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Browse EPA Topics
Main Features
- Short hierarchical list of twenty-one major environmental topics with links to selected subtopics and terms
- Long alphabetical list of over one thousand environmental terms
Browse EPA Topics is a hierarchical list of topics and subtopics created from a controlled vocabulary designed by EPA librarians. It helps visitors to the EPA Web site quickly find information on specific environmental issues.
Description
The Browse EPA Topics feature is a valuable and efficient search option, and is typically the first choice when searching for information on the EPA site. This page offers two ways to search for information: the main Browse EPA Topics page and the Alphabetical List of all Topics. The main Browse EPA Topics page displays twenty-one major information topics (listed below), that are sub-divided into over 1,000 individual terms on the alphabetical list.
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Clicking on a topic (e.g., Air) displays a topic-specific Browse EPA Topics page, featuring a concise definition of the topic, Recommended EPA Web Pages, related subtopics and terms, and a link to More Recommended EPA Web Pages. The Recommended EPA Web Pages and More Recommended EPA Web Pages list selected EPA offices, programs, and subject-based portal pages.
Scrolling down the page brings the user to the list of related subtopics and terms. For example, the Air page includes a list of air-related subtopics (e.g., Air Pollutants, Air Pollution Control) and terms related to that subtopic (e.g., Aerosols, Asbestos, Carbon Monoxide are listed under the term Air Pollutants).
The EPA Browse Topics controlled vocabulary distinguishes itself in some cases from commonly used language or from the controlled vocabulary of other databases. For instance, EPA uses the term “toxics,” which is not a Library of Congress Subject Heading; “toxin” is used instead. The Terminology Reference System (TRS), located at www.epa.gov/trs, compiles all environmental terminology used by the EPA in a searchable database.
A link to the Alphabetical List of All Topics is located on the top left of every Browse EPA Topics page. The alphabetical list contains links to the more than 1,000 terms, also used to describe the EPA web site. Pathway descriptions to the right of each term in this alphabetical list yield valuable references to the more general topics and also show nested relationships between topics, subtopics, and individual terms. Clicking on these pathways directs the user to its corresponding EPA Topics page. The Alphabetical List of all Topics is particularly helpful when the user knows the specific term that he or she is searching for and therefore does not need to click through all the links involved in a topics search.