--- In TaxoCoP@yahoogroups.com, Renato Alves <renatobalves@...> wrote:
>
> Hello,
>
> I'm a master course student of UFRJ University, here in Brazil. I've been
> lurking here for a few days, and this is the first time I ask a question for
> this knowledgeable community.
>
>
>
> I'm researching about Faceted Navigation and Information Retrieval. I've
> been looking over the Internet for some articles/books/white papers about
> which is the best number of facets to use on a classification.
>
> Anyone out there have a reference to this?
>
> Thanks in advance,
>
> Renato Alves
> UFRJ
> Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
>
Renato,

I would like you to reconsider the scope of your question.

As practitioners, we have found that classification structures vary depending on
the depth and breadth of the subject matter, the corpus involved, and the
application. John Hagel, formerly of McKinsey & Co, wrote of these topics in
his book, Net Gain, almost a decade ago. Even though it's old, you should read
his analysis of fractal depth and fractal breadth. From there, you can begin to
research the mathematics if you are inclined.

While many of us are focused on how to apply taxonomies to content-driven web
sites, but faceted navigation can equally apply to DVDs, product catalogs, and
even social media. Each of these requires a serious look at the objectives and
the specific application before settling on the shape of your navigational
structure.

As for an ideal number - there is generally a point of diminishing value, where
the user of the resource (i.e. site, media, etc.) becomes confused or even lost.
I agree with Stephanie that the traditional guidelines of 7 plus/minus 2 is a
good place to begin questioning the structure. I also think that there is some
truth in the Golden Ratio (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio).
While not directly related to taxonomies, there is something universal about
this approach that spans art, architecture, mathematics, and information
management.

Finally, other factors such as navigation aides, graphics, and consistency of
placement are important to the implementation of organizational structure.

Good luck with your studies.

David Herman
CEO-Founder
PeopleForce
email: dherman@...
web: www.peopleforce.com