Keyword Group

Container element for one set of keywords (<kwd>, <nested-kwd>, or <compound-kwd>) used to describe a document. A keyword records one specific term, key phrase, abbreviation, taxonomic structure, or other expression that is found within the text of a standards document, or implied (broader, narrower, etc.) from terms found within this text.


Language in Keywords: A standard may take multiple sets of keywords, with the @kwd-group-type, @specific-use, or @xml:lang attributes used to discriminate between them. The keyword elements (<kwd>, <nested-kwd>, or <compound-kwd>) do not take the @xml:lang attribute; that is reserved for the <kwd-group> element. This means that keywords must be sorted by language and entered in language groups.
Vocabulary Attributes: For controlled vocabularies, two attributes can be used to link a keyword group to its source:
  • @vocab — This attribute holds the name of a controlled or generic (uncontrolled) vocabulary, taxonomy, ontology, database, thesaurus, etc. that is the source of the keywords in the group, for example, “CRediT”, “inspec”, “structural engineering”, or “VWL”. In cases where there is no named vocabulary, the @vocab attribute should be set to “uncontrolled”.
  • @vocab-identifier — This attribute holds a unique identifier and possible pointer to the named vocabulary (typically a URI or DOI reference).
Keyword Group Type: The @kwd-group-type attribute most commonly names an uncontrolled vocabulary source of the keywords, such as “chemical engineering”, “author-generated”, or “working-group-generated”. But @kwd-group-type has also been used to record the type of keywords, for example, “hierarchical” for keywords that are grouped into a hierarchy, “abbreviations” for keywords that contain an abbreviation and its expansion, or “code” for keywords that contain a code and its text but where the source of the codes is unknown. Historical Note: Older documents, coded before NISO STS added the vocabulary attributes, may have used @kwd-group-type to name the vocabulary source. Going forward, this information should be recorded using the vocabulary attributes.
Vocabulary Attributes Best Practice: If the keywords in a <kwd-group> come from a controlled vocabulary, taxonomy, ontology, database, term list, index, or similar formally defined term source, the @vocab attribute (and if possible, the @vocab-identifier attribute) should be used on the <kwd-group> element to name the source. If there is a keyword-specific identifier in this source of terms, then also use the @vocab-term and @vocab-term-identifier on the keyword element (<kwd>, <nested-kwd>, or <compound-kwd>), if possible.
If the keywords come from, or are specific to, a field of study that can be named (particularly where different fields might define the same term differently), name the field of study in the @kwd-group-type attribute (“structural engineering”, “mechanical engineering”, “bird watching”). Such terms are typically, but not always, informally defined.
If the keyword terms are uncontrolled, either omit the @vocab attribute on <kwd-group> element or use the value “uncontrolled”.

Related Elements

Keywords vs Subjects Terms: Subject terms (collected within a <subj-group> element) name broad classifications, categories, topics, or themes that describe or classify a standard. Keywords (collected within a <kwd-group> element) contain words from the narrative text or words (such as broader and narrower terms) related to that text.


Model Description

This element may be contained in:

Example 1

INSPEC keywords added by an SDO:
<kwd-group kwd-group-type="INSPEC" originator="IEEE">
 <kwd>social networking (online)</kwd>
 <kwd>buyer&#x0027;s guides</kwd>
 <kwd>electronic commerce</kwd>

<kwd-group kwd-group-type="InspecFree" originator="IEEE">
 <kwd>whiz list</kwd>
 <kwd>social networking sites</kwd>
 <kwd>online purchase</kwd>
 <kwd>e-commerce portals</kwd>
 <kwd>Web site users</kwd>
 <kwd>marketing strategy</kwd>

Example 2

INSPEC keywords from an SDO:
<kwd-group id="KG1" originator="ASME" vocab="Inspec"
 <compound-kwd id="KG1.1">
  <compound-kwd-part content-type="code">A7865P</compound-kwd-part>
  <compound-kwd-part content-type="text">Optical properties of other 
   inorganic semiconductors and insulators (thin films/low dimensional 

 <compound-kwd id="KG1.2">
  <compound-kwd-part content-type="code">A7865T</compound-kwd-part>
   compounds and polymers (thin films/low dimensional structures)</compound-kwd-part>

Example 3

Working Group keywords:
 <kwd-group kwd-group-type="working group" vocab="uncontrolled">
  <kwd>assurance case</kwd>
  <kwd>IEEE 15026-1 &#x2122;</kwd>
  <kwd>integrity level</kwd>
  <kwd>life cycle processes</kwd>
  <kwd>software assurance</kwd>
  <kwd>software engineering</kwd>
  <kwd>system assurance</kwd>
  <kwd>systems engineering</kwd>