This paper reviews research into social tagging and
folksonomy (as reflected in about 180 sources published
through December 2007). Methods of researching the
contribution of social tagging and folksonomy are described,
and outstanding research questions are presented. This is a
new area of research, where theoretical perspectives and
relevant research methods are only now being defined. This
paper provides a framework for the study of folksonomy,
tagging and social tagging systems. Three broad approaches
are identified, focusing first, on the folksonomy itself (and the
role of user tags in indexing and retrieval); secondly, on
tagging (and the behaviour of users); and thirdly, on the
nature of social tagging systems (as socio-technical frameworks).