By, Aparna Mudaliar

As a Technical Writer, are you often in a state of confusion and uncertainty when indexing your content? If your answer is yes, then this article is for you! Here are a few guidelines that will help you generate smart index entries. Moreover, these guidelines will also help you maintain consistency across the index.

You might ask yourself the following questions before starting the process.

Which Parts of a Document Do I Index?

Which Topics Do I Index?

How Do I Select the Keywords?

• For conceptual topics, specify the keyword in the noun form
• Use the plural form if the keyword does not represent a unique entity
• Include a modifier before the noun wherever possible
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  user roles        11 user groups    12	roles    11 groups  12

• For task-oriented topics, specify the keyword as an action with the gerund (ing) form of the verb
• Do not use heading titles that represent the tasks as index entries
  

  configuring data profiles                     22	configure data profiles  22
  sequencing role definitions                 20	sequencing a role definition                20

How Do I Index Acronyms and Abbreviations?

Use double-posted entries for indexing these items:

• abbreviated forms
• acronyms
• spelled-out forms
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  Extraction, Transformation, and Loading (ETL)         3 ETL (Extraction, Transformation, and Loading)         3	ETL 3 Extraction, Transformation, and Loading  3

How Do I Index Inversions and Synonyms?

• Use double-posted entries to indicate inversion of terms
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  data loading     85 loading data     85	data loading     85

• Use cross-references to indicate synonyms. For example, you can add an index entry to indicate that data profiles and table profiles are synonyms. Note that the cross referencing index entry does not include the page number
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  data profiles assigning        22 configuring     24 table profiles see data profiles	data profiles assigning 22 configuring 24 table profiles assigning 22 configuring 24

How Do I Index Special Characters?

• Use double-posted entries to index special characters. example, you can index currency symbols using double-posted entries
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  ¥ (Yen sign)   105 Yen sign (¥)   105	¥ 105

What Formatting Styles Do I Apply?

• Use lowercase preferably
• Do not use lowercase if the term itself is in uppercase or sentence case
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  Basic Properties pane         20 bulk loading                         30 CHART procedure              45	basic properties pane   20 Bulk loading                  30 chart procedure            45

• Restrict to two-level nesting of index entries, primary entry and secondary entry
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  constraints defining                       10 removing                     22	constraints defining                                                 10 removing non-essential constraints  22

• Individually list all the second level entries
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  centrality measures degree-in  101 degree-out 101	centrality measures degree-in and degree-out       101

• Specify conjunctions, prepositions, or articles at the end of the sub entries
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  degree centrality overview of         62 parameters for     65 role expressions and 66	degree centrality overview         62 parameters    65 and role expressions  66

How Do I Index Just Enough?

• Do not over-index. For example, do not repeat secondary entries for each primary entry
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  correction loads                      21, 22, 25 incremental loads                   25, 26, 28	correction loads prerequisites   21 workflow steps 22 parameters    25 incremental loads prerequisites   25 workflow steps 26 parameters    28

• Do not under-index. For example, do not exclude important features that can be marked as secondary entries
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  regulatory reports generating  20 reviewing   21 authorizing 22 submitting  25	regulatory reports       20-25

• Do not index adjacent entries that are very similar. Retain one of them
  

  Correct	Incorrect
  deploying jobs  21	deploy option   21 deploying jobs  21

How Do I Review My Index Entries?

• Maintain a checklist to ensure that you follow all the guidelines
• Focus on the primary and secondary entries first. Subsequently, remove redundant entries and evaluate the index as a whole
• Make sure that you use consistent terminology across all your entries
• Request one of your peers who is unfamiliar with your content to review your index entries

About the Author

Aparna Mudaliar works as a senior technical writer with SAS R&D, Pune, India. She is currently working on user documentation and embedded user assistance for Flex-based web applications. She has keen interest in practicing meditation, participating in marathons, and cooking something exotic. You can reach her at aparnatw2001@gmail.com.