Hyderabad Technical WriterA blog for Technical Writing Tips and Tricks, Quick Reference Guides, Technology, Hyderabad, and India
Information About Indexing
An index performs a unique function. It accesses the information from the user’s point of view. When users can use their own words, they will need less time to find the correct information.
Barker (1998) gives five guidelines for designing a good index:
Decide on the index methodology
You can generate your index manually or electronically. Manual index generation takes a lot of time and the manual should be finished. Electronic index generation makes it possible to index while you write, order alphabetically and format. Also, it makes revision easy.
Decide what to index
Match your choice of what to index with your user analysis. What kind of index do you need for your type of users and your project? Make a list of items you want to index and keep the list in front of you as you make your index. If you work with several people on the index, make sure everybody knows the elements to index and the categories they belong in. What to put in the index:
a. Commands and functions
b. Concepts
c. User Terms and Questions
d. Glossary terms
e. Proper names of products and companies
f. Tasks and procedures
Identify the level of detail
Decide on a one to four level index. One level shows only the main headings. A two level index organises terms by categories. A three or four level index is a very complex way of organising material. Decide on the number of items you want to index. If you know your users well, you can decide better how many items you want to index.
Decide on phrasing and format
Things you could do:
· Cue the primary locator numbers (for example by making them bold)
· Capitalize terms consistently
· Make entries sound like sentences (For example: Graphics, using in
· reports)
· Cue special terms
Build and proof-read
Spot-check the page references, look for format mistakes and indentation problems (if you have a two or more level index) and check for inconsistencies of reference.
