As per DAMA, Lists of terms are just that: lists. They do not describe relationships between the terms. Pick lists, web pull-down lists, and lists of menu choices in information systems use term lists. They provide little or no guidance to the user, but they help to control ambiguity by reducing the domain of values. The standard ANSI/NISO Z39.19-2005 defines a term as “One or more words designating a concept.”
Terms Management includes establishing relationships between terms within a Controlled Vocabulary.
Relationships’ Types
Equivalent Term Relationship: A relationship between or among terms in a controlled vocabulary that leads to one or more terms to use instead of the term from which the cross reference is made. This is the most commonly used term mapping in IT functions, indicating a term or value from one system or vocabulary is the same as another, so integration technologies can perform their mapping and standardization.
Hierarchical Relationship: A relationship between or among terms in a controlled vocabulary that depicts broader (general) to narrower (specific) or whole-part relationships.
Related Term Relationship: A term that is associatively but not hierarchically linked to another term in a controlled vocabulary.
