Judi Homan
LIBR 247
Thesaurus Comparison
May 13, 2014
A comparison of two thesaurus, one is commercial and the other is open access. The commercial
site is Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts.
http://search.proquest.com.libaccess.sjlibrary.org/llba/advanced?accountid=10361
The open access site is Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary.
http://doc.esd.org.uk/IPSV/2.00.html#/?tab=data-resource-details
The thesaurus features that are available are for browsing or searching or does the
programs allow for both features to be accessed by the user. In the Integrated Public Sector
Vocabulary only had the search feature available for the user. In Linguistics and Language
Behavior Abstracts browsing and searching is available. This made the search easier to locate
the term and then select the narrower, broader or related terms to continue the browsing feature.
Again this is where the commercial thesaurus provided more sources for features. However, the
open access is better than not having a thesaurus.
The features and facilities that have been provided on the interface to help users perform
thesaurus-based searches is an important feature. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary
there is not hope for help. The page is very plain, and has no help section or other features. If
you explore some of the tabs, they are dead links. Overall, the more I explore this site, the more
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disappointed I become. I am wondering at this point if this site is even actively used still. In
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts has help features, boxes that allow for broader or
narrow or related terms. The ability to choose the term to be “contained within” or “begins with”
as the search begins. The commercial site definitely showed its worth through the features
offered.
The hyperlinks between terms in the thesaurus is a feature that allows for connecting the
search terms. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary the term results are in a link that takes
you to that terms information. There was no connection between terms. In Linguistics and
Language Behavior Abstracts there is a small yellow icon next to the result words. (Looks like a
yellow post it note) It shows the related terms, when clicked on the related terms the words list
page reopens to the new word and its information.
The ability to choose terms to add to your search statement is a great feature to thesaurus
searches. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary there is no additional search term
statements available. Each term is an individual term with no options, even if another term has
not be located in the thesaurus. If the term you are seeking is not available, in a drop down box it
will get you other options, close the original search term. In Linguistics and Language Behavior
Abstracts terms can be added to the terms by clicking on the chosen word or words. This allows
for expanding your word searches. This is beneficial for broadening the search parameters.
The ability to use tick boxes and other features in a thesaurus helps to provide multiple
search term expansions. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary there was not any extra
features offered. In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts to see available narrower,
broader, and related terms is done by clicking the check box next to the terms. Unfortunately, the
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open access offers no extra features. A search box and nothing more, does not make for a useful
tool. The commercial site is again the one that shows the most user interface.
The standard relationships are displayed in the sites. However, in the Integrated Public
Sector Vocabulary I did not find any relationships. As I have already mentioned I did not find
much on this site. In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts the relationships are located
in the section when you click on the explode box on the right side. A new box opens with the
terms broken down by the different attributes. The commercial site shows all the features
making it user friendly, while the open access did not open the access.
The types of displays offered in the interface provides a navigational ease for the user. In
the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary does not offer any interface other than a search box. In
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts there are a few interfaces provided. A novice user
would use the help button or the ‘learn more’ link to help understand the different features and
information provided by the program. The open access did not have a help feature; there was
nothing to guide a user to other aspects of the program or even explanations for existing features.
The system provide advanced features like suggesting alternative search terms based on
the structure of the thesaurus. The ease or difficulty found in the interface to best for end-users
using the program repeatedly. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary it was very difficult to
navigate. The link provided for the site took you straight into the thesaurus part. There was
nothing that gave the user instructions, or advanced features. It was a case of insert word here,
and hope you opened a word that lead you to what you wanted. The open access page left a
great gap for any alternative or advance use. In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts
there was not an advance feature in the immediate pages, but there was alternative search term
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suggestions that opened up larger search capabilities. The open access site offered bare
minimum features, while the commercial site had a more features.
The two thesaurus have an interface display showing the results. The Integrated Public
Sector Vocabulary displayed results in a drop down box under the search box if there was not an
exact match for the word, the listing providing topics with the search word in them. After
selecting another word, the listing showed up on the right hand side of the page with a listing of
19 other search terms with the search word listed. After each new term it gave a number
representing how many times that word is found. In Linguistics and Language Behavior
Abstracts the results appear down below the search box. It is very simple to pick the terms you
want expanded or explored. The interface results between the two made for a fast comparison.
