Using a Taxonomy for Your Database or Website: A Look Behind the Scenes

The following article appears in the June/July 2013 issue of the Bulletin of the Association for Information Science and Technology. 

Title

Using a Taxonomy for Your Database or Website: A Look Behind the Scenes

Author

Marjorie M.K. Hlava

Source

Bulletin of the Association for Information Science and Technology
June/July 2013
Vol 39, No. 5 

Summary

Peering behind the screen of a database orwebsite reveals the methods and benefits of incorporating a taxonomy. A digital taxonomy file contains terms, term recordswith details of relationships and a hierarchical structure. The terms are used to categorize content and apply as metanames describing website content items. Digging deeper, the taxonomy terms are stored and associated with a relational database management system, objectoriented database or XML-based database system. Taxonomy terms can be presented to the end user in a browsable format along with term record details for additional guidance. Captured in the inverted index of search software, the terms promote findability and search success. Documents with taxonomy terms attached can be accurately retrieved regardless ofwhere they are held, and terms can be repurposed as site labels and points of association between internal content items.

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