Science and Medicine Indexing
College & el-hi textbooks. Publications.
Reference books. Trade books.
All types and levels of science and medicine books can benefit from an index produced by a professional indexer with a passion for—and a deep knowledge of—science and medicine.
Reading and digesting science materials are second nature to me. My background in medicine enables me to produce well-designed, accurate, and comprehensive science and medicine indexes that are accessible to both the novice and expert user.
Textbook and Reference Book Indexing
College & el-hi textbooks. Exam prep guides. History. Mathematics. Medical coding.
Natural sciences. Nature guides. Social sciences.
Textbook users don’t often approach the material in a textbook in sequential order. People use reference books to find information fast. They have questions. And they need answers, quickly and on-demand.
To help both textbook and reference book users, a good index is essential.
But what constitutes a good textbook or reference book index? Three key elements:
- Multiple access points for the same information
- Intuitive, straightforward structure
- Text reflexivity
As Margie Towery succinctly explained in her book Ten Characteristics of Quality Indexes, “The index translates the complexity of the text into an alphabetical arrangement that is usable and clear…”
A usable, clear index–perfect for accessing information in seconds.
Trade Book Indexing
Biographies. Consumer health books. Cookbooks.
How-to books. Nature. Travel.
Books for the general audience tend to be easier to read and digest, but indexing trade books presents its own challenges:
- Length restrictions
- Multiple, varying audiences for the book
- Vocabulary specific to subjects
Knowledge of the subject’s vocabulary is paramount, and research is often required to produce a succinct index that is accessible to a wide range of readers.
