ISO/DIS 26162-4
ISO/DIS 26162-4
ISO/DIS 26162-4: Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 4: Quality

ISO/DIS 26162-4:2026(en)

ISO/TC 37/SC 3

Secretariat: DIN

Date: 2025-11-28

Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 4: Quality

Gestion des ressources terminologiques — Bases de données terminologiques — Partie 4: Qualité

© ISO 2026

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, or required in the context of its implementation, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, or posting on the internet or an intranet, without prior written permission. Permission can be requested from either ISO at the address below or ISO’s member body in the country of the requester.

ISO copyright office

CP 401 • Ch. de Blandonnet 8

CH-1214 Vernier, Geneva

Phone: +41 22 749 01 11

Email: copyright@iso.org

Website: www.iso.org

Published in Switzerland

Contents

Foreword iv

Introduction v

1 Scope 1

2 Normative references 1

3 Terms and definitions 1

4 Overview 1

4.1 How are quality criteria structured? 1

4.2 How can this document be applied? 2

4.3 Who should use this document? 2

5 Administrative Issues 3

5.1 Organization / Owner 3

5.2 Implementation 3

6 Termbase design 4

6.1 Metamodel 4

6.2 Data Categories 5

7 Termbase usage and operation 7

7.1 Data input 7

7.2 Search, display and filter 8

7.2.1 Search 8

7.2.2 Display 9

7.2.3 Filter 10

7.3 Import, export and printing 11

7.3.1 Import in general 11

7.3.2 Supported import formats 12

7.3.3 Export in general 12

7.3.4 Supported export formats 13

7.3.5 Generating printable formats directly from the termbase 13

7.3.6 Supported printing layouts and content 14

7.4 Graphics and media 15

7.4.1 General 15

7.4.2 Supported graphics and multimedia formats 15

7.5 User administration and project organization 16

7.5.1 User administration 16

7.5.2 Project organization, project management and process management 17

7.6 Interfaces and interaction 17

7.7 Backup and documentation 18

7.7.1 Data backup 18

7.7.2 Documentation 19

8 Termbase content 19

8.1 Entry data integrity 19

8.2 Concept level 19

8.3 Language level 22

8.4 Term level 22

Bibliography 26

Foreword

ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work. ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of electrotechnical standardization.

The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular, the different approval criteria needed for the different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www.iso.org/directives).

ISO draws attention to the possibility that the implementation of this document may involve the use of (a) patent(s). ISO takes no position concerning the evidence, validity or applicability of any claimed patent rights in respect thereof. As of the date of publication of this document, ISO had not received notice of (a) patent(s) which may be required to implement this document. However, implementers are cautioned that this may not represent the latest information, which may be obtained from the patent database available at www.iso.org/patents. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not constitute an endorsement.

For an explanation of the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO's adherence to the World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT), see www.iso.org/iso/foreword.html.

This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 37, Language and terminology, Subcommittee SC 3, Management of terminology resources.

A list of all parts in the ISO 26162 series can be found on the ISO website.

Any feedback or questions on this document should be directed to the user’s national standards body. A complete listing of these bodies can be found at www.iso.org/members.html.

Introduction

Terminologies are the totality of concepts in given subject fields represented by designations and described by using additional terminological data. In general, these data are organized in structured terminology databases (termbases) and manipulated in terminology management systems. Termbases usually vary with regards to the underlying data model and consist of different sets of data categories, while terminology management system implementations range from mobile devices to desktop computers, client-server or Web-based architectures operated by individuals, companies and governmental agencies. The ISO 26162 series gives guidance on designing terminology databases and on essential terminology management system features. The series can also be used to evaluate the suitability of existing terminology databases and terminology management systems.

In particular, ISO 26162-1 specifies the general principles of termbase design as outlined in core ISO/TC 37 standards, such as ISO 704, which cover, among others, general principles for the content and structure of terminological entries, term identification, basic principles for modelling concept systems and a number of other topics related to terminology work. It also encourages compliance with the terminological markup framework metamodel as outlined in ISO 16642. It describes the role that data categories play in modelling terminological data and sets down basic principles for ensuring and evaluating the quality of data stored in termbases, such as data granularity, elementarity and modelling variance. ISO 26162-2 relates the principles outlined in ISO 26162-1 to the implementation of database design with respect to software and user interface considerations, together with pragmatic workflow implementations in terminology management environments. ISO 26162-3 specifies content-related aspects of terminology database maintenance. In this respect, it provides guidance for establishing procedures to ensure high-quality content in terminological data collections. It also provides guidance for modellers of terminological entries who need to ensure interoperability and high-quality content.

