Assessment of classification and indexing of an agricultural journal based on metadata in AGRIS and CAB Abstracts databases

Agricultural publications are indexed by databases which provide controlled-vocabulary tools such as thesauri and classification schemes. These are being increasingly upgraded as ontologies. These tools can be used effectively provided that the end-users are familiar with the concept of structured taxonomies. These, however, exhibit certain level of differences even among related databases. We wish to illustrate variations among databases Agris and CAB Abstracts with regard to indexing and classification of the same document. We analyse an animal and plant journal Acta Agriculturae Slovenica, by comparing subject headings in the two databases. Variations are attributable to various factors, such as lexical differences among both thesauri and classification schemes, indexing rules, and also differences owing to information professionals. Similar search syntax may retrieve different documents in different databases. Endusers thus need to acquire better understanding of indexing characteristics. But certain level of replication in different databases can be useful as it may enhance retrieval and, in turn, boost international visibility of a scientific document.