NOTE: Changed canine nutrition and canine commercial ...



Thesaurus Design: Domestic Animals

LIBR 247

March 17, 2007

Jeanette Braun

Heather Fucinari

Freda Lin

1. Introduction

This thesaurus provides a controlled vocabulary for indexing articles about domestic animals. The current scope is somewhat limited by the small pool of articles from which the terms were drawn, but we have tried to allow for growth as much as possible. We hope that in the large scheme, once the thesaurus is expanded, our chosen vocabulary terms will facilitate consistency among documents from a searcher’s standpoint. With our smaller vocabulary list, many of the topics are a bit broader than they would be if we had a more comprehensive thesaurus.

Our user model includes pet owners, animal hobbyists, individuals involved in animal businesses and organizations, and other members of the general public who are interested in animals. This thesaurus is not intended to be used for scholarly or scientific purposes, so we have endeavored to choose more colloquial terms such as “dog” over more scientific terms such as “canine.”

This thesaurus is semantically linked, allowing for equivalent, hierarchical, and associative relationships. Generic, instance, and whole/part hierarchical relationships are all permissable, but polyhierarchies are not allowed. Scope notes are included to guide the user in the meaning and application of certain terms.

Authorized terms are in bold, entry terms are in italics, and node labels in are in brackets. The following abbreviations are used in this thesaurus:

SN stands for SCOPE NOTE, which defines a term and provides rules for applying it.

U stands for USE, leading from an entry term to an authorized term.

UF stands for USED FOR, leading from an authorized term to an entry term.

BT stands for BROADER TERM, indicating a term that is one level broader in the hierarchy.

NT stands for NARROWER TERM, indicating a term that is one level narrower in the hierarchy.

RT stands for RELATED TERM, indicating an associative relationship between two terms.

2. Alphabetical display

age groups

BT population groups

NT children

NT older adults

analysis

U evaluation methods

animal behavior

BT behavior

NT instinct

animal care

SN animal care covers feeding, grooming, housing, transporting, and generally providing for the health and well-being of the animal. For articles that focus on a specific aspect or aspects of animal care, use the appropriate narrower term.

UF animal husbandry

NT animal feeding

NT animal grooming

NT animal housing

NT animal transportation

RT supplies

animal care occupations

BT occupations

NT breeders

NT farriers

NT veterinarians

RT foaling

RT shoeing

RT sliding

animal equipment

BT equipment

animal feeding

BT animal care

animal food

BT food

NT dog foods

animal grooming

BT animal care

animal health

BT animal health and safety

RT animal injury

animal health and safety

BT health and safety

NT animal health

NT animal safety

animal housing

BT animal care

[kinds of animal housing]

NT aquariums

NT barns

[parts of animal housing]

NT lighting

RT ecosystems

animal-human bond

U human and animal relations

animal husbandry

U animal care

animal injury

BT injuries

RT animal health

animal observation

SN the activity of observing animal behavior both in captivity and in the wild

BT skills and activities

animal safety

UF kitten proofing

BT animal health and safety

animal training

BT skills and activities

animal transportation

BT animal care

Animal Transportation Association

BT non-profit organizations

animals

BT organisms

[by age]

NT newborns

[by function]

NT pets

[by habitat]

NT domestic

NT wild

NT invertebrates

NT vertebrates

antioxidants

BT food

Appaloosa Horse Club

BT member organizations

aquaria

U aquariums

aquariums

UF aquaria

BT animal housing

NT reef aquariums

Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

UF Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake, Lampropeltis Pyromelana

Arkansas State Horse Show Association

BT member organizations

RT horse show

associations

U organizations

barns

UF stables

behavior

BT life sciences

NT animal behavior

birds

BT vertebrates

NT parrots

bonding, human-animal

U human and animal relations

breeders

BT animal care occupations

RT foaling

business issues

NT profitability

RT businesses

businesses

BT commercial organizations

NT small businesses

RT business issues

camping

BT skills and activities

canine

U dogs

captive

U domestic

cat scratch fever

BT human diseases

cats

UF feline

BT mammals

NT kittens

children

SN aged birth through approximately 12 years

BT age groups

clams

BT mollusks

cockatoos

BT parrots

NT goffins

NT umbrellas

coelenterates

SN A group of primitive aquatic animals that includes jellyfish, corals, and sea anemones.