This document summarizes the essence of the three other parts in a form that allows to document all relevant features and characteristics of a termbase in order to check the quality of the terminological entries as well as the applicability for terminology management.

Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 4: Quality

1.0 Scope

This document specifies quality-related aspects of terminology database maintenance. It provides a list of criteria to describe, compare and evaluate the design of termbases, the usability of terminology management software and the content of terminological data collections, with emphasis on data quality evaluation (completeness, consistency, reliability, relevance, accuracy, correctness, etc.). This document provides guidance for terminology managers responsible for the maintenance of termbases, as well as for external experts that are assigned to evaluate the data quality of terminology resources and the usability of termbase applications. It outlines principles for assuring data quality and evaluating terminological data collections for purposes of continuous improvement and is intended to document all features of a termbase in order to evaluate the quality.

It is outside the scope of this document to discuss the detailed use of corpora and term extraction tools.

2.0 Normative references

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

ISO 1087, Terminology work and terminology science — Vocabulary

ISO 26162‑1, Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 1: Design

ISO 26162‑2, Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 2: Software

ISO 26162‑3, Management of terminology resources — Terminology databases — Part 3: Content

3.0 Terms and definitions

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 1087, ISO 26162-1, ISO 26162-2 and ISO 26162-3 apply.

ISO and IEC maintain terminology databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

— ISO Online browsing platform: available at https://www.iso.org/obp

— IEC Electropedia: available at https://www.electropedia.org/

4.0 Overview

4.1 How are quality criteria structured?

Clause 5 provides a table in which organizational and statistical data pertaining to termbases, such as owner, user (groups), termbase age or number of entries, are recorded and documented.

Clause 6 catalogues in detail the recommendations and requirements for designing a termbase as set out in ISO 26162-1 (Design). The list of items starts with questions about the termbase metamodel, such as the basic principle of terminology management (concept orientation vs. term orientation) or the implementation of the levels of the metamodel (concept, language, term). This set of questions is followed by explicit questions on the data categories implemented in the termbase. Here, 26 frequently used data categories are listed. The row for each data category requires the specification of the level in the metamodel where it is used (concept level, language level, term level), which data category type it corresponds to (free text, picklist, other) and whether it is mandatory, optional, automatically filled or repeatable.

Clause 7 reflects the requirements of ISO 26162-2 (Software). It documents in detail the functions and functionalities of the software used to record, modify and use terminological data in a termbase. The questions are posed as open yes/no questions, and the answers can be clarified with comments. The next set of questions relates to supported formats used, for example, when importing data or integrating graphics. A table with selection options is provided for each case.

The questions pertaining to operation and use of the termbase are divided into the following areas:

— Data entry;

— Searching, displaying results and filter options;

— Import, export and printing of terminological data;

— User administration and project organization;

— User interface and user interaction;

— Data backup and documentation.

Clause 8 is based on the error typology in ISO 26162-3:2023 (Content), Annex C. The individual items in that list have been adapted and new items have been added. The list of criteria starts with general questions on data integrity, followed by specific questions on certain types of information (data categories) at the concept, language and term level. Each question offers the options “always”, “often”, “rarely” and “never”, followed by an open field for comments.

4.1.1 How can this document be applied?

How this document is applied depends on the type of terminology management (monolingual vs. multilingual), the organizational and IT environment, as well as the intended user group involved in elaborating the terminological entries and using the termbase application.

The items for describing the quality of a given termbase in clause 5 to 7 relate to the termbase as a whole, while the questions in clause 8 of this document are based on the individual terminological entry. When applying this part of the document, it should be determined in advance whether all entries in the termbase are to be examined or whether only a specific subset of the entries are to be analysed. This set can comprise a random selection of entries; however, it is also possible to select all entries in a specific subject area, recording period or processing status for the evaluation set.