The open access site was just not the same ease of use. I preferred the commercial site for the
user interface and easy to use form.
The interface of the thesaurus terms found in the results set is a way for the user to
understand the terms sought and then see the terms highlighted. In the Integrated Public Sector
Vocabulary highlighted terms only if the initial search word was not located. The drop down
box would highlight the chosen word in the suggested terms if the original term was not found.
In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts there also was a lack of highlights. The terms
could have been highlighted showing how the terms connect together for expanded research.
The open access site did have a similar feature, but the commercial site did not appear to have it.
The system provides any feedback on terms not found in the thesaurus to help users alter
the original term. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary did not provide feedback. It only
had a drop down box under the search box that had the original search word in other terms. For
example, management was not located, but business management was listed. It provided the
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listing of words on the right side of the page. In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts if
the search term was not located it would give a list of choices that allowed the user to select the
closest match. For once I found this to be equal in both the open access and commercial sites.
They did give other options, and allowed the user to make their own selections.
The interface allows users to browse through the thesaurus terms from the retrieved
results. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary did not appear to offer this feature. I tried
several different search terms and clicked on other selections but it did not keep an overall listing
of word previously sought. In Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts did not seem to have
this feature either. It is a shame that neither of the sites had this, it would be helpful for a user to
have a working list of previous search terms to keep from duplicating searches.
The non-descriptor to descriptor redirection for this comparison is the same for this
comparison. Neither the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary or the Linguistics and Language
Behavior Abstracts offered descriptors. There was no listing of labels or captions that directed or
redirected searches.
The interface show how many documents have been indexed using the term the users has
entered. In the Integrated Public Sector Vocabulary it does show a listing of numbers next to the
search term. I am assuming that means the amount of items listed under that search term. In
Linguistics and Language Behavior Abstracts there were no numbers listed that I saw. The
uncertainty of the open access and the lack numbers on the commercial site levels out the
comparison on this topic.
The open access site was my biggest disappointment. I started looking at the site and was
confused by what was located where. I understand this is a United Kingdom site, but it lacks
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instructions or directions. It left the user guessing to what exactly they are looking for and doing
on the site. Several of the tabs for this site were no longer working and the ones that did work
took you to other parts of the site that once again did not have any information or directions. I
would hope users of this site had a manual or something to explain what and how things worked.
The commercial site had its flaws as well. The lack of terminology counts and easier to
understand ‘learn more” links would help the user be more comfortable with the program. My
example of clearer explanation is the ‘explode box’. I had to go to the help section to get a better
understanding on what happens when this box is clicked. Both sites could use more information
on how to improve searches, and how to understand the final results of extra features.
The major improvement needed for the open access site is more of everything. Visually
is was pleasant on the eyes, but it had no features for making searches easier or helpful. For the
open access site my improvement suggestions are:






Provide help link
Provide narrower, broader, and related terms feature
Larger font, small font makes it harder to read all the details
Linkage to related terms within the secondary search words
Making sure all links are still working
Make the items that open less compact for ease of reading
The improvements suggested for the commercial site is plainer language. The
explanations at times were difficult to understand because of the style of language used. The
need to offer more information on the special sections will be useful also. For the commercial
site my improvement suggestions are:




Expanded explanations of instructions
Provide simpler language in the explanations
Provide information on what the extra buttons mean like ‘explode’
Provide a count of term usage
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Search term
Search
Attributes
features
Linguistics
Communication
Search
N, B, RT
Expanded
Ease of use
options
features
Related terms
Help link,
and
box,
allowed for
Learn more
Language
optional
choosing a
link,
Behavior
words if
better word or
Exploded
Abstracts
original
seeing how
views,
was not
the words
found
connected
Integrated
Communication
None
Public
Only
Sector
offered
Vocabulary
terms if
none
none
none
the
original
word was
not found
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