INDEXING SKILLS WORKSHOPS

REGISTRATION FEES:

The fee for the two-day workshop for corporate clients is $4,500.00 (per site, not per person!).

WORKSHOP AGENDA:

The workshop modules and objectives include:

WARM UP ACTIVITY (pre test equivalent)

• Evaluate sample indexes and rank them from best to worst

INDEXING CONCEPTS & TERMINOLOGY

• Understand the importance of an index as a retrievability aid
• Understand that indexing is an art and style in its own right
• Identify several methods of preparing an index
• Define indexing terms

INDEX FORMATS

• Understand why corporations often produce better product documentation than publishing houses
• Identify differences between online and run-in indexing styles
• Identify style considerations in the format and placement of cross-references

PLANNING THE INDEX

• Understand the decision process for planning an index
• Make decisions concerning the exhaustivity, terminology, size, and structure of the index

TIPS FOR CREATING A GREAT INDEX

• Use these tips as reminders of basic indexing skills before you begin developing an index

ANALYZING THE DOCUMENT

• Perform an audience analysis for the index
• Perform a topic analysis for the index
• Perform a task analysis for the index

GENERATING INDEX ENTRIES

• Review guidelines for developing a comprehensive index
• Determine how exhaustive an index should be
• Begin generating index entries

RETRIEVABILITY

• Understand the importance of the index as a retrievability tool
• Understand how sorting affects retrievability
• Identify indexing pitfalls that affect retrievability

VOCABULARY CONTROL

• Understand the advantages and disadvantages of using a controlled vocabulary list
• Use "See" and "See also" references for vocabulary control

REFINING AND ENHANCING THE INDEX

• Include commonly used synonyms
• Invert word order
• Reverse levels

COMBINING ENTRIES

• Identify entries that are difficult for the reader to distinguish from each other
• Determine when to combine entries that have the same page references and when it may be appropriate not to combine them

ARRANGING ENTRIES FOR EMPHASIS

• Improve the index by determining whether subentries should be rearranged to stress a certain point or to be more consistent

USING AN EDITING CHECKLIST

• Use ASI's Index Evaluation Checklist, a guide to help authors, editors, publishers, reviewers, and librarians assess index quality
• Use editing guidelines that pertain specifically to technical documentation

EVALUATING QUALITY AND USABILITY

• Identify the characteristics of a quality index
• Understand criteria for usability in an index
• Evaluate the quality and usability of an index

FIXING BAD INDEXES!

• Identify problems in indexes and determine ways to fix them

CONSIDERATIONS IN INDEXING ONLINE DOCUMENTS

• Understand how principles of indexing books apply to indexing online documents
• Identify special considerations in indexing online documents

OVERVIEW OF INDEXING RESOURCES AND TOOLS

• Identify books and other resources on indexing
• Identify professional societies for indexers
• Identify online resources of interest to indexers
• Identify stand alone indexing software programs used by many professional indexers

WRAP UP ACTIVITY (post-test equivalent)

• Evaluate sample indexes and rank them from best to worst

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about my indexing workshops or if you would like to be on my mailing list to be notified about future workshops, please let me know.


INDEXING SERVICES 2003 SCHEDULE

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