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As a researcher, you cite sources to give credit to those whose work you are using, and to allow subsequent scholars to find the specific items you found and used.
There is no one model for all science writing. Each scientific discipline, each specialty and often each professional society and each journal has its own preferred style of citation. Each style has its own manual. Your instructor may have specified which style you should use. If so, use that style. Otherwise, see the list below as a guide to a few of the more commonly used manuals. In each manual, look for the chapter which discusses references or citation.
In science writing, journal titles are frequently abbreviated in citations. If the style you are using abbreviates journal titles, you need to use an official abbreviation; do not just make one up. Using official abbreviations allows others to decode your citations, and let you decode someone else's citations, so the cited articles can be found.
To find official abbreviations of journal titles, look in a major database which covers that area of science, like GeoRef or MathSciNet. For example, PubMed's list of journal titles and abbreviations is at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=journals The library also has print guides like Periodical Title Abbreviations (Z 6945 .A2 A44, Shapiro Science Library Reference Desk, and at many library reference desks.)
A list of international standard word abbreviations, from which the official title abbreviations are derived, is at http://www.issn.org/en/node/344
All of the following manuals are available in print in the Science Library print reference collection. Some are also available in other UM libraries; to find them, search Mirlyn by title or call number.
Scientific style and format : the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers
7th edition, 2006 T 11 .S3861A few sections from the 7th edition are available online from the Council of Science Editors at http://www.councilscienceeditors.org/publications/ssf_7th.cfm
Scientific style and format : the CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers
6th edition, 1994 T 11 .S3861Cambridge Scientific Abstracts lists titles and standard abbreviations for the journals they index in the biological sciences at http://www.amstat.org/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=style-guide
ACS style guide: effective communication of scientific information, QD 8.5 .A251 2006
ACS Books Reference Style Guidelines: http://pubs.acs.org/books/references.shtml
Summary of ACS style guidelines from the University of Wisconsin Chemistry Library:
http://chemistry.library.wisc.edu/instruction/acstyle.htmAccepted journal title abbreviations for the ACS (American Chemical Society) style (and many others) may be found in CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Serial Sources Index) at the Science Library Reference Desk, and our reference collection Z 5521 .S72. You can find an online abridged version listing 1000+ major titles at http://www.cas.org/expertise/cascontent/caplus/corejournals.html
Geowriting: a guide to writing, editing, and printing in earth science:
QE 48.85 .C631 2004The Geological Society of America has an excellent online style guide:
http://www.geosociety.org/pubs/geoguid5.htm
AMS Author Handbook:
QA 42 .A47 1996A list of Math Reviews-acceptable journal abbreviations is at: http://www.ams.org/msnhtml/serials.pdf
AIP style manual 4th ed 1990, QC 5.45 .A451 1990
Available online from the American Institute of Physics at http://www.aip.org/pubservs/style/4thed/toc.html
The American Statistical Association style guide is online at:
http://www.amstat.org/publications/index.cfm?fuseaction=style-guide
Other classic style manuals include:
- Chicago Manual of Style - Z 253 .C532
- Publication manual of the American Psychological Association - Z 253 .A55 2001
The following websites provide some details on using Chicago style:
http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/cmosfaq/cmosfaq.html
http://depts.gallaudet.edu/englishworks/writing/turabianguide.htmlThe UM Undergraduate Library provides brief guides for APA and MLA style: http://www.lib.umich.edu/ugl/guides/citationguide/index.html
Purdue University's Online Writing Lab offers a longer guide to APA style: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/
Many journals provide authors with specific instructions on format and style. If you are using a particular journal as a model, or submitting an article to a journal, be sure to follow that journal's instructions. Look for those instructions inside a current print issue, or on the journal's website.
Bibliographic management software such as EndNote, ProCite or RefWorks includes formatting tools for most styles and many individual journals. This software will often format your citations and bibliography automatically in the style you select, abbreviating journal titles properly where needed. The UM Library subscribes to RefWorks; you can purchase the others if you prefer to use one of them.
To learn more about bibliographic management software, see: http://www.lib.umich.edu/tools/cite.html
The UM Library's Knowledge Navigation Center can help you learn to use bibliographic management software.Handout created by Betsy Williams, Shapiro Science Library
