THIS CHAPTER COVERS the analysis of concepts and the selection of terms. Determining the concept (topic) and deciding how to word it are two distinct steps, especially in collection indexing where the terms may have to be selected from a controlled vocabulary. Term selection processes are discussed at the end of this chapter and in Chapter 5, and controlled vocabularies are discussed in Chapter 6.

Concept analysis

Concept analysis involves reading a text (viewing images, etc.), understanding the content, and identifying topics that should be indexed. In many cases this involves marking up the text – that is, highlighting words that describe concepts of interest, sometimes also adding marginal notes about possible wording and references.

Concepts can be analysed primarily from the point of view of the item (document-centred indexing), or of the audience (user-centred indexing). In-house indexing in particular aims to bring out concepts that are potentially relevant to members of the organisation. Bibliographic database indexing for a general audience relies more on the text alone, although the scope of the database influences the indexing of individual items. Intranet indexing is very user-focused, and the indexers have the advantage of being able to talk with users and determine their interests. See also Ways of working (there are sections on books, periodicals and collections) in Chapter 3.

For books, concept analysis usually involves reading the whole book, and identifying indexable topics for both large and small chunks.