ASI Online Learning Course: Practical Taxonomy Creation

Practical Taxonomy Creation

Three-Part Series with Heather Hedden


“Practical Taxonomy Creation” is a 3-part ASI Online Learning course, taught by Heather Hedden.

Heather_HeddenThis is a terrific offering for indexers wanting to expand their skill set and create a wider vista for work. Where are taxonomies and controlled vocabularies needed? Periodical and database indexing and large, multi-volume back-of-the-book indexing projects use controlled vocabularies. The need for taxonomies is especially growing in publishing, in marketing, in large corporate or government document or content management systems, image and multimedia collections, all kinds of websites, e-commerce, user experience (UX) design, and to support the software development process.

Registrants may access the recordings at their convenience.

Session 1. Taxonomy types for different applications

  • Definitions and examples of different kinds controlled vocabularies and taxonomies.
  • Features of term relationships, nonpreferred terms, and structures
  • Suitability of different types and features for different situations or applications
  • Best practices for creating relationships between terms

Session 2. Gathering terms for a taxonomy

  • Concepts vs. terms
  • Creating nonpreferred (variant) terms
  • Sources for terms (people, content, search logs, external sources)
  • Organizing terms in a spreadsheet

Session 3. Thesaurus management software use

  • Overview of software types
  • Practical use of MultiTes software with walk-through of various actions (free demo access is available)
  • Taxonomy maintenance and editorial policy development.

“Practical Taxonomy Creation” is aimed at beginners or others seeking practical training. Whether you are new to taxonomies or are familiar with taxonomies in theory but have minimal experience, this course is for you.

Registration entitles you to “on demand” access to the course and unlimited repeat viewings.


Heather is a renowned taxonomy expert, author of the book The Accidental Taxonomist, instructor of a taxonomy course, founder and past-chair of the Taxonomies & Controlled Vocabularies SIG of ASI, past New England chapter president, and frequent conference presenter. After working for several years as a taxonomy consultant and occasional back-of-the-book indexer, Heather returned to her previous position as senior vocabulary editor at Cengage Learning.

The webinars were presented January 14, 21, and 28, 2015

This Online Learning Course is no longer available for purchase, but can be viewed by those who are currently subscribed.

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