simultantagande

Simultanantagande, or simultaneous tagging, is a practice in data annotation where multiple tags are assigned to a resource in a single workflow pass. The method is used across domains such as text, image, and video annotation, and is often employed in crowdsourcing and collaborative projects to increase throughput and tap into diverse perspectives. Tagging targets can include linguistic categories, named entities, topics, or other metadata defined by a project’s schema.

In practice, simultantagande can involve parallel tagging by several annotators, paired or adjudicated tagging, or a single annotator applying multiple labels in one session. The central idea is to obtain several independent inputs for the same resource at roughly the same time, followed by a reconciliation step to resolve disagreements and produce a final, agreed-upon annotation set.

Benefits of simultantagande include faster labeling, broader coverage, and improved reliability through cross-checks among taggers. It is particularly valuable in large-scale annotation efforts and in projects where timing or synchronization of labels matters. Challenges include higher cognitive load on annotators, potential inconsistencies if guidelines are unclear, and the need for effective adjudication and quality control. Robust schemas, clear annotation guidelines, and appropriate agreement metrics (such as inter-annotator agreement or Krippendorff’s alpha) are important for ensuring data quality.

See also: inter-annotator agreement, data annotation, crowdsourcing, natural language processing, image annotation.