Page 224 - DLIS402_INFORMATION_ANALYSIS_AND_REPACKAGING

Unit 11: Indexing Language: Types and Characteristics

of the more general category. Brie, Crottin de Chavignol, Munster, Picodon, Port Salut, and Roquefort, Notes
for example, are individual instances of the broader term French cheeses.
A number of node labels have been used throughout the thesaurus to indicate hierarchical
relationships. Their function is similar to that of “broader terms”, but they are not preferred
descriptors. They are distinguished from descriptors by the use of angle <> brackets [5.3.3]. Examples
include <cheese types>, <cheese flavours> and <national origin>. Scope notes, equivalence
relationships and associative relationships are used with some of the node labels, as shown in the
following example:
<cheese flavour intensity>
SN: A relative measure of the strength of the flavour and aroma characteristic of a cheese; it is
usually closely related to the age or maturity of the cheese.
UF: cheese flavour strength
NT: medium
mild
sharp
RT: <cheese flavours>
Because the thesaurus is designed to bring out the multiple characteristics of a limited number of
cheese types, one might expect that many of the terms will belong to more than one broader category.
In this thesaurus, as developed so far, all of the specific named cheese types belong to three or four
broader classes: one of the <milk types>, one of the <cheese texture types>, one of the <national
origin> terms, and some to blue cheeses. These are examples of polyhierachical relationships [5.3.4].
Gorgonzola, for example, is linked to the broader classes blue cheeses, cow s milk, Italian cheeses,
and semihard cheeses. The broader classes previously mentioned are also narrower terms for the
broader class <cheese types>. The thesaurus, then, demonstrates a complex array of nested and
polyhierarchical relationships.
The Alphabetical Display of the thesaurus is a flat format [5.3] and does not show the multiple
levels of the hierarchy. The Hierarchical Display does show the levels of the hierarchy by the use of
indentations and the indicators BT1, BT2, BT3, NT1, NT2, and NT3. The Top Term Display also
shows the levels of the hierarchies by employing stepped indentations.

Associative

The associative relationship is used to suggest ideas for further retrieval by users or to provide
assistance to the indexer in applying terms. The RT [Related Terms] indicator is used to show terms
that are related in various ways. Several sets of terms in the thesaurus represent concepts of degree.
The terms mild, medium and sharp, for example, are sibling terms under the parent node <cheese
flavour intensity> and are further related to each other using the RT indicator.
These terms are not mutually exclusive, but, because they shade one into another by degree, are
slightly overlapping terms [5.4.1.1]. The terms low fat, medium fat, and high fat are similarly related.
An associative relationship between sibling terms under a broader term need not be shown if these
sibling terms are mutually exclusive [5.4.1.2].
The sibling terms British cheeses, French cheeses, Italian cheeses and Swiss cheeses, for example,
are mutually exclusive so the RT associative indicator is not used between these terms. Also mutually
exclusive are the specific cheese types Cheddar, Roquefort, Asiago, etc. - listed under several broader
terms. The narrower terms listed under <milk types> - cows milk, goats milk and sheeps milk- are
also mutually exclusive, so the RT indicator is not used between these terms.

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