Paper No: 04 Information Sources, Systems and Services

Module : 10 Indexing and Abstracting Sources: Use and Evaluation

Development Team
Principal Investigator
Dr. Jagdish Arora, Director
&
INFLIBNET Centre, Gandhinagar
Subject Coordinator

Mrs Renu Arora

Paper Coordinator Former Head, Education and Training, NISCAIR

Prof Vara Lakshmi Rudrabhatla

Content Writer Retd Professor, Dept of Library and Information
Science Andhra University

Mrs Renu Arora

Content Reviewer Former Head, Education and Training, NISCAIR
 Module 10: Indexing & Abstracting Sources: use and evaluation

I. Objectives

The objective of the module is to

• Introduces the concept of secondary sources and their importance

• Describe different types of indexing and abstracting sources
• Identify distinct criteria forevaluation of indexes and abstracts

II. Learning Outcome

After learning this module, the students can

• Understand the concept of indexing and abstracting sources
• Understand the importance of these sources in information retrieval
• Distinguish different types of indexing and abstracting journals and their use
• Identify some of the important indexing and abstracting sources

III.Module Structure

1. Introduction

2.Indexing sources

2.1 Origin and development

2.2 Uses and functions

2.3 Types of indexing sources

3. Abstracting sources

3.1 Difference between index and abstract

3.2 Purpose and use of abstracting sources

3.3 Types of abstracting sources

4. Evaluation of indexing and abstracting sources

5. Summary

6. References
1. Introduction

In the previous Unit you might have been acquainted with the categorization of documentary information
sources as primary, secondary and tertiary. A secondary source of information is one that was created
based on the primary sources like journal articles, research reports, conference publications etc. The
secondary sources are again conditioned by the nature of information they deal with and may vary.

 Reference information – Encyclopedias, geographical sources, directories,

yearbooks, almanacs, handbooks, manuals etc.

 Bibliographic information – Catalogues / OPACs, union catalogues, Subject

bibliographies / Webliographies

 Analyzed and surrogated/ consolidated - indexes, abstracts

Out of the three, the analysis and consolidation are value added as the original documents are
scanned, analyzed for subject terms / key words and repackaged as indexes and abstracts. The
popular name for such sources in the electronic environment is ‘aggregator’ type. They have an
important role in dissemination of information; therefore let us have a detailed discussion on
indexing and abstracting sources.

When we talk about indexes and abstracts little clarification is required as indexing abstracting are
discussed in library science in the context of i) source and ii) service. Indexing is also important in
third context i.e. iii) subject indexing. In special libraries the information is analyzed and
consolidated customizing for institutional requirements and is called as indexing and abstracting
service. Further while organizing the documents, more specifically micro documents (journal
articles etc) the library and information system follows standard terminology called indexing
language (e.g. L.C. List of Subject Headings, Classification Schemes, Thesaurus) that is referred to
as subject indexing. However in this Unit the focus is on indexing and abstracting periodicals as
sources i.e. the information sources that has indexed and or abstracted the primary sources thus
providing a key to open the treasure of primary sources. Other aspects will be discussed at
appropriate sections.

2. Indexing sources

The word index is derived from the Latin word ‘indicate’ that means to indicate or point out the
information where it is available. It is a location tool.
The American National Standards Institute has defined as “systematic guide to items contained in or
concepts derived from a collection. These items or derived concepts are represented by entries
arranged in a known or stated searchable order.”
According to Krishna Kumaran index is “a systematic guide to the text of any reading matter or to
the contents of other collected documentary material, comprising a series of entries, with headings
arranged in alphabetical or other chosen order, & with references to show where each item indexed
is located”.

So it is a method of document representation that tells a user quickly where an item is to be found
and where it is filed.

It is very useful tool and helps to know the sources of information as well as its location. It
facilitates the identification or selection of desired documents containing the required information
after they have been stored or shelved in a library. It may be published separately or as a part of the
work.

