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Subjects
My diverse educational and professional background and interests make me well-placed to index texts in a variety of subject areas, as demonstrated by my broad portfolio of work undertaken so far.
Astronomy and Cosmology
My interest in astronomy and cosmology has been piqued by several visits to the Kielder Observatory. I chose an astronomy book as my final assignment to qualify with the Society of Indexers and I currently use an astronomy text for an online tutorial that I offer to indexing students. I would love to work on some more books in these subject areas.
Previous indexes include:
- Clark, S., Beneath the night: how the stars have shaped the history of humankind, Guardian Faber
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- Maran, S. P. & Marschall, L.A., Galileo’s new universe: the revolution in our understanding of the cosmos. Benbella Books. Unpublished index (prepared from published book.)
Biography and Memoir
I have indexed several books telling the stories of organisations, multiple people, or where individual life stories are interwoven through other subjects that I specialise in. These are the books that I find myself most invested in as I index them, and they are always a treat to work on. I also welcome straight biographies and autobiographies, of course.
Previous indexes include:
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- King, T., The tastemaker: my life with the legends and geniuses of rock music, Faber & Faber
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- Oltermann, P., The Stasi poetry circle, Faber & Faber
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- Tutti, C.F., Re-sisters: recordings of Delia Derbyshire, Margery Kempe & Cosey Fanni Tutti, Faber & Faber
Education and Learning
My time in academia gave me plenty of experience teaching adults and I am a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy. As a course tutor and CPD organiser, I am still heavily involved in teaching and learning with the Society of Indexers. I have indexed several books on teaching, mostly schoolchildren, including music teaching, and on neuroscience approaches to teaching and learning, which I particularly enjoy.
Previous indexes include:
- Dunlosky, J. & Rawson, K.A. (eds), The Cambridge handbook of cognition and education, Cambridge University Press
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- Feldman, E. & Contzius, A., Instrumental music education: teaching with the musical and practical in harmony, 3rd ed., Routledge
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- Watson, A. & Newman, R., A practical guide to teaching English in the secondary school (2nd ed.), Routledge
Healthcare and Nursing
When I worked as an academic in a university research centre, I undertook and published literature reviews and qualitative research in collaboration with nurses, occupational therapists, radiographers, midwives, speech therapists, physiotherapists, and public health specialists. I have indexed several books in these areas, especially textbooks, and my experience makes me particularly well-suited to index books on research methods in these fields.
Previous indexes include:
- Moss, H., Music and creativity in healthcare settings: does music matter? Routledge
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- Abdulla, S. & Clarke, C., FRCR physics notes: medical imaging physics for the first FRCR examination, Radiology Cafe
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- Linsley, P. & Kane, R. (eds), Evidence-based practice for nurses and allied health professionals (5th ed.), Sage
History
I have indexed many books that fall under the broad umbrella of ‘history’; I particularly enjoy those which take a historical perspective on any of my other specialist areas, such as music or science.
Previous indexes include:
- Jones, D., Sweet Dreams: the story of the New Romantics, Faber & Faber
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- Morel, T., Underground mathematics: craft culture and knowledge production in early modern Europe, Cambridge University Press
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- Clark, S., Beneath the night: how the stars have shaped the history of humankind, Guardian Faber
Management and Organisations
I have an MSc in Information Management from Sheffield University and have experienced a variety of organizational cultures and leadership styles - good and bad! I enjoy indexing books about management, leadership, and organizations, from the theoretical to the ‘how-to’ handbook.
Previous indexes include:
- Dawson, P. & Andriopoulos, C., Managing change, creativity and innovation (4th ed.), Sage
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- Rees, G. & Smith, P.E. (eds), Strategic human resource management: an international perspective (3rd ed.), Sage
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- Ross, K., How to coach for creativity and service excellence: a lean coaching workbook, CRC Press
Music
I play the piano and have a Diploma with the London College of Music. My listening habits are as varied as the music books I have indexed, which range from the Romantic composers to the New Romantics, and school music teaching to music technology. Books involving an element of personal memoir along with music are among my all-time favourites.
