Eight documents of representative types and three journal articles are included in this self-instructional training workbook for abstractor/indexers. Introductory materials provide an overview of informative and indicative abstracting styles and the principles of indexing utilized by the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC). Detailed…

This chapter describes how ERIC addresses the problems resulting from four conditions that make it unique in the indexing field: (1) its subject area includes a wide range of subspecialists; (2) its clientele is extremely diverse; (3) it has a dual retrieval purpose--for both manual and computer access; and (4) its retrieval is challenged by the…

The objective of this project was to build a non-interfering indexing system, in which the social scientist users, who have varying conceptual orientations toward their field, would not be restricted in their literature searching by a single conceptual orientation imposed on the system by information scientists. With the cooperation of subject…

The Simple Index Method overcomes the difficulties in building a core list for serials in interdisciplinary fields by using multiple indexes which cover various aspects of the subject. Collection-development librarians can develop a core list when standard bibliographies or specific indexing and abstracting tools are lacking and can tailor that…

Evaluates the Educational Resources Information Center (ERIC) database. Summarizes ERIC's history and organization, and discusses criticisms concerning access, currency, and database content. Reviews role of component clearinghouses, indexing practices, thesaurus structure, international coverage, and comparative studies. Finds ERIC a valuable…