For some fundamental data categories, a variety of evaluation aspects shall be considered; for example, there are 13 different questions for the data category “definition” and 21 different questions for the data category “term”.

The tables with test criteria for assessing the quality of termbases do not contain any weightings and are therefore not comparable to a scoring model or an evaluation matrix. The weighting of the individual criteria depends heavily on the needs and expectations of specific user groups, the type and size of a termbase, the basic design of the termbase and the objectives of the respective organization. In many use cases, the design, the functionality of the user interface, and the terminological entries are regularly reviewed by experts and feedback is provided to improve the termbase. In most cases, these reviews can be easily implemented without weighted error assessments, statistical analysis or detailed documentation. This document can therefore serve as a guideline for assessing the usability, quality and completeness of termbases. ISO 26162-3:2023, Annex A provides examples of weighted scoring models that can be used to create an individual scoring model for a specific termbase.

4.1.2 Who should use this document?

This document describes termbase principles and characteristics that are important for ensuring resource quality with the aim of continuous improvement and for evaluating termbase design, functionality and data quality. This document thus provides a guideline for terminology managers or terminology professionals who are responsible for maintaining termbases in their respective organizational and company-specific environments. It provides a tool which can be used to demonstrate the quality of terminology work and the benefits of terminology management to decision-makers, and possibly also to obtain approval for additional resources for terminology management in the organization. For external experts and evaluators who are commissioned to assess the data quality of terminology resources and the business benefits of termbases, this document offers a catalogue of criteria to be examined and evaluated. Even if it is not the central purpose of this document, it or at least essential parts of it can also be used as a catalogue of requirements for setting up a solution for terminology work and for selecting an appropriate tool.

5.0 Administrative Issues

5.1 Organization / Owner

Organization name

( )

Address (city, country/region)

( )

URL

( )

Sector or industry (e.g. IT, automotive, government)

( )

Size (number of employees)

( )

Department(s) responsible

( )

Contact person

( )

Terminology management history
(age of termbase, major updates, redesign, etc.)

( )

Number of persons actively involved in terminology work

( )

Number of persons making use of the terminology database (internal users)

( )

Number of persons making use of the terminology database (public users)

( )

Types of user groups (e.g. technical writer, translator, expert, public)

( )

Rules for processing and protecting personal data implemented (yes/no/details)

( )

5.1.1 Implementation

Termbase name

( )

Commercial tool (if applicable)

( )

Own development

( )

Client-Server

( )

Cloud-based / browser

( )

Year of termbase creation

( )

Number of entries

( )

Number of terms (all languages)

( )

User interface languages

( )

Languages covered

( )

Languages coded according to IETF BCP 47

( )

Sublanguages / language varieties covered

( )

6.0 Termbase design

6.1 Metamodel

Concept-oriented approach

(synonyms, variants, abbreviations in the same entry)

( )

Term-oriented approach

(synonyms, variants, abbreviations in separate entries)

( )

Term autonomy (all terms can be provided with attributes, also synonyms, variants and abbreviations)

( )

Concept/Entry level implemented
(Information can be managed at this level)
(<conceptEntry> in TBX (ISO 30042))

( )

Language level implemented
(Information can be managed at this level)
(<langSec> in TBX (ISO 30042))

( )

Term level implemented
(Information can be managed at this level)
(<termSec> in TBX (ISO 30042))

( )

Term component level implemented (Information can be managed at this level)
(not implemented in TBX (ISO 30042), but part of TMF (ISO 16642))

( )

Entry structure can have nested fields and dependencies (e.g. the source is directly hierarchically subordinated to the definition).

( )

Feature(s) for managing concept relations

( )

Feature(s) for drawing / presenting concept relations of concept systems

( )

Feature(s) for managing bibliographical information
(for sources, etc.)

( )

Feature(s) for managing personal data
(for creator, updater, user, etc.)

( )

Feature(s) for managing text corpora

( )

6.1.1 Data Categories

Indicate in the table if the following terminological and administrative data categories are provided. If a data category is provided, indicate to which structural level (concept, language or term level) the data category can be attributed. Indicate if the data category can be managed automatically by the system or if it is implemented as a free text field or as a picklist. Multiple answers are possible.

