Evaluating and Selecting Science and Technology and Citation Indexes

Chapter 21 of Reference and Information Services: An Introduction focuses on indexes and abstracts.  According to the author of the chapter, Linda C. Smith, librarians "evaluate indexes and abstracts and choose those that will best reveal the contents of their own collections or that will refer users to needed information beyond library walls" (Smith, 2011).  Specifically, our group is focusing on Science and Technology indexes and abstracts.  One thing of note with regard to indexes of science materials is that some may focus on the popular science literature, where others cover more scholarly research literature (Smith, 2011).

There are six categories to be considered when evaluating indexes and abstracts.  These are:

1) Format
2) Scope
3) Authority
4) Accuracy
5) Arrangement
6) Special Features

Format
Though many abstracts and indexes are now accessible via the Web, some are still available in print and are actually more easy to browse in print form.  It is important to evaluate which format of the index/abstract works best for library users.  The readability of entries is also important, whether in electronic or print form -- examples of things that could make an entry hard to read include small type size and abbreviations.

Scope
Characteristics that make up the scope of indexes and abstracts include how long the material has been covered (not necessarily how long the material has been published), frequency of publication, and currency of publication. Types of materials covered are another aspect in evaluating scope.  According to Chapter 21, "some indexes and abstracts are more inclusive in the types of articles indexed, indexing such things as letters to the editor and editorials, whereas other services restrict their coverage to research articles" (Smith, 2011).

Authority
When assessing the authority of indexes and abstracts, the reputation of the publisher or sponsoring organization and the qualifications of the editorial staff should be considered.

Accuracy
Questions to consider when evaluating an abstract or index are:

-Are all authors associated with an indexed item included in the author index?
-Are all major facets of the content of the article represented by entries in the subject index?

Arrangement
Indexes usually employ an alphabetical arrangement.  Abstracts, however, often appear in a classified arrangement that makes it easier to browse entries for related material.  Indexes and abstracts in electronic form offer many additional options for searching, such as keywords from title and abstract, journal title, and author affiliation.

Special Features
Special features that indexes and abstracts may have should be noted when evaluating them.  Examples of such special features include a list of periodicals or other sources indexed and a published list of subject headings.


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Smith, L. C. (2011). Indexes and abstracts. In R. Bopp & L. Smith (Eds.), Reference and Information Services: An Introduction (pp. 613-617). Santa Barbara, CA: Libraries Unlimited.