Single sourcing is a documentation method in which modular information is stored in such a way that it can be output in different formats as required. For example, the same set of information might be used to create introductory and advanced materials in print and online formats.
Indexing single-sourced documents is more complicated than indexing standalone products, as the limitations and approaches of all of the different formats have to be taken into account, and there is no one index that can be edited perfectly. For example, in a book on pharmaceuticals you might use the subentry ‘in pregnancy’ to indicate a discussion of the use of the drug in pregnancy. If a smaller book is created containing only the drugs relevant in pregnancy this subentry will apply to every entry in the index and is therefore of no value. In this more specific book the ideal subentry would, perhaps, indicate more specific reasons for using the drug (for example, ‘in hypertension of pregnancy’). The challenge when doing single-source indexing is to find a solution that will work adequately for all envisaged situations.
Single-sourced indexing is usually embedded within the document using software such as FrameMaker or XMetal. It may also be maintained separately from the document, for instance in an MS-Access database, with separate indexes output as required.
Metadata, including indexing keywords, is also needed to manage the modules of the project, in order to ensure that appropriate pieces of information can be found as needed and incorporated into larger projects.
For more information consult the following:
Ament, Kurt. 2003 ‘Indexing single-source documents’ http://www.winwriters.com/articles/indexing/index.html
Brown, Fred. April 2002 ‘Single source indexes’ http://www.allegrotechindexing.com/news020.htm
Marshall, Ed. 2001 ‘Why indexing fails, and how to solve it: a report on Seth Maislin’s presentation to the Society for Documentation Professionals (SDP) in March 2001’ http://taxonomist.tripod.com/about/indexfailure.html
Wright, Jan. 2001 ‘Single-source indexing’ http://www.wrightinformation.com/wrightindex.pdf
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