Thursday 15 12 00h Jane Greenberg

Growing Vocabularies for Plant Identification and Scientific LearningDC-2005, International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications University Carlos III of Madrid, Leganés Campus 15 September 2005 : 

Growing Vocabularies for Plant Identification and Scientific LearningDC-2005, International Conference on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications University Carlos III of Madrid, Leganés Campus 15 September 2005 Jane Greenberg, Associate Professor, SILS, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC-CH) Bryan Heidorn, Associate Professor, GSLIS, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Stephen Seiberling, Image Specialist, UNC Herbarium Alan S. Weakley, Curator, UNC Herbarium

Overview : 

Overview Motivation Vocabulary Plant identification Methods and vocabulary needs Metadata/Vocabulary Challenges U-PLANT Research and Development Solutions Conclusions

Motivation : 

Motivation World’s “rich reservoir” of primary scientific resources Target students, enrich curricula Web connectivity + digitization not enough student’s knowledge-base + vocabulary Vocabulary gap (flowering dogwood / Cornus florida) Enabling technologies (OWL,RDF,…): structural solution Need: intellectual tasks of developing and growing vocabulary

Digital Plant Specimen : 

Digital Plant Specimen Flowering Dogwood (Cornus florida) Descriptive Label (Metadata)

Vocabulary is: : 

Vocabulary is: Key component of language; a language, Means of communication—an ontology of sorts Fundamental to learning and scientific advancement Integral to the development and functionality of digital libraries

Plant Identification : 

Plant Identification Plant ID (identification) Most advanced living organisms, evolutionary history… Common part of school curricula Methods and Vocabulary Needs Applications: plant keys Fixed structure key and a polyclave key. Plant taxonomy Descriptive vocabulary

Plant Keys : 

Plant Keys Fixed structure key Answer an ordered series of questions, typically in the form of “either/or” (dichotomous) pairs Alternate or opposite arrangement? Toothed edged or smooth? Polyclave key Present user choice of plant characters/character states Process of elimination System design and metadata challenge

Plant Characters and Character States : 

Plant Characters and Character States

Leaf Shape Character State Examples : 

Leaf Shape Character State Examples Cordate Fan-shaped Palmate

Plant Taxonomy : 

Plant Taxonomy Determine the plant’s scientific name species taxon / taxa levels Carl Von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus) Linnaean taxonomy International Code Botanical Nomenclature (St. Louis Code) , 16th International Botanical Congress St Louis, Missouri, 1999 Vienna CODE, 2005

Carl Von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus)(1707-1778) : 

Carl Von Linné (Carolus Linnaeus)(1707-1778)

Metadata / Vocabulary Challenges for Scientific Education Digital Libraries / Herbaria… : 

Metadata / Vocabulary Challenges for Scientific Education Digital Libraries / Herbaria… Scientific/taxonomic names (authority list) Characters/character states (value, content vocabulary, e.g. leaf margin values) Plant (specimen) description (container, structure, SDD [Structured Descriptive Data]) Image preservation metadata for digital specimens (date captured, resolution, size/size reduction, camera settings, etc.) Tools to help students learn descriptive vocabulary (serrate, lobbed, etc.)

U-PLanT (University PLant Language Team) : 

U-PLanT (University PLant Language Team) BOTNET (www.ibiblio.org/botnet/flora/indexstart.html). Plant Information Center (PIC) (www.ibiblio.org/pic) Project OpenKey (www.ibiblio.org/openkey) Evelyn Daniel, Professors, SILS/UNC-CH Peter White, Professor, Botany, UNC-CH +NCBG Ken Robertson, Botany, UIUC

R&D Questions Specific to the Student/Scientist Vocabulary Gap : 

R&D Questions Specific to the Student/Scientist Vocabulary Gap What tools can help students learn botanical terminology? What steps aid vocabulary development for plant keys, or other digital initiatives supporting plant identification? What principles guide the development of descriptive vocabulary for plant identification?

Research Methods and Inquiry : 

Research Methods and Inquiry Vocabulary tool analysis Expert interviews BotNetDC and BotDC Usability studies FAQ analysis Metadata creation studies

Development Solutions : 

Development Solutions Suite of vocabulary tools Preliminary process model outlining vocabulary development Identification of guiding principles for vocabulary development

Suite of Vocabulary Tools : 

Suite of Vocabulary Tools Technical Plant Glossary Student Botanical Dictionary Conceptual Table of Descriptive Vocabulary 200 characters and over 2000+ character states Botanical Dictionary UNC-OpenKey Glossary of Botanical Terms

Botanical Dictionary Term Entries and Bibliographic Citation : 

Botanical Dictionary Term Entries and Bibliographic Citation Botany: The scientific study of plants. Pollen: Minute grains, usually powdery, containing the male sex cells of gymnosperms and flowering plants. [GT] --------------------------------------------------------- *[GT] noted the bibliographic source: Greenway, Theresa. (2000). The Plant Kingdom: A Guide to Plant Classification and Biodiversity. Texas: Steck-Vaughn Company.

Entry example from OpenKey Glossary of Botanical Terms : 

Entry example from OpenKey Glossary of Botanical Terms Term- [Botanical structure] {category of application} Definition. (Terms for comparison.) [source reference] --------------------------------------------------------- Acicular- [Leaflets, Leaves] {shape} Very long and slender, gradually tapering to a point, like a needle; needle-shaped. (Compare with awl-shaped, filiform and linear.) [modified from K&P, p. 11].

Preliminary Process Model : 

Preliminary Process Model 1. Identify 2. Evaluate 3. Modify 4. Transform 5. Implement 6. Test/Evaluate 7. Revise

Guiding Principles for Descriptive Vocabulary Development : 

Guiding Principles for Descriptive Vocabulary Development Understandability Uniqueness Consistency

Understandability : 

Understandability Leaf complexity “Simple,” Flowering Dogwood “Compound,” Green Ash

Unique: Unambiguous and Discreet : 

Unique: Unambiguous and Discreet Leaf Duration “Deciduous,” Flowering Dogwood “Evergreen,” Eastern Red Cedar “Semi-evergreen,” Willow Oak

Conclusions : 

Conclusions Guide vocabulary development for plant keys, or other digital initiatives facilitating plant identification Process model and principles may inform descriptive vocabulary development other disciplines with same challenges and goals Baseline for conducting more research

Future Research : 

Future Research Study the discipline of botany through selected laws of distribution (e.g.,Zipf’s law and Bradford’s law) to better understand the domain and characters of North Carolina Trees and with OpenKey also Illinois prairie plants Conduct user studies using BOTNET, PIC, and OpenKey to test the usefulness of all the tools in the vocabulary suite. Analyze extensibility of the Conceptual Table for additional families (both flora and fauna)

a closing remark… : 

a closing remark… People are increasingly calling for a single Web resource to describe all life on earth (Wilson, 2003) if we want to move in this direction and inform people about the natural world on a global scale and further scientific education, we need to continue to study vocabulary challenges and share our experiences

For more information on OpenKey : 

For more information on OpenKey University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill http://www.ibiblio.org/openkey University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign http://www.isrl.uiuc.edu/~openkey