Style & format decisions

Whether indexing a book yourself or hiring a professional, you will need to make choices about the style of the index.

Style Guides: Style guides refer to the overall formatting and structure of a manuscript. Ask your publisher if they have an in-house style guide or which guide you should use. One of the most commonly used style guides is the Chicago Manual of Style. Other style guides include Modern Language Association (MLA), American Psychological Association (APA), and Turabian.

Index Formatting: If the style guide you are using does not address index construction, or even if it does, you will need to make choices about the format of the index. Consistency is your goal. Below are some index formatting decisions to make before* you being indexing.

*Note: If you are using a dedicated indexing program, such as Cindex, then you will be able to easily reformat the index to almost any specification. If you are using Word, Frame, or another word processing tool then you do not have the luxury of globally reformatting the below specifications, so save time and plan ahead!

Capitalization…Cross References…Alphabetization…Indented/Run-on & Page Constraints…Levels of Subheadings…Page Ranges

Capitalization

  • Will the first letter of main headings be capitalized (initial capitalization)?
  • Will the first letter of subheadings be capitalized?

Example:

Initial Capitalization of Heading 
Wolf Center. See International Wolf Center
Wolves
    Alaskan, 30-35
    hybrid, 40-43
    myths of, 18-20
No Initial Capitalization of Headings
(only proper nouns are capitalized)		 
Wolf Center. See International Wolf Center
wolves
    Alaskan, 30-35
    hybrid, 40-43
    myths of, 18-20
Initial Capitalization of Heading & Subheadings 
Wolf Center. See International Wolf Center
Wolves
    Alaskan, 30-35
    Hybrid, 40-43
    Myths of, 18-20

Cross References

Where will the cross references appear? As the last subheading or at the beginning of an entry? Should they be capitalized? Are there special considerations for cross references (e.g., fonts, parentheses) ?

Cross Reference, Non-Capitalized, Last Subheading 
wolves
    Alaskan, 30-35
    hybrid, 40-43
    myths of, 18-20
    see also Canis Lupus familiaris
Cross Reference, Capitalized, Beginning of Entry 
wolves. See also Canis Lupus familiaris
    Alaskan, 30-35
    hybrid, 40-43
    myths of, 18-20

Alphabetization

  • The alphabetization formats to choose from are letter-by-letter or word-by-word.
  • Depending on the subject of your book, do you want numbers and symbols in there original form as well as spelled out. (e.g., %, percent symbol)?
  • When deciding on alphabetization, try to think of yourself as the audience of the book. How will they look for information?
Word-by-Word
Hospital rules and regulations, 109
Hospital stays, data collection of, (PI.3.2.4), 132
Hospital Wide State Plan of American, 190
Hospital-specific decisions, 248-249
Hospitalwide plan, (PI.1-PI.1.1), 127
Letter-by-Letter
Hospital rules and regulations, 109
Hospital-specific decisions, 248-249
Hospital stays, data collection of, (PI.3.2.4), 132
Hospitalwide plan, (PI.1-PI.1.1), 127
Hospital Wide State Plan of American, 190

Indented/Run-on & Page Constraints

Page constraints may sometimes dictate the format of the index. If you have limited page space, then a Run-on format may be appropriate. If you have a sufficient amount of space for the index then an Indented-Style works well. Ask the publisher which they prefer. Below are examples of both formats. Usually in Run-on format only one subheading may be used, where in Indented format two or more subheadings may be used.

Run-on 
Emergency care: analysis c data collection, 207;
   anesthesia guidelines, 81, 82; documentation, 203-204;
   patient assessment, 69; restraint or seclusion, 99, 101.
Indented 
Emergency care:
          analysis & data collection, 207
          anesthesia guidelines, 81, 82
          documentation, 203-204
          patient assessment, 69
          restraint or seclusion, 99, 101

Levels of Subheadings

If you are using indented format, you may use more than one subheading. However, as a general rule, try to keep to no more than two levels of subheadings. When possible, use only one level. If you find yourself using many levels of subheadings, then it is time to reorganize the index.

Indented Format, One Level of Subheadings 
Emergency care:
          analysis & data collection, 207
          anesthesia guidelines, 81, 82
          documentation, 203-204
          patient assessment, 69
          restraint or seclusion, 99, 101
Indented Format, Two Levels of Subheadings 
Emergency care:
          analysis & data collection, 207
          anesthesia guidelines, 81, 82
              adults, 108-109
              children, 100
              infants, 104-106
          documentation, 203-204
          patient assessment, 69
          restraint or seclusion, 99, 101

Page Ranges (a.k.a. Page References; Locators)

How will page references appear?

Example:

106-8 106-08 106-108

 

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