2.1 Origin and development

Indexing owes its origin to the traditional book index which has gradually seen considerable
improvements and developed as bibliographic index/ subject index. Specific aspects of a subject are
given in the form of subject headings or keywords. Later there was the growth of primary sources
especially the periodicals. There aroused a need to have a bibliographical control apparatus that
indexes all published periodical articles in a given subject. Pole’s Index to periodical Literature
(1848) and Index Medicus (1879) were some of the earlier examples of indexing periodicals.
However Index Medicus ceased its print version from 2004 and available as PubMed database.
Now indexing periodicals in print or electronic databases are available in almost all subjects.

The coverage of an indexing periodical is generally restricted to subject, but rarely may cover
geographical or specific material collections.

Structure of index: Basically the index is having two parts:

Searching part – keyword, subject, title, author that represents the original
document and used a tool for search,
 Citation – brief information of the document that facilitates identification of the
originaldocument.

2.2 Uses and functions

Uses

Libraries generally hold good collections of periodicals as they provide current information and
form basis for research and academic pursuit. However their use is limited unless the contents of
each journal are brought into notice of users. Further a library cannot subscribe all journals
available in a subject but would like to know what is available and in which journal so that if
necessary they can procure that information. For instance according to Ulrichsweb
(www.ulrichsweb.com/ulrichsweb/analysis/), there are 107,765 active journal publications of
which 94,687 are academic scholarly journals. It is almost impossible for any library to subscribe
them all and for scientist or researcher to find relevant information out of the overload of
information available. Through application of subject indexing, access to periodical literature has
been tremendously increased. Therefore the primary uses of indexing sources are:

• Overviews of the subject – The periodicals arepublished in thousands. With such wider
coverage of journals the indexing periodicals provide the users with an overview of the
current developments and research trends in the respective subject.

• Access to information – A researcher / scientist or academician can access only those

journals that are subscribed by the library in print or electronic. Howeveraccess to major
output of literature in his / her subject is possible through an indexing periodical. They can
access more information than subscribed ones as indexing periodical has wider coverage.
After going through the index for a particular topic, the reader can select items of interest
and search for the primary source.

• Resolves language problem – The journals are being published from different countries in
different languages. The general belief is that at least 40-50 percent of journals are published
in other than English language. Because of this the scholarly community is deprived of
accessing literature available in foreign languages. An indexing periodical provides entries
in English language translating the original thus resolving the language problem.

• Resolves problem of information explosion – Exponential growth of literature is a common

phenomena in every scientific subject. For example Chemical Abstracts indexes around
10,000 major scientific journals and patent documents from 63 patent authorities (Source:
https://www.cas.org/about-cas/cas-fact-sheets). PubMed includes 5051 journal titles
(Source: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/num_titles.html). A comparatively new subject like
Library and Information Science has more than 440 journals (source: LISA). Thus the
indexing periodicals are the bibliographical control apparatus that gathers information of all
journal publications analyzes and consolidates information and publishes at regular periods.
Thus they help in resolving the issues associated with proliferation of scientific literature.
 • Explore content beyond library - They help to explore library contents beyond visible in the
library catalogues or OPACs, i.e. in some services these link periodicals subscribed by the
library. Online indexes & abstracting services have direct links to library collection – telling
about library holdings. Create networks of links with many full text resources.

• Enhance retrospective coverage – The indexing sources generally prepare annual

cumulations and arrange them in alphabetical and subject order. These cumulative indexes
provide retrospective coverage that helps the user to search from the first issue of the index.
Online indexing sources covers offers this facility as archives that connects the user to lot of
discipline specific related links.

Functions

The indexes play a vital role in literature search and informing about availability and location of
relevant documents in response to users request.

• It facilitates subject, author and title approach to seek information

• It provides information on contemporary or current issues
• It facilitates search through specific subject headings
• It also reveals trends in the growth of a subject.

Usually an index is arranged alphabetically but may sometimes be arrange chronologically,

geographically, numerically, or in any other suitable manner, depending upon the requirement. Thus
the primary function of an indexing periodical is

• compilation of title of articlesunder standard index terms;

• providing bibliographical details for identification of the item and
• arranging them in alphabetical order for easy retrieval.

Generally titles of new books, conference proceedings, pamphlets and etc. are also included in the
indexes.
To sum up the basic characteristics of indexing sources are:
- These offer value added services, like enhanced retrospective coverage, etc.

