Creating a Controlled Vocabulary
Mike Steckel,
Boxes, Arrows,
Apr 10, 2003
A controlled vocabulary is a set of terms that may be presented to a user when they are making a selection. In the example provided by this article, the vocabulary describes items for sale by two outdoor equipment stores. But of course controlled vocabularies will be of use wherever you need a systematic approach to categorization. This article describes the process involved in creating a controlled vocabulary. And, as usual, the decisions made in such a process need to be sensitive to the needs and interests of the user, not the vendor. Interesting note: the article favours the more generic term 'sleeping gear' used on the U.S. site to the more specific 'sleeping bags' used on the Canadian site. But it doesn't consider (and the author is probably unaware) that a generic term such as 'gear' is a bit of an Americanism; I think (though I can't prove) that a Canadian audience would respond more favorably to the specific description, even if it isn't all encompassing (in fact, precisely because it isn't all encompassing). At any rate, culture matters.
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