Using ELSST

The thesaurus is free to search and browse online using the Skosmos publishing solution. ELSST is also free to download on acceptance of a CC-BY-SA licence.

Search or browse online

Terms can be browsed either via their hierarchical structure or by alphabetical listing. They can also be searched using the search box, either by a specific language or across all languages. Searches are case-insensitive and diacritic-insensitive. The system autocompletes the string.

The default search finds all terms that start with the search string. For example art finds terms such as ART and ARTISTIC ACTIVITIES as well as ARTHRITIS and ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION, etc. Entry Terms, such as ART, are shown in italics, with a pointer to their Preferred Term (in this case, VISUAL ARTS).

The symbol * can be used for truncated searches. For example

• art* will find all terms starting with art, i.e. it is the same as the default search.
• *art will find all terms ending in art such as ART and WORKS OF ART
• *art * will find all terms that contain art anywhere in the term. In addition to the terms found by the searches art* and *art, it finds terms such as VISUAL ARTS and FINE ARTS EDUCATION, as well as HEART DISEASES, POLITICAL PARTIES, etc.
• *-* or *'* finds all terms that contain hyphens (for example ANTI-TERRORISM and MEDICAL X-RAYS) and apostrophes (for example WORKERS’ RIGHTS and WOMEN’S HEALTH) respectively

To select a term, click on it within the autocomplete list. Alternatively, click on the Search button to display the list of results then click on a term within this list to select it. The terms in the results list are shown with their definition. Broader, Narrower and Related Concepts and Alternative/Entry Terms are also displayed, indicated by symbols. Hover the cursor over the symbol to see how terms are related.

On the search results page you can also refine your search by entering a Broader Concept into the ‘By parent’ search box under ‘Search options’ on the left hand side of the page, and clicking the ‘Limit search’ button. For example, on the results page for *art*, limiting the search to the parent term EDUCATION filters out terms such as ARTHRITIS and ARTIFICIAL INSEMINATION. To clear the filter press the ‘Clear limitations’ button on the right hand side of the page.

Selecting a term takes you to the home page for that term. The left hand side of the page shows the term in its hierarchy, while the right hand side shows the term with its Entry Terms, relations and notes.

API access

The Skosmos installation provides an API. See the Swagger documentation for details.

Download ELSST

ELSST is also free to download on acceptance of a CC-BY-SA licence. This allows users to modify and build upon the work even for commercial purposes. Any new works that use the original content must carry the same CC-BY-SA licence and CESSDA must be clearly credited as the owner of the work.