scope notes and definitions

(reposting this with helpful subject line)

Mark wrote:
> I was wondering about the difference between skos:scopeNote and
> skos:definition (and also editorialNote/changeNote). Thesauri 
> in the ISO
> 2788 format only have a scope note (i.e. the scope note is the
> definition). Their difference may become clearer if an example
> containing both a scope note and a definition is included. 
> Also, people
> migrating from an ISO thesaurus need to be aware that their ScopeNotes
> should probably be migrated to skos:definition.

The intention is that a definition is a 'statement or formal explanation of
the meaning of a concept' (i.e. is supposed to be a *complete* explanation
of the meaning of the concept) whereas a scope note is a 'note that helps to
clarify the meaning of a concept' (i.e. a statement of what the meaning of
the concept includes or does not include, but not a complete explanation of
the meaning of a concept).  In other words, a 'scope note' says something
about what is 'in or out of scope' for a particular concept.  A definition
is supposed to describe (fully) the 'scope' of a concept.

This means that, if a concept has a definition, it should not need a scope
note (i.e. the two properties should never co-occur).  

An example of a scope note:

Concept [ 
	preferred label: Europe 
	scope note: includes Russia 
]


An example of a definition:

Concept [
	preferred label: Europe
	definition: The sixth-largest continent, extending west from the
Dardanelles, Black Sea, and Ural Mountains. It is technically a vast
peninsula of the Eurasian land mass.
]

Does this usage seem reasonable?  A better explanation of this in the guide?

Cheers,

Al.

Received on Monday, 24 January 2005 15:01:50 UTC