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Earley & Associates offers access to articles and research reports that will help you learn basic concepts, identify best practices, understand requirements and be more successful in your content management, taxonomy, or search projects.
You can download free articles to get your feet wet as well as paid reports that will let you delve more deeply into topics.
Free Articles:
SIX MetricsTM Framework - Measuring, Benchmarking & Improving Search Experience
Building the Business Case for Search
Search and Taxonomy- Leveraging Metadata to return Content in Context
Knowledge Mapping - A Fast Way to the Heart of the Organization
Taxonomy, Metadata & Search
Text Mining: Search's Silver Lining
Wordmap Makes Taxonomy Creation Simple
Free with Registration:
Aligning Business Technology Goals Making the Business Case for Enterprise Taxonomy Managing Multiple Facets & PolyhierarchyPaid Reports ($50 each):
To purchase, please contact Rebecca Allen at rebecca@earley.com or call direct (425) 299-5400.
Deriving a Taxonomy: Assembling Terms for a Consistent Point-of-View
This report identifies the steps required to derive a taxonomy and represent a consistent point-of-view. It's important to scope the initiative, determine the application framework, gather end user behavior, and survey the terms in widespread use. Then, depending on the situation, it's often helpful to perform a knowledge audit, survey the content that needs to be categorized, and characterize the audience. Finally, it's important to validate an initial taxonomy by testing it with representative groups of users, using trial search and navigation scenarios, and iterate on end users' experiences (2007).
Indexing & Taxonomies: Finding the Best Way to Organize Online Content
It's important to recognize the differences between indexes and taxonomies. From one perspective, they're two sides of the same coin—different criteria for organizing and describing information. An index, however, is derived from the content itself, while a taxonomy is a structure for categorizing content according to a predetermined information domain, independent of one particular content object or another. As a result there are different criteria used to develop an index on one hand, and a taxonomy on the other. These different criteria, in turn, lead to different perspectives for organizing, tagging, and delivering online content in context, to solve business problems (2007).
Measuring the Success of a Taxonomy Project: Tuning Content Categories for Continuous Improvement
Developing and maintaining a taxonomy is a means to an end – and not an end in itself. The outcomes may be such things as a better browsing experience, an improved shopping experience, or enhanced information search and retrieval. The key to the success of a taxonomy project depends upon its outcomes. It's important to identify the outcomes, and then, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, determine whether the important criteria are being met. There are a number of different techniques for measuring the success of a taxonomy project, including a design phase walk thru, taxonomy tuning, and outcome evaluations (2007).
Retrospective Indexing: Strategies for Cataloging Legacy Content
Developing and maintaining a taxonomy is a means to an end – and not an end in itself. The outcomes may be such things as a better browsing experience, an improved shopping experience, or enhanced information search and retrieval. The key to the success of a taxonomy project depends upon its outcomes. It's important to identify the outcomes, and then, using a combination of qualitative and quantitative approaches, determine whether the important criteria are being met. There are a number of different techniques for measuring the success of a taxonomy project, including a design phase walk thru, taxonomy tuning, and outcome evaluations (2007).