Classification and categorization: a difference that makes a difference

Shera (1956/1965) affirmed the critical roles of representation and organization when he observed that effective retrieval requires an accord between the cognitive organization imposed on information by the individual and the formal organization imposed upon representations by the system. Shera's argument for accord between the individual and the retrieval system rests on three basic assumptions: that there are certain cognitive structures that can be identified and described; that it can be demonstrated that these structures are shared across individuals; and that identification of these shared structures will provide the basis for a theory of organization.

That cognitive accord can be achieved across individuals is a fundamental assumption of the shareability constraint proposed by Freyd (1983). She argued that the intent to communicate without loss of information causes the individual to modify her internal conceptual representations to reflect the cognitive organization assumed to be held by the other participant(s) in the communicative process. If participation in an intentional act of communication does promote normalization of conceptual representations across individuals, as Freyd (1983) argues, it follows that an intentional act of communication between the individual as natural intelligence and the information system would be subject to a similar shareability constraint. Assuming that the processes of representation, organization, and retrieval are necessarily interdependent, failure to address communication between the individual and the information system from the perspective of the system is a significant omission. Thus, an accounting of the dynamics of information should address the role of representation and organization in the creation and communication of meaningful information. More importantly, it should account for the semantic implications occasioned by differences in the forms of organization that can be used to structure an information system.

The need for effective communication between the information system and the individual points to five areas of research: (i) Is communication between the information system and the individual influenced by the representation of resources? (ii) Does the organizational structure of the information system cause the individual to adjust her internal cognitive structures? (iii) Does the organization of resources contribute to the creation of a meaningful context for information? (iv) Is the meaning of information influenced by the organizational structure of the information system? and (v) What consequences follow from the different organizational structures that can be applied to a collection of information resources?

An understanding of the different forms of organizational structure and the implications that each holds for creating a meaningful context for information is foundational and must therefore precede any discussion of the role that representation and organization play in the dynamics of information. Accordingly, the focus here is on the ramifications of organizational structure for communication between the information system and the individual as natural intelligence. More specifically, the argument presented here addresses the fundamental structural and semantic differences between classification and categorization and how these differences make a difference in the information environment.