STRING INDEXING:

POPSI
POPSI
• Postulate – based Permuted Subject Indexing

• Designed by Ganesh Bhattacharyya following the classification idea

of S.R. Ranganathan.

• Although Chain Procedure showed a new way for deriving specific

subject headings, it was often criticized for being too much
dependent on class numbers. Truly, Chain Procedure cannot index a
document properly if the class number is constructed on the basis of
a structurally defective classification scheme. As such, the associates
of Ranganathan at DRTC, Bangalore, started thinking in 1960s on
finding the ways to obviate the difficulties created by class number
based indexing.
 POPSI
• In 1969, they came up with a system of formulating specific subject by
analyzing the subject matter of a document through the first six steps of
classification as propounded by Ranganathan. Gradually a postulate-based
full-fledged indexing system was developed which was named as Postulate-
based Permuted Subject Indexing (POPSI) system.

• In the beginning the subjects were being analyzed on the basis of basic
classes and facets of Colon Classification. Later, Bhattacharya further
developed and refined it.

• Devadason also introduced some changes in POPSI to make it suitable for

computer application. The new system, as its name itself indicates, is based
on some postulates and principles rather than class numbers. It is, in fact, a
new improved version of Chain Procedure developed almost at the same
time when PRECIS was developed by Austin.
Basis of POPSI
• POPSI is based on the said Deep Structure of Subject Indexing Languages.
It is specifically based on:

 A set of postulated Elementary Categories (ECs) fit to form

components of subject propositions.
 A set of syntax rules with reference to ECs.
 A set of indicator digits (or notations) to denote the ECs and their
subdivisions.
 A vocabulary control tool, called Classaurus.

• The postulates, principles and the concepts of POPSI are the same as
those of General Theory of Deep Structure of Subject Indexing
Languages. The Deep Structure of Subject of Subject Indexing Languages
postulates that the component ideas in the name of a subject can be
deemed to fall in any one of the ECs: Discipline (D), Entity (E), Property
(P), and Action (A) and a special component, called Modifier (m).
Different Versions
• The Deep Structure of Subject Indexing Languages with its associated
postulates suggests that is possible to design a basic version of POPSI,
which is readily amenable to conversion into specific versions (POPSI
Specific) on the basis of certain rules and decisions of the indexer.

Subject Proposition
• POPSI as a process for preparing subject-proposition consists primarily
of:
a. analysis
b. synthesis
c. permutation
• The notations/indicators are used to indicate the manifestations of
ECs and their relative position in the subject propositions.
Manifestations of each of the ECs may admit subdivisions:

Special modifier, Species/Type and Part

• In POPSI Basic D is the BASE (B) and E is the Core (C). The notation D
is always omitted as it is understood to be the first digit in all
subject statements. The same procedure is followed in case of any
B. The different manifestations are arranged horizontally in the
decreasing order of their values.
 Syntactical Structure
• As per Deep Structure of Subject Indexing Languages, POPSI follows
the following syntactical structure in the subject-proposition:

 DISCIPLINE followed by ENTITY, which is followed by PROPERTY

and/or ACTION. PROPERTY and or ACTION may be further followed
by COMMON MODIFIERS.

 The SPECIAL MODIFIERS and/or SPECIES/TYPES and/or PARTS, for

each of the ECs follow immediately adjacent to the manifestation to
which they are respectively SPECIAL MODIFIERS or SPECIES/TYPES
or PARTS without the manifestation of any other EC intervening.
 Elementary Categories and Modifiers
a) Discipline (=D) refers to an elementary category that includes the
conventional field of study, or any aggregate of such fields, or artificially
created fields analogous to those mentioned above; e.g. Physics,
Biotechnology, Ocean science, Library and Information Science, etc.

b) Entity (=E) refers to an elementary category that includes manifestations

having perceptual correlates, or only conceptual existence, as
contrasted with their properties, and actions performed by them or on
them; e.g. Energy, Light,
Plants, Animals, Place, Time, Environment, etc.

c) Action (=A) refers to an elementary category that includes manifestations

denoting the concept of ‘doing’. An action may manifest itself as Self
Action or External Action. For examples: Function, Migration, etc.
are Self Actions; and Treatment, Selection, organization, and Evaluation,
etc. are External Actions.
Elementary Categories and Modifiers

d) Property (=P) refers to an elementary category that includes

manifestations denoting the concept of ‘attribute’—qualitative or
quantitative; e.g. Property, Effect, Power, Capability, Efficiency,
Utility, Form, etc.

e) M=Modifier refers to a qualifier used to modify any one the

elementary categories D, E, A and P. It decreases the extension and
increases the intension of the qualified manifestation without
disturbing its conceptual wholeness. A modifier can modify any one
of the elementary categories, as well as two or more elementary
categories.
Modifiers are of two types:
• Common Modifiers: They refer to Space (e.g. Libraries in India),
Time (e.g. Libraries in India 19th Century), Environment (e.g. Desert
Birds), and Form (e.g. Encyclopedia of Physics). Common modifiers
have the property of modifying a combination of two or more
elementary categories.

