ASSESSMENT OF BACK OF THE BOOK INDEXES IN NATURAL SCIENCE BOOKS PUBLISHED IN NIGERIA

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to assess the back of the book indexes  in  Natural Science books published in Nigeria. But the specific objectives of the study were to determine: how  indexes are provided in the Natural Science texts sampled; the extent to which basic indexing elements are provided; the depth of indexing; the filing and arrangement pattern of the index entries and finally, if differences exist in the indexes of secondary school texts and tertiary/general Science books. Four research questions guided  the  study,  and  a  structured   checklist  was  adopted  and  used  to  obtain information to answer the research  questions. A descriptive design using document examination  was  adopted  for  this  research.  The  researcher  used  the  accidental sampling technique to sample books in the Natural Sciences. All the books published in the Natural  Sciences  in Nigeria  within the period 1990  – 2010 constituted  the population of the study. Sixty books were sampled, 35 of which had indexes, while 25 of them had no index. The data collected were organized in tables and analyzed, using simple  percentages,  frequencies  and  histogram.  The  findings  revealed  that:  many Nigerian  published  books  in the  Natural  Sciences  lack  back-of-the-book  indexes; most index entries lack sub-headed entries and semantic relationship; cross-references

– ‘see’ and ‘see also’ were very few; the filing order and arrangement patterns of the index entries were in line with international standards and no outstanding differences were found in the indexes of secondary school texts and tertiary  /general Science books.  In view of these findings,  the study recommends  that  book publication  in Nigeria should be assessed and controlled. Nigerian Information professionals should set up standard indexing outfits to be manned  by professional indexers who should handle book indexing in Nigeria; public enlightenment programmes should be carried out by information scientists from time to time to enlighten publishers and authors on the importance of indexing in their work. Finally, further research in this area of study was suggested by the researcher.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

The concept of book is derived from an early English word boc, which means tablet or written sheets. A book consists of written or printed sheets of paper or some other material fastened together along one edge so it can be opened  at  any  point.  Most  books  have  protective  cover.  According  to Ellenbogen  (2004)  Books  are  inexpensive  and  convenient  way  to  store, transport, and find knowledge and information. There are different forms of books, namely, story books, textbooks, workbooks, comic books, novels, almanacs,  dictionaries,  encyclopedia,  telephone  books,  etc.  But the  Natural Science books and the general Science books or general non-fiction fall under the category of books regarded as textbooks

The Natural  Science  is a systematized  body of knowledge  based on observation and experimentation. It deals with the phenomena of the universe and its laws – physical and natural. This branch of study is especially distinguished from the arts due to its empirical method of enquiry. The subject disciplines studied under natural science include: Physics-(Phy), Astronomy- (Astr), Chemistry-(Chem), Biology-(Biol), Geology-(Geol), Paleontology- (Paleo), Zoology-(Zoo), Botany-(Bot) and Microbiology-(MCB); ( LCSH: Schedule, 1996).

With information explosion, (i.e. an extensive increment in the field of knowledge and knowledge output in different disciplines) especially in the Natural Sciences and their concomitant complex concepts; compounded with the increasing reservoir of both books and non-books (that is, on-line documents) that contain the information in demand, information retrieval has become  a  daunting  problem.    In  fact,  not  only  is  information  retrieval becoming more problematic by the day, but the retrieval systems are also becoming  complex  too.  Hence,  the  emphasis  is  the  need  for  information retrieval systems that will match the retrieval need of information documents by end users.

Thus, Lancaster (1991) and Chowdhury (2004) have identified a number of  information  retrieval  subsystems  namely:  document  subsystem,  indexing sub-system, user-interface  and matching sub-system. However,  among these subsystems only the indexing sub-system can adequately perform an effective retrieval operation. An indexing system, as observed by Lahtinen (2000) is a set of prescribed procedures (manual/or machine) for organizing contents of records   of   knowledge   for   purposes   of   retrieval   and   dissemination   of information. This is done by organizing an appropriate guide call index into a database.

Indexes are extracted words and phrases joined together, and structurally designed to make searching through millions of pages very fast. (Croft, 2004). The  British  Standards  Institute  (BSI  3700:  1988)  describes  an  index  as  a

systematic guide to the text of any reading matter or to the contents of   a collected documentary material comprising a series of entries with headings arranged  in  an  alphabetical  order,  or  any  other  chosen  order  and  with references to show where each item indexed is located. The extracted words and phrases which form the index entries, as pointed out by Croft, are not just a list of words but serve as organized maps and guide through the several pages of a text. Mulvany’s (1994) definition that seems to sum up the others, stated that,  an  index  is  a  structured  sequence  –  resulting  from  a  thorough  and complete  analysis  of  the  text—of   synthesized   access  points   to  all  the information  contained  in the text. The structured  arrangement  of the index enables  users  to  locate  information  efficiently.  Perhaps,  this  is  why Walls (2009) has also likened it to a complete body x-ray – an abbreviated, in-depth view of every important topic and sub-topic, along with locators guiding the reader to the actual pages for quick, deeper inspection of critical areas.

