Purpose: Thesauri as important tools in storage and retrieval information systems have a significant role in the optimization of database search. So the publishing of thesauri needs to use standards as much as possible. I examined and compared two important thesauruses on the basis of ANSI/NISO z39.19 2005.
Methodology: This study is an analytical and applied survey. The study population was the last version of engineering thesaurus and NAMA thesaurus.
Samples were compared against a checklist developed in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet which designed according to ANSI/NISO z39.19 2005 standards. The descriptive statistics were used for analyzing gathered data.
Findings: The average level of observance of standards for semantic relationships in engineering thesaurus is 97.5% and this rate in NAMA thesaurus was 93%. In these thesauri the average levels of observance of standards for formal structure were 86% & 97% and for presentation were 54.5% & 57% respectively. Also, average levels of observance of standards for management system were 14% & 18% for engineering thesaurus and NAMA respectively.
Originality/Value: Since the thesauri considered as important tools for IR systems, evaluation and improvement of them is of great importance. I tried to show weakness of thesauruses in the management system benchmark.
 

Keywords: Thesauri, Controlled vocabularies, ANSI /NISO Z 39.19 -2005, Engineering Thesaurus, NAMA thesaurus

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