This thesis aims to answer the following questions: What type of vocabulary is used in the humanities? What does this implicate when it comes to indexing in the humanities? How do humanities scholars seek information and what type of information do they need? What consequences does this have when it comes to the development of humanities databases? How is the MLA International Bibliography organized? How does its indexing system – CIFT – work? How does the MLA International Bibliography correspond with the needs of the humanities scholar? The study shows that the type of vocabulary used in the humanities differs significantly from that used in the sciences. Therefore, information retrieval is often said to be problematic in the humanities when compared to the sciences. This is, however, not completely true. If consideration is taken to the different type of vocabulary used in the humanities, subject access proves to be more straightforward than has been generally recognized. The study also shows that humanities scholars have slightly other information needs than scientists. For example, they use different types of publications in their research. On a whole, the MLA International Bibliography corresponds well with the different needs of humanities scholars. The vocabulary used in its thesaurus is based on the type of vocabulary actually used by them. The database also includes references to various publication types. Even so, the MLA International Bibliography could do with a few improvements in order to enhance its value to the research community. The inclusion of abstracts, more references to internationally published material and improved currency when it comes to time lapse between primary source and online version are areas that needs to be improved. / Uppsatsnivå: D
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:hb-18329 |
Date | January 2000 |
Creators | Lundtoft, Linn |
Publisher | Högskolan i Borås, Institutionen Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap / Bibliotekshögskolan, University College of Borås. Swedish School of Library and Information Science |
Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
Language | Swedish |
Detected Language | English |
Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
Format | application/pdf |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
Relation | Magisteruppsats i biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap vid Bibliotekshögskolan/Biblioteks- och informationsvetenskap, 1404-0891 ; 2000:17 |
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