Subject: EDQ #2: Categorization
Posted by: looney_tunes
Date: Mar 23 13
The second topic we have decided to address in the Editors Discussing Quizzes series is categorization. I am known as LT or Looney here in the Lounge, where I thoroughly enjoy participating in all the activities that emerge from Kyle's fiendish brain. I have been editing since 2010, starting in Humanities and then adding Literature and Books for Kids into my repertoire. Figuring out which category is most appropriate for a quiz is something that I have dealt with extensively both as an author and as an editor, so I am going to start the discussion. Editors in other categories, who are aware of the specific categorization issues that are relevant in their areas, will add their words of wisdom, and we would love to have anyone ask questions that we will try to answer.
I am having technical issues, so am going to leave the header as just this introduction, and post my opening ideas as a series of responses.
Posted by: looney_tunes
Date: Mar 23 13
The second topic we have decided to address in the Editors Discussing Quizzes series is categorization. I am known as LT or Looney here in the Lounge, where I thoroughly enjoy participating in all the activities that emerge from Kyle's fiendish brain. I have been editing since 2010, starting in Humanities and then adding Literature and Books for Kids into my repertoire. Figuring out which category is most appropriate for a quiz is something that I have dealt with extensively both as an author and as an editor, so I am going to start the discussion. Editors in other categories, who are aware of the specific categorization issues that are relevant in their areas, will add their words of wisdom, and we would love to have anyone ask questions that we will try to answer.
I am having technical issues, so am going to leave the header as just this introduction, and post my opening ideas as a series of responses.
50 replies. On page 1 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
looney_tunes
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When you set up a quiz template, you must place it in some category. Ideally, it should be in the best possible category, because that will give you the chance to see all the category guidelines that will apply to your quiz, and make sure you follow them. Good planning also helps you avoid duplicating questions that have been asked before. Sometimes, when you have decided to write a quiz, you will have no doubt about the main category in which it belongs - if I want to write about my favourite episode of 'M*A*S*H' ('Abyssinia, Henry'), for example, I know that it goes in Television. But, of course, there are lots of categories within the main one, so I need to find out exactly where mine is going. If you know your root category, this is most easily done by using the Browse Categories function (in the dropdown menu from Quizzes on the Homepage), and selecting Television. (If you do not have pull-down menus activated, you can select Quizzes, then click on the appropriate category.) I can then see that most quizzes are sorted according to their name (there is a Mixture category, which is where I might place a quiz about several different shows in the same quiz), so I open the folder for Television L-P, scan the contents, and see M*A*S*H, and open that folder. Lo and behold, there are more folders - the best one for my quiz seems to be Seasons and Episodes, so I open it. Now I can see that each season has its own folder, so I need to make sure I know which season my episode was in. It was season three, so I open the folder for Season 3, and I see that there is already a quiz on that episode. Now I know that I need to play that quiz, so I don't duplicate questions. Finally, I know exactly where my quiz template belongs, and am ready to set it up. Reply #1. Mar 23 13, 2:45 PM |
| looney_tunes
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A similar process to the one I have described above can be followed for most categories. It is important to actually look at the quizzes in the category where you decide your quiz belongs, to make sure that they are in fact similar to your planned quiz. For some reason, a number of new authors seem to think the Humanities category labeled Miscellaneous (which is used for quizzes that cover a mixture of the visual and performing arts) is a good place for a quiz that contains ten random questions. It isn't. Reply #2. Mar 23 13, 2:46 PM |
| looney_tunes
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Sometimes it isn't clear what will be the most appropriate category for a quiz. For example, you might want to write a quiz about Cuba because you just had a fantastic holiday there. But does it go into Geography, or World, or what? In this case, you need to decide exactly how you want to focus your quiz. The Geography category is appropriate if you want to write primarily about geographical aspects of the country. This includes a range of areas, not just physical geography, but your questions should not include questions about food, cricket, soccer, music, politics - although a Geography quiz can include a few of this type of question, if you want to make it your focus you should be looking at World (Cultures) or General Knowledge (Mixed Cuba). Or maybe you want to focus on the history of colonization and government - then you will be looking at History (Latin America: Caribbean). You need to decide what kind of quiz you want to write, and then place it with other quizzes of the same sort. As stated before, if you find that there are already quizzes on Cuba where you plan to place yours, you should play them to avoid duplication of information. Reply #3. Mar 23 13, 2:46 PM |
| looney_tunes
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There will also be times when you have absolutely no idea where your quiz belongs, because you don't know how the concept fits into any of the main categories. In this case, it would be a good idea to use the Search function from the dropdown menu from Quizzes and search for titles that have what you consider to be a key word. (If you do not have pull-down menus activated, then you can click on Quizzes and enter your key word in the box after the words "I'd like to play Quizzes about", where it says "Enter a Title or Topic".) Entering Harry Potter, for example, will show you that quizzes about the books belong in For Children, those about the movies in Movies, and those about the video games in Video Games. Did you want to write a quiz that is a mixture of all of these? Entertainment may be your best bet, since they specifically cater for cross-category quizzes. And, when in doubt, contact an editor in the category you are considering. The more information you can provide about your quiz (possibly including a couple of questions), the more useful will be the advice they can offer. Reply #4. Mar 23 13, 2:47 PM |
