Help:Categorization

Quick Reference: To categorize a wiki article page, type at the bottom of the page in the editing window.

NOTE: This article has been simplified. To view previous content contained on this page, visit the Advanced Categorization page.

What is a "Category?"
Categories work similar to an index, grouping articles under similar subjects, localities, or topics. Categories (along with other features like cross-references, lists, and infoboxes) help users find information, even if they don't know that it exists or what it's called.

When to use categories
Every article should belong to at least one category. The categories to be included, which serve as classifications, should be the significant (useful) topics to which the subject of the article most closely belongs to as a member, and where users are most likely to look if they can't remember the name of the thing they are trying to look up. For example:


 * Article: United States Vital Records
 * Useful category: Category:United States
 * Not as useful: Category:United States records which start with V

Questions to ask to determine whether it is appropriate to add an article to a category:


 * If the category does not already exist, is it possible to write a few paragraphs or more on the subject of the category, explaining it?
 * If you go to the article from the category, will it be obvious why the article was put in the category? Is the category subject prominently discussed in the article?
 * Does the category fit into the overall category system? Categories that don't fit are often deleted.

If the answer to any of these questions is no, then the category is probably inappropriate. Note that it is always appropriate to add articles to categories that fit into well established taxonomies, such as those within the Library of Congress Authorities.

Searching for an existing category
Before creating a category, look to see if a suitable one already exists. The best way to do this is to first add the category to your article but preview before saving. When previewing a page, scroll to the bottom of the browser window to see the categories. If the category appears in blue, the category already exists. If it is in red, then you will be creating a new category. Before saving the document and thus creating the new category, you should look for categories with similar names in case one will suffice for your needs. One way to do this is to think of possible names for the parent category of the category you're about to create. Search for this parent category and then look at the subcategories in the parent. You may find that a category already exists that is similar to the one you are thinking about creating.

If a search fails to produce categories that are close to what you want, you may want to browse the existing categories like so:


 * 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. (Highlight the name, then press Ctrl-C.)

Adding the category to the article

 * 1) Click the edit tab of the article you will categorize.
 * 2) Go to the bottom of the page.
 * 3) Paste the category title into the page.
 * 4) Add two square brackets before and after the category text. For example, if you want to add the category "United States" to an article, type   at the bottom of the article.
 * 5) Multiple categories can be added. Separate each bracketed entry with a space. For example, if you wanted to categorize a page under "United States" and "Indians of North America," the entry you would add to the page would look like this:   
 * 6) 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.
 * 7) Click Save Page.

Click here to view a Guided Practice on how to add a category to a wiki article.

Finding intuitive terms for a category title
If the category you want does not exist, you can create it. Naming a category well can be tricky. Terms that are intuitive to you won't necessarily be intuitive to other 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 Library of Congress Authorities. The second is the Family History Library Catalog (Subject Search).

Naming conventions can be extremely helpful in creating a title you won't have to fix later. For some very helpful guidelines, see Wikipedia:Naming Conventions.

Steps to create a new category
'''Step 1. Add the new category''' to an already existing page, following the instructions above titled "Adding the category to the article." For example, type

'''Step 2. Save the page.''' After it is saved the new category will appear in red at the bottom of the saved page. Just like with pages, a red link means that the article/category has not actually been created.

'''Step 3. Click on the red link''' to open the new category's edit page.

'''Step 4. Add text''' to the new category.

'''Step 5. Save it''' to officially create the new category.

Saving the new category page
Each new category has its own page. The category name will appear red on any page where it is listed until the category page is edited and saved. You can navigate to a category's page in one of two ways:


 * Click the category's name within the page you categorized.
 * Click the category name in the Special Pages --&gt; Categories page.

After navigating to the category's page, you can then edit and save it.

What to put in the category page
Two helpful things to add to a category page are:


 * A description of the category -- what it should and should not contain.
 * A note about how you arrived at the category's name, including any aids you used. For instance, many writers use the Library of Congress Authorities as a source for good category names. The Library of Congress has been creating categories for generations, so they've thought out a great many issues in naming topics. Using an aid like the Library of Congress authorities can save you a lot of time because it can help you generate category titles that won't have to be renamed later. That can help you avoid spending hours later recategorizing articles. Adding a note about aids you used in naming a category can also prevent conflict with other users who would otherwise change the name of the category you created.

= Removing a category from an article =

When to disassociate a category from a page
If you feel someone else categorized an article in error, it is best to discuss the matter with them before disassociating the article and the category. Use the article's Discussion page to do this.

How to disassociate a category from a page
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.

Redirecting categories
Although it is possible to attempt to redirect categories by adding a line such as  #REDIRECT Category:United States  to a category, it is not generally recommended because of limitations in the mediawiki software. Categories "redirected" in this way do not prevent the addition of articles to the redirected category. Articles added to the "redirected" category do not show up as in the target category. Until these issues are addressed (in future versions of the software), #REDIRECT should not be added to category pages.

= Subcategories =

Should I use subcategories?
We plan to adopt the Wikipedia model, which is to create overlapping taxonomies of categories and subcategories that make it easier for customers to browse related articles. To see some well-constructed tips on when subcategorization is useful and not useful, see Wikipedia:Categorization and Subcategories.

How to create subcategories
Subcategories may be created by putting onto the page that you would like to make into a subcategory. This may seem counterintuitive, because you edit the subcategory page rather than the parent category page.

Let's say that you wanted to make the category called Roses into a subcategory of the category called Flowers.


 * Step 1 - Go to the page called, and click edit this page.
 * Step 2 - Place the text   within the body of the  article, and save.
 * Finished! Roses is now a subcategory of Flowers, and will be visible on.