Indexing

Discussion question for Module 2: "Pick one concept that you find difficult to understand from the Chu reading this week, and write an entry on the discussion board about it, as if you were explaining it to someone completely unfamiliar with it."

My previous knowledge of the word index was the place in the back of a non-fiction book that has keywords in alphabetical order and page numbers that help the reader locate information in the book easier and more quickly without having to read the whole book over or flip pages throughout the book looking for information. That is what I teach my 2nd graders what an index is and how to use it. I had known index as a noun, a place in the book.

Now I am the student learning what indexing means in the world of library science and information representation. Here, index is used as a verb, indexing. It was difficult for me to distinguish between the different types of indexing. Derivative indexing, assignment indexing, free indexing, automated indexing, automatic indexing, the intellectual part of indexing, the mechanical part of indexing, machine indexing, manuel indexing, computerized indexing, citation indexing, string indexing, monkey indexing, indexing, indexing, indexing. It was just a blur of indexing. OK, so there is no such thing as monkey indexing it but it seemed like there was with all the different types of indexing. It was difficult to remember what each type of indexing was, much less how they compare and contrast. How can I explain what all these indexing terms mean to someone unfamiliar with it?

Well, I had to get all these indexing terms straight in my head first, so I created a flow chart so that I can see how the terms interconnect. Here is a jpeg of a Microsoft Office Power Point slide of a flow chart I created to help me learn the terms. Indexing

Chu, H. (2003). Information Representation and Retrieval in the Digital Age. Medford, NJ: Information Today, Inc p. 25-27, 32-33