Previous indexes include:
- King, R., The Lark Ascending: the music of the British landscape, Faber & Faber
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- Lennon, J. & Ono, Y. Mind games, Thames & Hudson
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- Paterson, J. & Lee, H. (eds), 3D audio, Routledge
Nature and Natural History
I have a Certificate in Environmental Conservation from Sheffield University. When I was in my twenties I went part-time in my ‘proper’ job to volunteer with my local Wildlife Trust, and after moving to Sheffield I worked in the local biological records centre. I always make a bee-line for the nature writing section of bookshops, and would love to take on more indexing work in this field.
Previous indexes include:
- Forman, R.T.T., Towns, ecology and the land, Cambridge University Press
- Huxley, R., Qaisser, C., Butler, C.R. & Dekker, R.W.R.J., Managing natural science collections: a guide to strategy, planning and resourcing, Routledge
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- Moss, S., Ten birds that changed the world, Guardian Faber
Physics and Mathematics
I have a physics degree from Oxford University - long enough ago so that I can remember how to write the Schrödinger equation, but not how to solve it. I am comfortable indexing accessible text books, but relish indexing physics and maths books (including those about the history of science) aimed at the interested non-specialist. Some of the popular science books I have indexed have made it to the top of my Christmas list!
Previous indexes include:
- Morel, T., Underground mathematics: craft culture and knowledge production in early modern Europe, Cambridge University Press
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- Farmelo, G., The universe speaks in numbers: how modern maths reveals nature's deepest secrets, Faber & Faber
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- Lawrence, S., A New Year's present from a mathematician, CRC Press
Psychology and Wellbeing
My work in an academic research centre involved undertaking and publishing literature reviews and qualitative research in collaboration with psychologists, psychiatrists, and mental health practitioners; I also supervised a psychology doctoral student. I use a text on the benefits of gardening for wellbeing as one of the online tutorials that I run for indexing students. I have indexed many publications in these areas, including books about cognitive psychology, disorders, grief, and organisational psychology, and ranging from scholarly volumes to self-help books. I find them all fascinating – who wouldn’t?
Previous indexes include:
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- Burnett, D., Why your parents are driving you up the wall and what to do about it, Penguin Books
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- Crisp, R.J., Turner, R.N. & Meleady, R., Essential social psychology (5th ed), Sage
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- Leslie, I., Conflicted: why arguments are tearing us apart and how they can bring us together, Faber & Faber
Research methods
As a researcher in academia I needed to be able to critique both qualitative and quantitative research study designs; I also conducted and published literature review and qualitative research of my own. I can draw on this experience when I index research methods textbooks.
Previous indexes include:
- Jenks, C.J., Researching classroom discourse: a student guide, Routledge
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- Linsley, P. & Kane, R. (eds), Evidence-based practice for nurses and allied health professionals (5th ed.), Sage
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- Pink, S., Doing visual ethnography (4th ed.), Sage
Technology
I have indexed several books with a technological focus, including those with an ethical perspective, and would welcome more.
Previous indexes include:
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- Robson, R., The sentient robot: the last two hurdles in the race to build artificial superintelligence, Imprint Academic
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- Pilcher, J. (ed), Culture, technology and the image: techniques of engaging with visual culture, Intellect
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- Rozell, D., Dangerous science: science policy and risk analysis for scientists and engineers, Ubiquity
Press
Younger Readers
Indexing books for younger readers can be a real tonic but it is harder than it sounds – fortunately I have a teenager on-hand at home to provide ‘helpful’ feedback. I would love to index more books for children and teenagers.
Previous indexes include:
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- Burnett, D., Why your parents are driving you up the wall and what to do about it, Penguin Books
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- Noodle Juice, All the world's a stage: a practical guide to performance, Noodle Juice
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- Schechter, F., V: an empowering celebration of the vulva and vagina, Penguin Books
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Other subjects
The above subjects are not an exhaustive list! Inevitably I have indexed many books in entirely different fields, sent my way by editors and project managers I regularly work with. I have particularly enjoyed working on titles about TV, art and photography, but haven’t accrued enough of these yet to consider myself a specialist.
Previous indexes include:
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- Horner, G., The photo student handbook: essential advice on learning photography and launching your career path, Routledge
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- Scott, G., New ways of seeing: the democratic language of photography, Bloomsbury Visual Arts
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- Young, R., The magic box: viewing Britain through the rectangular window, Faber & Faber
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I wanted to say how much I admired the index you prepared for my latest book.
