NEARLY ALL SCIENTIFIC REPORTS refer to the work of other researchers. The usual practice in Geological Survey reports is to cite author, date, and page in the text and to list complete references at the end of the text. In some multichaptered reports, references are listed at the end of each chapter. Authors should doublecheck that each reference cited in the text is included in the reference list and that each reference is complete and accurate. Inaccurate or misquoted references reflect on the scholarship of the report and may mislead the reader . Survey reference style may differ from that of outside journals. Check to be sure, if you plan to publish outside.
In general, brackets, not parentheses, are used for any material added to a direct quotation in the text a report, or to the formal information cited in a reference from the report cited, particularly from the title or copyrighted pages.
TYPES OF MATERIAL CITED
All reports listed as references must be reasonably available to the public. Unavailable reports should not be cited. Listed reports mostly are books, periodicals, and other serials, symposium and conference or congress volumes, and maps, but certain unpublished material may also be cited--such things as dissertations and master’s theses, some guidebooks, and reports open filed by the Survey or by other Federal, State, foreign, or private agencies.
Unpublished dissertations, guidebooks, and Survey Open-File Reports should be referred to the same way as published reports, both in the text and in the list of references. (See examples 16, 20-22, 43, and 44 in the sample list of cited publications at the end of this section.) Open-file reports of non-Survey organizations may be cited as published reports if complete bibliographic information is available; the reader will be helped if you state where such reports may be inspected.
Oral and written communications are unpublished data of another category that includes oral data and opinions, written correspondence, memorandums, field notes, and manuscripts and maps in all stages of preparation. (See discussion about manuscripts in preparation under "In press" below.) All such material is cited only in the text and does not appear in the reference list at the end of the report.
REFERENCES CITED WITHIN THE TEXT
Text references include the author’s last name (and initials if needed to prevent confusion), the year of publication, and, optionally, specific page(s), plate(s), or figure numbers. For example, "Production of lithium was begun at Searles Lake, Calif., in 1938 (Mumford, 1949, p. 513)." The exact page or pages must be given if a reference is to quoted matter; paging should be given in a reference to a report large enough for the reader to need help in locating the information. Pages are unneeded if the article cited is only a few pages long and if no content is quoted. Full paging for the entire book or article--not given in the text reference--should appear in the reference list at the end of the report.
Author’s name. If an author’s name forms part of a sentence, only the date and the page reference appear in parentheses, as in "Schaller (1911, p. 49)." If the cited author’s name is in the possessive case, the citation immediately follows the word modified: "Carrara’s study (1979, p. 307) suggests that," or "well shown on Dyni’s map (1968)." If reference is made to several articles published by an author in one calendar year, indicate them by letters a, b, c after the year, as in "(Reeside, 1927a, p. 5-7)." Use the same letters in the reference list at the end of the paper. (See examples 39 and 40 in sample list of references.)
Multiple authors. If a paper has two authors, both authors’ names should be cited, as in "(Schaller and Carron, 1952, p. 301)." If a paper has three authors, the reference may be either to the first-named author "and others" (if there is no possibility of confusion) or to all the authors. You may treat each group of authors individually--for example, "(Palache and others, 1951)," "(Palache, Berman, and Frondel, 1951)," or "according to Rowley and others (1985)." Whether or not the reference is within parentheses has no bearing on the use or nonuse of "and others." Whichever method is chosen should be followed consistently throughout the paper. To save text space and prevent long lists of names that tend to break the reader’s train of thought, papers having four authors or more are customarily cited as the first author "and others." For clarity, however, the text references for "Ruth, May, Aaron, and Henry, 1980," and "Ruth, Henry, May, and Aaron, 1980," would be "Ruth, May, and others, 1980," and "Ruth, Henry, and others, 1980," respectively. The Survey doesn’t use "et al." In the list of references, all authors’ names should be given.
