The Inspec Thesaurus contains controlled terms used to index records in the Inspec database. Select terms from the thesaurus to search the Controlled Index field or the Topic field of records.

Thesaurus Details

From the Inspec Thesaurus, click the icon to view the details for any term in the thesaurus. Thesaurus details may include any or all of the following fields, depending on the term.

Thesaurus Term

Displays the full name of the authorized thesaurus term.

Status

Shows whether the term is still currently in use.

Used For

Non-preferred terms. Use the thesaurus term in place of these terms.

Use

Displays terms that were used for discontinued thesaurus terms.

Narrower Term(s)

Controlled terms that are at the next lower level in the thesaurus hierarchy.

Broader Term(s)

Controlled terms that are at the next higher level in the thesaurus hierarchy.

Preferred Term(s)

Controlled terms to be used in place of the thesaurus term.

Related Term(s)

Controlled terms related to the thesaurus term.

Top Term(s)

Controlled terms at the highest level of the thesaurus hierarchy. The thesaurus term is subordinate to these terms.

Related Classification Code(s)

Inspec Classification codes related to the thesaurus term.

Date of Input

Date when the thesaurus term was introduced.

Prior Term(s)

Controlled terms related to the thesaurus term that were (and may still be) in use before the date of input of the thesaurus term.

Scope Notes

Scope notes and/or history notes for the thesaurus term. Scope notes indicate which concepts are covered and which ones are not covered by the thesaurus term.

About Controlled Terms

Controlled terms—also known as preferred terms—are assigned to records in Inspec by subject specialists to represent the content of the source documents.

The Add button appears to the left of each controlled term. If the Add button is missing, the term is a non-preferred or "lead-in" term, and it should not be used to search the Controlled Index field.

About the Thesaurus Hierarchy

The Inspec Thesaurus comprises approximately 400 hierarchies. At the top of each hierarchy is the highest or most general term.

A thesaurus term can appear in more than one hierarchy. It can also appear more than once in a single hierarchy. When you click the icon, you will see the hierarchy in which the selected term occurs. If the term occurs in more than one hierarchy, you can view the other hierarchies by clicking a number at the top of the hierarchy display.