It is perhaps for this reason that Olason (2000) also concluded that the primary purpose of an index is to support the user in practical application of knowledge.  It  does  this  by  providing  the  most  efficient  access  map  to information – or data plus context – embedded in the material. It is therefore pertinent to add here that an index is not only a guide but a search tool and a mirror that gives at-a-glance view into the body of a document.

Indexes  are  therefore  very  important  tool  in  information retrieval, for they help to ease off the stress involved in research, by providing

easy access to information resources. This is particularly so for a good quality and effective index which searches for pertinent data and ignores the irrelevant ones.   In   other   words,   a   good   index   distinguishes   between   substantial (significant)  and insignificant  (i.e.  one-time  mentioned)  information.  At the same time, it can provide some terminologies not explicitly present in the text (Lukon, 2004). Accordingly, fruitful literature search is guided by the index. This is because it enables the reader to achieve direct information retrieval with minimal or no strain at all. An effective index also leads the user to all the pertinent information on a given topic in the work or works indexed (Knight

1979).  Furthermore, indexes have been observed to contribute significantly to works  of  knowledge  or  imagination  (Afolabi,  &  Daudu,  1994).    Indexes provide a gateway to the author’s ideas and serve as a road-map to the contents of a book. In other words, an index, as an information retrieval system, serves as a bridge between the world of creators or generators of information  (i.e. authors) and those of the users of that information, i.e. the end users. Also, a good  index  can  give  the  author  a new  perspective  on  the  effectiveness  of his/her presentation (Osgood, 2008). According to Pyne (2007), the quality of an index also affects marketability of non-fiction books. In other words, high quality index promotes  the marketability of such books, while poor quality index or even absence of it has a reverse effect.

In fact, poor quality index does not, unfortunately, provide the easy and fast access they are expected to give. Rather, they are either too scanty or too

lengthy and clumsy and seem to rewrite the book itself. A lengthy index could force the user to study the index structure before proceeding to the main work. As Knight has argued, if an index cannot lead its user to the information sought for, or omits and fails to point out information not suited to the user’s needs, the index has failed its purpose.   This sort of situation often is frustrating to the user of the index. Inadequate or poor quality index makes retrieval of specific information very difficult. It also makes the work of librarians who deal with users’ queries and constantly make use of indexes to trace information in a text less effective (Lancaster 1991).

However, with the functions of indexes indicated above, arise their relevance or necessity. Indeed, the usefulness of an index is too central to be overlooked. This is why experts lay stress on this matter. For instance, Knight (1979)  suggests  that  any  publication  beyond  the  size  of  a  pamphlet  is incomplete if a full index is not added to that publication. Also, Preschel (1981) in Lancaster, 1991), in discussing the issue of indexable documents stressed that,

All text information of a substantive nature should be indexed. ‘Substantive’ is here defined as information  that covers 8-10 text lines or that is unique or outstanding and will almost certainly not occur elsewhere in the encyclopedia.  P13.

Due to the importance of book indexes, publishers, authors, critics and indexers are generally agreed that certain classes of books must be indexed.

These may include text books, in all fields of knowledge, and at all levels of academic pursuits, (Afolabi & Daudu, 1994).

Unfortunately, in spite of these admonitions, guidelines, suggestions and agreement,  serious  indexing  lapses  have  been  observed  in  many  a  text. Publishers and authors have been known to neglect to add index to some of their  books.  When  this  happens,  most  information  in  such  books  become difficult to access quickly and so is easily forgotten. Such books are often held in low esteem by users. Suffice it to add that, it is not only the absence of an index that may cause a text to be held in low esteem but poor quality of the index could make the text unpopular because it lacks a good and concise index. This is why Bella (1996) has stressed the need for indexes to be as precise and direct to the point as possible. In this regard, he argued that the system that meets the basic criterion of satisfying the reader’s need is the Back-of-the- Book (BOB) index; which has a simple structure and provides access to natural language  terms.  (This  is  an  index  term  that  uses  direct  language  of  the document)

The Book Index, also known as the back-of-the-book index, (BOB refers to the content summary at the back of non- fiction books. The BOB is a type of printed index that offers ready access to items of information in a book. Entries may be the names of persons, corporate bodies, places or concepts to represent subjects, (Tulic, 2008), followed by page numbers on which information is to be found. Terms must reflect the contents of the book and vary from one book

to another (Rowley, 1992).   Though other indexes abound, the researcher is paying particular attention to back-of-the-book index, also call “BOB” because of its variations in style of indexing; and its usefulness in providing access points to important information in a book document, particularly its use in the provision of access points to information in natural science books, which often have complex concepts.