Multiple references. Multiple references may be listed alphabetically by author--for example, "(Ashley, 1910, 1918, 1940; Drake, 1965; Drake and others, 1967; Lesley, 1880; Swartz, 1922, 1929)"--or they may be listed chronologically. In fairness to the authors cited, a chronological listing better emphasizes the relative priority of each author’s contribution to the literature. All works by one author in a chronological listing should follow the first listing of that author’s name, to prevent needless repetition and to ease the reader’s task in looking up the references. For example, "(Lesley, 1880; Ashley, 1910, 1918, 1940; Swartz 1922, 1929; Drake, 1965; Drake and others, 1967)."
Book titles. Titles of books, articles, and other reports mentioned in the text are enclosed in quotation marks. Capitalize all important words: "Bibliography of North American Geology, 1970"; "Dictionary of Alaska Place Names." Follow this practice if the complete formal title is used. If such a reference is cited many times in the text, give the formal title the first time, followed by a shortened informal title in parentheses. Thereafter, use the short title: "United States Government Printing Office Style Manual, 1984" (U.S. GPO Style Manual); "Suggestions to Authors of the Reports of the United States Geological Survey" (STA). If repeated citations are separated by many pages of text, a repeat of the full title is a service to the reader.
Unpublished information. Oral or written communications and unpublished data in the text are referred to in parentheses in the text but do not appear in the reference list at the end of the report. Give the name(s) of the author(s), including initials or first name, abbreviated "oral commun(s).," "written commun(s).," or "unpub. data," followed by the date(s), as follows: "(A.B. Smith, oral commun., 1985)," "(Charles Brown, written commun., 1983)," "(D.E. Jones, and W.D. Johnson, Jr., unpub. data, 1984)," or "according to I.J. Witkind (oral commun., 1985)." The Survey avoids the expression "personal communication." References to unpublished information may include the author’s affiliation after the name as a courtesy to the author and a convenience to the reader. See also page 237 regarding manuscripts in preparation.
REFERENCE LIST (REFERENCES CITED) OR BIBLIOGRAPHY
Correct referencing is the responsibility of the author, not the reviewer or the editor. The style discussed here is used for most Survey books and map reports. In some special-purpose bibliographies and reports, the style may vary. In the following discussion, example numbers refer to sample references in "Examples of Cited Publications," beginning on page 239. Do not number your own references.
The headings "References Cited" or "References" are used by the Survey if all the publications listed are referred to in the text; the heading "Selected References" is used if the list is more extensive; "Bibliography" is used if it is exhaustive. The heading "Selected References" should not be used to avoid citing in the text one or two papers in the reference list.
HOW TO LIST REFERENCES
References are listed alphabetically by names of authors. All reports by an author alone are listed in chronological order. Next are reports written by that person as senior author with coauthors; each identical grouping of authors is treated as a unit, and each unit is listed alphabetically by the names of its coauthors. Under each unit, references are also listed chronologically. For example--(1) papers by Smith alone, listed chronologically; (2) papers by Smith and Brown, also chronologically; (3) papers by Smith, Brown, and Jones; (4) papers by Smith and Jones; (5) papers by Smith, Jones, and Brown. If two or more papers within a chronological listing have the same publication year, they are listed alphabetically by title, and the dates are followed by letters such as a, b, and c (examples 39, 40).
After the first listing of an author or group of authors, a 3-em dash is traditionally substituted for the name or names to avoid repetition. One dash substitutes for all the names in the previous citation. The dash is not followed by a comma, and no space is left between the dash and the year (examples 2, 3, 39, 40). When the dash substitutes for a group of names, the authors represented by the dash must be exactly the same as those in the preceding reference and must be in the same order. For example, no dash is used if a paper by Ashley, Baker, and Carter is followed by a paper by Ashley, Carter, and Baker.
The use of the dash, however, may cause problems with computer-generated bibliographies. Many scientists maintain bibliographic lists on disks for recurrent use and selective retrieval, but the computer cannot alphabetically sort and retrieve references beginning with a dash. The best solution is to repeat the author’s name in each entry on the disk and in the bibliography. STA endorses this procedure, but cautions that use or nonuse of the dash must be consistent in any given report.