| looney_tunes
|
What if you get it wrong? If you have submitted your quiz, an editor may move it to a more appropriate category on your behalf. If you got close to the best spot within a particular category, and your quiz will meet the guidelines in the new spot, this will usually be done for you. (This can even happen after it has gone online, as category structures get changed.) It is also possible that you will be asked to change it yourself, so that you can see the various sets of category instructions you will encounter along the way. In that case, or if you decide for yourself that you want to change before submission, you need to go through a rather tedious process. Open the quiz for editing, and look at the part of the template where the category tree appears. Start by selecting the new root category, then save. (Ignore the message that says not to save to a root category, as you know you are only passing through.) Now you can click on the + sign beside the root category's name, and open the next layer of folders. Select the most appropriate one, then save. Repeat until you have reached the desired spot. This will all be much easier if you have first browsed through the category and made notes of the sequence of steps you used in finding the spot where you want your quiz to go - if you are browsing and change your mind, you can simply go back. If you are in the middle of moving a template, you have added at least two steps to the process. Don't forget to note the various guidelines that appear on the right side of your screen as you are navigating through the category tree on the left side! Reply #5. Mar 23 13, 2:47 PM |
| looney_tunes
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If you are writing your quiz for a purpose (such as a Lounge Challenge, or as part of Adventures in Authoring) which makes it important that your quiz go online in the category you have chosen, you should make sure to say so in the box provided for messages to the editor. Instead of just moving your quiz to a more appropriate category for the quiz as submitted, the editor who handles your quiz will then know to get in touch with you and let you know how it needs to be changed if it is to fit where you want. This doesn't mean that it will necessarily be accepted there, but you will have the chance to try and make it work, rather than having it moved to a different category that doesn't work for you. That's a general overview - the floor is open for discussion. Reply #6. Mar 23 13, 2:47 PM |
Christinap 
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I find Music one of the most difficult to pick the correct sub-category for - there seem to be so many of them, and often I find that my quiz might fit into more than one.I do try very hard to get the right one, but have found in the past that the editor has moved it to one I didn't even spot, even though I thought I'd gone through carefully. Reply #7. Mar 23 13, 5:27 PM |
malik24
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This was already covered in the M*A*S*H paragraph, to a degree, but... As an author, once a specific subcategory direction's been chosen for a quiz I'd advise taking ten seconds to move it over and look at its particular requirements. I've forgotten to move them a couple of times, which generally made little difference to me. Recently, however, I fell foul to a non-intuitive rule within a category restricting the particular type of quiz I wanted to write. Had I seen it, I'd have saved myself time. Reply #8. Mar 23 13, 5:47 PM |
agony
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Music has evolved so much over the years that you're not the only one who has trouble! We have Music editors who are not familiar with all the ins and outs of its categorization. Quizzes on a specific artist go in the alphabetical categories. If there is no category for that artist, put the quiz under that letter. So Suzy Rocksinger goes under "R", not "Music Q - S". Individual artists by last name, please, not first name. Mixture quizzes with a theme, I'd advise taking a look at Something in Common in Music Mixture first - it's very often the best place. A quiz about music from a specific year or decade would go under either Music by Year or Lyrics by Year, depending on the focus of the quiz. I almost never leave a quiz in Grab Bag, Lyrics Mixture, or any of those other huge categories, unless there really is no place else the quiz fits - it's too easy for a good quiz to slip to third or fourth page in those categories. There's almost always a better fit somewhere the quiz can shine a bit. Because Music is such a - I'm trying to think of a nice way to say this.... - such a mess, there is no penalty or scolding in any way for putting your quiz in the wrong category. Instead I tend to start editing a quiz with a positive attitude if it is placed anywhere near the right neighbourhood. Reply #9. Mar 23 13, 7:47 PM |
Lpez
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Hello to all. I have a question regarding the For Children category. For my last quiz, Hopeless Wanderer, I talked about war history. I submitted my q Reply #10. Mar 23 13, 8:48 PM |
| Lpez
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Sorry about that, I don't know what happened! Here's my complete post: Hello to all. I have a question regarding the For Children category. For my last quiz, Hopeless Wanderer, I talked about war history. I submitted my quiz in War History For Children and it was put online there with no problem at all, but when I read it, I wasn't sure if it was too difficult. What is the treshold of difficulty in that category, how do I know when it is too difficult to be placed in For Children? Thanks in advance, Lpez Reply #11. Mar 23 13, 8:50 PM |
zippolover
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Thank you for the lesson on moving a quiz. I did not know that you could save in the Root and move it after, when the expansions appear. Reply #12. Mar 24 13, 2:42 AM |
| Christinap
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Thanks Agony - you have, in the past, kindly moved some of my music quizzes to a more appropriate category that I didn't even know existed. Reply #13. Mar 24 13, 3:59 AM |
