Thesaurus of psychological index terms Source Information

Web site
http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/training/thesaurus.aspx

Authority
The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms was developed and is maintained by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Purpose
The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms is a controlled vocabulary used for indexing, cataloging, and searching for psychological information and documents. It enables retrieval systems, such as PsycINFO, to provide subject searching of data.

Description
The thesaurus contains about 8,000 terms, including preferred and entry terms. Many terms include definitions and historical usage notes.

The thesaurus includes nine term clusters, which group terms together by conceptual similarity. The nine clusters are:

1. Computers
2. Disorders
3. Education
4. Legal
5. Neuropsychology and Neurology
6. Occupational and Employment
7. Statistical
8. Tests and Testing
9. Treatment

The nine clusters represent terms frequently used in psychological research and are not meant to cover all subject areas of psychology.

Audience
Indexers, subject catalogers, online searchers, and in retrieval systems use the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms.

Update Frequency
The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms is updated regularly.

Metathesaurus Update Frequency
The Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms was last updated in the Metathesaurus in 2005.

Sites Consulted

1. American Psychological Association. Printed version of the Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms retires. PsycINFO News [Internet]. 2009 [cited 2010 Mar 15]; 28(6):1-2. Available from: http://www.apa.org/pubs/databases/news/2009/vol-28-no-6.pdf