September 2024 release (ELSST Version 5)

In the last year we have worked closely with developers of the CESSDA Data Catalogue (CDC) and have now established a link from ELSST to the CDC and vice versa. The CDC contains descriptions of more than 40,000 data collections held by CESSDA’s Service Providers, originating from over 20 European countries. The link finds all CDC catalogue records that have been assigned the term in question as a keyword, or which have a keyword from another vocabulary that matches the ELSST term. Links are also provided from the CDC back to the ELSST thesaurus. These innovations aim to enhance the discoverability of data in the CDC by enabling users to learn more about the concepts and navigate through the thesaurus structure. Further details can be found in a presentation given at the International Association for Social Science Information Service and Technology (IASSIST) and Association of Canadian Map Libraries and Archives (CARTO) 2024 conference in May 2024.

Content development work in the past year has focused on updating terms relating to civil status, family structure, disability, and the education of students with special educational needs and disabilities. We have also made a start at updating the science and technology hierarchy.

All language versions have been updated except for Finnish and Romanian where no new translations have been added to this release. Translation of Preferred Terms for all target languages is between 97-100% complete. ELSST previously contained a Danish translation, which is no longer available.

The following changes were made to the English source language version:

13 new concepts
3 deprecated concepts
12 relabelled Preferred Terms
39 new Entry Terms
21 deleted Entry Terms
55 new or changed Definitions
14 new or changed Scope Notes
36 changes to the Broader/Narrower Concepts
46 changes to Related Concepts
34 new or changed History Notes

Examples

New concepts are as follows: NUCLEAR FAMILY; BLENDED FAMILIES; SINGLES (LIFESTYLE); SINGLEHOOD (LIFESTYLE); GLOBAL HEALTH; CO-PARENTING; JOINT CUSTODY; ONLINE SOCIAL NETWORKS; APPRENTICESHIPS; INCLUSIVE EDUCATION; DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY; DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION; DIGITAL DIVIDE
Deprecated concepts are as follows: MARRIED WOMEN WORKERS, SPECIAL EDUCATION, SURVIVING CIVIL PARTNERSHIP
Relabelled Preferred Terms are as follows: FOOD AID (INTERNATIONAL) instead of FOOD AID; EDUCATION OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES instead of SPECIAL NEEDS EDUCATION; STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES instead of SPECIAL NEEDS STUDENTS; TEACHERS OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES instead of SPECIAL EDUCATION TEACHERS; SPECIAL SCHOOLS instead of SCHOOLS FOR THE DISABLED; TEACHING ASSISTANTS instead of CLASSROOM ASSISTANTS; JUVENILE DETENTION FACILITIES instead of REFORMATORY SCHOOLS; DIGITALIZATION instead of DIGITIZATION; DIGITAL LITERACY instead of COMPUTER LITERACY; PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES instead of DISABLED PERSONS; SINGLES (CIVIL STATUS) instead of SINGLES; SINGLEHOOD (CIVIL STATUS) instead of SINGLEHOOD
New Entry Terms include DIGITAL EXCLUSION as Entry Term for DIGITAL DIVIDE and MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS as Entry Term for INCLUSIVE EDUCATION
Deleted Entry Terms include SPINSTERS and BACHELORS as Entry Terms for SINGLES (CIVIL STATUS) and SLOW LEARNERS as Entry Term for STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS AND DISABILITIES
New or changed Definitions include the addition of a Definition to the term DIGITAL LITERACY (AN INDIVIDUAL’S ABILITY TO USE DIGITAL INFORMATION AND RELEVANT TECHNOLOGIES TO FIND, EVALUATE, CREATE AND COMMUNICATE INFORMATION), and the change of the Definition of CIVIL STATUS (from A PERSON’S RELATIONSHIP STATUS, SUCH AS SINGLE, MARRIED, CIVIL PARTNER, DIVORCED OR WIDOWED to A PERSON’S LEGAL RELATIONSHIP STATUS, SUCH AS SINGLE, MARRIED, CIVIL PARTNER, DIVORCED OR WIDOWED)
Broader/Narrower Concept changes include the change of the Broader Concept of COHABITING from CIVIL STATUS to PARTNERSHIPS (PERSONAL), and the Broader Concept of DIGITALIZATION from INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATIONS TECHNOLOGY to DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY