Terminology change: Effect on index vocabularies

摘要

Changes in the vocabulary of information science over a period of eleven years were studied in order to determine the effect of such change on index vocabularies. The language of the Annual Review of Information Science and Technology was studied; the vocabulary was found to be changing at a rate of about 4% per year, with old terms leaving the vocabulary at about the same rate as new ones enter it. No change of usage among synonyms was found, but trends in the discipline showed up in changes in emphasis of the vocabulary. In particular, hardware-oriented terms seem to be declining in importance; there is some evidence that management and cataloging are becoming more important. Conclusions are: thesauri and other indexing vocabularies must provide for change as expected, with deletion or other provision for terms which pass out of use as important as addition of new terms; change of usage among synonyms is not significant in the short term (eleven years); and vocabulary change indicates the direction of growth in a discipline.