Analysis of controlled vocabularies in the representation of keywords assigned by Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) researchers

Authors

Keywords:

Controlled vocabularies, Information representation, Keywords

Abstract

Background: Indexing is essential for the organization and representation of information, especially when appropriate terminology is required. The lack of a vocabulary compatible with the thematic diversity of Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz)  compromises both indexing and the retrieval of relevant content.

Purpose: The objective is to investigate the adequacy of controlled vocabularies currently used in the libraries of Fiocruz, especially DeCS, focusing on identifying gaps in the terminological representation of institutional content.

Methodology: The data collected refers to the identification of keywords assigned by 15 (fifteen) participating researchers with ongoing research, including master's students, doctoral students, and researchers affiliated with Fiocruz. Each researcher selected 5 (five) to 13 (thirteen) keywords from natural language related to the research they are developing, which were subsequently entered into an Excel spreadsheet, in order to compare the terms in natural language with the terms found in the controlled vocabularies. The 84 keywords were assigned during the collection conducted between April and August 2024 and organized in an Excel spreadsheet on January 22, 2025.

Results: The results show that the number of representations with total and partial identity is quantitatively higher in multidisciplinary vocabularies than in specialized Health Sciences vocabularies, and that the number of representations without any identity requires the inclusion of new descriptors.

Conclusion: The conclusion is that it is necessary to build a controlled vocabulary for Fiocruz in order to improve the quality of the information.

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Author Biographies

Adrianne Oliveira de Andrade da Silva, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

She holds a degree in Library Science and Documentation from the Fluminense Federal University (2016) and a master's degree in Information Science from the Fluminense Federal University (2019). She has worked as a librarian at the History of Science and Health Library of the Casa de Oswaldo Cruz - Fundação Oswaldo Cruz since 2018. She is a member of the Indexing Working Group of the Fiocruz Library Network, was one of the members responsible for developing the Indexing Policy for the Fiocruz Library Network, and is the coordinator of the Fiocruz Controlled Vocabulary Sub-Working Group. She manages the COC Community at the Arca Institutional Repository, developing Open Science initiatives within her unit. She also provides support to library management.

Débora da Silva Rocha, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

She holds a degree in Library Science from the Federal University of Amazonas and a postgraduate degree in Informatics in Education from the Federal Institute of Amazonas (IFAM). She is a Librarian Analyst at the Leônidas & Maria Deane Institute (Fiocruz Amazônia) and works in scientific information management in healthcare and research settings. She is a member of the GICA (Information and Knowledge Management in the Amazon) research group.

Julia Dias Mota Magaraia, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation

Graduated in Civil Engineering from the University Center of Patos de Minas - UNIPAM (2018). Postgraduate degree in Occupational Safety Engineering from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro - UFRJ (2019). Graduated in Library Science from the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro - UNIRIO (2023). Works as a library science fellow at the Preservo Project, at Fiocruz. He is a member of the Indexing Working Group of the Fiocruz Library Network and was one of the members responsible for the Indexing Policy of the Fiocruz Library Network.

Full Professor Mariângela Spotti Lopes Fujita, São Paulo State University

She is a tenured professor in the Graduate Program in Information Science at Unesp, Brazil, where she conducts research, advises master's and doctoral students, and supervises postdoctoral researchers. She is a level 1-B researcher with the National Council of Science and Technology (CNPq) in the area of Information Science, and her research interests include indexing, indexing policy, thesaurus, and vocabulary control in academic information systems. She has published numerous research articles in national and international journals and serves as a reviewer for scientific journals and national and international academic events. She leads the research group "Thematic Representation of Information." She is also president of the Permanent Publications Committee and the Board of Editors of Scientific Journals of the School of Philosophy and Sciences at Unesp.

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Published

2026-09-18

How to Cite

OLIVEIRA DE ANDRADE DA SILVA, A.; DA SILVA ROCHA, D.; MAGARAIA, J. D. M.; SPOTTI LOPES FUJITA, M. Analysis of controlled vocabularies in the representation of keywords assigned by Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ) researchers. Revista ACB, Florianópolis, v. 31, n. 1, 2026. Disponível em: https://revista.acbsc.org.br/racb/article/view/2286. Acesso em: 19 sep. 2026.

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Vol. 31 No. 1 (2026)

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