Source Indexing in Science Journals and Indexing Services:

Abstract

The authors discuss source indexing-indexing data that are published simultaneously with the articles they represent. In a study of 685 science journals it is found that: about one-quarter of the journals employ source indexing, especially in the physical and biological sciences and to a lesser extent in the earth and environmental sciences; this type of indexing information usually appears on the title page of articles, a major exceptio nbeing Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Numbers, which are found at the end of articles; typically, the indexing information is a symbol assigned from a controlled vocabulary, such as the Universal Decimal Classification or the Physics and Astronomy Classification Scheme; also used a great deal are keywords apparently derived from the titles and/or texts of articles; the author of an article often is the initial provider of the indexing data, and one or more editors sometimes check the author's choices. Most of the twenty-three indexing services surveyed indicate that source indexing is a guide to indexing, for usually it is neither disregarded completely not blindly accepted by indexers.