Index Quality
Some principles of good indexing include:
- Ensure each of your topics/sections includes a variety of relevant index entries; use two or three entries per topic
- Understand your audience and understand what kind of index entries they're likely to look for
- Use the same form throughout (singular vs. plural, capitalisation, etc.), using standard indexing conventions
Indexing pitfalls:
- Significant topics with no index entries at all
- Indexing 'mere mentions' --- "But John Major was no Winston Churchill..." indexed under 'Churchill, Winston'
- Circular cross-references: 'Felidae. See Cats' --- 'Cats. See Felidae'
- References to discussions of a single topic scattered among several main headings: 'Cats, 50-62' --- 'Felidae, 175-183'
- Inconsistently indexing similar topics
- Confusing similar names: Henry V of England, Henri V of France
- Incorrect alphabetization: 'α-Linolenic acid' under 'A' instead of 'L'
- Inappropriate inversions: 'processors, word' for 'word processors'
- Inappropriate subheadings: 'processors: food, 213-6; word, 33-7'
- Computer indexing from section headings: e.g. 'Getting to know your printer' under 'G'
Read more about this topic: Index (publishing)
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