2.3Types of indexes

The information sources are generally categorized further based on the nature of information they
contain. You might have already learnt that encyclopedias and dictionaries divided as general,
special etc. Similarly, the indexes are categorized broadly into three types based on the nature of
information they provide:

• General
• Subject
• Citation indexes
Majority of the indexes are now available in print and electronic form. The electronic versions of
indexes are referred to as ‘secondary databases’.

2.3.1 General

General indexes coverage is wider and may or may not be confined to a subject field.

• General indexes that lists periodical publications. e.g.

i. The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature, Fortnightly/ Monthly, New York,
H.W.Wison, 1900-
Database: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/readers-guide-to-periodical-literature
ii. Index India (Quarterly) Jaipur, Rajasthan University Library. 1967- 1997.
iii.Guide to Indian Periodical Literature. Quarterly. New Delhi, Indian Documentation
Service 1964-

• General indexes for Table of Contents: These are the alert type of indexes that lists Title /
content pages of different journals in offing.
Ex. Current Contents (weekly) Institute of Scientific Information, Philadelphia (Now part of
Thomson Reuters)
Database: one of the databases on Web of Knowledge (Thomson Reuter)
http://thomsonreuters.com/web-of-knowledge/

• General indexes for literary works.

Play Index (H.W.Wilson) Content includes approximately 31,000 plays—published
individually or in collections—dating from 1949 to present time. Available in print and
online.
Database: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/play-index
Short story index (Annual) – index to thousands of short stories – from classics to
experimental fiction.
Database: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/short-story-index

• Subject indexes – Coverage includes all subjects and all types of documents. E.g.
i. Library Literature. Bi Monthly. (Cumulated yearly). New York, H.W.Wilson, 1934-
Database: http://www.ebscohost.com/public/library-literature-information-science-index
ii. Biography Index Past and Present. Quarterly (Cumulated annually) New York,
H.W.Wilson, 1946-
Database: http://www.ebscohost.com/academic/biography-index-past-and-present

• Indexes to single magazines, either at the end of a volume or as separately published works.
E.g. Scientific American Cumulative Index.

• Newspaper / Press indexes: There is a growing number of newspaper indexes in the world.
Newspaper Indexes are reference tools for accessing retrospective information published in
newspapers. They may vary in their coverage, i.e. it may be a compilation of articles of
 single news paper or may be an index to more than one news papers. Whatever be the
coverage, it makes the content accessible through subject approach. These are of immense
use for researchers. The best known newspaper indexes are
New York Times Index (Print) (Weekly1913- ) New York, New York Times Company.
Database: www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/siteindex.html
Accessible from ProQuest as New York Times with Index (1851 onwards).
http://www.proquest.com/assets/literature/products/databases/HNP_NYT.pdf
ii. Index to the Times of India. Three times a year. Bombay, Times of India Reference
Department, 1973-
E-Version: epaper.timesofindia.com/index.asp

• Translations: E.g. Index Translation. Annual. Paris, UNESCO, 1948-

http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-
URL_ID=7810&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html

2.3.2 Subject

Subject indexes, covering not only several periodicals but also material found in other books,
pamphlets, government documents and reports. The purpose is to index material in a narrow
subject field. There are indexes to reports both published and unpublished, govt., documents,
proceedings of conferences, and other materials which can be defined as serials i.e., any publication
issued in parts over an indefinite period.

General:

i. Conference Papers Index, Monthly. Bethesda, Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, 1973-.

ii. Indian Science Index, Annual. New Delhi, Indian Documentation Service, 1975-
iii. Index to Scientific and Technical Proceedings. Monthly. Philadelphia, Institute for
Scientific Information. 1974-

Specific subject indexes:

i. Current Papers in Physics. London, Institution of Electrical Engineers. 1966-. It indexes

65,000 papers annually from over 900 physics periodicals of the world.

ii.Index Medicus, Monthly. Washington, National Library of Medicine, 1960- . It indexes

about 5051 periodicals by author and subject giving a citation under each entry. It is
cumulated annually. The subjects covered include veterinary medicine, sociology, zoology,
biology, chemistry, psychology besides medicine and health. In the subject section,
references are grouped according to the language of the articles, with English articles getting
preference, followed by articles in other languages, all arranged alphabetically by language.
Titles in foreign language are translated into English.

