Subject Thesaurus

* indicates a non-preferred term, which includes a link to the preferred term

A - B - C - D - E - F - G - H - I - J - K - L - M - N - O - P - Q - R - S - T - U - V - W - X - Y - Z - #

The structure and format conventions used to construct this thesaurus follow the recommendations outlined in the Guidelines for the Construction, Format, and Management of Monolingual Thesauri, Z39.19-1993 (NISO 1993). This section identifies and provides brief descriptions of the conventions used.

Punctuation

  • All punctuation is excluded, with the exception of text in scope notes.
  • Hyphens are used only in cases of necessary prefixes (e.g. anti-war, pre-marital) or where literary warrant establishes the use of a hyphen to link words together (e.g. drive-by shootings). Sources for such warrant include the Merriam-Webster Dictionary (1998) and existing subject specialized thesauri (for a listing of thesauri used see the Sources Consulted bibliography). Where disagreement occurs among these sources, the decision is based on user warrant as indicated in the subject thesauri consulted.

Singular and Plural

  • Terms are expressed in plural form if they constitute "count nouns" (i.e., names of objects or concepts that are subject to the question "how many").

    Examples:

    • political parties
    • crops
    • veterans
  • Terms are expressed in singular form if they constitute "noncount nouns" (i.e., names of materials, substances, or states of being that are subject to the question "how much").

    Examples:

    • snow
    • aggression

Compound Terms

  • Compound terms in the form of noun phrases are included if they represent a single concept and exist in common usage.

    Examples:

    • election ballots
    • child abuse
    • property taxes
  • Compound terms in the form of prepositional noun phrases are restricted to concepts that cannot be expressed in any other way.

    Examples:

    • prisoners of war
    • courtroom procedures

Abbreviations and Acronyms

  • Abbreviations and/or acronyms are selected as preferred terms if they have a well-established usage and are unambiguous.

    Examples:

    • UFO
    • AIDS
    • DNA

Proper Names and Titles

  • Organization names are included in the Subject Thesaurus as unique entities or "classes of one" (NISO 1993).
  • Titles of institutions, treaties, and legislative acts are included in their full form except in cases where an acronym is the more familiar usage.

    Examples:

    • Marshall Plan
    • NAFTA
    • Civil Rights Act of 1964
  • Names of persons and names of geographic places are excluded from the subject thesaurus. Two separate controlled lists have been created to accommodate these categories.

Hierarchy Notation

  • The Subject Thesaurus indicates both hierarchical and non-hierarchical relationships between terms. Hierarchical relationships are those that demonstrate genus:species, whole:part, class:subclass relationships. This is designated through the Broader Term, Narrower Term notation.

    Examples:

    • elections
    • NARROW TERM(S): congressional elections
    • congressional elections
    • BROADER TERM(S): elections
  • Non-hierarchical relationships indicate a close conceptual relationship (though not synonymous) between terms. This is always represented as reciprocal and is indicated by the related term notation.

    Examples:

    • judicial decisions
    • RELATED TERM(S): appellate courts
    • appellate courts
    • RELATED TERM(S): judicial decisions

Preferred and Non-Preferred Terms

  • Synonyms, near synonyms, alternate spellings, superseded terms, and abbreviations of less commonly used terms are controlled by designating a "preferred term" and referencing it to all relevant (semantically equivalent) "non-preferred terms" and term variants. This is indicated by the Preferred Term and Non-Preferred Term notation, where the term following Preferred Term is the preferred term (to index and search by) and the term following Non-Preferred Term indicates the non-preferred term.

    Examples:

    • primitive peoples
    • Preferred Term: indigenous peoples
    • indigenous peoples
    • Non-Preferred Term: primitive peoples

Qualifiers

  • Parenthetic qualifiers are used to disambiguate homonyms and to clarify terms whose meaning or context in time and space may cause confusion. Qualifiers become part of the term and must be included in indexing or searching.

    Examples:

    • defense (legal)
    • defense (military)
    • Bush Administration (1989-1993)
    • Bush Administration (George W. 2001- )
    • Georgia (Republic)

Scope Notes

  • Scope notes are used to provide a definition for a specialized term, to provide instruction or restriction on a term's application, and in some cases, to direct the user to other terms that might be more appropriate. Scope notes are indicated by the notation SCOPE NOTE(S).

    Examples:

    • mistrials
    • SCOPE NOTE(S): A court trial terminated without conclusion either because of prejudicial error in the proceedings or because a jury cannot agree on a verdict.
    • congressional elections (U.S. House)
    • SCOPE NOTE(S): applies only to national elections for the United States House of Representatives.
    • Soviet Union
    • SCOPE NOTE(S): Use limited to 1922-1991; dissolved 1991.

Terms

dance
dance companies
dancers
data
databases
dating (social)
daughters
day care services*
deafness*
death
death certificates*
death counseling
death of spouse
death penalty*
death rates*
death records
death row inmates
death sentence*
deaths*
debt
debtor-creditor laws
decision making
decriminalization
Deep South*
defendants
defense (law)
defense (military)
defense budget
defense contracts
defense counsel
Defense Department*
defense industries
defense policy
defense spending
deforestation
deinstitutionalization
delegates
delinquency*
delinquent behavior
dementia
democracy
Democratic Convention*
Democratic National Convention
Democratic Party (USA)
Democratic Socialist Party
demographic characteristics
demographic fluctuations
demographic indicators*
demographic statistics
demographics*
demography
demonstrators
dental health
dentists
Department of Defense*
department stores
departments
dependents
deportation
depression*
depression (economic)
depression (psychology)
deregulation
desegregation
desertification
desertion*
despotism*
detente
detention
deterrence
detoxification
Detroit riots (1967)
developing countries*
developing nations
developmentally disabled
deviance
diabetes
diagnosis*
dictatorship
diet
digestive disorders
digital communications
digital preservation
diplomacy
diplomatic immunity
diplomats
disabilities
disability discrimination
disability income
disabled persons
disarmament
disaster relief
disasters
discrimination
disease
disease prevention
disenfranchisement
disinformation
dislocated workers*
disorderly conduct
displaced workers
disposable income
disposition (legal)
dispute settlement*
dissatisfaction
dissent
dissertations
distribution
district attorneys
district courts
distrust
diversion programs
divorce
divorce rates
DNA evidence*
DNA fingerprinting
doctor patient relationship*
doctor visits
doctoral degrees
doctoral programs
doctors*
dollar (USA)
domestic assault
domestic markets
domestic partnership
domestic policy
domestic relations
domestic responsibilities
domestic trade
domestic violence
donations*
double jeopardy
downsizing
draft*
draft cards
draft dodgers*
draft resisters
dreams
drinking age
drinking behavior
drive-by shootings
drive-bys*
driving habits
driving under the influence
dropouts*
droughts
drug abuse
drug addiction*
drug costs
drug courts
drug dependence
drug dispensing
drug education
drug enforcement*
drug industry
drug law enforcement
drug law offenses
drug laws
drug legalization
drug offender profiles
drug offenders
drug offenses*
drug overdose
drug possession
drug regulation
drug related crimes
drug sales*
drug testing
drug traffic
drug treatment
drug use
Drug Use Forecasting*
drugs
drunk driving*
drunkenness
dual career couples
dual career families
due process
DUF*
durable goods
Dutch Parliament
dying