ELEMENTS OF A BIBLIOGRAPHIC CITATION
Use the following order for the various elements in a citation:
DETAILS OF THE CITATION
Name of author. If the author of the work cited uses only one given name, the name should be written out in full, as "Butts, Charles." If the author uses more than one given name, initials are preferred unless the name in that form does not uniquely identify the author. If authors have initials or names that might cause confusion, the given names should be written out. Initials and periods should be set without spaces. If applicable, the abbreviation "ed(s)." for editor(s) or "comp(s)." for compiler(s) follows the initials or given name (examples 4, 7, 11, 15, 26, 30, 33, 52).
Selection of the last name under which to list a citation may be difficult when citing a foreign name. The author’s own usage, if ascertainable, or the custom of the author’s country should be followed. Otherwise, a prefix that is a definite article (La, Le, L’) or a preposition and an article forming one word (Dall’, Du, Della, Lo) are generally considered to be part of the surname (examples 17, 24, 25). If a prefix is a preposition standing alone in a nonanglicized name (de, van, da), it is not considered to be part of the surname (examples 6, 24, 60). In anglicized names, however, the prefix is considered to be part of the surname, even if it stands alone (example 59). In foreign Chinese names, no comma follows the surname (example 12), but in Chinese-American names, the comma should be used. Compound names are common in some countries. These names should ordinarily be cited under the first of the compound names (examples 13, 14). Diacritical marks, if any, should follow the author’s usage. Authors’ names in a multiple-author reference are usually separated by commas, but semicolons may be used if needed for clarity.
If no one is named as the principal author, editor, or compiler of a report, the publishing organization--U.S. Government, State, or municipal agency; foreign government, provincial, or municipal agency; university; corporation; scientific society; publishing house--may be listed as corporate author (examples 53-57). The name of the publishing periodical may be used as author if no individual or organization can be named (see example 42). "Anonymous" is not used by the Survey. In citing a corporate author, the general rule is to use the name of the specific organization or agency responsible for the publication, not the larger body to which the agency may belong. For example, for Survey publications, use "U.S. Geological Survey" not "U.S. Department of the Interior, Geological Survey."
Year of publication. Use the date (year) shown on the title page of the publication. If no date appears on the title page, use the copyright date, if there is one. If the year of release differs from the year of publication, both dates may be given, but need not be. The release date may be important to questions of priority, as in paleontological reports, but it generally is unnecessary. If both dates are given, the actual publication (imprint) date must follow the author’s name; the release date follows the imprint date in brackets, as "1987 [1988]," (example 32).
If the date of publication is not on the title or copyright page but is discovered elsewhere in the report--or is otherwise known--it is placed in the reference in brackets in the usual place after the author’s name (example 55). If the date cannot be found but can be estimated, or guessed at, it is followed by a question mark and is enclosed in brackets "[1983?]." If no estimate can be made, use "[n.d.]."
In press. Manuscripts by Survey authors cannot be listed in the references as "in press" until publication is approved either within the Survey or in an outside publication. Manuscripts by non-Survey authors must have been accepted by a publisher or journal. When an "in press" report is listed in the references, the words "in press" should substitute for the publication date, after the author’s name (example 47). Text references to several "in press" reports by the same author may appear as "(Smith, in press a, b)."
"In press" references to a book or to a nonseries map must cite the place of publication and publisher; such references to an article in a periodical or other serial publication must give the name of the publication in which the article will appear. If that information is not available, the report is not in press.
Manuscripts in preparation cannot be cited in the text or included in the references. After all, such a manuscript may never be completed. If a report by a Survey author has not received Director’s approval or if a report by a non-Survey author has not been accepted for publication by a publisher or journal, the manuscript may be cited in the text only as "unpub. data" or "written commun."
Title. The title of the work cited should be taken from the title page (or from the face of a map), not from a cover page or jacket, which may have a somewhat different title. Titles should be cited completely and without changes, except to correct typographical errors. Any other word considered to be in error should be reproduced exactly as it appears on the title page, followed by "[sic]." Words may be deleted from an overly long title, any deletion being shown by asterisks * * * (examples 7, 60). Occasionally, words may be added in brackets for clarification (examples 18, 19). If the typographical style of a title page omits needed punctuation, such as a comma or semicolon, such punctuation should be supplied. A colon within a title is usually shown in the list of references by a dash, so that it does not become confused with the colon that, in Survey reference style, marks the end of the title.
