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Classification chart or classification tree is a synopsis of the
classification scheme In information science and ontology, a classification scheme is an arrangement of classes or groups of classes. The activity of developing the schemes bears similarity to taxonomy, but with perhaps a more theoretical bent, as a single classifica ...
, designed to illustrate the structure of any particular field.


Overview

Classification is the process in which ideas and objects are recognized, differentiated, and understood, and classification charts are intended to help create and eventually visualize the outcome. According to Brinton "in a classification chart the facts, data etc. are arranged so that the place of each in relation to all others is readily seen. Quantities need not be given, although a quantitative analysis adds to the value of a classification chart."
Willard Cope Brinton Willard Cope Brinton (December 22, 1880 – November 29, 1957''Mechanical Engineering,'' Vol. 80, 1958. p. 158) was an American consulting engineer, president of Brinton Associates, and information visualisation pioneer, particularly known for p ...
, ''Graphic presentation.'' 1939. p. 43
Karsten Karsten or Carsten is a both a given name and a surname. It is believed to be either derived from a Low German form of Christian, or "man from karst". Notable persons with the name include: Given name ;Carsten: * Carsten Becker (born 1990), Germa ...
(1923) explained, that "in all chart-making, the material to be shown must be accurately compiled before it can be charted. For an understanding of the classification chart, we must delve somewhat into the mysteries of the classification and indexing. The art of classification calls into play the power of visualizing a 'whole' together with its 'parts'."
Karsten, Karl G. Karl Gustaf Karsten (1891– May 25, 1968) was an American economist, statistician, businessman, inventor and author, known from his seminal work on graphical methods, and economic forecasting. Life and work Born in Bloomington, Indiana to Gus ...

Charts and graphs: An introduction to graphic methods in the control and analysis of statistics
'' Prentice-Hall, 1923, p. 13.


Examples

Early examples of classification chart are: * The illustrations of the
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné,#Blunt, Blunt (2004), p. 171. was a Swedish biologist and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the modern system of naming o ...
' 1735 classification of
animals Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, have myocytes and are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and grow from a ...
and his
classification Classification is the activity of assigning objects to some pre-existing classes or categories. This is distinct from the task of establishing the classes themselves (for example through cluster analysis). Examples include diagnostic tests, identif ...
of
plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...
s in his ''Classes Plantarum'' 1738. * In 1752
Jean le Rond d'Alembert Jean-Baptiste le Rond d'Alembert ( ; ; 16 November 1717 – 29 October 1783) was a French mathematician, mechanician, physicist, philosopher, and music theorist. Until 1759 he was, together with Denis Diderot, a co-editor of the ''Encyclopé ...
and
Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a prominent figure during th ...
produced a figurative system of human knowledge produced for the ''
Encyclopédie , better known as ''Encyclopédie'' (), was a general encyclopedia published in France between 1751 and 1772, with later supplements, revised editions, and translations. It had many writers, known as the Encyclopédistes. It was edited by Denis ...
.'' * Augustin Augier's "Arbre Botanique" (1801)J. David Archibald (2009)
Edward Hitchcock's Pre-Darwinian (1840) 'Tree of Life'
''Journal of the History of Biology'' (2009) 42:561–592.
* In 1840
Edward Hitchcock Edward Hitchcock (May 24, 1793 – February 27, 1864) was an American geologist and the third President of Amherst College (1845–1854). Life Born to poor parents, he attended newly founded Deerfield Academy, where he was later principal, ...
inserted a paleontological chart in his ''Elementary Geology'' (1840). It shows a branching diagram of the plant and animal kingdom against a geological background. * The tree of life image that appeared in Darwin's ''
On the Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'')The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by M ...
,'' 1859 Early classification chart are often visualized in a
tree structure A tree structure, tree diagram, or tree model is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. It is named a "tree structure" because the classic representation resembles a tree, although the chart is gen ...
. Modern charts can also be presented in
table Table may refer to: * Table (database), how the table data arrangement is used within the databases * Table (furniture), a piece of furniture with a flat surface and one or more legs * Table (information), a data arrangement with rows and column ...
or as an
infographic Infographics (a clipped compound of "information" and "graphics") are graphic visual representations of information, data, or knowledge intended to present information quickly and clearly.Doug Newsom and Jim Haynes (2004). ''Public Relations Wr ...
. The term "classification chart" came into use in the 20th century. In his 1939 ''Graphic presentation.'' (first edition 1919)
Willard Cope Brinton Willard Cope Brinton (December 22, 1880 – November 29, 1957''Mechanical Engineering,'' Vol. 80, 1958. p. 158) was an American consulting engineer, president of Brinton Associates, and information visualisation pioneer, particularly known for p ...
was one of the first to devoted a whole chapter on classification charts.


See also

*
Chart A chart (sometimes known as a graph) is a graphics, graphical representation for data visualization, in which "the data is represented by symbols, such as bars in a bar chart, lines in a line chart, or slices in a pie chart". A chart can repres ...
*
Decision tree A decision tree is a decision support system, decision support recursive partitioning structure that uses a Tree (graph theory), tree-like Causal model, model of decisions and their possible consequences, including probability, chance event ou ...
*
Decision tree learning Decision tree learning is a supervised learning approach used in statistics, data mining and machine learning. In this formalism, a classification or regression decision tree is used as a predictive model to draw conclusions about a set of obser ...
*
Phylogenetic trees A phylogenetic tree or phylogeny is a graphical representation which shows the evolutionary history between a set of species or taxa during a specific time.Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA. In o ...
*
Tree of life (biology) The tree of life or universal tree of life is a metaphor, conceptual model, and research tool used to explore the evolution of life and describe the relationships between organisms, both living and extinct, as described in a famous passage in Ch ...
*
Tree structure A tree structure, tree diagram, or tree model is a way of representing the hierarchical nature of a structure in a graphical form. It is named a "tree structure" because the classic representation resembles a tree, although the chart is gen ...


References

{{reflist Charts Classification systems