BT invertebrates

NT corals

Colorado

BT United States

commercial organizations

BT organizations

NT businesses

companionship

BT human and animal relations

competitions

BT events

NT horse shows

NT open shows

conferences

UF workshops

BT events

NT training seminars

cooking standards and guidelines

BT standards and guidelines

NT recipes

coral photobiology

BT photobiology

corals

BT coelenterates

crustaceans

BT invertebrates

NT crayfish

NT shrimp

crawdads

U crayfish

crawfish

U crayfish

crayfish

UF crawdads, crawfish

BT crustaceans

disabilities

SN physical, mental, or sensory impairments that render major life activities more difficult. Use a more specific term if possible.

NT diseases

NT injuries

diseases

BT disabilities

NT human diseases

dog foods

BT animal food

NT home cooked dog foods

dogs

UF canine

BT mammals

domestic

UF captive

BT animals

ecosystems

BT life sciences

NT freshwater

RT animal housing

environmental controls

SN elements of a controlled environment such as temperature and light levels. Use a more specific term if possible.

NT light levels

equestrianism

U horseback riding

equine

U horses

equipment

BT supplies

NT animal equipment

NT safety equipment

equitation

U horseback riding

evaluation methods

SN Objective or subjective procedures used to obtain and organize information for appraisal in relation to stated objectives, standards, or criteria

UF analysis

BT methods

events

NT competitions

NT conferences

excursions

BT skills and activities

family

BT population groups

farriers

SN people who shoe horses

BT animal care occupations

RT shoeing

feline

U cats

fire safety

BT safety

fish

BT vertebrates

NT reef fish

foaling

BT skills and activities

RT breeders

food

BT supplies

[kinds of food]

NT animal food

[parts of food]

NT ingredients

NT antioxidants

RT nutrition

RT recipes

goffins

BT cockatoos

governmental organizations

BT organizations

NT IRS

groups

NT population groups

guidelines

U standards and guidelines

health and safety

SN Physical and mental well-being

NT animal health and safety

NT human health and safety

NT safety

RT disabilities

health sciences

BT sciences

NT nutrition

home cooked dog foods

BT dog foods

horse shows

BT competitions

horseback riding

SN The activity of riding horses

UF equestrianism, equitation

BT skills and activities

RT horsemanship

RT horses

horsemanship

SN Ability to ride and handle a horse well

BT skills and activities

RT horseback riding

RT horses

horses

UF equine

BT mammals

RT horseback riding

RT horsemanship

human and animal learning

SN Emphasis on cognition and behavior, on teaching and learning processes

BT psychology and behavior

NT human learning

human and animal relations

UF animal human bond, animal-human bond, animal human relations, animal-human relations, animal human relationships, animal-human relationships, bonding, human-animal, human animal bond, human-animal bond, human-animal interactions, human animal relations, human-animal relations, human animal relationships, human-animal relationships

BT psychology and behavior

NT companionship

human-animal bond

U human and animal relations

human diseases

BT diseases

NT cat scratch fever

RT human health

human health

BT human health and safety

RT human diseases

human health and safety

BT health and safety

NT human health

human learning

BT human and animal learning

NT instruction

NT skills development

iguanas

BT lizards

ingredients

BT food

injuries

BT disabilities

NT animal injury

RT safety

instinct

BT animal behavior

NT pack leadership

NT plucking

NT scratching

NT territoriality

instruction

BT training

RT teaching methods

Internal Revenue Service

U IRS

invertebrates

BT animals

NT coelenterates

NT crustaceans

NT mollusks

IRS

UF Internal Revenue Service

BT governmental organizations

NT taxation

kitten proofing

U animal safety

kittens

BT cats

Lampropeltis Pyromelana

U Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

life sciences

BT sciences

NT behavior

NT ecosystems

NT photobiology

NT reproduction

light levels

BT environmental controls

RT photometry

lighting

BT animal housing

NT ultraviolet light

lizards

BT reptiles

NT iguanas

mammals

BT vertebrates

NT cats

NT dogs

NT horses

mating

UF sexual selection

BT reproduction

RT instinct

measurement techniques

BT methods

member organizations

BT organizations

NT Appaloosa Horse Club

NT Arkansas State Horse Show Association

methods

SN Systematic approaches to the conduct of an operation or process -- includes steps of procedure, application of techniques, systems of reasoning or analysis, and the modes of inquiry employed by a science or discipline. Use a more specific term if possible.

