Page 72 - How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper, 8th Edition 8th Edition

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reference to a source list. It is helpful to know, for example, that all "ology" words are abbreviated at the "1."
("Bacteriology'' is abbreviated "Bacteriol."; "Physiology" is abbreviated "Physiol.," etc.) Thus, if one memorizes the
abbreviations of words commonly used in titles, most journal titles can be abbreviated with ease. An exception to be
remembered is that one-word titles (Science, Biochemistry) are never abbreviated. Appendix 1 lists the correct
abbreviations for commonly used words in periodical titles.

Citation in the Text

I find it depressing that many authors use slipshod methods in citing the literature. (I never stay depressed long—my
attention span is too short.) A common offender is the "handwaving reference," in which the reader is glibly referred
to "Smith's elegant contribution" without any hint of what Smith reported or how Smith's results relate to the present
author's results. If a reference is worth citing, the reader should be told why.

Even worse is the nasty habit some authors have of insulting the authors of previous studies. It is probably all right to
say "Smith (1997) did not study. . . ." But it is not all right to say "Smith (1997) totally overlooked. . . ." or "Smith
(1997) ignored. . . ."
Some authors get into the habit of putting all citations at the end of sentences. This is wrong. The reference should be
placed at that point in the sentence to which it applies. Michaelson (1990) gave this good example:

We have examined a digital method of spread-spectrum modulation for multiple-access satellite communication and for digital mobile
radiotelephony. 1,2

Note how much clearer the citations become when the sentence is recast as follows:
We have examined a digital method of spread-spectrum modulation for use with Smith's development of multiple-access
1
communication and with Brown's technique of digital mobile radiotelephony. 2

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Examples of Different Reference Styles

So that you can see at a glance the differences among the three main systems of referencing, here are three references
as they would appear in the References section of a journal.

Name and Year System

Day, R. A. 1998. How to write and publish a scientific paper. 5th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

Huth, E. J. 1986. Guidelines on authorship of medical papers. Ann. Intern. Med. 104:269–274.

Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993. Surgical teatment of Freiberg's infraction in athletes. Am. J. Sports
Med. 21:381–384.

Alphabet-Number System

1. Day, R. A. 1998. How to write and publish a scientific paper. 5th ed. Phoenix: Oryx Press.

2. Huth, E. J. 1986. Guidelines on authorship of medical papers. Ann. Intern. Med. 104:269–274.

3. Sproul, J., H. Klaaren, and F. Mannarino. 1993. Surgical treatment of Freiberg's infraction in athletes. Am. J.
Sports Med. 21:381–384.

Citation Order System

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