John James Marshall thesis.pdf - OpenAIR @ RGU - Robert Gordon ...

classification system was necessary. Fuzzy classification 64 allows the
simultaneous use of several criteria for sorting.
The researcher spent some time exploring methods that can be used in creating
fuzzy classification systems. This included faceted classification. This is a
dynamic method that allows the assignment of multiple classifications to an
object, enabling the classifications to be ordered in multiple ways, rather than in
a single, predetermined, taxonomic order 65 . However, the researcher ran into
difficulties with the various software applications available for this analysis
which is used most frequently in scientific contexts. Most of these require the
user to write some code in Extensible Mark-up Language (XML). Eventually the
researcher realised that this was a study in itself and the desired ability to be
able to dynamically ‘play’ with the data was more of an effect than a result.
Instead the researcher formed groups around ‘typical’ exemplars – in the same
way that examples from the database have been indicated above. Each object in
the database could be compared with these exemplars and assigned to the group
that it most resembled. This was done iteratively with new groups added or
subtracted as necessary. This process was conducted both electronically and
with paper printouts on large sheets of paper. Electronic methods included
Excel spreadsheets exported from FileMaker Pro® and visual versions
produced ‘manually’ in the mind-mapping software application Inspiration®
and by importing the Excel spreadsheets into the data visualisation application
Omniscope® (Figure 44).
64 In fuzzy classification data elements can belong to more than one category, and associated with each element is a
set of membership levels. These indicate the strength of the association between that data element and a particular
category. See: http://www.uiah.fi/projects/metodi/110.htm
65 The most prominent use of faceted classification is in faceted navigation systems that enable a user to navigate
information hierarchically, going from a category to its sub-categories, but choosing the order in which the categories
are presented. This contrasts with traditional taxonomies in which the hierarchy of categories is fixed and
unchanging.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faceted_classification
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