MECHANICAL INDEXING OF PROPER NOUNS

A proper noun entry is an index entry for the name of a particular person, place, or thing. While this type of entry is comparatively easy for humans to recognize, it is difficult to define for the purposes of computer processing. The kind and number of proper nouns which appear in a text vary to some extent with the subject matter. The ratio of proper nouns to all other text words may be higher in such subject areas as history and literature than it is, for example, in the sciences. However, in many instances proper nouns constitute a high proportion of index entries in the sciences.