An introduction to taxonomy and its role in information organization

Taxonomies are multiple hierarchical catalogues of subjects and topical categories
which indicate conceptual relationships. In other words, taxonomies are the science
of classification which includes general principles for classifying objects and facts
into different larger classes, within each main class divisions are then made into
sub-classes. The main objective of taxonomies is to organize a collection of different
elements in a hierarchical structure and facilitate relevant information retrieval.
In the present paper, concepts, history, process, advantages, principles, theory and
methodology of taxonomies are debated. Taxonomies are of different types such
as classic taxonomy, numerical taxonomy, taxonomy as ontology in artificial intelligence,
taxonomy in object-oriented programming, and taxonomy in information
architecture. Some of the advantages of using taxonomies are: access to relevant
information in a short time, increasing knowledge share, and reducing the time for
decision making.