Proposta de modelo de compatibilidade entre sistemas de organização do conhecimento: a classificação decimal universal e o Agrotermos

Abstract

Knowledge organization systems are structured with the purpose to facilitate information organization and retrieval processes in physical and digital environments. The Universal Decimal Classification is inserted into that context, because it presents a semi-faceted structure, with a high degree of flexibility and specificity of subjects belonging to any domain of knowledge, expanding the means of access to the informational resource. AgroTermos is a thesaurus used by the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation, which has a set of terms that refer to concepts and their semantic relationships for the representation of subjects in the domain of agriculture. The objective of this research is to propose a language compatibility model between the Universal Decimal Classification and the AgroTermos thesaurus with intention to improve information retrieval, in a specific domain, between different information systems. This study is important to value a system that greatly contributes to the organization of libraries and that can be extended for use in the semantic web environment, above all with the help of other knowledge organization systems. In the digital context, specific processes need to be considered, such as: language compatibility, interoperability between controlled vocabularies, as well as information systems in Simple Knowledge Organization System-type formats, which makes the subject of this study even more relevant. As methodology the study is exploratory, descriptive, applied with a qualitative and quantitative approach, and the technical procedures are: systematic literature review and case study, having as empirical or experimental reference the AgroTermos thesaurus in the context of the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation. To conduct the case study, in the first stage, proceeded the compatibility between the terms of the Universal Decimal Classification classes and the terms that represent the concepts related to the topical "Agricultural Intensification" of domain of agriculture, process in which the terms were extracted of thesaurus AgroTermos, generating a conceptual model; in the second stage, this model was represented in the Simple Knowledge Organization System standard, through TemaTres software, inserting the classes and the terms of the Universal Decimal Classification and the descriptors of the AgroTermos thesaurus with their respective semantic relationships. For the results, it is perceived that the languages of both vocabularies are matching and this represents the first step towards the interoperability between the systems, in the context of the semantic web. Finally, it is concluded that the Universal Decimal Classification coupled with a thesaurus, such as the AgroTermos, contributes to improvements in the information retrieval, since the these systems are compatible, establishing semantic relationships capable of directing the searches, with flexibility and keeping the logic between the relationships. Improvements in retrieval are also due to the fact that both systems ensure the interoperability, because they maintain a standardization of a format sufficient to be interpreting for information systems, contributing to retrieval through the exchange of information and resources in the context of the semantic web.