indexing and abstracting. indexing methods and procedures

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Indexing and Abstracting

Lecture 05 -- Indexing Methods and Procedures

Kuang-hua Chen

Department of Library and Information National Taiwan University

[email protected]

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Language & Information Processing System, LIS, NTU Indexing & Abstracting Lecture05

Indexing

Indexing is the process of identifying

information in a knowledge record and organizing the pointers to that information into a searchable file

The outcome of the indexing process is an

index that indicates topics and possible uses for the documents and points to the location of the information

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Trade-offs

Controlled vocabulary vs natural language Recall vs precision

Specific indexing vs generic indexing Conceptual indexing vs keyword indexing Indented format vs run-in format

Alphabetical display vs classified display Word by word vs character by character

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Aboutness

The aboutness of a documents is not limited

to the explicit keywords from the text

Aboutness is much more than just coverage

of surface content

A major reason that indexing fails is because

the indexer superficially dealt with the aboutness issue

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Subtle Aboutness

Language is a multilayer carrier of

information

A sentence can convey different messages for

different people

Aboutness can have different interpretations

according to the background and orientation of the writer and the reader, and the indexer

Indexers have to tell major topics from minor

topics in documents

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Indexing Process

A combination of formal rules, common

sense, and talent

Indexing can be done by humans, by a

computer, or by a combination of

humans and computer

Steps of Indexing

Decide which topics in the item are relevant to the potential

user of the document

Decide which topics truly capture the content of the

document

Determine terms that come as close as possible to the

terminology used in the document

Decide on index terms and the specificity of those terms Group references to information that is scattered in the text

of the document

Combine headings and subheadings into related multilevel

headings

Direct the user seeking information under terms not used to

those that are being used by means of see references and to related terms with see also references

Subject Analysis Subject Translation Index compilation

What to index

Policies (organizational, institutional)

The policies and purposes of a large general

indexing service will be geared to a large user group with a broad subject interest

In a special library or a narrowly defined

information center the users will have a distinct, more specific type of information need

Subjective value judgment (Personal) The quality of an index can be judged by

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First of all for

indexing one piece of work

Recording of bibliographic data

Content Analysis

Title Abstract Text Reference 10/29

Bibliographic Data

An important pointer for users to

reference this indexed item

Some conventions or rules should be

followed

Name format Abbreviation usage …

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Content Analysis

Title

Abstract

Text

Reference

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Title

Content-bearing

But too concise and general

Sometimes, too vague

Even worst, not related

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Abstracts

Good abstracts can be indicators of

subject content

Most words in a good abstract will

convey subject content

Abstracts, like titles, can be badly

written and misleading

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Text

Introduction

What is going to be said or done

Conclusion

What has been said or done

Section headings

First sentence and last sentence of a

paragraph

Historical and theoretical background Methodology

Charts, diagram, graphs, photographs, tables

Reference

Good indicators to reflect the subject

content

Citation indexing

Titles in reference list

Key Points

Subject determination

“The mosquitoes attack with the ferocity of a tiger”

“The queen looked at me with her mosquitoes

eyes”

Major ideas are repeated and minor ideas are only

mentioned?

Locator

Term selection Entry Points

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Depth of Indexing

Depth of indexing is the degree to

which a topic is represented in detail

Exhaustivity

Specificity

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Exhaustivity

Possible terms have been exhausted It seems that many index terms will be

assigned

The number of index terms reflects the

exhaustivity

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Exhaustivity

(Continued)

The more exhaustive the item is indexed, the

more likely it will be discovered because of the wider range of subject terms

The trade-off is that the document may not

be specifically pertinent to user’s need

The degree of exhaustivity depends on the

policy of organization, money, time and the need of your users

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Specificity

The preciseness with which we describe a

document is another dimension in choosing descriptors

The more specific the term, the more precise

the results

If the terms used are precise, we could say

the indexing is specificity

A very specific indexing language will have a

large vocabulary with more potential descriptors

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Specificity

(Continued)

The problem of specificity begins at the

designing of indexing language

We have to considerately select

vocabulary and design thesaurus

Use the terms which the authors use

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Trade-offs

User-oriented

For general users, broader-term approach

with more exhaustivity

For specialized user groups, narrower

terms with more specificity

Display of Indexes

Typographic conventions

Punctuation Type size Font

Main entries in heavy print (capital letters) Subheadings are in light print (smaller letters) Seereferences are often italicized

Indentation for distinction of main headings

and subheadings

Indented VS Run-in Style Format

Indented Format: (縮排） grammar

author's preferences, 333, 336, 339, 362 computerized checking, 337

as cultural product, 8-9, 338, 339

handbooks and usage guides, 61-62, 336-37 Run-in Format: (接排）

When space is the concern.

grammar: author's preferences, 333, 336, 339, 362; computerized checking, 337; as cultural product, 8-9, 338, 339; handbooks and usage guides, 61-62, 336-37

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Indented

(cross reference at bottom)

dogs cocker spaniels, 55 Dalmatians, 33 English setters, 66 golden retrievers, 63 Gordon setters, 39

Indented

(cross reference at top)

dogs. See alsoAmerican Kennel Club cocker spaniels, 55 Dalmatians, 33 English setters, 66 golden retrievers, 63 Gordon setters, 39 27/29

Run-in (cross reference at bottom)

dogs: cocker spaniels, 55; Dalmatians, 33;

English setters, 66; golden retrievers,

63; Gordon setters, 39;

American Kennel Club

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Run-in (cross reference at top)

dogs (

American Kennel

Club): cocker spaniels, 55; Dalmatians,

33; English setters, 66; golden

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Alphabetization

Letter-by-Letter

A blood group ABO blood group A factor allyl alcohol allylcysteine allyl sulfide atherosclerosis … endings endogenous end piece end zone Word-by-Word A blood group A factor ABO blood group allyl alcohol allyl sulfide allylcysteine atherosclerosis … end piece end zone endings endogenou