Possibilities and limits of thesauri compared to other knowledge organization systems: folksonomies, taxonomies and ontologies

Abstract

^{On the basis of such variables as objective, source, environment, structure, producers and elaboration costs, a comparative analysis was made among thesauri, folksonomies, taxonomies and ontologies as systems of knowledge organization and representation. Although these tools share the same objective, their characteristics are in direct relationship with their application and their complexity. The results were systematized in dual tables. The conclusion was arrived at that digital environments have stimulated the reuse and adaptation of traditional tools of knowledge representation, as it happens with taxonomies and folksonomies; they have allowed for a natural transference of some tools from the analogical to the electronic world such as thesauri, and they have promoted the development of other new tools such as ontologies. It is also remarked that these systems of knowledge organization and representation are not compatible among them and that, in fact, can be simultaneously incorporated in the design of one and the same web tool.}