Journal of Documentation

TWO NOTES ON INDEXING TECHNIQUES

D.J. FOSKETT
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To cite this document:
D.J. FOSKETT, (1962),"TWO NOTES ON INDEXING TECHNIQUES", Journal of Documentation, Vol.
18 Iss 4 pp. 188 - 192
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 TWO NOTES ON INDEXING TECHNIQUES
D. J. FOSKETT
Librarian, The Institute ofEducation, University ofLondon

I. R O T A T E D I N D E X E S

NO FIRM conclusions are to be drawn from the interimreports⋆on the

Aslib-Cranfield Project, as the author himself has emphasized. One thing
has, however, emerged fairly clearly, and that is that the economic efficiency
of the facet index used at Cranfield has been seriously impaired by the
chain indexing. It is true that most of this was done very quickly by clerical
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assistants; nevertheless if, as has been claimed, the technique is automatic,

it should not be difficult to delegate it to clerks without loss of efficiency.
The main difficulties with the chain index seem to arise when a searcher
codes his inquiry in a form that is less extensive than relevant entries in the
chain index. If, for example, he looks for a subject represented by facets
A D F L, he will look in the chain index for L: F: D: A and he will find it
difficult to sort out entries that may be coded L: K: F: E: D : B: A. This diffi-
culty has also been commented on by A. S. Reid in the last issue of the
Classification Research Group Bulletin† with reference to the Occupational
Safety system.
Similarly, a searcher who is looking for subject A B C but who actually
looks at the index under B or A will not find the combination C: B: A and
is liable to conclude that the classified part of the index contains nothing on
his subject. Obviously this can be avoided if clear instructions are given on
the use ofthe index, but it is nevertheless a real danger. It has been suggested,
therefore, that, in order to gain the same advantages as the various forms of
co-ordinate indexes, we should abandon chain indexing and go in for per-
muting all the terms. This, of course, loses the main advantage claimed for
chain indexing, namely substantial economies in the production of the in-
dex. On the other hand, it is a basic principle of indexing that one puts in
more effort at the indexing stage if necessary to save time at the retrieval
stage.
It may not be necessary to put in all possible permutations, and in fact
experiments with what has been called a 'rotated' or 'cyclic' index seem to
⋆ The final report was received as this journal went to press. (C. W. Cleverdon, Report on
the testing and analysis ofan investigation into the comparative efficiency of indexing systems. College
of Aeronautics, Cranfield, October 1962.)
† In the Journal of Documentation, vol. 18, no. 2, June 1962.
188
 December 1962 INDEXING TECHNIQUES
show that this is quite a promising technique, particularly with a card index
based on the unit-entry principle. Briefly, the technique is not to leave off
the indexing terms as one moves from right to left (CBA, BA, A) but to
rotate the terms: CBA, BAC, ACB. This gives combinations other than
the one used in the classification itself, ABC. When this proposal was first
discussed, it was in terms of an alphabetical index to a classified file, but it
is obvious that if one inserts a card under every term, one might as well put
in all the information contained on the card in the actual classified file. The
great advantage of this method, of course, is that one has then compiled a
bibliography of complete entries under each facet.
In a printed bibliography the loss of economy may be more serious, but
could be substantially reduced by using the title-a-line technique. The fol-
lowing is an example from the field of Community Development:

CagHed4 Home economics education in the Caribbean.

Do Dem Dip Hed 6,7 Asia and the Far East Seminar on Training for
Community Development and Social Work.
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Do Dem Dip Hed 6,7 Asia and the Far East Seminar on Training for
Community Development and Social Work.
D o D e m H e d Her 156 Nsamizi Training Centre Citizenship Course.
Do Dem Pak 61 Community development through Panchayati
Raj.
Cag Hed4 Home economics education in the Caribbean.
Do Dem Dip Hed 6,7 Asia and the Far East Seminar on Training for
Community Development and Social Work.
Do Dem Hed Her 156 Nsamizi Training Centre Citizenship Course.
Do Dem Hed Her 156 Nsamizi Training Centre Citizenship Course.
Do Dem Pak 61 Community development through Panchayati
Raj.
Do Dem Hed Her 156 Nsamizi Training Centre Citizenship Course.
CagHed4 Home economics education in the Caribbean.
Do Dem Dip Hed 6,7 Asia and the Far East Seminar on Training for
Community Development and Social Work.
Do Dem Pak 61 Community development through Panchayati
Raj.
Do Dem Dip Hed 6,7 Asia and the Far East Seminar on Training for
Community Development and Social Work.