The Cumulated Index Medicus was brought out by American Medical Association since
1960- to 2000 and was stopped after 41 volumes due to lack of demand. MEDLINE
 (1965)ismade available through OCLC (the online vendor) and now as
PubMed.http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/

iii. Index to Indian Agricultural Periodicals. Monthly, Pant Nagar (UP), G.B.Pant University
of Agriculture and Technology. 1969-.

iv. British Education Index. Three issues per year (cumulated annually). London, Library
Association, 1955- . It covers about 70 periodicals from UK on Education. It is compiled by
librarians of the British University Institute of Education, Leeds. Index is in two parts:
Author and subject, each arranged alphabetically. http://www.leeds.ac.uk/bei/index.html.
Now the index is available through ProQuest Dialog

2.3.3 Citation Indexes

The citation indexing is based on two factors:

• A document giving citations of the previously published document indicates subject

relationship between the current document and old document and

• The documents which cite the same publication have some subject relationship with each
other.

A citation index has its own merits because in this type of indexing the relevance information is
very high. Multi-disciplinary coverage, convenience and speed are the advantages. Its success
depends on the efficiency of citation practice of authors. If the authors cite proper references then
the relation between cited and citing documents will be reflected correct and citation index will
function properly. Otherwise, citation index will lose its effectiveness. Best examples of citation
indexes are

i. Science Citation Index: Quarterly. (Cumulated annually) Philadelphia, Institute for Scientific
Information. 1963- . The Science Citation Index (SCI) provides access to current and retrospective
bibliographic information, author abstracts, and cited references found in 3,700 of the world's
leading scholarly science and technical journals covering more than 100 disciplines. The Science
Citation Index Expanded format, available through the Web of Science and the online version,
SciSearch cover more than 5,800 journals. Database: http://thomsonreuters.com/web-of-science/SCI
provides an integrated search system for a comprehensive coverage of the periodical literature of
science. It consists of three separate but related indexes: Citation index, Source index, and
Permuterm subject index. Each of these covers the same articles adopting different approaches to
the information. SCI is based on the principle that scientists can determine much about the subject
content of as new article by examining its reference citations to earlier articles. This index claims
many advantages. It draws together related articles more effectively than any other system. And it is
achieved without the logical inconsistencies of human indexers, without the use of indexing terms
that may become obsolescent, and without delay as occur in other indexing methods.
Key Advantages & Capabilities:
 • Allows researchers to conduct broad-based, comprehensive searches that uncover all the
relevant information they need
• Provides cited reference searching, the unique ISI search and retrieval feature that lets
users track the literature forward, backward, and through the database, breaking through
disciplinary and geographic boundaries
• Enables users to conduct multidisciplinary searches to discover hidden subject relationships

Other important publications from the same publisher are Social Science Citation Index; Arts and
Humanities Citation Index.

ii. Indian Citation Index: Indian Citation Index (ICI) is developed by "The Knowledge
Foundation" (a registered society) with the required support of M/s DIVA ENTERPRISES Pvt. Ltd.
ICI provides a multidisciplinary research platform covering about 1000 scholarly journals from
India. The ICI database also produces other useful byproducts like Indian Science Citation Index
(ISCI), Indian Social Science and Humanities Citation Index (ISSHCI), Indian Journals Citation
Reports (IJCR), Indian Science and Technology Abstracts (ISTA), and Directory of Indian Journals
(DOIJ). (Source: http://www.indiancitationindex.com/ici.aspx)

2.3.4 Indexes to Special type of materials:

Indexes to dissertations and theses–There are a number of indexes and databases available listing
thetheses and dissertations. The coverage may vary from global, regional to national level. ProQuest
Dissertations & Theses Database includes full text dissertations from around the world that are
available for download. http://www.proquest.com/en-US/catalogs/databases/detail/pqdt.shtml

DART-Europe is a partnership of research libraries and library consortia who are working together
to improve global access to European research theses.http://www.dart-europe.eu/About/info.php
Shodhganga – a repository of ETDs of Indian Universities. http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/
Indexes to Software and CD-ROMs –There are lists on software and CD ROMs that are reviewed
and indexed.

Ex. Software and CD-ROM Reviews on file (formerly software reviews on file) New York, Facts
on File, Inc., (c1996- ). It is monthly publication available in print.

