When you’re trying to make sense of an avalanche of information, it’s a bit like searching for a needle in a haystack. That’s where controlled vocabularies and taxonomies come in—the unsung heroes of information management and findability. They’re like the maps and signposts in the vast wilderness of data, helping users navigate and discover what they’re looking for without wandering aimlessly.

Controlled vocabularies are standardized lists of terms and phrases used to organize and retrieve information. Instead of letting every person or system use whatever word they want to describe something, a controlled vocabulary ensures everyone sticks to the same terminology.

Taxonomies take things a step further. While controlled vocabularies are all about standardizing the terms, taxonomies organize those terms into a structured hierarchy. It’s like creating a family tree for your data, showing relationships and grouping similar items together.

When it comes to finding information, consistency is king. Controlled vocabularies and taxonomies create that consistency by eliminating guesswork and ensuring everyone speaks the same “language.”

By standardizing terms, controlled vocabularies make searches more precise. Users aren’t at the mercy of spelling variations, synonyms or personal quirks. Taxonomies provide a logical structure, making it easier for users to browse through categories and subcategories to zero in on what they need. Taxonomies also reveal connections between terms, helping users discover related information they might not have known to search for. It’s like stumbling upon a treasure chest while hunting for a map.

Controlled vocabularies and taxonomies are everywhere, even if you don’t realize it. Libraries have long used them in the form of subject headings and classification systems like the Dewey Decimal System. E-commerce sites rely on them to categorize products (think: “Electronics > Mobile Phones > Accessories”). Even streaming services use them to tag and organize their massive libraries of content.

Controlled vocabularies and taxonomies may not be flashy, but they’re foundational to findability. They bring order to chaos, making it easier for users to locate the information they need—quickly and efficiently. So, the next time you effortlessly find exactly what you’re looking for, tip your hat to these behind-the-scenes heroes. They’ve got your back in the quest for clarity and organization.

Data Harmony is a fully customizable suite of software products designed to maximize precise and efficient information management and retrieval. Our suite includes tools for taxonomy and thesaurus construction, machine aided indexing, database management, information retrieval and explainable artificial intelligence.

Proper indexing against a strong standards-based taxonomy increases the findability of data. Access Innovations is one of a very small number of companies able to help its clients generate ANSI/ISO/W3C-compliant taxonomies.

Melody K. Smith

Data Harmony is an award-winning semantic suite that leverages explainable AI.

Sponsored by Data Harmony, harmonizing knowledge for a better search experience.