The bold-face symbol determines the entry's place in the file. As will be
evident, this is structurally similar to a KWIC index. I believe, however,
that it might be more comfortable to use since the principle of assembly is
one of classification and not of alphabetical arrangement based on com-
monly used words. It is difficult to illustrate this advantage with only a few
examples; the above contain only four subjects. In the index now being
built up in the Community Development Clearing House of the London
Institute of Education, this advantage is much more evident.
189
 JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION Vol. 18, no. 4

II. A N O T E O N P R O N O U N C E A B L E N O T A T I O N

We are familiar with classification schemes using letters or a combination

of letters or numbers for their notational symbols. In discussing the use of
letters, Bliss says that one of the disadvantages of letters is that they may
combine to form words and that this is something to be avoided. This is
very simple if the notation confines itself to the use of consonants.
On the other hand, Cordonnier, with his 'Rami-syllabic' notation, and
de Grolier have both for some years supported a form of notation which
is deliberately contrived to be pronounceable. In one of his reports to the
FID/CA, however, de Grolier has expressed the opinion that a pronounce-
able notation could not be attached to a faceted classification. I do not share
this view and I believe that faceted classifications not only can, but should,
make use of pronounceable sets of symbols.
Several of the special schemes made by members of the Classification
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Research Group have used a notational symbolism in which capital letters

stand for facet indicators and the lower-case letters for the terms within the
facets. Thus in the Occupational Safety and Health scheme we have symbols
like the following:
Fsb — silicosis
Gtz — dust
Mpz — pneumoconiosis
Nyt — tumours.
In setting the notation to this scheme, of course, it was found that several
of the groups of three letters turned out to be pronounceable; that is, they
had the form consonant, vowel, consonant. Experience with using this
scheme convinced me that those symbols which were pronounceable were
much more acceptable and easy to use than those which were not. In the
above examples each letter has to be pronounced separately, whereas in such
examples as Bik (= noise) and Mek (= deafness) it is clear that the symbol
can be pronounced as one sound.
In some recent work on Community Development and Education I have
set out to make this a definite feature of the notational system and the result
has, I think, been completely satisfactory. It is true that both of these fields
have a limited number of terms and that no hardship has therefore been
caused by the loss of so many notational symbols. We have not only had
to exclude all symbols with a consonant as their second letter, but the letter
'c' (because of confusion with 'k' or 's'), the letter 'q', and certain letter
combinations (such as 'iw') which are not easily pronounceable though
having the right structure. We have also avoided a few combinations objec-
tionable on various grounds. We have, however, been able to make a good
190
 December 1962 INDEXING TECHNIQUES
deal of use of haphazard mnemonics. Apart from initial letters, such as
Gom— Matron
Gon — Nurse
Gop — Psychiatrist
Gup — Porter
we have been able to introduce some assonance and in some cases similarities
in spelling:
Liv — Visitors
Rur — Rural schools
Tef — Deaf children
Ruf — 'Outward bound'(!)
It must be emphasized, I think, that this allocation is haphazard, but a good
deal ofit can be included since the main method ofcoping with intercalation
is to leave gaps.
This intercalation is in fact a problem which is as yet unsolved. Our ori-
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ginal schedule for physically handicapped children read:

Teb — Blind
Tef — Deaf, deaf and dumb
Tek — Crippled
Tep — Spastic, cerebral palsied
Tes — Muscular dystrophy, etc.
Tev — Invalid, children in hospital.
We have since added Ted and Teg, Partially sighted and Speech defective.
There is not much more room in that particular section.
Two main possibilities for extension suggest themselves. One is to use
combinations of two consonants, still pronounceable as one sound. For
example, the whole ofour facet T, Exceptional Children, could be extended
by the use of Trab, etc. Similarly, many of the present symbols would take
an 'l' or 'r' before the final consonant; and the doubling of final consonants
is another device.
The other type of device is to carry on in the same pattern, that is to add
another vowel plus consonant giving a symbol such as Tabab. One place
where such a device might be particularly appropriate is in a subject such
as Jab, Educational Psychology. Our solution of this nasty problem was
originally to use only those subdivisions which are classified under Educa-
tion itself in Psychological Abstracts. This gave us some half-dozen terms. In
classifying the actual literature, however, these inevitably proved too few.
On the other hand, we do not want to list under Educational Psychology
the whole of Psychology itself. If there were a classification for Psychology
with a pronounceable notation, we could simply add the suffix part of that
notation to our present symbol Jab. This is at the moment only a suggestion,
because no classification for Psychology of this kind is available.
191
 JOURNAL OF DOCUMENTATION Vol. 18, no. 4
I believe that experience with this kind of notation would rapidly per-
suade users of its advantages. Many writers have taken the view that short-
ness is the most desirable quality in notational symbols. My own opinion
is that shortness is desirable, but lack of complexity is even more desirable
and a notation which allows a four-faceted symbol to be pronounced as
four sounds seems to me to have very great attractions.
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192
 This article has been cited by:

1. J. MILLSSchool of Librarianship, North‐Western Polytechnic. 1970. Library classification. Journal

of Documentation 26:2, 120-160. [Abstract] [PDF]
2. P.F. BROXISBritish Technology Index formerly Assistant Librarian at the South‐East Essex College
of Technology. 1966. FACETED CLASSIFICATION AND THE FINE ARTS. Journal of
Documentation 22:1, 40-54. [Abstract] [PDF]
3. 1964. CLASSIFICATION RESEARCH GROUP. Journal of Documentation 20:3, 146-169.
[Abstract] [PDF]
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