3. Abstracting sources

The abstracting sources are important links in the chain of communication between the originator of
information and the user. It represents or surrogates the original information as brief summary. You
might know about annotated bibliography that is prepared for macro thought i.e. books. Similarly
for journal articles i.e. micro thought abstracts are prepared.

There are various definitions of an abstract. An abstract is the “presentation in the author’s own
language, of all the points made in the same order as in the primary documentary information – that
can be a book, a research report, a periodical article, a speech, the proceedings of a conference, an
interview, etc.” (Robert L Collinson)
According to Librarian’s Glossary, it is “a form of current bibliography in which sometimes books,
but mainly contributions to periodicals are summarized. They are accompanied by adequate
bibliographical descriptions to enable the publications or articles to be traced and are frequently
arranged I classified order.”

According to Maizell “An abstract, simply defined is a condensation that presents succinctly, the
objectives, scope and findings of a document. This information is usually conveyed together with
an indexing system, which further helps to identify document content. An abstract as a rule, is
aimed at a specific group of users who either may not have easy access to the original document.”

In simple words, an abstract is a summary of document along with adequate bibliographical details
so that one can trace the document. The concerned document may be a book, an article from a
periodical or some other form of recorded knowledge, but mainly the contributions to periodicals
are listed. The abstracts are arranged in some systematic order, mostly in classified order.

Like other bibliographies, the abstracts may be selective or comprehensive, and may be prepared by
an individual or an organization or it may be a project some commercial organization supplied
regularly against subscription., Often, the special libraries prepare abstracts in limited field for use
of its own clientele, to keep them aware of current progress in their subject of interest, These are
brought out in mimeographed form as ‘Abstract Bulletin’, though it is rather a costly affair and its
scope is limited to the range of periodicals subscribed by the library. On the other hand, a
comprehensive abstracting journal covers the maximum number of periodicals on the subject and its
allied fields, irrespective of language.

Structure of abstract: Basically the abstract is having three parts:

Searching mechanism – keyword, subject, title, author that represents the original document
and used a tool for search
Citation – brief information of the document that facilitates identification of the original
document
Abstract – a brief summary of the original article

3.1. Difference between Indexing and abstracting sources

Indexing and abstracting periodicals provide modern research libraries with ample facilities to
collect and disseminate information or articles published in a wide range of periodicals, all of which
can never be possessed by a library. This has lead to the development of indexing and abstracting
periodicals that are available in thousands at present in both print and online.

An index is only a key to find out where a specific data or information is located in various types of
documents with focus on periodicals.

Abstracting sources are an extension of indexes. They perform the same function in locating and
recording the contents of periodicals, books and various types of documents; they differ from
indexes in that
 • By definition, they include a summary of the material indexed; they tend to be confined to
relatively narrow subject areas;
• The abstract covers the main points of a piece of writing that follows the same language and
terminology as used in the original. Indeed it is a brief representation of the original. The
added value helps the user to determine the usefulness of the full article.

3.2 Uses of abstracting sources

By now you might have guessed that abstracts are more advantageous than indexes as they are
providing a brief summary of the original in addition to the information details provided in an
index. In other words the abstract is a surrogate to the original and the reader can get an overview of
the original article information. The uses of abstracting journals can be summarized as follows:

• They serve those users who either may not read or may not have an easy access to original
document with an outline for reading.
• It helps the reader to decide whether to read the entire article or not i.e. the contents of the
article are suitable or not.
• It overcomes the language barrier and to prevent duplication.
• It gives up-to-date information and is useful for current and retrospective literature search.
One can select papers for study and it is a time saving device.

