Table 1 Key terms and definitions

Abbreviation

A shortened form of a word, name, or phrase.

Annotation

The tagging of words comprising a mention to assign them to a concept or text feature [41].

Auto coder

A computer-based system that automatically matches text terms to a code or concept.

Concept

A “cognitive construct” that is built on our perception or understanding of something [42]; delineates a specific entity embodying a particular meaning [43].

Controlled vocabulary

A vocabulary that reduces ambiguity and establishes relationships by linking each concept to a term and its synonyms [43, 44].

Entity

An “object of interest.” [41]; the referent in the semiotic triangle.

Gazetteer

A list or dictionary of entities [45].

Lexical variant

Different forms of the same term that occur due to variations in spelling, grammar, etc. [44].

Mention

One or more words and or punctuation within a text which refer to a specific entity.

Named entity

A specific word or phrase referring to an object of interest [41, 46].

Ontology

A defined group of terms and their relationships to each other, within the context of a particular domain [47].

Semantic type

A logical category of related terms [48].

Stop word

A word of high frequency but limited information value (e.g.determiners) that is excluded from a vocabulary to improve results of a subsequent task [49].

Synonym

A term with the same meaning as another term; terms that describe the same concept [48, 50].

Term

One or more words including punctuation that represent a concept; there may be multiple terms associated with one concept [42, 49].

Terminology

A catalog of terms related to a specific domain [42]. Subsumes a variety of formalisms such as lexicons and ontologies [43].

Vocabulary

A terminology where the terms and concepts are defined [42, 44].

Word

A linguistic unit that has a definable meaning and/or function [51].