The ERIC Thesaurus - A Key to Finding Resources in ERIC Speaker Notes and Q&A - Introduction to Use and Maintenance

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri

The ERIC Thesaurus webinar explains why ERIC uses a controlled vocabulary and how the thesaurus structures subject access across a collection spanning more than 50 years. The session covers the purpose of the ERIC Thesaurus for indexing and resource discovery, outlines how it is maintained and updated, and clarifies the work required to make records discoverable despite differing vocabulary in education literature. The presentation also summarizes the thesaurus term types and their roles in search and retrieval.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Why ERIC needs a thesaurus

ERIC Thesaurus purpose and role in indexing

Organizing subjects and enabling search

Background and history of the ERIC Thesaurus

Early development and print editions

Digital availability and ongoing updates

Thesaurus term types and how they function

The ERIC Thesaurus – A Key to Finding Resources in ERIC Speaker Notes and Q&A Presentation Slide 2 Good afternoon everyone, I am Erin Pollard and I am the Project Officer for ERIC, in the U.S. Department of Education. Today we are going to discuss the ERIC Thesaurus. We are going to discuss how it’s used in indexing ERIC records, how it’s maintained and updated, and how it can help you find relevant resources in ERIC. Slide 3 Today, three of us will be speaking to you. As I mentioned earlier, I am Erin Pollard and I am the Project Officer for ERIC. I oversee the program from the government’s perspective and set policies for the program. I am going to provide some framing of why ERIC has a thesaurus and why it matters. Then Lydia Hellrich-Dawson and Judy Beck, who use the ERIC Thesaurus extensively in their daily work, will provide a deeper look. Slide 4 Today’s agenda is as follows. I am going to talk about why we have a Thesaurus and what it means for ERIC users. Then I am going to turn the presentation over to Lydia to give some background and history, and talk about the process used for maintaining and updating the Thesaurus. Judy will discuss the role of the Thesaurus in resource discovery, including using it for indexing and as a tool for searching. We will then have a wrap up and time for questions during the last 15 minutes of the webinar, but feel free to use the chat box if you have a question at any point during the webinar. Slide 5 So to begin– why are we having this webinar? And why does ERIC need a thesaurus? Since we are deeply involved in updating ERIC Thesaurus this year, we thought this was a perfect time to give this webinar. We realize that the vast majority of people who search on the ERIC website don’t directly use the Thesaurus to help focus their searches. The ERIC search engine uses intuitive technologies, and will bring back relevant records without having to directly use the Thesaurus. However, even if you are not searching the Thesaurus, it is being used to help with the retrieval of relevant records. This is particularly important in a broad collection like ERIC that has content spanning more than 50 years. We also realize that even among researchers who do use the Thesaurus, there is often little understanding of how the Thesaurus is used in ERIC, and the kind of work that goes into making records discoverable despite wide variances in the vocabulary in the indexed literature. We would like to provide some background on the usefulness of the Thesaurus, as well as give you an overview of the work and care that goes into indexing records and maintaining it. In essence, the ERIC Thesaurus is a discovery tool. It helps structure the subject matter represented in the ERIC collection to help users find relevant records. ERIC made the decision 50 years ago to incorporate a thesaurus with its database of resources. The founders of ERIC recognized that without a thesaurus, it would soon become extremely difficult to find the information you want in this rapidly growing collection of education-related reports and other resources. The Thesaurus continues to perform this necessary function today. I’m now going to turn the presentation over to Lydia to talk about the background and history of the Thesaurus, how we maintain it, and the 2015 update. Slide 6 Thanks, Erin. In this first section, I will introduce you to the ERIC Thesaurus and provide a brief overview of its history. Then we will go over the different types of Thesaurus terms and what information accompanies each term. Slide 7 The Thesaurus of ERIC Descriptors, or the ERIC Thesaurus for short, is a list of carefully researched and selected words and phrases that are used to describe and access ERIC documents by subject. • The Thesaurus represents the subjects covered by ERIC. From the Thesaurus, we can tell what subjects are covered by the documents in the ERIC collection. • The Thesaurus organizes ERIC docum

FAQs

What is the ERIC Thesaurus used for in ERIC records?

It structures subject matter in the ERIC collection so users can find relevant records. It supports indexing by using controlled terms that represent subjects covered by ERIC.

Why does ERIC maintain a thesaurus even though the ERIC search engine is intuitive?

The search engine can retrieve relevant records without directly using the thesaurus, but the thesaurus still helps ensure retrieval accuracy. This is especially important for a broad collection covering decades of education content and varying vocabulary in the literature.

How did the ERIC Thesaurus evolve over time?

Work began in 1965 and the first version was released in 1966, followed by multiple print editions through 2001. In 2004, it became fully digital for search and browsing on the ERIC website, and it has continued to be updated with new versions.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Putri