Author-Assigned Keywords versus Library of Congress Subject Headings.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Author-Assigned Keywords versus Library of Congress Subject Headings.
Authors:	Strader, C. Rockelle¹ strader@osu.edu
Source:	Library Resources & Technical Services. Oct2009, Vol. 53 Issue 4, p243-250. 8p. 7 Charts.
Subject Terms:	Academic dissertations, Online library catalogs, Keywords, Library of Congress subject headings, Subject headings, Electronic records, Online databases, Keyword searching
Abstract:	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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Education Research Complete

Description
Abstract:	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. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	00242527
DOI:	10.5860/lrts.53n4.243