KWIC index; keyword in context index, a kind of automatic indexing developed in 1958 at IBM by Hans Peter Luhn.
KWAC (= Keyword alongside context) and KWOC (= Keyword out of context) are modifications of KWIC. KWIC, KWAC, and KWOC are simple, mechanical term extraction indexes for text (usually titles) which retain some of the context (i.e. adjacent words).
Buckland (2003) provides the following example:
Cataloging and classification for Croatians. Treat "and" and "for" as stop words, i.e. not to be used as index terms.
KWIC Keyword In Context Each word that is not a stop-word becomes an entry word (aka lead term). Entry words are aligned within the page.
KWIC:
for Croatians.
Cataloging and classification
Cataloging and
classification for Croatians.
for
Croatians. Cataloging and classification
KWAC
Cataloging and classification for Croatians.
classification for Croatians. Cataloging and
Croatians. Cataloging and classification for
KWOC
Cataloging Cataloging and classification for Croatians.
classification Cataloging and classification for Croatians.
Croatians. Cataloging and classification for Croatians