Main term display

This help page explains how to interpret the elements which appear in the main display of terms in the UK Archival Thesaurus. Other help pages describe how you can Search UKAT, Browse A-Z and Browse by hierarchy.

Each preferred and non-preferred term which has been incorporated into UKAT or submitted to UKAT (including candidate terms and rejected terms) has a page which displays its full details. You can access these pages via the lists of terms that are output when you search or browse the Thesaurus. For an explanation of the distinction between preferred and non-preferred terms, see Thesaurus basics

Main term display: preferred terms

The following elements will appear in a typical page for a preferred term. Not all of them will necessarily be present in every term: elements only appear where there is relevant information. 'Source', 'Microthesaurus' and 'Status' should always appear in the main display pages of terms whose status is 'pending' or 'approved' (i.e. terms which have been edited). For these terms, 'Broader term', 'Narrower terms', 'Related terms' and 'Scope notes' are optional. The pages for rejected terms and candidate terms will typically include fewer details than those for pending or approved terms.

• Source: The source of the term: i.e. the organisation or individual which contributed the term to UKAT. Contributors are listed on the Contributors page.
• Status: 'Approved' means that the term has been edited and has been incorporated into UKAT; 'pending' means that the term has been edited and is awaiting formal incorporation following a period of consultation; 'candidate' means that the term has been submitted to UKAT, but not yet edited; 'rejected' means that the term has been rejected by UKAT's editor as inappropriate according to the project's editing methodology.
• Used for: Any non-preferred terms which point to the preferred term (see Thesaurus basics).
• Microthesaurus: The microthesaurus or microthesauri in which the term appears (see Thesaurus basics). If a term appears in more than one microthesaurus, there will be a separate heading for each microthesaurus, followed by listings of the broader and narrower terms relating to the term's placement in the microthesaurus.
• Broader term: The term's immediate broader term in the microthesaurus in question. The heading 'broader term' is indented beneath the heading for the microthesaurus to which it relates.
• Narrower terms: Any immediate narrower terms of the term in the microthesaurus in question. The heading 'narrower terms' is indented beneath the heading for the microthesaurus to which it relates.
• Related terms: Any terms which are related to the term by an associative rather than a hierarchical relationship: see Thesaurus basics.
• Scope notes: Explanatory notes relating to the interpretation of the term.
• Suggested relationships: Used in the pages for candidate terms and rejected terms to precede the headings for any relationships which were submitted with the term.
• Reasons for rejection: Appears in the pages for rejected terms, indicating why the term has been ruled out of scope.

Main term display: non-preferred terms

Main term display pages for non-preferred terms were added to the UKAT website in April 2004. They include a more limited set of elements than the pages for preferred terms. 'Source', 'Status' and 'Use' are mandatory, while 'Scope notes' is optional. 'Source', 'Status' and 'Scope notes' have the same functions as in the pages for preferred terms (see above). 'Use' indicates the preferred term (or combination of preferred terms) that should be used instead of the non-preferred term.

Please note that non-preferred terms may have a different editing status, and may have been submitted from a different source, than the preferred terms to which they relate.