TY  - JOUR
AB  - Most documentation systems allocate a variable number of descriptors to their documents. From a consideration of indexing as a stochastic process it is suggested that the distribution of indexing depth in such a system might represent samples of a (truncated) mixed Poisson process. Examination of five different systems showed that indexing depth does appear to be distributed in this manner, since a reasonable fit to negative binomial distributions can be made statistically. Factors in the art of indexing which influence the distribution are discussed. As a first approximation the distribution of indexing depth, i, of a system, or of any subset of descriptors in it, is simple Poisson, p(i) = e−m(mi/i!), where m is the average depth of indexing. The results contradict previous reports that a log‐normal distribution of indexing depth is to be expected.
VL  - 30
IS  - 4
SN  - 0022-0418
DO  - 10.1108/eb026586
UR  - https://doi.org/10.1108/eb026586
AU  - BIRD P.R.
PY  - 1974
Y1  - 1974/01/01
TI  - THE DISTRIBUTION OF INDEXING DEPTH IN DOCUMENTATION SYSTEMS
T2  - Journal of Documentation
PB  - MCB UP Ltd
SP  - 381
EP  - 390
Y2  - 2024/04/25
ER  -