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HASSET is a subject thesaurus which has been developed by the UKDA over the past 20 years. Initially based on the UNESCO thesaurus compiled by Jean Aitchison (Paris: UNESCO, 1977)(ISBN: 92-3-101469-2) HASSET has been continuously expanded and updated for use in its online retrieval system.

The purpose of the thesaurus

A thesaurus of terms is a useful tool for the organisation and retrieval of data. It helps the user, whether an indexer or an information seeker, to choose the most suitable terms and to use those terms consistently.

In particular a display of the hierarchical relationships of terms can help users to broaden a search or make it more specific. Cross referencing to synonyms will suggest alternative search terms, as will the provision of links to other conceptually related terms.

In general a thesaurus helps users to define their search in the terms which are most likely to lead to retrieval of relevant information. Retrieval failure is inefficient and can be costly. A thesaurus can help to more fully exploit our stores of information and benefit from the past and continuing investment.

Subject coverage

HASSET is a multidisciplinary thesaurus. Having been developed specifically for and by the UKDA, the subject coverage reflects the subject content of the UKDA holdings. Coverage is more comprehensive in the core subject areas of social science disciplines: politics, sociology, economics, education, law, crime, demography, health, employment, and, increasingly, technology. These continue to be developed and are subject to addition and change as the holdings grow.

Most proper names have been excluded. Geographical place names have been included as and when they are required for indexing but are by no means an exhaustive coverage.

Structure

HASSET is broadly based on the thesaural relationships and displays as outlined in British Standard 5723:1987/ISO 2788-1986 (Establishment and development of monolingual thesauri).

It employs the conventional range of term relationships of equivalence (preferred and non-preferred terms, USE/UF), the hierarchical relationships (broader and narrower terms, BT/NT) and the associative relationships (related terms, RT).

Using HASSET in your own organisation

The UKDA encourages the use of HASSET for non-commercial use providing appropriate acknowledgement is given.

HASSET was developed to allow subject access to the UKDA's own collection of social science and humanities data and does not purport to be a definitive guide to social science terminology. It is a dynamic thesaurus constantly being added to and updated. Outside organisations or individuals may wish to use HASSET for indexing their materials. Excerpts of the thesaurus may be made for non-commercial use provided that the copyright holder (The UK Data Archive, University of Essex) is acknowledged in all reproductions and adaptations of the material contained in it. The UKDA would also like to be kept informed of use that is made of the thesaurus and would appreciate being informed of any errors found. The form of acknowledgement would be as follows:

"[Material used in/for .....] is derived from the HASSET thesaurus which was developed by the UK Data Archive at the University of Essex. Neither the UK Data Archive nor the University of Essex may be held responsible for any errors in this material."

Additionally a full electronic version of HASSET for non-commercial use can usually be provided. Applications for permission for use should be made to the UKDA and will normally require a licence agreement to be signed. For further details contact HASSET thesaurus enquiries.

Current projects involving HASSET

HASSET is the basis for the multilingual thesaurus European Language Social Science Thesaurus (ELSST) which was developed as part of two EU-funded projects, LIMBER and Multilingual Access to Data Infrastructures of the European Research Area (MADIERA). Further development of ELSST is currently taking place as part of the Preparatory Phase Project for a Major Upgrade of the Council of European Social Science Data Archives (CESSDA) Research Infrastructure.

ELSST is currently translated into nine languages and is used to aid retrieval in the CESSDA Catalogue.