Classification in a social world: bias and trust

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to establish pluralism as the basis for bibliographic classification theory and practice and examine the possibility of establishing trustworthy classifications.Design methodology approach - The paper examines several key notions in classification and extends p...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of documentation 2010-09, Vol.66 (5), p.627-642
Main Author: Mai, Jens-Erik
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal cognition
Authority
Bias
Bibliographies
Classification
Content analysis
Design engineering
Dewey Decimal Classification
Documentation
Editors
Epistemology
Essays
Exact sciences and technology
Foundations
Handles
Indexing. Classification. Abstracting
Indexing. Classification. Abstracting. Syntheses
Information and communication sciences
Information and document structure and analysis
Information processing and retrieval
Information Science Education
Information science. Documentation
Information Services
Knowledge organization
Librarians
Libraries
Library and information science
Library and information science. General aspects
Library of Congress Classification
Library Personnel
Philosophical concepts
Sciences and techniques of general use
Theories, definitions and sources in information science
Trust
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to establish pluralism as the basis for bibliographic classification theory and practice and examine the possibility of establishing trustworthy classifications.Design methodology approach - The paper examines several key notions in classification and extends previous frameworks by combining an explanation-based approach to classification with the concepts of cognitive authority and trust.Findings - The paper presents an understanding of classification that allows designers and editors to establish trust through the principle of transparency. It demonstrates that modern classification theory and practice are tied to users' activities and domains of knowledge and that trustworthy classification systems are in close dialogue with users to handle bias responsible and establish trust.Originality value - The paper establishes a foundation for exploring trust and authority for classification systems.
ISSN:0022-0418
1758-7379
DOI:10.1108/00220411011066763