Index

An index is a list of words or phrases and associated pointers to where useful

material relating to that heading can be found in a document or collection of
documents. Examples are an index in the back matter of a book and an index
that serves as a library catalogue.
In a traditional back-of-the-book index, the headings will include names of
people, places, events, and concepts selected by the indexer as being relevant
and of interest to a possible reader of the book. The indexer may be the author,
the editor, or a professional indexer working as a third party. The pointers are
typically page numbers, paragraph numbers or section numbers.
In a library catalogue the words are authors, titles, subject headings, etc., and
the pointers are call numbers. Internet search engine and full-text searching help
provide access to information but are not as selective as an index, as they
provide non-relevant links, and may miss relevant information if it is not
phrased in exactly the way they expect.

Purpose

Indexes are designed to help the reader find information quickly and easily. A
complete and truly useful index is not simply a list of the words and phrases
used in a publication, but an organized map of its contents, including cross-
references, grouping of like concepts, and other useful intellectual analysis.

In books, indexes are usually placed near the end. They complement the table of
contents by enabling access to information by specific subject, whereas contents
listings enable access through broad divisions of the text arranged in the order
they occur. It has been remarked that, while at first glance the driest part of the
book, on closer inspection the index may provide both interest and amusement
from time to time.

Types of Book Indexing

There are many different types of indexing, some of which require specialised
skills from indexers. Examples include:

o Bibliographic and database indexing

 o Genealogical indexing
o Geographical indexing
o Book indexing
o Legal indexing
o Periodical and newspaper indexing
o Pictorial indexing
o Subject gateways
o Website and metadata indexing

Bibliographic and database indexing: Bibliographic database indexers provide

records for items such as journal articles. The database then provides online
access to a body of literature (eg medical journal articles). Citation and subject
details are described according to set rules specifically for that database.

Genealogical indexing:Genealogical indexes allow users to look up people’s

names and find information about personal and family relationships. They often
eliminate the need to access original source materials (eg cemetery
inscriptions). Genealogical indexers are skilled in researching and recording
information about historical people and places.

Geographical indexing: Geographic indexers create indexes to maps, atlases and

other cartographic material. Geographical indexes may include place names,
topics, historical details, mathematical qualities (eg scale and coordinates) and
artistic
features. Often geographic indexers have special skills or backgrounds
in cartography or geography.

Book indexing: Book indexers create indexes to provide access to detailed

contents of books. Back-of-book indexes are made for all types of non-fiction
books, including textbooks, multi-volume works, technical reports and annual
reports. Books that are online, PDF books, and ebooks also need indexes. These
link directly to points in the text.

Book indexing: Book indexers create indexes to provide access to detailed

contents of books. Back-of-book indexes are made for all types of non-fiction
books, including textbooks, multi-volume works, technical reports and annual
reports. Books that are online, PDF books, and eBook also need indexes. These
link directly to points in the text.

Periodical and newspaper indexing: Periodical and newspaper indexes give

access to the contents of individual articles and other items in serialised
publications. Many periodical and newspaper indexes are based on a controlled
vocabulary to ensure consistent use of terms from year to year. Periodical and
newspaper indexers help ensure that an overview of the issues discussed
throughout the life of the index are easily accessible. Newspaper and periodical
indexes can be annual or cumulative.

Pictorial indexing: Indexes to images help users identify relevant pictures in

collections of photographs, art works, videos and films. Pictorial indexers are
skilled in identifying and describing images in visual collections.

Website and metadata indexing: Despite the proliferation of automated search

engines, there are a number of ways in which human indexers are needed to
enhance access to information on the World Wide Web. Website indexes can be
similar in style to back of book indexes or can be designed as hierarchical
pages, which both link directly to the information required. They complement
other navigational tools such as site maps and search engines. Metadata
indexers improve the precision of access to web documents through search
engines by the use of standard elements similar to those used in database
indexes and library catalogues.