If the respective data category is not implemented in the termbase, leave the tick-boxes blank. If additional data categories are used in the termbase that are not listed and that are important, add additional lines to describe these data categories.

Entry identifier

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Subject field

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Figure (illustration, graphic, etc.)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Multimedia elements (video, sound, etc.)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Concept relation

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Concept position (notation, position of a concept in a concept system)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Definition

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Definition source

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Context

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Context source

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Term

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Term source

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Term type (full form, abbreviation, variant, etc.)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Part of speech

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Grammatical gender

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Grammatical number

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Register (e.g. informal, slang)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Usage status
(preferred term, admitted term, deprecated term)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Geographical usage
(Germany, Austria, France, Canada, etc.)
Code according to ISO 3166-1 ☐
Code according to IETF BCP 47 ☐

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Organization-specific usage
(department, product, project, etc.)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Note

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Workflow status
(suggested, checked, approved, etc.)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Creation date

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Person responsible for the creation

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Modification date(s)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Modification

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Person responsible for the (last) modification(s)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

Versioning (track changes)

concept level

language level

term level

free text field

picklist

other type

autom. filled

repeatable

mandatory

7.0 Termbase usage and operation

7.1 Data input

(Authorized) users can input and update terminological data.
(If the answer “no” is checked, all other questions of 7.1 are to be omitted.)

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can delete terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can copy terminological data from one entry into another.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can merge different entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The input of terminological data can be supported by default values, which have been predefined by the user.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The input of terminological data can be supported by selecting predefined values (picklists).

yes

no

Comment

( )

The input of mandatory data can be enforced.

yes

no

Comment

( )

References to other entries stored in the same data inventory/database can be made during input.

yes

no

Comment

( )

References to other entries stored in other data inventories/databases can be made during input.

yes

no

Comment

( )

References to other local applications or other applications on the intranet (LAN) can be made during input.

yes

no

Comment

( )

References to other resources on the internet (e.g. to websites) can be made during input.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Rapid input (simplified input of the most important data categories) is possible.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Rapid input from other applications (e.g. editors) is possible.
It should be indicated in the comment field from which other applications rapid input is possible.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Values can be assigned not only to terms, but also to other data categories during rapid input.
It should be indicated in the comment field which other values can be assigned.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to input detailed bibliographic data (for sources) by applying custom data categories.

yes

no

Comment

( )

System reports possible duplicate entry (doublet) during terminological entry creation (in order to avoid duplicate entries).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Explicit mechanisms for checking possible duplicate entries (doublets) are provided.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Explicit mechanisms for checking incomplete entries are provided.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Other mechanisms for controlling the quality of entries are provided.
It should be indicated in the comment field which mechanisms are provided.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.1.1 Search, display and filter

7.1.2 Search

It is possible to search for entries by the entry identifier.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to search for entries by the term.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to search for entries by synonyms, abbreviations and variants.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Free text search/full text search (for information in all data categories) is possible.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Automatic truncation or autocomplete is carried out while searching for terms, i.e. the beginning of the term is sufficient as a search term.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to use wildcards to search for terms (e.g. "*" or "?").

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to use fuzzy mechanisms to search for terms.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Linguistic methods (e.g. stemming) are used to search for terms.
It should be indicated in the comment field for which languages the search by linguistic methods is implemented.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.1.3 Display

The entire entry (including all languages) is displayed after a successful search.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Relevant) parts of the entry are displayed after a successful search.

yes

no

Comment

( )

If multiple entries match the search term (e.g. in case of *-search), a match list is displayed after a successful search.

yes

no

Comment

( )

If multiple entries match the search term (e.g. in case of *-search), their location in the knowledge graph / concept map is shown.

yes

no

Comment

( )

An (alphabetical) index of preceding and following entries is displayed.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Other settings are displayed (e.g. languages, projects, filters).

yes

no

Comment

( )

The order of the displayed items can be modified by the user.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The size of the displayed windows can be modified by the user.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The position of the displayed windows can be modified by the user.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Several default views are provided by the system.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Entry display can be limited to specified data items (e.g. specific languages, specific data categories).

yes

no

Comment

( )

The layout of the displayed entries can be modified (e.g. larger font, colours, flags, position, etc.).

yes

no

v

Comment

( )

Different modifications of the layout (amount and form of information) can be modified and saved by the user.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different modifications of the view (amount of information and layout) can be assigned to specific users (user groups).

yes

no

Comment

( )

User settings are remembered across searches within a session and/or the next time the user logs in.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.1.4 Filter

Filter criteria for selecting specific entries or sets of entries can be defined.
(If the answer “no” is checked, all other questions of 7.2.3 are to be omitted.)