3.3 Types of Abstracts: There are various types of abstracts on the basis of information supplied by
them. These are

i. Title only Abstract: The title of a document is used without amplification to describe the
contents of a document. Thus, it usually states subject and not findings.

ii. Annotated Abstract: A clause or a sentence is added to amplify the title of an article.
Annotated and indicative abstracts differ only in length.

iii. Indicative or Descriptive Abstract: It displays a general statement of the nature and scope
of a document. It does not serve as a substitute for reading the original document. The
primary purpose is to give the user several clues to the information contained in the source
document and help him to judge whether it is same that he is sought after. Generally these
abstracts include procedures, findings and information about the illustrations, tables etc.

iv. Informative or Comprehensive Abstract: It provides details of the significant contributions

to knowledge contained in a document like problem, methodology, major findings and
conclusions.However on many occasions it serves as an adequate substitute for the original
information and sometimes users rely on informative abstract alone for the purpose of
obtaining a specific item of information. For example Dissertation Abstracts International
provides informative abstracts.

v. Slanted Abstract: Information or description reported in a document is oriented to a

specific discipline to which the abstracting service e is devoted
 vi. Auto-Abstract: It is produced by a computer analysis of the frequency of use of significant
use words in a document and of the frequency with which these high-use words appear in
the same sentence. The high frequency words are then traced back to the sentence in which
they occurred and their position noted. A score is then assigned to each sentence based on
the number and position of the high frequency words it contains. The resultant auto-abstract
is a collection of typical sentences forms the original document.

vii. Telegraphic Abstract: It is a detailed index to a graphic record, which is composed of

• Significant words selected from the document.
• Coded symbols called role indicators which supply a context for the selected words,
and
• Punctuation symbols which separate and group the words and role indicators into
various units in somewhat the same fashion as conventional punctuation does. e.g. a
portion of telegraphic abstract might have this appearance: “Propenoyl Chloride;
preparation; reaction; use.”

8. Graphic Abstract: In the field of Chemistry where a precise language of communication is

available, a new type of abstract has been introduced by the “current abstracts of chemistry and
index chemicus” make full use of this language. This has been named graphic abstract. Instead
of naming the substances and compounds and their treatments a graphic abstract indicates them
by molecular and structural formulae. A chemist finds it easier to get the essence from such an
abstract.

Technically, two types of abstracting methods are more popular - indicative and informative.
The “indicative abstract” indicates the type of article and the authors approach and treatment, but
does not usually include specific data.

The “informative abstract” summarizes enough of the data finding to relieve the reader of the
necessity of always reading the article. In neither case does the abstract, make any critical
assessment.”

Examples of abstracting sources

Biological Abstracts provides the latest information in

every life science discipline, and contains more than 13.2
million archival records from as far back as 1969, with
more than 370,000 citations added each year. Most of the
records include informative abstracts written by the author. This database is produced by Thomson
Scientific, Inc. Now Biological abstracts is accessible through Thomson Reuters Web of
knowledge platform Source: http://thomsonreuters.com/web-of-knowledge/
 Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS), a division of the
American Chemical Society, is the world’s authority for
chemical information. CAS is the only organization in the
world whose objective is to find, collect and organize all
publicly disclosed chemical substance information. A team
of scientists worldwide curates and controls the quality of
our databases, which are recognized as the most comprehensive and authoritative by chemical and
pharmaceutical companies, universities, government organizations and patent offices around the
world. By combining these databases with advanced search and analysis technologies
(SciFinder® and STN®), CAS delivers the most current, complete, secure and interlinked digital
information environment for scientific discovery. Source: https://www.cas.org/

Library and Information Science Abstracts, Bi-monthly. London, Library Association, 1950-.
LISA, an international abstracting and indexing tool designed for library professionals and
information specialists covers such subjects as library science, information science, publishing,
book selling, and reprography. About 440 periodicals, conference papers, books and pamphlets
from more than 68 countries and 20 different languages are scanned for this. The references are
arranged in a classified order according to CRG’s classification of library science. Under the class
number and subject the entries are arranged by title, author, host document, volume, issue, year, and
pages. These are followed by abstracts. Each entry has its serial number. Author and subject indexes
are given for each issue. Both of these indexes are cumulated on an annual basis.
The online version of LISA is hosted by ProQuest CSA at http://www.csa.com/factsheets/lisa-set-
c.php

4. Evaluation of indexing and abstracting sources

The check list for an evaluation of indexes and abstracting services should consist of
• Authority
• Scope
• Duplication and gaps
• Depth of indexing
• Currency
• Format
• Subject heading
• Description

i. Authority (The Publisher): The Librarian should check out the authenticity and
trustworthiness of publishers, preferably by talking to subject experts and to other librarian
who may have knowledge of the field and by reading reviews.