For titles in English, only the first word, proper nouns, and proper adjectives should be capitalized, but in other languages, the national practice should be followed. Any diacritical marks should be reproduced. Titles in foreign languages may be (but do not have to be) followed by an English translation enclosed in brackets. Translations are particularly helpful for languages other than French, German, and Spanish (examples 50, 51).
Titles in Asian languages are usually given in English translation only, enclosed in brackets. A parenthetical statement at the end of the citation should tell the reader the language from which the translation was made and indicate whether the article or book includes a summary in English or in another language (example 12).
Edition. If a work has more than one edition, the edition cited in the text must be shown in parentheses immediately after the title and before the colon (examples 4, 5, 7).
Abstracts. If the work cited is an abstract, the abbreviation "[abs.]," in brackets, immediately follows the title, just before the colon (example 1).
Citing parts of chapters. When the reference cited is a part of a larger report, care should be taken to distinguish the part from the whole. Generally, the title of the part is cited first, followed by "in," or by "chap. 2 of" or "pt. 3 of" if the part has a formal designation in the book or report (see examples 10, 20, 46). When citing the paging for such a reference give paging of the part or chapter only, not of the whole book or report.
Information following the colon for books. If the work cited is a book, the place of publication immediately follows the colon at the end of the title. Usually, the place of publication is printed on the title page of the book. If it is not there but is known, put it in brackets (examples 15, 21); if the place is guessed at, add a question mark "[New York?]." Well-known large American cities, such as New York, Chicago, San Francisco, New Orleans, and others, need not be identified by State; large foreign cities, such as London, Paris, Rome, and Moscow can also stand alone. When a State name follows a smaller or less well known U.S. city or town, the customary abbreviation (p. 105) is used (examples 4, 5), not the U.S. Postal Service code.
When well-known commercial publishers are cited, the full corporate name is not required. For example, "Merriam" is sufficient for "G. & C. Merriam Co.," "Macmillan," for "The Macmillan Company," and "Wiley," for "John Wiley and Sons, Inc." If the publisher is not well known or the publication is difficult to identify, more information should be given. The U.S. Government Printing Office is given as the publisher of reports issued by special or temporary Government bodies, but ordinarily it is not listed as the publisher of reports issued by permanent Federal agencies.
If a book or report includes more than one volume and if the entire work is cited, the number of volumes should be given rather than the total pages (examples 26, 58). Total paging may also be provided but is not required--for example, "3 v., 2,818 p."
Information following the colon for serials. If the work cited is in a serial publication, the spelled-out name of that publication immediately follows the colon. Use the name as it appears on the title page of the volume containing the article cited, not the serial name currently in use if it has changed. Serial publications include periodicals released at regular intervals, such as "Journal of Paleontology", and numbered books and map series that are released irregularly, such as U.S. Geological Survey Bulletins and Geologic Quadrangle Maps.
When publications of governmental organizations are cited, the name of the country, State, province, or city should be given first--for example, "Canada Geological Survey," not "Geological Survey of Canada." The abbreviations "U.S." and "U.S.S.R." or "SSSR" are used, but other names are spelled out.
When publications of nongovernmental organizations are cited, the name of the organization is placed first, but the word order of the organization name itself is not changed; thus, "Geological Society of America Bulletin." Names of periodicals that do not include the name of the organization issuing them are not changed, except for the omission of any initial article--for example, "Engineering Geologist," not "The Engineering Geologist"; "Erde," not "Die Erde."
If a serial title lacks information that might identify it--for example, if (1) a government publication lacks the name of the country that issued it, or if (2) two periodicals from different sources have the same name, or if (3) a periodical from a non-English-speaking country has a title in English--the name of the city, State, or country in which the serial is published should be given in brackets: "[France] Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières"; "Explorer [Ohio]" and "Explorer [India]"; "Science Record [China]" (example 13).
Publications issued in sections or series should include the identifying number or letter of the section or series if the same volume number appears in more than one section or series--for example, "American Journal of Science, 4th ser., v. 1"; "New Zealand Journal of Science and Technology, sec. B, v. 35."
