| associative relationship | A relationship between or among terms in a controlled vocabulary that leads from one term to other terms that are related to or associated with it; begins with the words SEE ALSO or related term (RT). |
| authority file | A set of established headings and the cross-references to be made
to and from each heading, often citing the authority for the
preferred form or variants. Types of authority files include name
authority files and subject authority files. |
| broader term | A term to which another term or multiple terms are subordinate in a
hierarchy. In thesauri, the relationship indicator for this type of term
is BT. |
| browsing | The process of visually scanning through organized collections of
representations of content objects, controlled vocabulary terms,
hierarchies, taxonomies, thesauri, etc. |
| candidate term | A term under consideration for admission into a controlled
vocabulary because of its potential usefulness. Also known as
provisional term. |
| classification scheme | A method of organization according to a set of pre-established
principles, usually characterized by a notation system and a
hierarchical structure of relationships among the entities. |
| compound term | A term consisting of more than one word that represents a single
concept. Compound terms must be constructed according to the
guidelines of this Standard.
See also bound term (in the glossary) and precoordination. |
| concept | A unit of thought, formed by mentally combining some or all of the
characteristics of a concrete or abstract, real or imaginary object.
Concepts exist in the mind as abstract entities independent of
terms used to express them. |
| controlled vocabulary | A list of terms that have been enumerated explicitly. This list is
controlled by and is available from a controlled vocabulary
registration authority. All terms in a controlled vocabulary must
have an unambiguous, non-redundant definition.
NOTE: This is a design goal that may not be true in practice; it depends on
how strict the controlled vocabulary registration authority is regarding
registration of terms into a controlled vocabulary.
At a minimum, the following two rules must be enforced:
1. If the same term is commonly used to mean different concepts,
then its name is explicitly qualified to resolve this ambiguity.
NOTE: This rule does not apply to synonym rings.
2. If multiple terms are used to mean the same thing, one of the
terms is identified as the preferred term in the controlled
vocabulary and the other terms are listed as synonyms or
aliases. |
| cross-reference | A direction from one term to another. See associative
relationship; equivalence relationship; hierarchical relationship.
|
| descriptor | See preferred term. |
| document | Any item, printed or otherwise, that is amenable to cataloging and
indexing. The term applies not only to written and printed materials
in paper or microform versions (e.g., books, journals, maps,
diagrams), but also to non-print media (e.g., machine-readable
records, transparencies, audiotapes, videotapes) and, by
extension, to three-dimensional objects or realia (e.g., museum
objects and specimens). A document is a content object. |
| entry term | The non-preferred term in a cross reference that leads to a term in
a controlled vocabulary. Also known as "lead-in term.” In thesauri,
the relationship indicator for this type of term is U (USE); its
reciprocal is UF (USED FOR). See also preferred term. |
| heading | A preferred name or term. Types of headings include proper name
headings (which can be called identifiers), subject headings, and
terms. A heading may include a qualifier. |
| hierarchical relationship | A relationship between or among terms in a controlled vocabulary
that depicts broader (generic) to narrower (specific) or whole-part
relationships; begins with the words broader term (BT), or narrower
term (NT). |
| hierarchy | Broader (generic) to narrower (specific) or whole-part relationships,
which are generally indicated in a controlled vocabulary through
codes or indentation. See also broader term; narrower term. |
| homograph | One of two or more words that have the same spelling, but different
meanings and origins. In controlled vocabularies, homographs are
generally distinguished by qualifiers. |
| indexing | A method by which terms or subject headings from a controlled
vocabulary are selected by a human or computer to represent the
concepts in or attributes of a content object. The terms may or may
not occur in the content object. |
| indexing language | A controlled vocabulary or classification system and the rules for its
application. An indexing language is used for the representation of
concepts dealt with in documents [content objects] and for the
retrieval of such documents [content objects] from an information
storage and retrieval system. [ISO 5127/1] |
| indexing term | The representation of a concept in an indexing language, generally
in the form of a noun or noun phrase. Terms, subject headings, and
heading-subheading combinations are examples of indexing terms.