Types of Journal Indexing

 Primary search engines: Regardless of which academic indexes you
choose to focus on for your journal, you must, must, must make search
engine indexing a priority. We can’t stress this enough. Scholars are
increasingly starting their research online via either a primary or
scholarly internet search engine and many want to know that their
articles, if published in your journal, will appear in general searches
easily accessible to the public - not hidden away in academic indexes
only. This is particularly paramount for open access publications.
 Scholar search engines: As you’re working on your journal website
SEO in order to get picked up by primary search engines, you’ll also
want to start working towards being added to mainstream scholar
search engines. As mentioned, the primary scholar search engines are
Google Scholar and Microsoft Academic. Getting added to these
indexes will require some more steps than primary search engines.
 General scholarly indexes: In addition to search engine indexing, as
your publication becomes established you’ll want to start applying for
inclusion in scholarly indexes. You can have your publication added
to general indexes that cover all or multiple disciplines, or to
discipline-specific indexes. Most publications will seek a mix of both.
 As noted, since these index applications can take time, you’ll want to
prioritize general and disciplinary index applications based on where
scholars are more likely to be searching for and using your journal.
 Discipline-specific: Finally, your journal will want to look into
discipline-specific indexes and apply for inclusion in any that are
frequented by your potential readers. If you’re not sure which indexes
are the most widely used start to ask around. Query your authors,
editors, reviewers, and readers to find out which discipline-specific
indexes they use.

Skimming and Scanning technique

Skimming
One of the most effective methods for beginning the kind of thoughtful reading
necessary for academic work is to get a general overview of the text before
beginning to read it in detail. By first skimming a text, you can get a sense of its
overall logical progression. Skimming can also help you make decisions about
where to place your greatest focus when you have limited time for your reading.
Here is one technique for skimming a text. You may need to modify it to suit
your own reading style.

1. First, prior to skimming, use some of the previewing techniques.

2. Then, read carefully the introductory paragraph, or perhaps the first two
paragraphs. As yourself what the focus of the text appears to be, and try
to predict the direction of the coming explanations or arguments.
3. Read carefully the first one or two sentences of each paragraph, as well as
the concluding sentence or sentences.
4. In between these opening and closing sentences, keep your eyes
moving and try to avoid looking up unfamiliar words or terminology.
Your goal is to pick up the larger concepts and something of the overall
pattern and significance of the text.
5. Read carefully the concluding paragraph or paragraphs. What does the
author’s overall purpose seem to be? Remember that you may be
mistaken, so be prepared to modify your answer.
6. Finally, return to the beginning and read through the text carefully, noting
the complexities you missed in your skimming and filling in the gaps in
your understanding. Think about your purpose in reading this text and
what you need to retain from it, and adjust your focus accordingly. Look
up the terms you need to know, or unfamiliar words that
appear several times.
Scanning
Scanning is basically skimming with a more tightly focused purpose: skimming
to locate a particular fact or figure, or to see whether this text mentions a subject
you’re researching. Scanning is essential in the writing of research papers, when
you may need to look through many articles and books in order to find the
material you need. Keep a specific set of goals in mind as you scan the text, and
avoid becoming distracted by other material. You can note what you’d like to
return to later when you do have time to read further, and use scanning to move
ahead in your research project.

Citation
An intellectual reference to a published or unpublished source by quoting of a
book, author or an existing publication in support of a fact.
More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression embedded
in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic
references section of the work for the purpose of acknowledging the relevance
of the works of others to the topic of discussion at the spot where the citation
appears. Generally, the combination of both the in-body citation and the
bibliographic entry constitutes what is commonly thought of as a citation.

Forms and Types of Citations

Forms
The forms of citations generally subscribe to one of the generally accepted
citations systems:
 Oxford
 Harvard
 Turabian
 Chicago
 MLA: Modern Language Association of America
 ASA: American Sociological Association
 APA: American Psychological Association
 AAA: American Anthropological Association
 CSE: Council of Science Editors
 CBE: Council of Biology Editors
Each of these citation systems has its respective advantages and disadvantages
relative to the trade-offs of being informative (but not too disruptive) and thus
should be chosen relative to the needs of the type of publication being crafted.
Editors and academics usually specify the preferred citation system to use.
Bibliographies, and other list-like compilations of references, are generally not
considered citations because they do not fulfill the true spirit of the term:
deliberate acknowledgment by other authors of the priority of one’s ideas.

Ways of Using Citation

You can incorporate someone else’s work into your own in three ways:
Quotations
Quotations must be identical as in the source consulted. Only quote phrases,
lines, or passages relevant to your subject matter and do not change spellings or
punctuation of the original quotes.
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves writing your passage, phrase by phrase from the source
into your own words. Your passage should be of equal length or shorter than the
original passage. Paraphrasing means a complete rewrite of the consulted source
passage and not just rearrangement of words.
Summarizing
Summarizing includes putting the main idea(s) of a passage into your own
words. Summaries are much shorter than the original source passage. Make sure
to not change or alter the original meaning of the passage while summarizing
main idea(s).