From  the  on-going,  discourse,  BOB  index  is  a  unique  information retrieval system which may vary in design and style according to the indexer. But no matter the variations and styles employed, the critical thing is that the whole   essence  of  indexing   is  observed.   That   is  to  provide   access   to bibliographic information; using basic indexing elements or variables, and making the index as simple and straight to the point as possible. Some of these indexing  elements or variables  for back-of-the-book  indexes include:  Scope Note, Heading (indexing word or phrase), Sub-headings, Control Devices- Locators  and  Cross references,   Index Density,  Arrangement/  Filing Order, Physical Appearance, etc. The use of any of the listed characteristics depends on the choice of the indexer and is acceptable as long as they conform to global standards  and  are  approved  by standard  bodies  such  as  American  National Standard Institute (ANSI, 1984) and British Standards (BS: 37OO, 1988) that moderate  indexing  standards.  The  above  listed  basic  indexing  elements  or criteria are also used to analyze and evaluate or assess the quality and effectiveness of an index in information retrieval.

Statement of Problem

It is common knowledge that, one of the qualities of a good book is the availability   of   quality   back-of-the-book   index.   This   facilitates   access to/retrieval  of specific  information  within  the  document.  And  by so  doing, helps to ease off the stress involved in research by enabling direct information retrieval, with minimal or no strain.

From the perspective of information retrieval, a book without an index is more difficult to use than another that has an index. Also, such book may be seen  as  being  of  inferior  quality to  another  that  has  an  index.  (Daudu  & Afolabi,  1994).  This  is  because  retrieval  of specific  information  in  such  a book/document is very difficult. Secondly, poor quality index, makes the use of such document less effective because of the inconveniences such poor index causes the user of the index.

Very little is known about the quality of indexes of books published in Nigeria,  a  fact  recognized  by some  scholars  such  as Nwafor  (1991).  Who acknowledged that even the very little that is known, the quality of indexes of books published in Nigeria appears generally below acceptable standard. More so, not much is known about the indexes of Natural Science books that use a lot of  scientific  concepts.    The  poser  that  this  study is  seeking  to  address  is whether the quality of indexes of books published in Nigeria, particularly so, the Natural Science books, conforms to international standards. This study is

being conducted to fill this gap in knowledge, by assessing the back-of-the- book indexes of Natural Science books published in Nigeria.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this work is to assess the quality of back- of- the book indexes of Natural Science books published in Nigeria. The study aims specifically to achieve the following objectives:

1.  Determine how BOB indexes are provided in Natural Science books published in Nigeria.

2.  Find out how basic indexing elements such as (i) Scope notes, (ii) Sub- headings,   (iii)   Control   devices-   locators   and   cross-references   are provided in Natural Science books.

3.  Determine the average index densities of the various indexes.

4.  Establish the pattern of arrangements of the indexes

5.  Examine the differences that exist in the indexes of secondary school textbooks and those of tertiary/ general science books.

Research Questions

The study was guided by the following research questions.

1.  How are indexes provided  to locally published  books in the Natural

Sciences?

2.  How  are  basic  indexing  elements  provided  in  the  BOB  indexes  in

Natural Science books?

3.  What are the index densities of the indexes (i.e. the length statistics)?

4.  What are the patterns of arrangement of the index entries?

Significance of the Study

This  work is expected  to be beneficial  to various  groups of people. These include:  Students,  Lecturers,  Authors,  Indexers  and Publishers.  First, students of Library and Information Science are expected to find this work very helpful as a research material in their training as information  scientists and future indexers. This is because the information in this work will make them to appreciate the important position of BOB index in a book and its usefulness. Second, lecturers and research fellows are also expected to find the work useful as reference materials in their teaching and research. This may also serve as a stimulant to other future researchers for further work in this area of study.

Thirdly, it is hoped that through this work, Indexers, Authors and publishers would become more aware of the central place of a good index in the assessment of the quality of their products. This work should therefore, make   such   authors   and   publishers,   to   appreciate   and   understand   the requirements and qualities of a good BOB indexes in their publications.

Scope of the Study

This work focuses on back-of-the-book indexes of books published in Nigeria, in the Natural Sciences. The work assessed the availability of BOB indexes in Nigerian published books in the Natural Sciences; and the quality of indexes of books in the various subject disciplines in Natural Science, using a checklist as an instrument for data collection. These subject disciplines include: Biology, Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Microbiology,   Physics,   Zoology  and  General  Science   books  in  Natural Sciences. The study covered books for tertiary and secondary levels of our educational  system  in  Natural  Science  within  the  period  1990  to  2010, available in libraries and bookshops in Enugu state. This work further tried to examine if differences exist in the indexes of secondary and tertiary/general science books.

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