facet. Facets are fundamental categories, aspects, or ÒfacesÓ of phenomena not unlike the journalistÕs Òwho, what, where, when, why.Ó Facets represent fundamental characteristics by which any message can be analyzed and described. Facets also represent the important aspects of a subject area that form the basis for creating and arranging a relational classification. Thus a classification of literature might be arranged by the facets of language, nationality, genre, period, writer, theme, etc. The term comes from the French diminutive for Òface,Ó ÒfacetteÓ (WebsterÕs 1966). Examples of generic facets are:
● entities or things (persons, artifacts, natural objects, animals and plants, institutions, and other abstract entities, etc.)
● attributes or constituent materials
● actions (operations, processes, and events)
● places
● times
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