ii. Scope: The indexing and abstracting periodicals should adequately cover the periodicals and
other materials in the field of interest and the related areas.
 iii. Accuracy: Accuracy of information as well as the bibliographical details is an important
criteria for evaluating indexing and abstracting sources

iv. Arrangement: There should be uniformity in presentation of entries following standard

pattern. GENERALLYthey are arranged in classified (subject) order. There should be
different indexes to the content like subject, author, and title. The use of maximum number
of subject headings should also be seen.

v. Retrieval efficiency: The indexes and abstract are basically information retrieval tools
hence they are expected to retrieve information with highest recall and precision ratio.
vi. Currency: The frequency of publication is a fair indication of the currency of service.
However the time lag between the publication and its inclusion in the index / abstract
indicates the currency, hence the librarian has to check for the date of original publication
and date of its inclusion in the secondary source.

vii. Format: The abstract must be checked for its ease of use of entries and readability.
Readability of format, accuracy, and completeness of biographical information, printing, and
font size are other considerations to be kept in view.

viii. Subject Headings: The type, number, and form of subject headings used in an index
/ abstract are important. The subject headings generally derived from a standard list like
Sears, Library of Congress; in case of electronic databases they follow keyword indexing
technique. Some may have developed their own lists like MeSH of Index Medicus/ Medline.
In any case subject headings should be standardized and the plan of organization has to be
suitable to the material indexed / abstracted. . There should be adequate ‘see’ and ‘see also’
references.

ix. Description: It is also required to check whether the index / abstract adequately describes
the document and whether it has been judiciously edited.

The best evaluation summary has been suggested by users’ attitudes towards indexes and abstracts
as under:
• Accuracy;
• Ease of use;
• Layout and presentation;
• Choice of subject index-headings;
• Optimum use of cross references;
• Overall effectiveness in practical use;
• Minimum amount of “noise”.

Louis Shores has suggested the following check lists for study and evolution of indexes:

i. Period covered: 1. Date 2. Frequency 3. Cumulations

ii. Material indexed: 4. Number-in terms of volumes, periodicals, or articles 5. Kinds-
books, periodicals, newspapers, documents. 6. Subject-general or special. 7. Style-
popular or scholarly. 8. Country.
 iii. Form: 9. Complete or selective indexing (if latter, note basis of selection). 10.
Arrangement-dictionary, classified, author, title, subject. 11. Entry fullness-author,
title, source, collation, date, etc. 12. Annotation- Information given.
iv. Special features: 13. Distinctiveness-- anything characteristic of the index.

Now the indexing and abstracting sources are available as electronic databases on the Web.
Therefore additional criteria to be considered include

• Accuracy and authoritativeness of information content

• Regular updating of information and its reliability
• Check for the ownership of domain
• Error-free information
• Useful links to other Web Pages.

5. Summary

Indexing and abstracting have an important role in dissemination of information hidden in micro
documents more specifically periodicals. This module focused on indexing and abstracting journals
that are keys to access the store house of primary journals in every subject. With a modest start as
back of the book index today indexing journals like Index Medicus, Citation indexes etc. became an
inevitable source in libraries both in print and electronic environments. Abstracting periodicals
further enhances the dissemination with a brief summary of each article that helps to overcome
language barrier also. The abstracting periodicals, like Chemical Abstracts, Biological abstracts etc.,
with the added value helps users to assess the usefulness of the primary source. The advent of
databases, such as STN, Web of Knowledge made these sources easily accessible without time lag.

6. References

1. Balakrishnan, Shyama&Paliwal, P.K. Abstracting practices in Libraries. Delhi, Anmol, 2001

2. Guha, B.: Documentation and Information, 2nd Ed., Calcutta, World Press, 1982.

3. Katz, A: Introduction to Reference Work, Vol. I Basic Information Sources, New York,
McGraw Hill, 1982;

4. Krishan Kumar: Reference service, 3rdRev.Ed., New Delhi, Vikas Pub., 1987.

5. Rowley, J.E: Abstracting and Indexing. London, Clive Bingley, 1982.

6. Seetharama, S. Information Consolidation and Repacking: Framework, Methodology,

Planning. New Delhi, EssEss Pub, 1997