NT evaluation methods

NT measurement techniques

NT teaching methods

mollusks

BT invertebrates

NT clams

newborns

BT animals

non-profit organizations

BT organizations

NT Animal Transportation Association

NT Pets Are Wonderful

nursing homes

BT places

nutrition

BT health sciences

RT food

RT nutrition standards and guidelines

nutritional requirements

U nutritional standards

nutritional standards

BT nutrition standards and guidelines

nutrition standards and guidelines

UF nutritional requirements

BT standards and guidelines

NT nutritional standards

RT nutrition

occupations

SN General categories of job or work specializations, as characterized by duties, skill levels, status, pay, responsibility levels, or other distinguishing factors. Use a more specific term if possible.

UF vocations

NT animal care occupations

RT skills and activities

older adults

SN Approximately 65+ years of age

UF senior citizens

BT age groups

open shows

BT competitions

organisms

NT animals

organizations

UF associations

NT governmental organizations

NT member organizations

NT non-profit organizations

pack

U pack leadership

pack leadership

UF pack

BT instinct

parrots

BT birds

NT cockatoos

pets

BT animals

RT domestic

Pets Are Wonderful

BT non-profit organizations

photobiology

SN scientific study of the interactions of light and living organisms

BT life science

NT coral photobiology

RT photometry

photometry

SN the science of measurement of visible light in terms of its perceived brightness to human vision.

BT physics

RT light levels

RT photobiology

physical sciences

BT sciences

NT physics

physics

BT physical sciences

NT photometry

places

[geographical locations]

NT United States

[named geographical regions]

NT Rocky Mountain region

[facilities]

NT nursing homes

plucking

BT instinct

population groups

SN People identified as individuals and/or members of a group. Use a more specific term if possible.

BT groups

NT age groups

NT family

profit motive

U profitability

profitability

UF profit motive

BT business issues

psychology and behavior

NT human and animal learning

NT human and animal relations

recipes

BT cooking standards and guidelines

RT food

reef aquariums

BT aquariums

reef fish

BT fish

reptiles

BT vertebrates

NT lizards

NT snakes

reproduction

BT life sciences

NT mating

requirements

U standards and guidelines

Rocky Mountain region

UF Rocky Mountains

BT places

Rocky Mountains

U Rocky Mountain region

safety

BT health and safety

NT fire safety

RT injuries

safety attire

U safety equipment

safety equipment

UF safety attire

BT equipment

sciences

NT health sciences

NT life sciences

NT physical sciences

senior citizens

U older adults

sexual selection

U mating

shoeing

BT skills and activities

RT farriers

shrimp

BT crustaceans

skills and activities

NT animal observation

NT animal training

NT camping

NT excursions

NT foaling

NT horseback riding

NT horsemanship

NT shoeing

NT sliding

skills development

BT human learning

sliding

BT skills and activities

RT animal care occupations

small businesses

BT businesses

snakes

NT Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

Sonoran Mountain Kingsnake

U Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

stables

U barns

standards

U standards and guidelines

standards and guidelines

UF guidelines, requirements, standards

NT cooking standards and guidelines

NT nutrition standards and guidelines

supplies

SN all equipment and food used to care for, play with, protect, ride and train animals. Use a more specific term if possible.

NT equipment

NT food

RT animal care

tax auditing

BT taxation

taxation

BT IRS

NT tax auditing

teaching methods

BT methods

RT instruction

training

BT human and animal learning

NT instruction

training seminars

BT conferences

ultraviolet light

BT lighting

umbrellas

BT cockatoos

United States

BT places

NT Colorado

vertebrates

BT animals

NT birds

NT fish

NT mammals

NT reptiles

veterinarians

BT animal care occupations

vocations

U occupations

wild

BT animals

workshops

U conferences

3. Top term hierarchical display

animal care

animal feeding

animal grooming

animal housing

[kinds of animal housing]

aquariums

reef aquariums

barns

[parts of animal housing]