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria regarding system managed data categories (e.g. creation date) can be defined.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria regarding all (reasonable) data categories can be defined (e.g. part of speech, subject field, concept position, etc.).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria also allow for criteria such as 'greater than', 'begins with', ‘ends with’, 'contains', 'is provided', 'is missing', etc.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria can be specified by regular expressions.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria can be combined (regarding multiple data categories).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria can be linked by Boolean operators.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria have an impact on the search.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria have an impact on the entry display and the match list.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filter criteria have an impact on the export and the printing of the entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Multiple default filters are provided by the system.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different filter specifications can be saved.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different filter specifications can be assigned to specific users (user groups).

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.2 Import, export and printing

7.2.1 Import in general

It is possible to import terminological data into the termbase.
(If the answer “no” is checked, all other questions of 7.3.1 are to be omitted.)

yes

no

Comment

( )

The new data can be synchronized with the existing data by the entry identifier while importing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The new data can be synchronized with the existing data by a specific data category (e.g. by the English term) while importing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Conflict management is provided for the import of terminological data (e.g. overwrite existing entries, omit entries, merge entries, etc.).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Terminological data is imported interactively, i.e. the user is prompted if conflicts occur (e.g. lack of corresponding data categories).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Default values can be assigned to additional data categories while importing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filters can be used while importing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can create their own import specifications.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different import specifications can be saved.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Multiple default import specifications are provided by the system.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.2.2 Supported import formats

Format

 

CSV

Tab delimited

Excel files

XML

TBX 2.0

TBX 3.0 (including dialect)

TMX

XLIFF

OLIF

SKOS

RDF

JSON

Other, as follows:
( )

7.2.3 Export in general

It is possible to export terminological data from the termbase.
(If the answer “no” is checked, all other questions of 7.3.3 are to be omitted.)

yes

no

Comment

( )

Each entry is exported exactly once (synchronized by the entry identifier).

yes

no

Comment

( )

The export can be synchronized by a selected index field (e.g. by the English term for various types of publication or further usage).

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to specify how variants of the term (synonyms, abbreviations, etc.) and homonyms are treated while exporting terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to specify which data categories per entry are exported.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to modify the predefined names of the data categories while exporting terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Individual specific entries can be selected while exporting terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filters can be used while exporting terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can create their own export specifications.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different export specifications can be saved.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Multiple default export specifications are provided by the system.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.2.4 Supported export formats

Format

 

CSV

Tab delimited

Excel files

XML

TBX 2.0

TBX 3.0 (including dialect)

TMX

XLIFF

OLIF

SKOS

RDF

JSON

Other, as follows:
( )

7.2.5 Generating printable formats directly from the termbase

It is possible to print terminological data directly out of the termbase.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to print terminological data out of the termbase by using the export function or an editor-based plug-in.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Printing can be synchronized by a selected index field (e.g. by the English term; entries are then exported several times in case of synonyms, for lexicographical products).

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to specify how synonyms, abbreviations, etc. and homonyms are treated while printing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to specify which data categories per entry are printed.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to modify the predefined names of the data categories while printing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Individual specific entries can be selected while printing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Filters can be used while printing terminological data.

yes

no

Comment

( )

(Authorized) users can create their own printing specifications.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Different printing specifications can be saved.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Multiple default printing specifications are provided by the system.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.2.6 Supported printing layouts and content

Format

 

Multilingual list, table

Complete entries

Monolingual glossary

Multilingual glossary

Dictionary-like format

Print format can be individually specified

Other, as follows:
( )

7.3 Graphics and media

7.3.1 General

Graphics can be embedded in a terminological entry.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Other multimedia objects such as videos, sounds, etc. can be embedded in a terminological entry.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Multiple graphics or multimedia objects can be embedded in a terminological entry.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Graphics and multimedia objects can be arranged on entry/concept level.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Graphics and multimedia objects can be arranged on language level.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Graphics and multimedia objects can be arranged on term level.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Graphics and multimedia objects can be provided with additional information (e.g. source, note).