Find a case by name or citation

A case name is the name applied to a legal case and is based on the abbreviated
names of the parties involved in the case. Example case names:
R v Sun Glow Foodservice Ltd
Western Canada Wilderness Committee v Canada (Minister of Environment)
Moore v Bertuzzi
All legal databases will provide an option to search by case name. Often,
the v can be omitted from your search. Note that if the case went through
multiple levels of court (e.g., trial court, appellate court, Supreme Court of
Canada), you will want to know a bit more about the case, such as the trial year,
to identify the correct case from your search results.
A case citation refers to either the full case citation (including the case name),
or a portion of the citation which lists court reporter information, year, and
jurisdiction. When searching legal databases, the case citation search option
usually means the latter. Example case citations:
[1991] BCWLD 038
29 ACWS (3d) 43
110 OR (3d) 124
2005 BCSC 419 (a neutral case citation)
Many legal database no longer require proper punctuation when searching.

A case citation may also refer to a unique citation assigned by a particular legal
database. Note that this format is not considered a proper legal citation, but can
still be used to track down a case in a particular database.
2005 CarswellBC 644

Finding Cases Using Headnotes

Headnotes: Headnotes are very short entries on legal issues that are found at the
beginning of a case. From a headnote you can click on a West Key Number, or
a Lexis Topic Document or Topic Index link to find additional cases.
Westlaw: After finding an on point case, read the headnotes and find the one
most relevant to your issue. Click on a topic or key number link to see a list of
all cases that fall under the same topic and key number. You can refine your
search by choosing a different jurisdiction at the top of the page.
Lexis Advance: After finding a case you like, read through the Lexis Headnotes
at the beginning of the case, and find the one(s) most relevant to your issue.
Look at the listing of topics and sub-topics above your headnote and choose the
one of most interest to you. From here you have a couple of options.
Topic Document - this is similar to looking at a digest document in
WestlawNext; you will first be shown a list of cases under this topic, which you
can narrow by jurisdiction or by searching within results; but you can also look
at other types of legal materials that fall under this topic by selecting them from
the tabs at the top.
Topic Index - this is similar to browsing the West Key Number System; you are
presented with an expandable tree of legal topics, which you can search in the
provided search bar at the top of the tab or browse.

Finding Cases Using Annotated Statutes

Finding Case Annotations
WestlawNext - In Westlaw case annotations are called Notes of Decisions. They
are available in three different places; the bottom of the document, in the
column on the right, or in the Notes of Decisions tab at the top.
Lexis Advance - In Lexis Advance annotations are called Case Notes. They are
available as you scroll past the statutory text; you can also jump to them by
using the "Go to" menu near the top of the screen.
Cases in both are divided by topic to help you find the cases most relevant to
your issue.
Browsing by Subject
Westlaw: In the Browse box, click the Tools tab and select the West Key
Number System. From here you can search the West Key Number System from
the search bar at the top or browse the list of 450 topics. If you click through to
a digest document (a listing of cases that fall under a specific topic and key
number), you select a different jurisdiction at the top of the screen and search
within that listing.
Lexis Advance: Click the Browse Topics option at the top of the Lexis Advance
home page. You will see the topic index for Lexis Advance; you can either
search with the search box provided or browse through the list of top-level
topics which are further divided into sub-topics.

Finding Cases Using Secondary Sources

Legal Encyclopaedias: Legal encyclopaedias are similar to encyclopedias that
you may have used as an undergraduate, except that they focus on brief
overviews of legal topics. Different encyclopaedias will have different features,
but keeping an eye out for the following will help you locate additional case
law:
Case supplements - often legal encyclopaedia entries in Lexis and Westlaw will
include a supplement following the article that lists a few pertinent cases. You
might also look to see whether the article contains an illustration of the subject
matter; this would generally involve describing the treatment of this area of law
in one or two key cases.
Reference lists - some legal encyclopaedia entries in Lexis or Westlaw will
contain a short list of references. This could include other secondary source
materials, but may also include references to pertinent topics and key
numbers in the West Key Number System, a case-finding tool.
American Law Reports: American Law Reports contain in-depth articles on
legal topics. Each article has its own table of contents, index, and research
references. You can find relevant cases by looking at the:
Table of Cases - breaks down relevant cases, statutes, and court rules across
multiple jurisdictions that pertain to the subject of the article. The Table of
Cases is labelled slightly differently depending on the database you are using.
Westlaw - Table of Cases, Laws, and Rules
Lexis Advance - Jurisdictional Table of Statutes and Cases
Research References - This section contains references to a number of materials
that can be used to locate additional cases, including West's Key Number
Digest, Westlaw databases, other ALR annotations, legal encyclopaedias,
treatise materials, trial strategy materials, and forms. Research References are
labelled slightly differently depending on the database that you are using.
Lexis Advance - Table of References
Westlaw - Research References