Help:Categorization

The following are instructions that you are welcome to edit. However, if you'd like to ask questions, make suggestions, or discuss categorization ideas, please click the Discussion tab above.

Using an existing category
Before associating a category with an article, browse the existing categories to see if one will suffice.

1. Go to the "Special pages" link in the Toolbox on the left side of the screen and click on the link.

2. Select "Categories" from the "Special pages for all users" list.

3. Select the needed category from the Categories page.

4. Copy the category name to ensure accurate use in the following steps:


 * Open the article you will categorize.
 * Click on the edit tab.
 * Go to the bottom of the page.
 * Paste the category title into the page.
 * Add two square brackets before and after the category text.
 * Multiple categories can be added. Separate each bracketed entry with a space. For example, if you wanted to categorize a page under "United States of America" and "Indians of North America," the entry you would add to the page would look like this:


 * In the Summary field in the edit screen, add the text "cat." This will allow others viewing the History of the article to quickly see that the change you made to the page was to add a category.
 * Click Save Page.

Finding intuitive terms for category titles
If the category you want does not exist, you can create it. Naming a category can be tricky. Terms that are intuitive to you won't necessarily be intuitive to most users. The most efficient way to arrive at a good name for a category is to first obtain a list of terms that others have used for the topic in question. Such a list of terms is available in a library catalog. Librarians have been categorizing knowledge for generations, so it's smart to leverage their experience.

Since this wiki is in English and is somewhat associated with the collection of the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, we tend to rely on two library catalogs for finding category terms. The first is the Family History Library Catalog (Subject Search). The second is the Library of Congress Authorities.

A caution: academic vs. popular terms
Although library catalogs can be a useful source of category terms, remember that catalogs are created by mere mortals. Even cataloging experts make mistakes. Perhaps the most common mistake is the use of terms preferred by academics rather than regular users. When faced with a choice between academic and popular terms, remember the nature of our audience. Most are regular people -- not academics, and not necessarily even genealogists. Since the purpose of categories is to make the content more findable by the audience, and since the audience is Joe Public, those of us who create category names should choose popular, non-academic terms.

Removing a category from an article
Disassociating a category from an article is as easy as pressing the delete or backspace key. Follow these steps to remove a category from an article:


 * 1) Find the article that needs editing.
 * 2) Select the Edit tab.
 * 3) Move the cursor to the bottom of the article.
 * 4) Delete the category name using either backspace or delete key.
 * 5) Save the article.