Print periodical indexes also provide researchers with instructions on how to use the index. All good indexes provide instructions on their use and tell the user how they were created and the selection criteria that the editors used in selecting the resources indexed. Most online indexes do not provide users with such helpful information. Online indexes seem to assume that people already know how to use them, and that most people don't care about the selection criteria or the editorial policies. However, selection criteria and editorial policies are very important things to know since they help the researcher determine the value and quality of the index.
Many different companies produce print periodical indexes.
The H.W. Wilson Company is one of the oldest and most respected of these indexing companies. H.W. Wilson indexes are found in most academic and public libraries. In this Tutorial we will focus on three of the H.W. Wilson indexes. We will also look at the Alternative Press Index published by the Alternative Press Center, which indexes magazines and journals not covered by other indexing companies. The first thing a researcher must understand about using indexes is that no one periodical index covers every magazine or journal published.