An Exploratory Study on Semantic Arrangement of VDL-Based Iconic Knowledge Tags
Résumé
VDL (Visual Distinctive Language)-based iconic knowledge tags are graphically structured icons for knowledge representation. VDL was developed and assessed to enhance the connection of iconic tags and the connection of tagged knowl-edge. The purpose of this paper is to present further investiga-tion on an arrangement method for these special tags as well as the characteristics of better tag presentation in knowledge or-ganization systems (KOS). An online experiment was conducted to compare tagging results of four types of iconic tag presenta-tions: two types of iconic tags (VDL-based iconic tags and iconic tags without explicit structure) under two arrangement methods respectively (random arrangement and semantic arrangement). Tagging quality and tagging speed were measured to identify how users locate and locate again appropriate iconic tags for knowledge tagging. A supplementary test on tag structure identi-fication was also carried out for each tag presentation. Semantic arrangement of VDL-based icons helped users to tag given arti-cles with more appropriate tags in less time. Users identified bet-ter tag structure in this type of tag presentation. This in-depth work of VDL-based iconic tags is among the first to investigate how to visually structure knowledge tags, a problem neglected by previous studies on icon knowledge representation.