lighting

ultraviolet light

animal transportation

business issues

profitability

environmental controls

light levels

events

competitions

horse shows

open shows

conferences

training seminars

disabilities

diseases

human diseases

cat scratch fever

injuries

animal injury

groups

population groups

age groups

children

older adults

family

health and safety

animal health and safety

animal health

animal safety

human health and safety

human health

safety

fire safety

methods

evaluation methods

measurement techniques

teaching methods

occupations

animal care occupations

breeders

farriers

veterinarians

organisms

animals

[by age]

newborns

[by function]

pets

[by habitat]

domestic

wild

invertebrates

coelenterates

corals

crustaceans

crayfish

shrimp

mollusks

clams

vertebrates

birds

parrots

cockatoos

goffins

umbrellas

fish

reef fish

mammals

cats

kittens

dogs

horses

reptiles

lizards

iguanas

snakes

Arizona Mountain Kingsnake

organizations

governmental organizations

IRS

[organizational functions]

taxation

tax auditing

commercial organizations

businesses

small businesses

non-profit organizations

Animal Transportation Association

Pets Are Wonderful

member organizations

Appaloosa Horse Club

Arkansas State Horse Show Association

places

[geographical locations]

United States

Colorado

[named geographical regions]

Rocky Mountain region

[facilities]

nursing homes

psychology and behavior

human and animal learning

human learning

skills development

human animal relations

companionship

training

instruction

sciences

health sciences

nutrition

life sciences

behavior

animal behavior

instinct

pack leadership

plucking

scratching

territoriality

ecosystems

freshwater

photobiology

coral photobiology

reproduction

mating

physical sciences

physics

photometry

skills and activities

animal observation

animal training

camping

excursions

foaling

horseback riding

horsemanship

shoeing

sliding

standards and guidelines

cooking standards and guidelines

recipes

nutrition standards and guidelines

nutritional standards

supplies

equipment

animal equipment

safety equipment

food

[kinds of food]

animal food

dog foods

home cooked dog foods

[parts of food]

ingredients

antioxidants

4. Discussion section

4A. Describe the process of working with the pool of candidate terms. Once you had the pool assembled, what were the steps in getting to a final list and in creating the hierarchies? (I am not looking to see if you did this some “right” way – I’m really just curious about how you went about this. So don’t worry about there being a correct or an incorrect way of doing it.)

Our group divided the 22 articles into 3 stacks, and we each took a stack home to read. We had not discussed how we would approach this project and so we each proceeded independently.

Jeanie started by reading the 7 articles in her stack and jotting down possible terms. She then narrowed her candidates down to 2-5 terms per article, converted them into authorized forms, and posted the terms in tentative hierarchical displays to the group area.

Heather reports that she began reading her articles with the CJPI assignment in mind. As she read an article, she wrote down terms that stood out as general topics. She then listed all the terms and thought about their potential broader and narrower term relationships to each other. She considered what might be entry words for each term and how the terms should reflect the audience of our thesaurus. User warrant affected her decision, for example, to use "dogs" instead of the more textbook "canine."

Freda began by reading her articles broadly, jotting down all words and concepts that seemed significant. This resulted in 8 lists of 8-35 terms per article. While she did select and bold 4-6 key terms for each article and alphabetized her lists of terms, she did not shorten her overall lists nor impose a hierarchical order among the terms prior to submitting them to the group term pool.

Once these initial, individual lists were posted, Freda compiled and reposted them in a color-coded, alphabetically arranged table that reflected which terms, from whose article, were common or related to other terms. At this point we were able to conceptualize the spectrum of our potential audience. Jeanie then removed the duplicate terms from this alphabetized group term pool and re-divided the remaining terms into 11 very rough groupings by top term.

Each group member took on 3-4 of these top term lists and proceeded to divide them up into hierarchies. The resulting tentative hierarchical and alphabetical displays were posted for group review, at which point we would discuss our individual postings and then go back to re-work, re-post, and further discuss our developments.

Many terms were thrown out during the process because they were redundant or unnecessary. For example, when Freda began to realize how her long, initial terms lists might be adversely affecting the organization of some hierarchies, she went through her articles again, reconfirmed an average of 6 key terms per article, and then requested that all other terms from her initial lists be removed from any hierarchical and alphabetical display.