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.3.2 Supported graphics and multimedia formats

Format

 

TIFF

GIF

JPEG/JPG

PNG

BMP

WEBP

PSD

PDF

EPS

SVG

MP3

MPEG/MP4

AVI

WAV

WMA

MOV

Other, as follows:
( )

7.4 User administration and project organization

7.4.1 User administration

User administration is possible by assigning user permissions.
(If the answer “no” is checked, all other questions of 7.5.1 are to be omitted.)

yes

no

Comment

( )

Individual user roles can be assigned by means of particular permissions.

yes

no

Comment

( )

User groups or roles can be specified by means of particular permissions.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Certain users (user groups) are predefined by default, e.g. visitor, administrator.

yes

no

Comment

( )

The access to specific data inventories/databases can be prevented or made mandatory by means of user permissions/user group permissions.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to read certain entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to comment on certain entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to edit certain entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to delete certain entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to create new entries.

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to read only certain parts of an entry (e.g. specific languages or data categories).

yes

no

Comment

( )

It is possible to determine if defined users (user groups) are allowed to edit/delete/ create only certain parts of an entry (e.g. specific languages or data categories).

yes

no

Comment

( )

A selection of the functions provided can be disabled for defined users (user groups) (e.g. export or modification of the database structure is not possible).

yes

no

Comment

( )

A selection of the functions provided can be restricted for defined users (user groups) (e.g. only specific exports or specific modifications of the database structure are possible).

yes

no

Comment

( )

Certain settings can be made mandatory for defined users (user groups) (e.g. mandatory indication of the subject field, fixed values for the working status, predefined entry layout).

yes

no

Comment

( )

There are additional dedicated options for the administration of user permissions (user group permissions).

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.4.2 Project organization, project management and process management

Projects can be created.
(If the answer “yes” is checked, the comment field should be used to describe which information is contained in the projects and which advantages are gained by the projects.)

yes

no

Comment:

( )

A terminology workflow can be illustrated/shown.

yes

no

Comment:

( )

A change management procedure exists.

yes

no

Comment:

( )

Users can make suggestions for new terminology entries or give feedback on already-existing entries.

yes

no

Comment:

( )

Quality management functions are implemented (e.g. completeness check).

yes

no

Comment:

( )

7.5 Interfaces and interaction

The systems for which the termbase provides interfaces for data exchange or interaction by default should be indicated:

Editors

☐ Name: ( )

Word processors

☐ Name: ( )

Publishing/layout/typesetting systems

☐ Name: ( )

Terminology management systems

☐ Name: ( )

Terminology extraction systems

☐ Name: ( )

Text checkers, controlled language checkers

☐ Name: ( )

Translation management systems

☐ Name: ( )

Machine translation systems

☐ Name: ( )

Localization tools

☐ Name: ( )

LLMs (large language models)

☐ Name: ( )

GenAI (generative artificial intelligence systems)

☐ Name: ( )

Project management systems

☐ Name: ( )

Content management systems

☐ Name: ( )

Document management systems

☐ Name: ( )

Archiving systems

☐ Name: ( )

PIM (Product Information Management) /
product data management and publishing (cataloguing systems)

☐ Name: ( )

SPC systems (spare parts cataloguing systems)

☐ Name: ( )

ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning)

☐ Name: ( )

CAD (Computer Aided Design)

☐ Name: ( )

Other (as follows)

☐ Name: ( )

An API (application programming interface) is available for connecting to other tools/systems.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.5.1 Backup and documentation

7.5.2 Data backup

The termbase system provides its own data backup concept (e.g. backup of the contents and structure).

yes

no

Comment

( )

In order to backup data, the system uses mechanisms for managing entries provided by the database in use.

yes

no

Comment

( )

Data backup is carried out by the general backup mechanisms of the computer/server.

yes

no

Comment

( )

7.5.3 Documentation

Specific terminology management training exists (e.g. seminars, tutorials).

