Author-Assigned Keywords versus Library of Congress Subject Headings
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5860/lrts.53n4.243Abstract
This study is an examination of the overlap between author-assigned keywords and cataloger-assigned Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) for a set of electronic theses and dissertations in Ohio State University’s online catalog. The project is intended to contribute to the literature on the issue of keywords versus controlled vocabularies in the use of online catalogs and databases. Findings support previous studies’ conclusions that both keywords and controlled vocabularies complement one another. Further, even in the presence of bibliographic record enhancements, such as abstracts or summaries, keywords and subject headings provided a significant number of unique terms that could affect the success of keyword searches. Implications for the maintenance of controlled vocabularies such as LCSH also are discussed in light of the patterns of matches and nonmatches found between the keywords and their corresponding subject headings.
References
Allyson Carlyle, '“Matching LCSH and User Vocabulary in the Library Catalog,”' Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 10 no. 1/2 (1989): 37-63nCarolyn O. Frost, '“Title Words as Entry Vocabulary to LCSH: Correlation between Assigned LCSH Terms and Derived Terms from Titles in Bibliographic Records with Implications for Subject Access in Online Catalogs,”' Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 10 no. 1/2 (1989): 165-79nMariam Ansari, '“Matching Between Assigned Descriptors and Title Keywords in Medical Theses,”' Library Review 54 no. 7 (2005): 410-14nHenk J. Voorbij, '“Title Keywords and Subject Descriptors: A Comparison of Subject Search Entries of Books in the Humanities and Social Sciences,”' Journal of Documentation 54 no. 4 (Sept 1998): 466-76nFrost, “Title Words as Entry Vocabulary to LCSH.”nTina Gross, Arlene G. Taylor, '“What Have We Got to Lose? The Effect of Controlled Vocabulary on Keyword Searching Results,”' College & Research Libraries 66 no. 3 (May 2005): 212-30nFrost, “Title Words as Entry Vocabulary to LCSH”; Voorbij, “Title Keywords and Subject Descriptors.”nJeffrey Garrett, '“Subject Headings in Full-Text Environments: The ECCO Experiment,”' College & Research Libraries 68 no. 1 (Jan. 2007): 69-81nMargaret E. I. Kipp, '“Complementary or Discrete Contexts in Online Indexing: A Comparison of User, Creator, and Intermediary Keywords,”' Canadian Journal of Information and Library Science 29 no. 4 (Dec. 2005): 419-36 Isidoro Gil-Leiva, and Adolfo Alonso-Arroyo, “Keywords Given by Authors of Scientific Articles in Database Descriptors,”
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, no. 8 (June 2007): 1175–87nKipp, “Complementary or Discrete Contexts in Online Indexing,” 429nGil-Leiva and Alonso-Arroyo, “Keywords Given by Authors of Scientific Articles in Database Descriptors,” 1176n Library of Congress Subject Headings: Pre– vs Post–Coordination and Related Issues (2007) (accessed Feb. 25, 2009)n Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies (Bethesda, Md.: NISO 2005): 16-nIbidnIn addition to Carlyle, “Matching LCSH and User Vocabulary in the Library Catalog,” see, for example, Hope O. Olson and John J. Boll,
Subject Analysis in Online Catalogs
, 2nd ed. (Englewood, Colo.: Libraries Unlimited 2001): 40;
Library of Congress Subject HeadingsnNISO,
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, 16;
Library of Congress Subject Headings
, 4; Birger Hjørland, “Literary Warrant (and Other Kinds of Warrant),” (Aug. 20, 2008), www.db.dk/bh/Lifeboat_KO/CONCEPTS/literary_warrant.htmnNISO,
Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Controlled Vocabularies
, 16nCarlyle, “Matching LCSH and User Vocabulary in the Library Catalog.”nAnsari, “Matching Between Assigned Descriptors and Title Keywords in Medical Theses,” 414; Gil-Leiva and Alonso-Arroyo, “Keywords Given by Authors of Scientific Articles in Database Descriptors,” 1179nFredrick Sclafani, '“Guest Essay: Controlled Subject Heading Searching Versus Keyword Searching,”' Technicalities 19 no. 9 (Oct. 1999): 15nGross and Taylor, “What Have We Got to Lose?” 223n
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