As the Consultation date approached, Heather compiled a draft of all our hierarchies and alphabetical displays to submit for consultation. Once we received our consultation feedback, we worked on rearranging our existing hierarchies, created new hierarchies, and discussed how to remedy our RT/NT troubles.

It is interesting to note how different our three approaches were at the beginning. Heather had thought in depth about individual terms and how a user would relate to them while Jeanie reports being so focused on thinking about our hierarchies and how terms would fit together, that she felt she probably did not spend enough time perfecting the individual terms themselves (particularly with regard to compound terms). Freda’s approach inflated the group’s candidate term pool which misguided the direction of certain hierarchies but also conceptually projected the potential extent of the thesaurus parameters.

The varied approaches reflect some of the myriad factors (e.g., user needs, authorized and entry terms, hierarchical relationships, appearance of term displays, thesaurus expansion, etc.) that thesaurus designers must simultaneously consider at any given point of the design process.

4B. What terms did you find particularly problematic? How did you first consider handling them, and how did you wind up handling them? What things did you think about as you worked toward a decision?

We encountered three general kinds of problematic terms. Abstract concepts were very difficult to place into hierarchies because it was hard to determine what exactly they were. Ambiguous and vague terms also proved challenging to categorize, as did unfamiliar but domain-specific terms.

To enhance our understanding of the meanings of these problematic terms, we began by asking the person who first assigned the term to provide more context from the article, and then to elaborate on the term’s meaning.

Even with a better understanding of how terms were used in a particular article, it was still hard to figure out their relationship to other terms and find a place for them among existing hierarchies. On these occasions, we first tried to apply the “x is a kind/type of y” test. We employed this test even more vigorously after our Consultation, when it became apparent that we were having trouble with NT and RT relationships. The next step was to shift problematic terms from hierarchy to hierarchy, often creating new hierarchies in the process. Determined not to have any orphans, we sometimes reluctantly resolved the situation by leaving terms in small hierarchies comprised of only one BT and one NT.

Through the Consultation, we gained clarity on our faulty NT and RT relationships and this “flipped a switch” for us, enabling us to see proper, if not new, relationships between terms. We also took a step back, reviewed our tactics, and expanded our information tools.

Initially, and primarily, we referred to the online National Agricultural Library (NAL) Thesaurus () and other pet or animal-related glossaries and dictionaries for guidance and ideas. Following the consultation, we referred to the ERIC via CSA thesaurus (accessed through our SJSU databases) more frequently. We also sought relational and definition clues online by searching Google with parameters like “photometry is a branch of*” and “open shows are*”. These tactics broadened our ideas of how terms could be handled and inspired us to create several new hierarchies, even if they would only hold 2 terms.

A sampling of our problematic terms is shown here:

| |Abstract terms |Ambiguous, vague, |Similar terms |Business terms |

| | |unfamiliar terms | | |

| | | | | |

|Terms |- profitability |- habitat |- conferences, seminars,|- business |

| |- light levels |- organized |and workshops |- business issues |

| |- nutritional analysis |- devices | |- small businesses |

| | |- fire safety |- horsemanship, |- business operations |

| | |- foaling |equestrianism, |- occupations |

| | |- shoeing |equitation, and |- customer service |

| | |- light measurement |horseback riding. |- marketing |

| | |techniques | |- product delivery |

| | | | |

|What we did |These terms resisted easy categorization. Some even |The terms in the above |Our business-related terms |

| |defied the “x is a kind/type of y” test (e.g., |groupings shared shades |were very difficult to |

| |profitability, light levels, foaling, and shoeing). Each|of meaning with each |place, since they seemed |

| |could have been placed in at least 2 different |other. |vague and hard to |

| |hierarchies. | |categorize. |

| | |Through various steps | |

| |We shifted them around between hierarchies and played |discussed earlier, we |After Freda conducted her |

| |with the concepts behind the terms to see if we could |decided upon a “best” |“term cleansing” (see |

| |better represent them with alternate terms. |term and made the others|response to Discussion |

| | |entry or related terms. |Question 1), it became |

| |Eventually, after we explored with various additional | |clear that certain ones |

| |information tools and our ideas grew, each term was | |were no longer needed and |

| |placed in a single, sometimes new, hierarchy or we | |we were able to get rid of |

