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You are here: Articles --> 2020 --> Literature citations, part 2: checking and formatting the citations
Vous êtes ici : Essais --> 2020 --> Literature citations, part 2: checking and formatting the citations
By Geoffrey Hart
In part 1 of this article, I discussed how to insert literature citations. In this part, I’ll describe how to check that all your citations are correct, and how to format them with the least trouble.
Even if you used reference-management software to insert your citations, it’s still necessary to review your citations manually. It’s easy to make several types of mistake that lead to citation errors. For example, it’s easy to:
Many of my authors manually apply a color (e.g., light blue) to their citations, since this makes it easier to see the citations in the middle of the black text. Although this helps you to scan through a document and see the citations, this approach is unreliable even if you use a text color that is highly visible. It’s far too easy to miss citations. Instead, use your word processor to automate most of this task. In all citation systems, there is some standard format for inserting the citations: for example, the citations generally appear inside round brackets ( ), square brackets [ ], or brace brackets { }, or they may appear as superscript numbers (i.e., formatted like an exponent). In each case, you can use your word processor’s search tool to find those characters.
Most software lets you use special codes (called “control codes” in Microsoft Word) that let you search for specific patterns. In Word, the code for a number is ^#. (The ^ character is above the number 6 in an English keyboard.) In the author/date system of citation, most of your literature citations will be a four-digit year, so the control code would become ^#^#^#^#: that is the code for a number, but repeated four times because you want to find four consecutive numbers. Type that in the “Find What” field of the Find dialog box and click “Find Next” to find that pattern. In Word, you can then close the dialog box and use a helpful keyboard shortcut to find the next instance of that pattern: Control+PageDown in Windows, and Command+PageDown on the Mac. To search backwards to find the previous instance, use Control+PageUp and Command+PageUp instead.
Most software also lets you search for formats such as a superscripted number. That’s useful for journals that use numbered citations, but that format the numbers as superscripts (like exponents) instead of placing them inside brackets. In Microsoft Word, type the ^# code in the “Find What” field of the Find dialog box to tell Word that you’re searching for a number. Next, with the cursor still in that field, tell Word that you want to apply the superscript format as part of thesearch pattern: press the keystroke Control-Shift-+ in Windows, or Command-Shift-+ on the Mac. (If that keyboard shortcut does not work in your version of Word, expand the search dialog box to show all the options. Then open the Format menu, select Font, and select the checkbox beside Superscript.) When you no longer need to search for superscripts, remove that format from the search pattern by positioning the cursor in the “Find What” field again, then press the same keystroke (or click the “No Formatting” button at the bottom of the Find dialog box).
Display your reference list in a window positioned beside the window that contains the manuscript, and each time you find a citation, scroll through that second window until you reach the reference. Confirm that the citation agrees with the details of the reference, then find the next citation and repeat this check.
If you’re using reference-management software, it will automatically generate the Literature Cited section for you. This can save you hours of time that could be spent on more important work. The best reference-management software, such as EndNote, can also automatically format the details of each reference so that the Literature Cited section follows the style required by a given journal (e.g., the style required by Nature or PNAS) or the style required by a professional association (e.g., the style used by the Entomological Society of America journals). If you’re not using such software, you must apply the formatting manually.
If you frequently edit the manuscripts of your colleagues, you have probably developed the ability to recognize the most common formatting errors without conscious thought. But even experienced editors find it easier to focus on one criterion at a time and check, one reference at a time, whether the reference meets that criterion. For example:
Start by ensuring that the author’s family name is the first word in each reference, followed by that author’s initials. Work through the list one reference at a time, fixing only the author family names.
Next, return to the start of the list and ensure that the family names of the second and subsequent authors come before their given names, that the given names have been changed to initials, and that consecutive author names are separated by the correct punctuation (e.g., a comma or semicolon).
Return again to the start of the list, and ensure that the year appears after the author names, or after the journal name, depending on the required reference style.
Return to the start of the list and confirm that all journal names are abbreviated—or that you have used the full words if that’s the correct style.
If you have also cited book chapters or papers in symposium proceedings, check each of these references to ensure that it includes the word “In:”, the editor names followed by “(eds.)”, the title of the book, the page range, and the name and city of the book’s publisher. The order varies among journals, but that’s the most common content and order.
Continue until you have finished checking all details. One advantage of this approach is that you gradually become faster at repeating each of these checks as you move through the reference list, which increases your efficiency and accuracy.
These solutions may not ever make it pleasant to deal with your literature citations, but at least they’ll make the task more efficient. You can cite me as the source of that conclusion!
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