Indexing Workshop
by Gurudutt Kamath
http://www.documentorg.com/default.htm
documentor@vsnl.com
Introduction
 First experience
 What is an Index? (awareness)
 What to Index? (Books, periodicals, online
content, etc)
 Who uses an Index?
 Who pays for Indexing?
 How much money? $70 per hour, $4 per page
 Freelance
 Better than authoring
 Variety
 No rules, only guidelines
Qualities Required
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Comprehension skills
Domain knowledge
Indexing knowledge
Experience
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Intelligent, widely-read, publishing practice, level
headed, patient, scrupulous in handling detail,
analytical minded
What is an Index?
 A good index records every pertinent
statement made within the body of the
text.
Audience
 What terms to include
 Cross reference
 Depth of indexing (Number of
index-entry terms per page of
text)
 Levels of headings (main, sub,
subsub headings)
Term Selection
(Coates http://www.asindexing.org/site/coatesarticle.pdf)
 Comprehension of the material
 Information questions (5 W's & H) Who, What, Where (Main headings),
Main headings and subheadings
 Creation of Index Structure
 Smoother editing process
Policy / Conventions
 Front matter, appendices, footnotes, Names of
persons, Geographical Names, Historical dates,
cited authors
 Page numbers (inclusive or initial page numbers,
section numbers, complete or non repeated --112117 or 112-7) -- Chicago MOS
 Subheadings (stacked or run-in)
 Scientific conventions
 See, See also (italics -- to distinguish from an
entry)
 Punctuation (commas between page or section
numbers)
 Capitalization
 Homonyms (Aryabhata, condenser [electrical],
condenser [chemical])
Main Headings / Sub Headings
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Nouns (no preceding articles or modifiers. Exceptions: red
blood cell, North Pole)
Main headings and subheadings are normally congruent.
Inflation - Africa, normally would have Africa - inflation.
(Completeness)
Do not use subsubheadings. (Avoid third level.) -- Microsoft,
Chicago MOS, World Bank Style Guide
Main heading with more than 5 page references, should have at
least one subheading.
See references -- equivalent terms (acronyms). See also -related terms. (Completeness)
Redundancies (World Wide Web (WWW) 12, WWW (World
Wide Web) 12)
Cross references for one or two locators. (Drugs, see medicine.
Medicine 5)
Page ranges
Lower case is better. (though these notes are in Capitals.
Capitals used.)
Layout/Typographic conventions
 Letter heads, numerics, symbol,
page breaks, column breaks,
columns, heading orphans, line
orphans, continued
 Detailed treatment in Chicago
Manual of Style
Indexing Steps
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Add index entries
Read the Index
Edit the Index
Iterate
Qualities of an Index
 Main and sub headings (information) - reader
should be able to gauge the depth of information
 Subheadings -- logical and useful
 Index structure (relationships)
 No interpretation (adding information)
 Recreate pattern of information in text
 Multiple Access points
 Essence revealed
 Policy (length)
 Consistency
 Retrieval (wanted vs unwanted)
Evaluation Check-list (ASI)-1
 Reader Appropriateness (heart
attack - myocardial infarction)
 Main Headings (relevant to user
needs, not too general, not inane
or improbable, 5-7 locators)
Evaluation Check-list (ASI)-2
 Subheadings
 useful, concise, important word in the
beginning, not general: Banks - and
relationship to Reserve Bank
 Avoid concerning, related to, prepositions
and articles (5-7 locators)
 Overanalyzed -- whole column of
subheadings
 Double Postings (Cats: Siamese and
Siamese cats)
Evaluation Check-list (ASI)-3
 Locators (Accurate)
 Cross references
 aerobics see exercise
 astronomy 12-14. See also galaxies;
planets
 Length
 3-5 % for nonfiction, 5-8% for history or
biography, 15-20% for reference books
 Format (turn page -- repeated)
Chicago Manual of Style…
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Proper Names (Historical)
Author Index (Title, first lines)
Heading, locator
Run-in (common), indented
Front matter, back matter should not be indexed.
Preface, Glossary, Bibliography, Notes - maybe.
Tables, charts, graphs, maps, drawing, photographs,
illustrative material.
…Chicago Manual of Style
 Subentries for more than 5-6 main entries.
Hospitals, administration, length of patient stay,
efficiency of, finances of, quality control in
 Capitalize main headings, except scientific
indexes.
 300 pages of scholarly work -- 6 - 15 pages
 Variants - Lawrence, D.H. [not Lawrence, David
Herbert]
 Letter-by-letter or word-by-word. Dictionary.
 Egypt, 128 pp - Nile, River has 89 unanalyzed
references
 Editing -- spelling, false entries, trivial entries,
page numbers (12122, 193-93)
Microsoft Manual of Style…
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4 to 8 percent of the total number of pages in the
book (2 column).
Nouns (commands, addresses, graphs)
Gerunds (copying, selecting, x making) x - stands for
not / don't!
Think like User -- paragraphs, deleting, Delete
command, x using Delete
Invert entries-- paragraphs, deleting, deleting,
paragraphs
Create a subentry for each main entry. (easier to
delete later)
Subentries -- defined, described (action),
introduction, overview
Avoid more than 5 page references after an entry.
Avoid 1 subentry.
…Microsoft Manual of Style
 Never more than two levels of subentries
 Avoid long multiple page references listing
consecutive pages
 Lowercase, except words that require
capitalization.
 Use plural form of nouns, except where
awkward. (files, headers, ruler, window)
 Use gerund rather than the infinitive (shapes,
drawing rather than shapes, to draw)
 Special characters, numerics, alphabetical
entries. Headings, where required (Symbols).
 Index special characters at least twice. %
(percent) percent (%)
Indexing Software
 Automated indexes
 http://www.asindexing.org/site/
software.shtml
 CINDEX,
 IXGen (FrameMaker)
Indexing in Word
 Words (novice/advanced users,
synonyms, generally/specifically,
competitors)
 Where (headings, overviews,
procedures, acronyms, definitions,
commands)
 Standardized keywords across products
 Insert > Reference > Index and
Tables… / Mark Index Entry dialog / OK
Button
 Fields (show Fields -- {XE "entry"})
Indexing in FrameMaker
 Markers (Index) (Special > Markers)
(Right-click marker)
 Standard Index (Special > Standard
Index)
 Index (Special > Standard Index), List
of Index
 Page breaks, column breaks (manually,
do this last)
 IXGen (Frank Stearns http://www.fsatools.com )
 emDex (http://www.emdex.ca)
Indexing in RoboHelp
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Smart Index Wizard - Do not use.
Project Management / Reports
Index Tab (Drag keywords)
Topic Pane (Right-click)
Books
 Microsoft Manual of Style
 The Chicago Manual of Style (15th
Edition)
 Indexing Books by Nancy Mulvany (all
her other books). Check
http://www.baysideindexing.com/refbook.htm.
 Seth Maislin's page at
http://taxonomist.tripod.com/referenc
es.html
Sample Index
 Sample indexes from Carol
Roberts (ASI Board) page
http://www.robertsindexing.com/pages/904840/index.htm
Web Sites
 Suite 101 -
http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/indexing
 STC SIG - http://www.stc.org/sig/idx
 ASI (American Society of Indexers) http://www.asindexing.org
 Nancy Mulvany's site
http://www.bayside-indexing.com
 Seth Maislin FAQ http://taxonomist.tripod.com/faq.html
Mailing Lists
 Check out the web sites. There
are several mailing lists and
groups.
 Group on Yahoo
 http://groups.yahoo.com/indexi
 indexi-subscribe@yahoogroups.com