| |decided that a concept’s meaning would be best captured | |them. |

| |by the combination of other, more readily understood, | | |

| |terms. For example: | |Ultimately, a couple of the|

| | | |remaining business terms |

| |Nutritional analysis = | |were moved to the |

| | | |"organizations" hierarchy, |

| |nutrition | |while "occupations" and |

| |+ | |"business issues" became |

| |evaluation methods | |top terms in their own |

| | | |small hierarchies. |

| | | | |

| |Light measurement techniques = | | |

| | | | |

| |light levels | | |

| |+ | | |

| |measurement techniques | | |

| | | | |

| | | | |

While we are elated and relieved that each term or concept now has a single hierarchy to call home or can be generated through term combinations, we are still a bit dissatisfied and uncertain that just the right words have been chosen to capture the true meaning of concepts. For instance, our current solution for "light levels" (categorized as a kind of "environmental control") leaves something to be desired. This is a problem that would need to be addressed with the growth of the articles database and indexable terms.

4C. Did you make any major revisions or changes along the way? (Like re-doing an entire hierarchy, or merging two hierarchies, etc.) Please discuss any major change(s) and why you made it (or them).

A number of hierarchies were revised a great deal. This was mainly because we had mistakenly categorized related terms as narrower terms. Throughout our revisions, we strove for inter, as well as intra indexer consistency in our vocabulary list (Lancaster, p. 68). We consulted each other on our own vocabulary words to see if each of us agreed that was the best word to represent the idea.  The same was done for agreeing to exclude words.

  An abbreviated sampling of our revisions is shown below:

 

| Comment |Before |After |

|All of the terms |business |  |

|from our initial |business issues |business issues |

|"business" |profitability |profitability |

|hierarchy have now |occupations |  |

|been divided among |foaling |occupations |

|4 more fitting |shoeing |animal care occupations |

|hierarchies. |small businesses |breeders |

|  |  |farriers |

| | |veterinarians |

| | |  |

| | |organizations |

| | |commercial organizations |

| | |businesses |

| | |small businesses |

| | |  |

| | |skills and activities |

| | |foaling |

| | |shoeing |

| | |  |

|Six NTs from the |animal care |  |

|"animal care" |animal equipment |health and safety |

|hierarchy and have |safety equipment |animal health and safety |

|been moved: four to|animal feeding |animal health |

|the "health and |food |animal safety |

|safety" and |dog foods |human health and safety |

|“disabilities” |home cooked dog foods |human health |

|hierarchies and 2 |animal health |safety |

|formed the basis of|animal injury |fire safety |

|a new hierarchy |animal safety |  |

|called "supplies." |fire safety |  |

|  |  |disabilities |

| | |diseases |

| | |human diseases |

| | |cat scratch fever |

| | |injuries |

| | |animal injury |

| | |  |

| | |  |

| | |supplies |

| | |equipment |

| | |animal equipment |

| | |safety equipment |

| | |food |

| | |[kinds of food] |

| | |animal food |

| | |dog foods |

| | |home cooked dog foods |

| | |[parts of food] |

| | |ingredients |

| | |antioxidants |

| | |  |

| | |  |

|Some single |life sciences |sciences |

|hierarchies, like |behavior |health sciences |

|“life sciences,” |animal behavior |nutrition |

|have evolved into |instinct |life sciences |

|something much |pack leadership |behavior |

|broader. |plucking |animal behavior |

|  |scratching |instinct |

| |territoriality |pack leadership |

| |fish behavior |plucking |

| |ecosystems |scratching |

| |freshwater |territoriality |

| |photobiology |ecosystems |

| |coral photobiology |freshwater |

| |reproduction |photobiology |

| |mating |coral photobiology |

| |  |reproduction |

| | |mating |

| | |physical sciences |

| | |physics |

| | |photometry |

| | |  |

|  |standards |  |

|  |standards guidelines |standards and guidelines |

|The “standards” |American Standard for Testing Materials |cooking standards and guidelines |

|hierarchy had been |  |recipes |

|affected by | |nutrition standards and guidelines |

|misleading terms | |nutritional standards |

|(which were later | |  |

|found unnecessary | | |

|and removed). | | |

|  | | |

|  | | |

Our thesaurus is only a small prototype and is expected to grow over time and with use. These types of revisions really seemed to open up the individual hierarchies, making them feel more conducive to expansion. 

