Robert Fugmann's Contributions to Subject Analysis: the five axioms theory and its contemporary developments

Abstract

Introduction: Subject analysis is one of the central foundations of information organization and representation, playing a decisive role in the quality of indexing and retrieval processes. In this context, Robert Fugmann’s work stands out for proposing axiomatized principles aimed at ensuring rationality, predictability, and fidelity in subject representation. Objective: To analyze Robert Fugmann’s contributions to subject analysis in Information Science, with emphasis on the formulation of the five-axiom theory and its contemporary developments. Methodology: This study adopts a theoretical-documentary approach based on the analysis of eleven texts published between 1979 and 2022, conducted in two complementary stages, exegetical and comparative, which make it possible to trace the formulation, consolidation, and developments of the axiomatized theory. Results: The results indicate that Fugmann’s proposal, originally conceived to guide indexing and information supply, has become a logical-methodological framework that articulates subject analysis and representational translation as stages of the indexing process. The five axioms operate specifically or transversally across these stages and allow connections to be established with contemporary challenges related to automated information representation processes, particularly in the context of artificial intelligence and, complementarily, semantic interoperability. Subject analysis emerges as a prerequisite for indexing, while predictability and fidelity serve as criteria for representational quality. Conclusion: Fugmann’s theory remains conceptually relevant and provides a foundation for understanding subject analysis and the indexing process in light of the transformations occurring in contemporary information environments.