yes

no

Specific terminology management guidelines exist (e.g. terminology style guide).

yes

no

Specific termbase user documentation exists.

yes

no

Specific administrator documentation exists.

yes

no

Online help for all functions of the termbase exists.

yes

no

Documentation is available in different languages.

yes

no

If yes, in which languages? ( )

 

Documentation is available on different media (paper, CD-ROM, online help).

yes

no

If yes, on which media? ( )

 

Comment

( )

8.0 Termbase content

8.1 Entry data integrity

The following issues (8.1 to 8.4) refer to terminological entries themselves, not to the termbase as a whole. If the items are evaluated for a random, representative or systematically selected sample of terminological entries, use “always”, “often”, “rarely” and “never” as answers. If the items are evaluated for each entry, use just “always” for yes and “never” for no as answers.

If additional issues are relevant for the termbase content that are not listed and that are important, add additional lines to describe these issues.

Multiple entries exist for the same concept.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

More than one concept is treated in single entry.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Entry does not pertain to the subject field or purpose of the termbase.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Concept/term assignment treated in terminological entry does not meet the criteria for termhood.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Terms treated in concept are not terms as per data quality specifications.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

8.1.1 Concept level

Creation date

Missing (usually automated)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Created by

Missing (usually automated)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Last modified date

Missing (usually automated)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Last modified by

Missing (usually automated)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Subject field

Subject field classification incorrect

always

never

often

rarely

Subject field classification not indicated where required

always

never

often

rarely

Concept orientation violated by assigning inappropriate subject fields in a single entry in cases where this introduces conceptual ambiguity

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Security status (subset)

Missing value (Confidential/Public)

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect value

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Entry Identifier

(Probably automated; not likely to be in error)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Figure

Figure or image is inappropriate to the entry.

always

never

often

rarely

The concept is not represented by the figure.

always

never

often

rarely

The figure has a poor quality.

always

never

often

rarely

Copyright citation is wrong or lacking.

always

never

often

rarely

Accessibility issues (with online resources)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Source

Source missing for existing image or figure

always

never

often

rarely

Source inaccurate or inactive URL

always

never

often

rarely

Source identifier wrong or not working

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Note

Spelling error

always

never

often

rarely

Grammar error

always

never

often

rarely

Irrelevant information

always

never

often

rarely

Definitional information in note

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Definition

Definition missing (where required)

always

never

often

rarely

Spelling error

always

never

often

rarely

Grammar error

always

never

often

rarely

Definition incorrect or false

always

never

often

rarely

Definition inconsistent with specified capitalization and punctuation rules (either starts with capital or not, or ends with period or not, or uses article or not)

always

never

often

rarely

Inappropriate definition for concept, e.g. from the wrong subject field

always

never

often

rarely

Improper form as per data quality specifications, for instance improper form as per ISO 704, if ISO 704 style is specified; examples can include:

 

 

— inclusion of term in definition

always

never

often

rarely

— use of verb “is” (or equivalent) in definition
(if omission is the norm)

always

never

often

rarely

— missing essential characteristics; imprecise

always

never

often

rarely

— exceeds single sentence fragment

always

never

often

rarely

— contains supplemental material appropriate for an
additional note

always

never

often

rarely

Two definitions in same “definition” field, especially definitions for more than one concept in the same entry

always

never

often

rarely

Definition translated literally from another language rather than representing authentic usage in the language in question

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Source of definition

Source missing

always

never

often

rarely

Source inaccurate or inactive URL

always

never

often

rarely

Source unauthoritative or potentially flawed

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Cross-reference/ Reference

Broken link

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect link

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Concept system

Incorrect relations

always

never

often

rarely

Relations expressed in the termbase (definitions, contexts) are incongruent with the relations modelled in the concept system.

always

never

often

rarely

Errors in modelling representation (UML, graphic representation, etc.)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

8.1.2 Language level

General

Language identifier missing

always

never

often

rarely

Elements (terms, definitions, etc.) entered in wrong language section

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Definition

See definition error types in 8.2.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Source of definition

See source of definition error types in 8.2.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Note

