How the CCS works: headings
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Classification
Classification allows the grouping together of things which are alike, according to some common quality or characteristic and from a particular perspective. It is important because it allows people to access and use information systems. It provides structure and order to an otherwise unmanageable mass of information. For example:
- imagine trying to find a number in the phone book if the entries weren't classified alphabetically, or trying to find a business in Yellow Pages if they weren't grouped by type of service
- imagine trying to find a book in your local library if books were not classified according to a consistent scheme.
CCS headings
The CCS is a three-tier hierarchical classification scheme. It divides rights and legal information into 14 broad subject areas (called 'headings'). Information within each category is then subdivided into more focused subject areas (called 'mid-terms'), which are, in turn, sub-divided into even more focused subject areas (called 'leaf-terms').
Example:
1..............Benefits
1.1............................Benefit administration
1.1.1.........................................Benefit claims and payments
1.1.2.........................................Benefit fraud
1.1.3.........................................Benefit revision and appeal
1.2............................Carers benefits
1.3............................Disability benefits
1.4............................Families and childrens benefits
1.4.1.........................................Bereavement benefits
1.4.2.........................................Childrens benefits
1.4.3.........................................Maternity benefits*
The CCS is 'poly-hierarchical' so terms can appear in more than one category in the scheme. For example, the term 'Disability discrimination' appears in both 'Government, Law and Rights' and 'Employment'. The term has exactly the same meaning in all the places it appears.
Poly what?
- A classification scheme is poly-hierarchical if it allows a term to be found in more than one place in the scheme*. For example, in the CCS, 'Work related benefits' appears both under 'Benefits' and 'Employment'.
The 14 CCS headings are:
- Benefits
- Communications and Media
- Consumer Affairs
- Education and Training
- Employment
- Environment and Countryside
- Families
- Government, Law and Rights
- Health and Social Care
- Housing and Homelessness
- Immigration and Nationality
- Leisure, Transport and Travel
- Money and Tax
- Police and Crime
The Headings index is a list of all the terms in the CCS, grouped as above. You can download the Headings index from the menu on the right-hand side of this page.
