This unit applies to individuals who possess significant technical skills and knowledge for the description of information materials in accordance with national and international standards. This work is carried out autonomously within established guidelines. |
Nil |
ELEMENT | PERFORMANCE CRITERIA | ||
1 | Identify description requirements | 1.1 | Identify scope and likely uses of material |
1.2 | Assess customer requirements or expectations, including potential special needs | ||
1.3 | Determine appropriate type and structure of description | ||
2 | Analyse material | 2.1 | Use analysis and description tools, standards, precedents and techniques which are appropriate to the nature of the material |
2.2 | Analyse subject content of the material and clearly distinguish significant information from minor references | ||
2.3 | Integrate established general concepts and principles of description and knowledge of relevant standards and authorities | ||
2.4 | Ensure concepts derived from analysis of material are appropriate in the context of the subject field | ||
3 | Describe material and format description | 3.1 | Create description/s which represent concepts appropriately, and which reflect the overall purpose and intended use of the description |
3.2 | Conform format of description to general conventions and any special rules | ||
3.3 | Where required, develop accurate reference structure of descriptors to display relationships to assist customers | ||
3.4 | Where appropriate, enhance description to meet identified customer needs | ||
4 | Monitor and review analysis and description practices and procedures | 4.1 | In consultation with colleagues, undertake monitoring and review description practices and procedures regularly to ensure customer needs are being met and in response to industry developments |
4.2 | Take appropriate action within scope of individual responsibility to enhance description practices and procedures | ||
4.3 | Where required, check descriptions regularly for internal consistency and compliance with established structure, rules and authorities | ||
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Required skills |
communication skills to accurately and appropriately describe a wide range of potentially complex information critical thinking skills to apply analysis and description tools to a wide range of different information types of varying complexity literacy skills to interpret and analyse a wide range of references numeracy skills to work with indexing concepts. |
Required knowledge |
principles of subject access principles of thesauri used in indexing types of indexes and abstracts abstracting and indexing standards and methods, including descriptions and cross referencing of access points and descriptors allocating descriptors, major and minor ways of matching reference structure to suit customer needs ways of enhancing subject access through indexing |
monitoring and review processes for indexes and abstracts copyright, moral rights and intellectual property issues and legislation that impact on indexing and abstracting activities. |
The Evidence Guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package. | |
Critical aspects for assessment and evidence required to demonstrate competency in this unit | Evidence of the following is essential: ability to appropriately use tools, standards and communication skills to analyse and describe material appropriately knowledge of principles of subject access demonstration of skills using current industry systems to analyse and describe a range of different materials. |
Context of and specific resources for assessment | Assessment must ensure: access to relevant policies and procedures manuals access to relevant thesauri and database programs. |
Method of assessment | A range of assessment methods should be used to assess practical skills and knowledge. The following examples are appropriate for this unit: direct questioning combined with review of portfolios of evidence and third party workplace reports of on-the-job performance by the candidate evaluation of appropriateness of descriptions created by the candidate and adaptations to suit different types of information oral or written questioning to assess knowledge of standards and tools. |
Holistic assessment with other units relevant to the industry sector, workplace and job role is recommended, for example: CULLB506C Catalogue and classify material. | |
The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included. | |
Scope and likely use of material may relate to: | subject matter available time available space probable types of users, e.g. professional, educational, recreational express brief or document format |
Customer requirements or expectations for consideration may include: | access current awareness retrospective inquiry description of contents of materials translation from one language to another |
Analysis and description tools, techniques and standards may include: | SCIS Subject Headings and thesauri LCSH Library of Congress Subject Headings |
Description/s may be: | indicative informative critical assigned from a prescribed list or thesaurus, e.g. ERIC, AEI taken from pre-existing formulations derived from text or context formulated to meet identified customers needs |
In manual indexes, entries may be ordered: | alphabetically numerically alphanumerically taxonomically chronologically according to traditional rules or conventions |
General conventions may include: | bibliographic organisation/descriptions geographic descriptions |
Monitor and review processes may include: | surveys customer feedback statistics |
Not applicable.
Information Organisation and Management |
The required outcomes described in this unit of competency contain applicable facets of Employability Skills. The Employability Skills Summary for the qualification in which this unit of competency is packaged, will assist in identifying Employability Skills requirements. |
Not applicable.