Spelling error

always

never

often

rarely

Grammar error

always

never

often

rarely

Irrelevant information

always

never

often

rarely

Definitional information in note

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

8.1.3 Term level

Term

Term missing (where required)

always

never

often

rarely

Term does not meet criteria for inclusion as per termbase specifications.

always

never

often

rarely

Important term “hidden” in another terminological entry or in another text field, hence unsearchable

always

never

often

rarely

Term in the wrong language section

always

never

often

rarely

Term is a false calque from another language and incorrectly flagged as preferred or admitted.

always

never

often

rarely

Term is a mistranslation from another language and incorrectly flagged as preferred or admitted.

always

never

often

rarely

Term does not conform to a requirement that prefers native forms to loan words and is incorrectly flagged as preferred.

always

never

often

rarely

Term inappropriate as synonym or equivalent to other terms

always

never

often

rarely

Term inappropriate to the definition

always

never

often

rarely

Term designates a superordinate or subordinate concept.

always

never

often

rarely

Form error in term representation:

 

 

—   term misspelled

always

never

often

rarely

—   case error (incorrect upper or lower case)

always

never

often

rarely

—   diacritics or other special font features missing or erroneous

always

never

often

rarely

—   other language-specific representation errors

always

never

often

rarely

Introduction of noun by article

always

never

often

rarely

Introduction of verb by “to,” “zu” or other particle

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect number or case (plural, dative, etc.)

always

never

often

rarely

Elementarity issue: more than one term per /term/ field, e.g. “United Nations (UN)” in same field instead of recording the abbreviation in its own /term/ field

always

never

often

rarely

Conflation of forms, e.g. hiragana and katakana in same field

always

never

often

rarely

Conflation of forms, e.g. variant spellings in same /term/ field

always

never

Inclusion of punctuation (e.g. parentheses, periods)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Source of term

Source missing (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

Source inaccurate or inactive URL

always

never

often

rarely

Broken link

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Part of speech

Missing

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Grammatical gender

Missing (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Grammatical number

Failure to identify mass nouns and occasional documented plurals

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Usage status

Missing (if required or appropriate)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Term type

Missing (if required or appropriate)

always

never

often

rarely

Indication of “full form” where there is no parallel “abbreviated form” (failure to adhere to data category definitions)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Geographical usage

Missing (if required or appropriate)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Context

Missing (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

Spelling error

always

never

often

rarely

Grammar error

always

never

often

rarely

Relevant term not present in context sample

always

never

often

rarely

Context does not reflect the concept or usage.

always

never

often

rarely

Uninformative context

always

never

often

rarely

Translation from another language (does not represent authentic usage in the language in question)

always

never

often

rarely

Embedded term has wrong part of speech (e.g. the concept is a noun, but the term in the context is an adjective or verb).

always

never

often

rarely

Presence of overly long or extraneous material

always

never

often

rarely

Instead of following capitalization and punctuation from the original context, rules for definition style are inappropriately applied to text in the /context/ field.

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Source of context

Source missing

always

never

often

rarely

Source inaccurate or inactive URL

always

never

often

rarely

Source unauthoritative or potentially flawed

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Note

Spelling error

always

never

often

rarely

Grammar error

always

never

often

rarely

Irrelevant information

always

never

often

rarely

Definitional information in note

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Usage note

Critical collocations and co-occurrences missing or misreported, where appropriate

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Cross reference

Broken link

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect link

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Term location

Missing (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

Inaccurate

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Customer

Missing or inaccurate (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Project

Missing or inaccurate (if required)

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

External cross reference

Broken link

always

never

often

rarely

Incorrect link

always

never

often

rarely

     Comment

( )

Bibliography

[1] ISO 639, Code for individual languages and language groups

[2] ISO 704, Terminology work — Principles and methods

[3] ISO 3166‑1, Codes for the representation of names of countries and their subdivisions — Part 1: Country code

[4] ISO 12620‑1, Management of terminology resources — Data categories — Part 1: Specifications

[5] ISO 16642, Computer applications in terminology — Terminological markup framework

[6] ISO 30042, Management of terminology resources — TermBase eXchange (TBX)

[7] IETF BCP 47 “Internet Engineering Task Force — Best Current Practices 47”. https://www.rfc-editor.org/info/rfc5646 (last accessed 13 February 2025)

espa-banner