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
- 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
|
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
|
- 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
|
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 |