Also called descriptor. |
| keyword | A word occurring in the natural language of a document that is
considered significant for indexing and retrieval. |
| narrower term | A term that is subordinate to another term or to multiple terms in a
hierarchy. In thesauri, the relationship indicator for this type of term
is NT. |
| natural language | A language used by human beings for verbal communication.
Words extracted from natural language texts for indexing purposes
without vocabulary control are often called keywords. |
| navigation | The process of moving through a controlled vocabulary or an
information space via some pre-established links or relationships. |
| near synonym | A term whose meaning is not exactly synonymous with that of
another term, yet which may nevertheless be treated as its
equivalent in a controlled vocabulary. |
| node label | A “dummy” term, often a phrase, that is not assigned to documents
when indexing, but which is inserted into the hierarchical section of
some controlled vocabularies to indicate the logical basis on which
a class has been divided. Node labels may also be used to group
categories of related terms in the alphabetic section of a controlled
vocabulary. |
| non-preferred term | See entry term. See also preferred term. |
| permuted display | A type of index where individual words of a term are rotated to
bring each word of the term into alphabetical order in the term list.
See also KWIC and KWOC (in the glossary). |
| pick list | A graphical user interface device that allows the user to select from
a pre-set list of terms. Typically the list of terms is shown when the
user clicks on a down arrow next to the entry box for the term. |
| postcoordination | The combining of terms at the searching stage rather than at the
subject heading list construction stage or indexing stage. See also
precoordination. |
| precoordination | The formulation of a multiword heading or the linking of a heading
and subheadings to create a formally controlled, multi-element
expression of a concept or object. Precoordination is often used to
ensure logical sorting of related expressions.
See also postcoordination. |
| preferred term | One of two or more synonyms or lexical variants selected as a
term for inclusion in a controlled vocabulary. See also nonpreferred
term.
NOTE: In the previous version of this Standard, a preferred term was
known as a descriptor. |
| provisional term | See candidate term. |
| qualifier | A defining term, used in a controlled vocabulary to distinguish
homographs. A qualifier is considered part of a term, subject
heading, or entry term, but is separated from it by punctuation. The
qualifier is generally enclosed in parentheses. |
| quasi-synonym | See near synonym. |
| reciprocity | Semantic relationships in controlled vocabularies must be
reciprocal, that is each relationship from one term to another must
also be represented by a reciprocal relationship in the other
direction. Reciprocal relationships may be symmetric, e.g. RT / RT,
or asymmetric e.g. BT / NT. See also asymmetric and symmetric. |
| related term | A term that is associatively but not hierarchically linked to another
term in a controlled vocabulary. In thesauri, the relationship
indicator for this type of term is RT. |
| relationship indicator | A word, phrase, abbreviation, or symbol used in thesauri to identify
a semantic relationship between terms. |
| scope note | A note following a term explaining its coverage, specialized usage,
or rules for assigning it. |
| sibling | A term that shares the same broader term (one level higher) as
other terms. |
| synonym | A word or term having exactly or very nearly the same meaning as
another word or term. |
| taxonomy | A collection of controlled vocabulary terms organized into a
hierarchical structure. Each term in a taxonomy is in one or more
parent/child (broader/narrower) relationships to other terms in the
taxonomy. |
| term | One or more words designating a concept. See also compound
term, entry term, and precoordinated term. |
| thesaurus | A controlled vocabulary arranged in a known order and structured
so that the various relationships among terms are displayed clearly
and identified by standardized relationship indicators. Relationship
indicators should be employed reciprocally. |
| top term | The broadest term in a controlled vocabulary hierarchy, sometimes
indicated by the abbreviation TT. |
| vocabulary control | The process of organizing a list of terms (a) to indicate which of two
or more synonymous terms is authorized for use; (b) to distinguish
between homographs; and (c) to indicate hierarchical and
associative relationships among terms in the context of a controlled
vocabulary or subject heading list. See also controlled vocabulary. |
