Step one: Define the functional restrictions of the source terms.
Starting point: Source terms
Source terms may be context oriented and thus present a specific aspect of their meaning. They may also be defined in a vague or subjective way that could lead to ambiguities.
- Define the domain of discourse of the source terms.
This way the reference and thus the meaning of the source terms will be clarified, since the meaning often varies depending on the context within which it appears. - Define the purpose of building a thesaurus.
This will make the function and the potential usage of the thesaurus explicit and thus its applicability in certain scientific fields.
What if: the starting point is an existing vocabulary that we want to enrich or to expand in other fields of application?
Source terms: the existing vocabularies and terminologies.
The domain of discourse is already given but must be reconsidered in combination with the purpose of the revision of the existing vocabularies and terminologies. It is possible that it will remain the same.
The purpose of revising the existing vocabularies and terminologies is to rework them in a way that could be interoperable and can be maintained in a sustainable and scalable way or to integrate the existing vocabularies and terminologies into a coherent overarching thesaurus.
Expected Results
At this point we have successfully achieved to define the functional restrictions that reveal the reference and the applicability of the thesaurus we plan to build!
It is important in this step to preserve the possibility of extending the thesaurus in other fields of applicability
Step one example
- Define the domain of discourse of the source terms:
E.g.: the humanities. So, speaking of arts the term “reproduction” can be defined as “an imitation or facsimile of a work of art, esp of a picture made by photoengraving or a reproduction portrait” while in biology can be defined as “any of various processes, either sexual or asexual, by which an animal or plant produces one or more individuals similar to itself” (from: The free dictionary, http://www.thefreedictionary.com/)
- Define the purpose of building a thesaurus:
E.g.: the purpose of building a thesaurus is to facilitate a successful search of the existing knowledge.
