Vocabulary Development and Maintenance: The Example of MeSH

Authors

Stuart Nelson

Publication Date

4-6-2004

Description

The Medical Subject Headings are a controlled vocabulary used by the National Library of Medicine to index the medical literature for the MEDLINE database. A mission statement for MeSH clarified the goals, and led to a better understanding of the task at hand. With that understanding, the organization of MeSH and the criteria involved in preparing modifications are more easily described. Conflicts between the needs of the interface, of the indexers, and of the users arise and must be resolved. In a large database such as MEDLINE, citation maintenance becomes an important consideration.

Document Type

Presentation

Language

English

Keywords

medical subject headings, standardized terminology, informatics, MEDLINE, National Library of Medicine

Comments

Slides from a presentation given at the UNM Health Sciences Center

Sponsorship

Health Sciences Library and Informatics Center

Recommended Citation

Nelson, Stuart. "Vocabulary Development and Maintenance: The Example of MeSH." (2004). https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/hslic-historical-administrative/25