THE USE OF FACET ANALYSIS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMPUTERIZED SUBJECT INDEXES TO PHOTOGRAPHS
THE USE OF FACET ANALYSIS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF COMPUTERIZED SUBJECT INDEXES TO PHOTOGRAPHS
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Issue Date
1987
Authors
Fletcher, Stephen J.
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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine the applicability of faceted classification techniques to the construction of a computerized index for subject access to photographic images. Photographs from the Minor White Collection at the California Historical Society Library were indexed for the project.
More than three hundred photographs were examined for the subjects they contained. The terms used to describe the images were found to be descriptors, such as "bridge," qualifiers, such as "suspension," or identifiers, such as "Golden Gate Bridge." A database was developed in which the terms used for each photograph were recorded. The specific descriptors were arranged under general categories that had been identified by facet analysis, which is a process of examination that isolates all possible classifications for those descriptors on the basis of their characteristics.
The study resulted in four classified indexes of descriptors. Facets, the categories under which the descriptors were organized, were further structured into four major subject areas, or basic classes, that were represented in the collection: Land, Signs, Structures, and Transportation. Terms from the classified lists are used as search terms within the database. Records for photographs containing the search term are displayed, showing all other descriptors, qualifiers, and identifiers associated with a particular photograph. It was concluded that facet analysis is a viable method for the construction of subject indexes to non-textual material when in depth indexing is needed.
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1. Theses (Museum Studies) 2. Classification--Museums.