ibid. (abbreviation of ibidem, in the same place), not italic, is used to mean that the quote comes from the same source.Footnotes appear at the foot of the page (or column) on which they occur; endnotes are listed at the end of a chapter or in one batch at the end of the work. The method depends on the publisher’s conventions, the type of work and the readership. The author may have little say in the matter. Footnotes may also contain additional snippets of material or comment that the author feels is not appropriate to the main text.
1 Charts, tables and figures: place source underneath.
2 Page numbers: “page” is usually abbreviated to p., plural pp., except, for example, in The Economist, where these are written in full.
3 Footnote numbers, which are conventionally superscript, go after the punctuation in English works, before in American. If there are not many footnotes, some publishers prefer to use asterisks, daggers, etc.
The main methods (other than The Economist’s) of referring to sources are: the author–date (Harvard) system; the number-only (Vancouver) system; and the author–title system.
The Economist Books should be in quotation marks, periodicals, blogs and online magazines in italics, authors, publishers, addresses (optional) and prices in roman. Commas should follow the title and the publisher (if an address is given). The other elements should each be followed by a full stop. “A Child’s Guide to the Dismal Science”, by Rupert Penandwig. Haphazard House, 1234 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10019. $28.
In charts and tables, no final stop is necessary.
Harvard system The most commonly used system in physical-and social-science publications. The author’s name and year of publication appear in parentheses in the text with the full details at the end of the publication in a list of references. For example: The variety of wildlife in our gardens (Murphy 2015) is amazing …
In his research, Murphy (2015) finds that …
If you wish to include the page numbers, write Murphy 2015: 165 or Murphy 2015, p. 165 or pp. 165–6.
The reference section contains the full details:
Murphy, P.L. (2015), Birds, Bees and Butterflies (Garden Press, London).
Vancouver system Most commonly used in scientific journals. Each publication is numbered and the text reference is a superscript number. For example:
The variety of wildlife in our gardens15 is amazing …
The reference section contains the full details:
15. Murphy, P.L., Birds, Bees and Butterflies (London: Garden Press, 2015).
Note that any addition or subtraction from the list means that all subsequent items and the references will have to be renumbered.
author–title system Also known as the short-title system. A full reference is given only on the first mention in the chapter (or book if there is a bibliography).
This is mostly for academic works. The whole title is cited in the first footnote, for example P.H. Clarke, Visions of Utopia, at which point you put, “hereafter Clarke, Utopia”. Then on subsequent references you simply write “Clarke, Utopia”, with page numbers if you wish.
mixed system Another system is common in academic publications. A superscript number is inserted in the text that corresponds with the number of a footnote (at the bottom of the page) or endnote (at the end of the chapter or the book). Footnotes and endnotes may be numbered by chapter or by book. The footnote or endnote consists of the bibliographical reference in full if there is no reference section or bibliography, or an abbreviated reference if there is. Sometimes the bibliographical reference appears in full on the first occurrence and is abbreviated subsequently, even if there is a reference section or bibliography.
ibid. (abbreviation of ibidem, in the same place), not italic, is used to mean that the quote comes from the same source.
op. cit. (abbreviation of opere citato, in the work quoted), not italic, is used to mean that the source has already been given.
Do not mix fractions with decimals. If you need to convert one to the other, use this table. See also figures in Part 1.
Fraction |
Decimal equivalent |
|
0.5 |
|
0.333 |
|
0.25 |
|
0.2 |
|
0.167 |
|
0.143 |
|
0.125 |
|
0.111 |
|
0.1 |
|
0.091 |
|
0.083 |
|
0.077 |
|
0.071 |
|
0.067 |
|
0.063 |
|
0.059 |
|
0.056 |
|
0.053 |
|
0.05 |