Although we understood from the beginning of this assignment that we needed to be aware of our thesaurus’ eventual expansion, it was only by working through these revisions that we saw ways that expansion might be impeded or facilitated.

4D. Were there places where you had to make compromises or where there was some kind of trade-off between decisions? If you haven’t discussed this already as a part of questions 4A-4C, please describe these compromises or trade-offs here. (This is a normal part of vocabulary work; making one thing more right often results in something else being less right than you would like. So again, don’t worry that you did it wrong.)

One type of compromise we had to make was giving up certain terms (such as "barn fires" or “light measurement techniques) when it became clear that other terms in combination (e.g., "barns" + "fire prevention" or “light levels” + “measurement techniques”) could better describe a concept. We've also negotiated over where to place certain terms—debating, for example, whether "foaling" and "shoeing" are "occupations" or "skills and activities". In that particular case, we decided to treat “foaling” and “shoeing” as the latter, which would allow the terms to be applied in a general skill or activity sense, as well as combined with the term “occupations” (or any combination of “occupations” NTs) for a professional slant to the skill or activity. If we had decided the other way around—and, instead, designated “foaling” and “shoeing” as kinds of “occupations”—this would have precluded their application toward articles discussing “foaling” or “shoeing” in non-professional, non-occupational terms.

The need for negotiation, compromise and tradeoffs stems from the fact that we each indexed only one third of the articles and then created hierarchies based on someone else’s assigned terms. The process of assessing, placing, and discussing a term is understandably difficult when only one person knows for sure what the term means in context and whether another term would capture the same concept. Our approach in this assignment has been to ask each group member to define problematic terms and provide context from their article. We did this on an “as needed” basis and the approach seems to have worked fairly well for us: no group member has reported encountering a situation in which she needed to struggle at length to keep a term or to prevent one from being used.

While this approach worked for us in creating a small-scale thesaurus prototype, it probably would not work for a large-scale and expanding one. As we observed through our earlier Vocabulary Discovery assignment, entry recommendations and contributions might originate from a number of people, across a number of fields, even from a number of different countries. In these cases, it seems that explanatory checks might actually be more useful (albeit, time-consuming to prepare) if made or provided in advance—perhaps at the point of candidate term submission.

4E. What did you find enjoyable about designing the vocabulary?

We enjoyed a number of aspects during the vocabulary design process. Here they are, in our own words:

“It's very enjoyable -- like a Rubik's cube that has been solved -- when all the terms just naturally fall into a logical order, and the hierarchy actually enhances my understanding of the terms it contains." – Jeanie Braun

“I really enjoy when the hierarchal structure just "clicks," when everything makes sense from BT to NT. Also, when we arrive at a group decision on how to work with a problem and come up with the best solution. I rather enjoy the alphabetizing of my words and thinking of possibly RT and UF terms.” – Heather Fucinari

“Working with interested and reliable group members has certainly contributed to the positive experience of this project. Also, the ongoing learning and discovery activity—fueled by negotiating new or puzzling terms, comparing term organizations among various thesauri, and the “aha!” moments when something suddenly makes sense—is just awesome. I love that—gaining knowledge as I’m working.” – Freda Lin

4F. What did you find least enjoyable about designing the vocabulary?

“It's absolutely infuriating -- again, like a Rubik's cube -- when terms resist categorization and the more I move them around, the less I understand what they actually mean. If the thesaurus were actually a Rubik's cube, this is the point at which it would be thrown across the room.” – Jeanie Braun

“I would have to say coming up with the "top terms." Though, Jeanie did that pretty well! It is difficult to find the most appropriate top term in the large scheme of the projects. These were probably the things we reworked the most.” – Heather Fucinari

“Hear, hear to Jeanie’s and Heather’s comments! Two more things come to mind: (1) I did not like how disorganized my computer files became as I accumulated drafts and draft revisions. I didn’t really think it was a problem (for myself) until we were well-into the assignment. It seems a good idea to establish protocols for naming/submitting files and revisions at the start of the design process. (2) The amount of paper it requires when I want to review drafts and revisions in print is awful (but I do reuse my paper!). I've taken to printing 2 tiny-print pages per sheet. My eyes, my eyes...” – Freda Lin

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