SisterSeagull
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At first I found writing for children quite difficult. I wanted my quiz (yes, singular as I have only done the one so far!) to be testing but not patronising. Kids nowadays are a bit more savvy than they were when I was a 'nipper' over 45 years ago. If you try to treat them as if they're daft your quiz will get nowhere. It's always best, if in doubt, to take advice from an editor. Anyway, I've wavered from the path so let's get back on track. Reply #14. Mar 24 13, 5:22 AM |
LadyCaitriona
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One of the things I like to do before creating my quiz template is to search around and find what I think is the most appropriate category for my quiz, either by using the search function that LT described or by clicking around until I find somewhere that works. The benefit of this is that once you've found the right place (or what at least seems like the right place) each page in FunTrivia has a link near the top that says "Create a Quiz" (next to "New" and "Random"). Let's say that I wanted to create a quiz on Canadian slang. Languages typically belong in World, but after poking around in there I didn't find any quizzes on English. Oh that's right! English quizzes are in Humanities! The path I took was Humanities: English: Varieties of English: Canadian English. If I now click on "Create a quiz", the template will be created with that specific category selected already, so I don't have to remember how I got there. A second benefit is that I can see that there are already seven quizzes online on this topic, so I better make sure that I have some really unique questions. I can also see that nobody has written a quiz on a regional Canadian English quiz (e.g. "Words from Newfoundland") so that might be an interesting direction to take with my quiz. A second point to consider is if you go to where you think a quiz should be and there aren't any there, you should double-check with the search function to see if they are perhaps housed elsewhere on the site. This is particularly the case for quizzes about books that could fit in the Young Adult category. Depending on the content of the book, they could be in Literature or they could be in Books for Kids, in For Children. Reply #15. Mar 24 13, 7:16 AM |
guitargoddess
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To add on to the above is also true for TV shows that may be housed in Television or in For Children. It's also a good idea on TV or in Music, Movies and a couple other categories to check if there is s quiz on your topic under the letter if starts with, e.g. You're in Television D-G and you don't see a subcategory for the show Duck Dynasty. This seems to make many people think we don't have any and I see a lot of quizzes that say "I noticed there were no quizzes on my favourite show do I made one." Shen actually if they'd looked under the letter D (in this example) they'd see there is one or two. Puzzlingly enough, I also see a fair amount of "I noticed there were no quizzes on..." for shows that we do have subcats for, with a bunch of quizzes on. Either way it's not a big deal, if necessary a sentence like that can just be removed from the intro but it is helpful to really look for other quizzes to know you're not duplicating existing questions too much. Reply #16. Mar 24 13, 7:43 AM |
| guitargoddess
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Apologies for typos above... iPhone and chubby fingers... Reply #17. Mar 24 13, 7:45 AM |
JanIQ
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I have the habit of making quizzes on themes that intersect two or more major categories. I apologise to any editors who'd be confused by this modus operandi. Reply #18. Mar 24 13, 8:04 AM |
kyleisalive
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Re: "I have the habit of making quizzes on themes that intersect two or more major categories. I apologise to any editors who'd be confused by this modus operandi." And you know what? That's totally cool! The editors do discuss categorization amongst each other and really, the goal is to get your quiz into the spot where we think people will be looking for it the most. Sometimes when a quiz has nine questions about films and one about a TV show we'll recommend changing the one-off to better place it in Movies; sometimes it will simply find a home in Entertainment. As Agony has said-- music is a bit of a pit. I'll be the first to say that sometimes I think there are three different spots in the one category for a quiz. I used to feel the same way about Entertainment before I did a bit of tidying up there last year. It's still far from perfect, but it goes to show how far from perfect the system is. To elaborate on this, one thing I see a lot of in Video Games is when we create a subcategory for a game and then, a few years later, it turns out that it gets a sequel by a different name or it ends up being a part of a series. Sometimes these instances slip by and we have two different spots for it. Take a game like 'Lego Batman'. We have a section for Lego quizzes; we have a section for Batman quizzes. I'd place it with Lego instead of Batman though, just to keep all of the games in the like series together. Funnily enough, the 'Lego Star Wars' quizzes are with the 'Star Wars' video games stuff because they were the first LEGO franchise to appear and we didn't anticipate the additions of 'Lego Batman', 'Lego Indiana Jones', 'Lego Harry Potter', etc. It's the type of thing that we as editors try to keep on top of. In the meantime, however, don't feel bad asking if you really don't know where it could go. We'd rather work with you to place it correctly than see it pop up in the quiz in the complete wrong spot and simply move it without a word. ;) Reply #19. Mar 24 13, 2:44 PM |
| agony
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If I had two solid weeks with nothing else to do, and if Terry hadn't specifically asked us not to delete categories without a very good reason because it causes headaches for him, I'd redo Music from top to bottom, moving thousands of quizzes and totally eliminating huge categories. It's not going to happen, though, so we just have to work within the framework we have, all of us trying to be gentle with one another :) Reply #20. Mar 24 13, 3:23 PM |
50 replies. On page 1 of 3 pages. 1 2 3
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