Qualifier

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Qualifiers (English qualifier ) are in the documentation additives to descriptors by which those for the distinction of homonyms (as Homonymzusätze ) or specifying (as roll indicator be extended). Qualifiers are usually given as an addition in brackets .

Qualifiers as additions to homonyms

Homonyms are words that can stand for different terms. In the context of the documentation, homonyms as well as polysemes , which have a common origin but different meanings, must be clearly distinguished. This process is known as terminological control . The word “platinum” can, for example, stand for the element platinum as well as for a record price ( platinum record ). Possible descriptors with homonym additions are then:

  • Platinum (metal)
  • Platinum (award)

Qualifiers as function descriptors

Despite terminological control , a descriptor can have different meanings in a documentation system and appear in different roles. To describe these roles in more detail, function descriptors (English role indicators or roles ) are introduced. The descriptor is composed of a content descriptor and a function descriptor.

For example, the element platinum can be used, among other things, under the aspect of mining and extraction, as a commodity on the raw material exchange and as a raw material for the manufacture of certain products such as catalysts and jewelry. Possible compound descriptors would be:

  • Platinum (mining)
  • Platinum (raw material)
  • Platinum (as a commodity)
  • Platinum (in catalysts)
  • Platinum (jewelry)

In contrast to homonym additions, function descriptors can be specified in advance according to the principle of precombination in the classification system and used freely in combination. Another possibility is to allow only a limited selection of descriptors for specification according to the principle of facet classification . For example, a facet could contain the functional descriptors “manufacture”, “trade” and “use”.

In order to be able to use function descriptors profitably, a documentation system must provide suitable functions with which the content descriptor and function descriptor can be specified independently of one another; otherwise, in the case of pre-combination, other methods of homonym control can also be used - for example compounds such as "platinum production" instead of "platinum (Manufacture) ".

The use of function descriptors should not be confused with the general principle of post combination of descriptors. Function descriptors are namely a form of syntactic indexing , as they are used to identify the relationships between the descriptors. In contrast, in the case of indexing in the same order, descriptors are strung together regardless of their logical connection.

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