astronomy

Index Theologicus

Index Theologicus is a astronomy topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Index Theologicus rather than just read about it. In short: The Index Theologicus (IxTheo) is an international scientific open access bibliography for theology and religious studies. It covers scientifically relevant information on Christianity as well as on dialog with other religions from all confessions, in several languages and media types and throughout history.

Key takeaways

Index Theologicus belongs to astronomy; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Index Theologicus to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Index Theologicus from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The Index Theologicus (IxTheo) is an international scientific open access bibliography for theology and religious studies. It covers scientifically relevant information on Christianity as well as on dialog with other religions from all confessions, in several languages and media types and throughout history. Publishers are the University Library of Tübingen, the Faculty of Protestant Theology and the Faculty of Roman-Catholic Theology, University of Tübingen.

History Its predecessor, the Zeitschrifteninhaltsdienst Theologie ("Theology Journals Content Service") or ZID, was started in 1975. This was a current content service which reprinted the table of contents of the main theology journals; monthly ZID issues included an index of authors, Biblical references and persons, which were later combined in an annual and a five-year index. In 1994-1995, the ZID was converted into a database using allegro-C (a library software developed by the Library of the University of Braunschweig); the bibliographic data extracted from the journals was now stored electronically before it was published in the ZID issues, and the data which had been published in the prior ZID issues was retrospectively catalogued. In addition to subject indexing with standardized index terms, a faceted classification with 130 classes was introduced at that time. The database itself was made available to the public in German first on floppy disks, later on CD-ROM. Starting in 2001, the subject headings and the user interface were also translated into English. At the end of 2000, the ZID ceased the publication of its print version. The name of the database was changed to Index Theologicus in 2002, when the publishing house Mohr Siebeck started managing its distribution. Since 2007, the database is only available online and free of charge.

Features As of July 2022, IxTheo comprised over 4 million records on theological literature (including monographs and articles), and about 15,000 records are added each year. Subject headings and search capabilities are provided in 9 languages: English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Greek, Russian and Chinese. A special search capability for specific Bible passages using standard abbreviations is also available. The faceted classification (named "IxTheo classification") now comprises 139 classes divided into 13 main groups. Since 2013, IxTheo uses the database of the regional cataloguing network "Südwestdeutscher Bibliotheksverbund" (SWB, in south-western Germany), which is shared i.a. by the theological faculties of Tübingen, Heidelberg and Freiburg. The data from the former allegro-c database (over 500,000 records) was migrated into the SWB catalog in 2016. Since 2015, IxTheo has been managed and further developed by the "Fachinformationsdienst/FID Theologie" (a "specialised information service" in theology) thanks to grants from the German Research Foundation ("Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft" or DFG). IxTheo is implemented as a faceted Discovery System built on the VuFind library search engine. A growing number of journals are processed using semi-automated production procedures with software such as Imageware and Zotero.

Services In addition to the standard search capabilities for theological literature (including articles, monographs, databases, reviews and internet links), IxTheo offers the following services:

Hosting of open access publications through Open Journal Systems. Digital repository for article reprints. Patron-driven acquisition. Personalized search queries. Bible passage search Full-text search

Partnerships IxTheo has partnerships with a number of libraries, bibliographic tools and publishing houses:

The Faculty of Catholic Theology at the University of Innsbruck and its bibliographic tools BILDI (Biblical studies), KALDI (Canon law) and MIMESIS (on René Girard's mimetic theory). The Institute of Canon Law ("Institut für kanonisches Recht", IKR) at the University of Münster and its database DaKaR. The Augustine Research Center ("Zentrum für Augustinusforschung") at the University of Würzburg. The publishing houses Walter de Gruyter and Brill Publishers provide the metadata of their journals to IxTheo for cataloguing purposes. The publishing house Mohr Siebeck cooperates with IxTheo to facilitate searches in their publications. The European Academy of Religion (EUuARe) cooperates with IxTheo in the field of Open Access publishing and public relations.

References

External links Official website

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Index Theologicus

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Index Theologicus claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In astronomy, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Index Theologicus before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Index Theologicus ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Index Theologicus

In research: Index Theologicus appears in astronomy research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Index Theologicus in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Index Theologicus is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Bibliographic databases and indexes, Theology studies, University of Tübingen, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Index Theologicus outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Index Theologicus in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Index Theologicus means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Index Theologicus out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Index Theologicus in simple terms?

Why does Index Theologicus matter?

Because it connects several astronomy ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Index Theologicus?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Index Theologicus.