Subjective aspects in the thematic representation of photographic images
| Date | 01 October 2018 |
| Pages | 151-157 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/CC-03-2018-0005 |
| Published date | 01 October 2018 |
| Author | Adriana Aparecida Lemos Torres,Benildes C.M.S. Maculan,Célia da Consolação Dias,Gislene Rodrigues da Silva |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Collection building & management |
Subjective aspects in the thematic
representation of photographic images
Adriana Aparecida Lemos Torres, Benildes C.M.S. Maculan, Célia da Consolação Dias and
Gislene Rodrigues da Silva
Departamento de Organização e Tratamento da Informação, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
Abstract
Purpose –This paper aims to present the results of an analysis about the subjectivity in the process of thematic representation of
photographs.
Design/methodology/approach –The experiments were applied to students of the Course of Librarianship (Biblioteconomia) of the Universidade
Federal de Minas Gerais, during the discipline “thematic representation of images”. The methodology included two methods of ana lysis: in free
form and using four methodologies: the methods of Panofsky (1979), Smit (1996), Shatford (1986) and Manini (2002).
Findings –The results showed that subjectivity is always present, even with the use of methodologies.
Research limitations/implications –This paper shows the importance of doing the librarian course and the need to improve and update their
methods, standards, techniques and tools to provide subsidies for the normalization of subject analysis as an essential procedure for information
retrieval.
Practical implications –It is concluded that thematic representation of images requires clear and detailed indexation policies that can systematize
the activity and minimize the effects of the subjectivity involved.
Social implications –The determination of the subject of the document involves many factors. One of them is the cognition of the indexer, which is
influenced by his prior knowledge, limitations and biases about the context. However, it must take into account, above all, the social r eality of the
user, as the main purpose of the representation is the retrieval of information.
Originality/value –This study contributes to reaffirm the importance of the indexing discipline in vocational training in librarianship courses,
emphasizing the cognitive aspects to which the indexer will be subject.
Keywords Cognitive aspects in indexing, Indexing photographs, Normalization in subject analysis, Representation of images,
Representation of photographs, Teaching indexing
Paper type Case study
1. Introduction
The photographs are increasinglypresent in society, be it in the
collections of institutions, in stock of images and even in
personal collections. To be retrieved by users, these images
need to be thematically represented by the information
professional.
Thematic representation (or indexation) is an intellectual
process that involves the subjectivity of the indexer, since it
depends on several factors such as the audience to be served,
the professional’s knowledge, the environment and the context
in which the activity is inserted.Among the several factors, Dias
and Naves (2007) highlight differences in judgment about the
use of the most appropriate terminologyand the use of different
levels of specificity in representation, a condition that is also
confirmed by Rubi (2009).
The same subjectivity mentioned by the authors for
indexing textual documents can be observed in the indexing
of images, because it is also an intellectual process of
analysis and, therefore, it is affected by subjectivity.
To minimize this subjectivity, in the literature, there are
studies and discussions about the consistency in indexing,
which is the agreementon the terms that are used to represent a
document, in the same IR, by two or more indexers, or by a
single indexer at different moments of analysis (Dias and
Naves, 2007). According to the authors, to avoid a variety of
terms for the indexing of the same document, called indexing
inconsistency, methodologies must be adopted that can
systematizethe analysis.
Under the thematic representation of photographs,although
there are methodologies to guide the analysis (Panofsky, 1979;
Shatford, 1994;Smit, 1996;Manini, 2002), it is considered
that even when adopted, the subjective aspects inherent in this
process will continue to influence the thematic representation
of the photos.
In this sense, this paper briefly discusses subjectivity in
indexing and presents the results of two exploratory
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on
Emerald Insight at: www.emeraldinsight.com/2514-9326.htm
Collection and Curation
37/4 (2018) 151–157
© Emerald Publishing Limited [ISSN 2514-9326]
[DOI 10.1108/CC-03-2018-0005]
The authors thank the agencies Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa em
Minas Gerais (FAPEMIG), to Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento
Científico e Tecnol
ogico (CNPq) e to Pr
o-Reitoria de P
os-Graduação
(PRPG) of UFMG for their research support.
Received 9 March 2018
Accepted 13 April 2018
151
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