Module 2

Introduction to Vocabularies

SKOS — the W3C standard for publishing controlled vocabularies as linked data.

What is a Vocabulary?

A vocabulary (controlled vocabulary, thesaurus, or taxonomy) provides a standardised set of terms with unique identifiers — so that two systems referring to "High Risk" mean exactly the same thing.

Human understanding — labels and definitions in plain language
Machine processing — unique IRIs that computers can match unambiguously

Types of Vocabularies

Glossary — concepts with labels and definitions only
Taxonomy — adds broader/narrower hierarchy
Thesaurus — taxonomy + non-hierarchical associations + synonym control

📖 SKOS Core Properties — click any card

Annotated Turtle

Hover over each coloured token to see what it does.

✏️ Exercise — Hover the tokens to learn each part

bushfire-risks.ttl

@prefix risk: <https://example.org/risk/> .
@prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> .
@prefix dcterms: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/> .

risk:BushfireRiskLevels
    a skos:ConceptScheme ;
    dcterms:title   "Australian Bushfire Risk Levels"@en ;
    skos:hasTopConcept  risk:Extreme, risk:High, risk:Medium, risk:Low .

risk:High
    a skos:Concept ;
    skos:prefLabel   "High Risk"@en ;
    skos:definition "Conditions likely to result in significant, fast-moving fire."@en ;
    skos:altLabel   "High"@en ;
    skos:topConceptOf  risk:BushfireRiskLevels .

Hover a coloured term above to see its explanation.

Hierarchy: broader and narrower

SKOS hierarchies follow the all-some rule: if Grassfire is narrower than Bushfire, then all grassfires are bushfires, but only some bushfires are grassfires.

🌳 Exercise — Browse the concept hierarchy

Click any concept to see its SKOS properties.

VocPub Profile The VocPub profile (used in Australian Government linked data systems) requires every concept to have skos:prefLabel, skos:definition, and membership in a skos:ConceptScheme.

← Module 1