Information following the colon for conferences and congresses. In citing the proceedings of conferences, congresses, and such, the date of the meeting should be given in addition to the date of publication (see discussion under "Elements of a Bibliographic Citation"; examples 10, 14). Normally, the year is sufficient, but if more than one meeting took place in a calendar year, the exact dates of the meeting should be given.
Information following the colon for guidebooks. Guidebooks present particular problems. Each guidebook is different, and some of them may be correctly cited in several ways. Some guidebooks are issued as parts of regular geological society series or State geological survey series (example 20). These are treated like any other serial publication. Other guidebooks are issued by various conferences or congresses and can be cited the same way as other publications of those meetings. Still others can be treated like books (examples 21, 22) if sufficient bibliographic information is available.
The title pages of many guidebooks, however, lack such information as place of publication and publisher some lack a publication date, and some are unpaged or variously paged. Such information may perhaps be found in a preface or accompanying letter or may be learned from someone who attended the meeting. Sometimes it may only be guessed at. If the guidebook is cataloged in the Survey Library or in another large library, needed information may be on the library card or in the computer system, but many guidebooks are never cataloged anywhere.
When referencing a guidebook, or any other book for which bibliographic information is sparse, use the facts that are available on the title (not cover) page. Then, any information from other parts of the book or from the author’s own knowledge should be enclosed in brackets, with a question mark if necessary. If each trip in a guidebook or if each chapter or section in any report has its own paging, the words "variously paged" may be used in place of the full paging (example 56). For an unpaged book, the total number of pages may be counted and supplied in brackets "[50] p." or approximated "[about 300] p." (example 57).
Miscellany. Arabic numerals are generally substituted for Roman numerals unless the Roman numerals appear in a title or in a cited page reference, as "Baker (1958, p. iii)."
In citations of foreign publications, use "v.," "pt.," "no.," and "p." rather than the equivalent foreign terms, unless such terms appear in the title of an article or report. Table 14 shows the English terms and some of their foreign equivalents:
Table 14. Some English terms and their foreign equivalents
EXAMPLES OF CITED PUBLICATIONS
The following numbered list includes many varieties of citations arranged as they would appear in a list of references. The numbers preceding these examples are only for reference use in this volume; citations are not numbered in Survey reports. An alphabetical key is given here to help the reader find examples quickly. Thus, to find an example of an abstract or an annual report, look under names of authors beginning with "A"; for examples of a book or Bulletin, look under names beginning with "B"; for a Circular, conference publication, or compound name, look under "C"; for a guidebook, look under "G"; for a map or for multiple authors, look under "M," and so on. A Chinese reference is under "C," and two Russian references are under "R." This system was first used in STA 5. It can be used to find most examples listed, but a helpful quick index to some commonly used examples is also given here for further assistance.
Item Reference number(s)
Abstract 1
Annual report 2, 3
Books 4-7
Brackets, use of 1, 12-15, 18-21, 32, 41, 50, 51, 55, 57, 61
Bulletin (USGS) 8, 9
Circular (USGS) 11
Conference report 10
Congress, International 14
Date of publication different from delivery date 32
Dissertation, Ph.D 16
Edition (No.) 4, 5, 7
Foreign 6, 12-14, 22-25, 27, 38, 39, 50, 51, 60
Guidebook 20-22
in 7, 10, 21, 52, 60
Maps:
Geologic Quadrangle (USGS) 34
Geophysical Investigations (USGS) 31
Hydrologic Investigations (USGS) 32
Miscellaneous Field Studies (USGS) 35
State 30, 33
National Technical Information Service (NTIS) 41
of 64
Open-File Report 43, 44
Professional Paper (USGS) 45-47
Chapter in 46
Water reports (USGS):
State Water-Data Report 4
Techniques of Water-Resources Investigations 48
Water-Resources Investigations Report 41, 61
Water-Supply Paper 62
with a section on 8
U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Geological Survey
This page is https://pubs.usgs.gov/sta7/sta7refs.html
Contact: John Watson
Last modification: 03/01/2001 (krw)