Domain analysis, an important part of thesaurus construction.

Design and construction of index languages should be based on thorough knowledge and understanding of the environment of the information system and its users. This study investigates a mixed set of methods (group interviews and word association to collect data, content analysis and discourse analysis to analyze data) to evaluate whether these methods together collect the data required for user-oriented thesaurus construction. Based on a case study we find that the three studies together provide the needed domain knowledge to define the role of the thesaurus and design the content. The analysis also provided conceptual knowledge and prepared for the next step, collecting and analyzing concepts and tenns, thus saving resources in the construction process. In sum, the domain study made it possible to design a thesaurus reflecting the work environment and its users

The word association test in the methodology of thesaurus construction

This paper analyzes the word association test and discusses whether that method should be included in the process of construction of searching thesauri. The first part of the paper describes the searching thesaurus: its definition and function in information retrieval. In the next part the methodology of the word association test is described and discussed in relation to thesaurus construction. The focus of the investigation is on whether the association test is suitable for identification of the specific language use of a limited user group and for identification of synonyms and near-synonyms. The results of three projects, concerning the use of the word association test for thesaurus construction, are reported. It is concluded that the test is a valuable method in the methodology of thesaurus construction. The association test elucidates the use of language of a specific, limited user group and identifies relevant relationships between words. The test, however, does not reveal the context and meaning of the analyzed words. It is thus recommended that the word association test is combined with more qualitative methods