ON THE GENERATION AND SEARCHING OF ENTRIES IN PRINTED SUBJECT INDEXES

After considering the search process and functions of index entries, a classification of entry types is offered, based on index term context, predominant term order, and between‐term function words. Then a multiple entry generation scheme is described, comprising rules for term manipulation, input and output. After discussing access points and cross reference measures, a preliminary linguistic analysis is given, showing links with psycholinguistics. The study forms the basis of a current laboratory investigation (EPSILON) into a number of entry types.