• Special Modifiers: A special modifier is used to modify only one of

the elementary categories. It may be of Discipline-based, or Entity-
based, or Property-based, or Action-based.
Special modifiers can be grouped into two types:

i) those that require a phrase or auxiliary words to be inserted

between the term and thus forming a complex phrase, e.g.
Cataloguing using computers; and

ii) those that do not require auxiliary words or phrase to be

inserted in between the terms, but automatically form an
acceptable compound term denoting Species/Type, e.g. ‘Chemical’
in ‘Chemical Treatment’.
Indexing Steps :
The indexing work is semantically performed in eight steps according to
POPSI. How a simple title Treatment of Heart Diseases in India can be
indexed by POPSI in those eight steps is demonstrated below:

• Analysis of the Subject Indicative Expression: Such expression may be the

title of the book, article, etc. The analysis of the subject indicative expression
involves identification in the expression the facets in terms of ECs and
modifiers. By such analysis of the above title we get the following:

Medicine = Discipline (D)

Treatment = Action (A)
Heart = Entity (E)
Disease = Property (P)
India = Space Common Modifier (Cm)
• Formalization of the Subject-Proposition: This involves writing down the
component terms as a formalized expression in a context-dependent sequence
following the rules of syntax of POPSI. This gives rise to the Basic Chain. The
formalized subject-proposition of the above book will be:

Medicine (D), Heart (E), Diseases (P of E), Treatment (A on P), India (Cm)

• Standardization of the Subject-Proposition: This involves deciding the

standard terms with the help of classaursus, specially for the terms having
synonyms. In the present case the terms “Disease” and “Therapeutics” have
been taken as standard terms for “Diseases” and “Treatment” respectively.
Thus the standardized subject-proposition will be:

Medicine (D), Heart (E), Disease (=Diseases) (P of E), Therapeutics (= Treatment),

India (Cm)
• Modulation of the Subject-Proposition: This involves augmenting the
standardized subject-proposition by interpolating and extrapolating, as the
case may be, the successive superordinates of each manifestation by using
standard terms with indication of their synonyms, if any. Help of classaurus
may be taken in this work. This gives to Basic Modulated Chain. In the present
case, after modulation the basic modulated Chain will be:

Medicine (D), Circulatory System, Heart (E), Disease (P of E), Therapeutics (A), India
(Cm)

• Preparation of the Entry for Organizing Classification: This involves inserting

appropriate indicators or notation for ECs, their subdivisions and common
modifier in the appropriate places with the help of POPSI table. All indicators
of synonyms are also removed. A set of modulated and standardized subject-
propositions with appropriate notations, when just sorted alpha-numerically
can produce an organizing classification effect, which will considerably reduce
the need for see also type reference entries of both ascending and descending
type. After this work the subject-proposition will take the following shape:

7 Medicine 6 Circulatory System, Heart 6.2 Disease 6.2.1 Therapeutics

5 India
• Decision about Terms of Approach: This involves deciding the terms of
approach for generating associative classification or their effect and of
controlling synonyms. For controlling synonyms, each standard term is to be
referred to from each of its synonyms. Wherever warranted, it would be
necessary to individualize the term-of-approach. In the above example all the
terms may be taken as terms-of-approach. A reference entry may be made as:

Treatment
See
Therapeutics
• Preparation of Entries for Associative Classification: This involves preparation
of an entry under each term-of-approach by cyclic permutation of sought
terms for generating associative classification effect in alphabetical
arrangement in such a way that under each term a more or less systematic
arrangement of the subject-proposition is found. In other words, in each entry
under the term-of-approach, the whole subject proposition is mentioned as
the context, e.g., for the above document, an entry for associative
classification will be:

Circulatory System
7 Medicine 6 Circulatory System, Heart
6.2 Disease 6.2.1 Therapeutics 5 India

• The same organizing classification will have to be repeated under each of the
approach terms.

• Arrangement of Entries in Alphabetical Sequence: This involves arrangement

of all the entries in alphabetical sequence according to a set of standardized
rules being guided, wherever warranted by the notations indicating the
categories of manifestations.
Advantages of POPSI:
• It is also not dependent on class number and as such any deficiency
in classification cannot influence indexing in any manner.
• This is also done through subject analysis of documents; not only
the concepts discussed in the document being index are included in
the subject-proposition, even the superordinate concepts of those
concepts are also included and used as approach terms thus
widening the scope of access by the users.
• The scope of access further widens due to provision of see
references.
• The system can also be used for preparing subject headings in
bibliographies and catalogues and also preparing back-of-the-book
indexes.
• It can also be used in formulating search strategy for information
retrieval.
Disadvantages of POPSI:
• It requires use of classaurus at different levels of work and hence
before using the system a classaurus needs to be constructed in the
subject concerned, if not available.

• Selection of terms-of-approach cannot be done mechanically; it

depends on the views of the indexer.

• The notations attached to the terms in the subject proposition are

not intelligible to the users and hence may not be liked by them.