The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes: This tutorial will explain the function and value of the ERIC
thesaurus and delineate the similarities and differences in how it is
accessed within the various versions of ERIC. If you aren't familiar
with the ERIC database versions, watch that tutorial before watching
this one.
Slide notes: The ERIC Thesaurus is a controlled vocabulary or a
"carefully selected list of education-related words and phrases." These
words and phrases are selected and updated by professionals in the
field of Education.
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Slide notes: Words or phrases included in the thesaurus are called
“descriptors” or “descriptor phrases” and they function like subject
headings for the articles they describe.
Slide notes: Indexers who create the records for each of the articles in
database select descriptors that represent the content of the article at
hand.
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The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes: Indexers are not allowed to use their own language in
assigning descriptors; they must select authorized descriptors from the
ERIC thesaurus itself.
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Slide notes: This is because you will retrieve all the articles that fit the
description for that particular concept rather than the many articles that
use the word somewhere in the article record or text.
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Slide notes: Therefore, when you search using an authorized descriptor
for your topic, your results will be more precise than if you do a
keyword search.
Slide notes: There are four versions of the ERIC database and all of
them have access to the ERIC Thesaurus. The access varies a bit
between the versions, so let's take a look at those differences now.
The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
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Slide notes: Accessing the Thesaurus is a bit different in each version
of the ERIC database. For the CSA version, you must click on “Search
Tools” and then “Thesaurus” to begin using it.
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Slide notes: The Ebsco version provides a link to the Thesaurus on the
top bar of the search screen.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes:
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Slide notes: The FirstSearch version requires that you search for your
term in the "descriptor" field.
The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes:
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Slide notes: To get to the thesaurus index.
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Slide notes: To learn more about how to use the FirstSearch
Thesaurus, watch the "ERIC (FirstSearch): Using the online thesaurus"
tutorial.
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Slide notes: ...And click the black button to the right of the search
boxes....
The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes: The ERIC Public version has a link to the thesaurus on the
top bar as well as to the right of the search box.
Slide notes: The CSA, Ebsco, and Public versions of ERIC all maintain
pretty similar access to the ERIC thesaurus. They each offer a way to
browse as well as to search the thesaurus.
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Slide notes: In CSA, choose to browse the “alphabetical index” to get to
the A-Z listing of descriptors.
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Slide notes:
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The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
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Slide notes: Ebsco automatically displays it's A-Z list of descriptors on
the main ERIC thesaurus page
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Slide notes: All three versions provide a search box to search the
thesaurus...CSA uses the wording "browse thesaurus for". It also
provides the option to search by hierarchy or by rotated index.
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Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes: The Public version of ERIC provides an alphabetical index
to the thesaurus as well as subject categories that drill down to
authorized terms.
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Slide notes: Definitions of these methods are provided on the main screen
before a search is initiated.
The ERIC Thesaurus_demo
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
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Slide notes: Ebsco provides three search options: “term begins with,” “term
contains” and “relevancy ranked.”
Slide notes: The Public version does not provide multiple search options.
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Slide notes: So in summary...the ERIC thesaurus is a "controlled
vocabulary" or a list of "authorized terms" called descriptors. A search
using descriptors for search terms, provides results that are specifically
about the topic. And, each version of the ERIC database provides a
unique way to access and search the thesaurus. Choose the one that
makes best sense for your search needs.
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Slide notes: This concludes the tutorial. Please don't hesitate to contact
us if you have any questions. Click on the survey link to answer a brief
questionnaire about this tutorial. Your feedback is appreciated!
Text Captions: Click to take
Survey
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