retrieved 15:36, February 13, 2011, from []

Contributors: Sisson