Inter-Indexing Cataloger Consistency in the Application of Standards—Investigations Towards Standardized Cataloging Operationalization in Academic Environments: Systematic Approaches

Counts differ because each database indexes a different set of publications. We treat OpenAlex as the canonical count; Google Scholar is not shown (no API, and crawling it violates its ToS).

The purpose of this study seeks to re-examine and re-surface the inter-indexing consistency concerns which have been mainly cast aside in recent decades—particularly in the context of library cataloging. Some primary research questions for this study include: how do catalogers understand and utilize concepts such as subject, and aboutness when making cataloging determinations in their professional capacity? Furthermore, what considerations are paid to consistency, system cohesion, or standardization methods among catalogers within the same working environment? This study samples professional catalogers in their primary working environment and observes their practices and behaviors. This observation was conducted through think-alouds and with the researcher’s material intervention of catalogable documents given to participants. This approach attempts to conceive a more systematic mapping of the possible pathways inside the plexus of interdependent relationships persistent among catalogers and the documents indexed at the point of contact with the information system. In addition, this study seeks dialogue with those who share similar interests in the topology of these relationships.