User:Swpb/catcat

=Finding parent categories for non-eponymous categories= A process for finding appropriate parent categories for a non-eponymous category. Note: This process will not identify all appropriate parent categories of a given category; if a main article exists for the category, use it to determine further appropriate parent categories.

Process

 * 1) Break down the category definition into intersecting topics.
 * 2) For each topic found in step 1, identify topics that broaden, or generalize, that topic by a single degree.
 * 3) Generate plausible parent categories, in which one of the topics in the original category is generalized as in step 2 (this may mean dropping a topic from the category definition entirely). Plausible parents may include "container" categories, usually indicated with the phrase "by [topic]". For each candidate category:
 * If the category 1) exists and 2) is not a strict generalization (i.e., parent) of an already added parent category, add it as a parent to the original category. (Because category naming schemes vary, it's advisable to navigate downward from a broader parent category, to make sure a candidate category does not exist with an unexpected name.)
 * If a valid parent candidate does not exist, repeat steps 2–3 with the non-existent category, generalizing further, until all existing, valid parent candidates are identified and added as parents of the original category.

Examples
Identified parent categories are indicated in bold.

Example 1: Category:World War I ships of Canada
Step 1: List intersecting topics: World War I, ships, Canada

Step 2: Generalize each topic
 * World War I -> 20th century, by year -> [can't generalize further]
 * Ships -> vessels -> [can't generalize further]
 * Canada -> by country/nation -> [can't generalize further]

Step 3: Generate candidate parents that are generalized by one degree.

Step 3b: Generate candidate parents that are generalized by two degrees. (There is no need to generalize the third topic, Canada, because generalizing once on that topic generated an existing category)

Example 2: Category:2017 Brazilian television series endings
In two rounds, five parent categories are identified for the original category:


 * Categories that strictly generalize existing parent categories found in a previous round are not valid candidates, and do not need to be checked.