Hierarchology and Hierarchography
Hierarchology and hierarchography are interlinked concepts for studying and representing hierarchical associative systems. They combine hierarchical organization with associative relationships between concepts, entities and processes.[1][2] The framework was developed through work on information organization, hierarchical associative networks, and interdisciplinary analysis, and was later extended to AI-assisted knowledge synthesis.
Hierarchology
Hierarchology is the study of hierarchical associative systems and the relationships between their elements.
A hierarchical associative system combines hierarchical relationships that define levels, ordering, containment or dependency with associative relationships that connect concepts, entities or processes across the same or different hierarchical levels.
The approach therefore considers both a system's hierarchical structure and the associations connecting elements within and across that structure, which may form nested and interconnected layers.
The idea builds on earlier work on hierarchical associative networks, in which hierarchical and associative relationships were applied to the analysis of family and value structures in the article Hierarchical Associative Networks of Family and Values.[3]
Hierarchography
Hierarchography is the description and graphical or computational representation of hierarchical associative systems.
It represents structural levels together with the connections between their elements. Depending on the purpose, such representations may take the form of hierarchical diagrams, networks, taxonomies, ontologies or other graphical and computational structures.
While hierarchology focuses on the study and analysis of these structures, hierarchography provides means for describing and representing them.
Development
The origins of hierarchology can be traced to early work on hierarchies, interdisciplinary systems and relationships in society and nature.
In 1995, Hierarhologija : 1. del was published in Celje as a privately published printed work. The 292-page book represents an early stage in the development of ideas concerning hierarchies, interdisciplinary systems and relationships between elements of society and nature.[4]
Subsequent work extended these interests into information science, digital libraries, user profiling, knowledge organization and interdisciplinary research.
The doctoral research proposed a model of an adaptive digital library based on user-interest profiles.[5]
This line of work was further developed through research on user profiling and adaptive knowledge management in digital libraries.[6]
Interdisciplinary analysis subsequently provided another area of application, including an empirical study of interdisciplinary crime research.[7]
The formulation of hierarchology and hierarchography subsequently brought these ideas together into a more explicit framework for examining and representing complex structures and their interconnections.
Knowledge synthesis
The framework can be applied to the organization and synthesis of knowledge from different fields.
Hierarchical structures arrange concepts and information into levels, while associative links connect related elements within and between those levels. This allows information to be represented when relationships extend beyond a single linear sequence or strictly hierarchical arrangement.
One related project is WISE (∞) International Solidarity Empowerment, which applies systemic and interdisciplinary concepts to social and international contexts.[8]
Artificial intelligence and software
A later development involved applying the framework to AI-assisted knowledge synthesis.
In 2026, the research software SIS Universal Knowledge Synthesizer and Idea Creator was published.[9]
The software is designed to process and synthesize information and to support the development of new ideas through structured organization of concepts and their relationships.
Earlier versions of the software were also registered with separate DOI records.[10]
Publications
The concepts are described in a series of publications under the title Hierarchology and hierarchography.
The fifth edition was published in August 2026 and has DOI 10.5281/zenodo.21876182 and ISBN 978-961-97279-2-8.[11]
Earlier editions and versions have been registered under additional DOI records.[12]
Related research
The broader research program also includes work on psychosocial analysis and computational approaches to structured information.
In 2025, Gaining Knowledge through Understanding Distress and Positive Factors in Social Environments examined distress and positive factors in social environments.[13]
The related research software Stress degree and kcal analysis PRO was registered in 2026.[14]
Together with the earlier work on information organization and interdisciplinary analysis, these projects illustrate applications of structured classification, analysis and computational processing.
Applications
Applications of hierarchology and hierarchography include, or may include:
- knowledge organization
- interdisciplinary knowledge synthesis
- hierarchical information modelling
- semantic and conceptual networks
- ontology and taxonomy development
- visualization of complex relationships
- analysis of social and organizational systems
- information retrieval and user profiling
- AI-assisted knowledge synthesis
- systemic analysis and innovation
The form of an application depends on the type of system being studied and on the relationships that need to be represented.
Relation to other fields
The subject overlaps with several established areas of research:
- Systems theory
- Complex systems
- Information science
- Computer science
- Cognitive science
- Knowledge representation
- Ontology
- Artificial intelligence
- Data visualization
- Interdisciplinary research
The framework draws on concepts from these fields while combining them into an approach centred on hierarchical structure and associative connections.
See also
- Systems theory
- Complex systems
- Knowledge representation
- Ontology
- Artificial intelligence
- Information science
- Data visualization
- Interdisciplinary research
References
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (1995). Hierarhologija : 1. del. Celje: samozaložba. 292 pp.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2022). A very short adapted manifesto based on the own work "Hierarchology with hierarchography" by Dr Karl Petrič. ResearchGate.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2023). "Hierarchical Associative Networks of Family and Values". European Review of Applied Sociology. DOI: 10.2478/eras-2023-0006.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (1995). Hierarhologija : 1. del. Celje: samozaložba. 292 pp.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2008). A model of an adaptive digital library on the basis of creating user interest profiles.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2011). "User profiling on a pilot digital library with the final result of a new adaptive knowledge management solution". Knowledge Organization. DOI: 10.5771/0943-7444-2011-2-96.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2024). "An empirical study of interdisciplinary crime research". European Journal of Economics, Law and Social Sciences. DOI: 10.2478/ejels-2024-0001.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2025). WISE (∞) International Solidarity Empowerment. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.17328953.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2026). SIS Universal Knowledge Synthesizer and Idea Creator. Research software. DOI: 10.17613/atdq8-w2j55.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2026). Earlier versions of SIS Universal Knowledge Synthesizer and Idea Creator. DOI: 10.17613/zmrfw-qmw35; DOI: 10.17613/kv63e-y5r71.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2026). Hierarchology and hierarchography (5th ed.). DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21876182. ISBN 978-961-97279-2-8.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl. Hierarchology and hierarchography. DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.16746679; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.15658477; DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18428948.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2025). "Gaining Knowledge through Understanding Distress and Positive Factors in Social Environments". European Review of Applied Sociology. DOI: 10.2478/eras-2025-0003.
- ↑ Petrič, Karl (2026). Stress degree and kcal analysis PRO. Research software. DOI: 10.17613/26JS5-6DN28.
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