CItation Management & Scientific Writing
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How to Write Scientifically
Scientific writing is technical writing by a scientist, with an audience of peers- and is used to refer to reports of original research in journals. It is also used in the following: review articles (which summarize and synthesize previous research), annotated bibliographies (which aid others in performing research), abstracts (which summarize experiments or studies), and grant proposals (which seek funding for research). Scientific writing should be precise, clear and objective.
How to Write a Good Scientific Paper
- How to Write a Good Scientific Paper byPublication Date: 2018SPIE is making this freely available as an ebook.
Many scientists and engineers consider themselves poor writers or find the writing process difficult. The good news is that you do not have to be a talented writer to produce a good scientific paper, but you do have to be a careful writer. In particular, writing for a peer-reviewed scientific or engineering journal requires learning and executing a specific formula for presenting scientific work. This book is all about teaching the style and conventions of writing for a peer-reviewed scientific journal. From structure to style, titles to tables, abstracts to author lists, this book gives practical advice about the process of writing a paper and getting it published.
Resources on ACS Style
ACS Guide to Scholarly Communication
ACS style is a set of guidelines developed by the American Chemical Society. By standardizing the way we format academic writing and the way in which we cite outside sources, readers know where to find the information they need, what types of sources are being used as evidence, and how to locate those sources for themselves.
ACS Guide to Scholarly CommunicationCall Number: UCF ONLINE General Collection -- QD 9.15
- ACS Style Quick GuideGo to this link to find examples of how to cite a journal article, book, online website, and more.
- ACS Reference Formatting and Examples by Source TypesUse this for an in-depth view of how to create ACS citations.
- ACS References4.3.1 - Why Cite?
4.3.2 - Creating References
4.3.3 - ACS Style Quick Guide
4.3.4 - Citation Elements
4.3.5 - Reference Formatting & Examples by Source Types
4.3.6 - Deriving a Citation for a New Content Type
4.3.7 - Addtional Resources & References
The ACS Style Guide: effective communication of scientific informationCall Number: UCF Main Library Reference -- QD8.5 .A25 2006ch4ck availability
This extensive revision of The ACS Style Guide thoroughly examines electronic tools now available to assist STM writers in preparing manuscripts and communicating with publishers. Valuable updates include discussions of markup languages, citation of electronic sources, online submission of manuscripts, and preparation of figures, tables, and structures. In keeping current with the changing environment, this edition also contains references to many resources on the internet. With this wealth of new information, The ACS Style Guide's Third Edition continues its long tradition of providing invaluable insight on ethics in scientific communication, the editorial process, copyright, conventions in chemistry, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and writing style for any STM author, reviewer, or editor.
How to Locate ACS Journal Abbreviations
Click on the link below to be taken to the ACS official website for journal abbreviations:
To locate non-ACS journal abbreviations, do the following:
- Run a Google search for ISO4 abbreviation and the name of your journal.
- For example: "iso4 abbreviation for journal of forensic science."
- Locate a reliable source from the search results. One that comes from a reputable site like the journal publisher is best.
- Use the journal abbreviation provided in the Google search, J. Forensic Sci. in your ACS citation.
Article IDs & Inclusive Page Numbers in ACS Style
Journals with Article IDs
With the new update to ACS Style, journal articles are utilizing an Article ID rather than including inclusive page numbers. The below image provides an example of a journal article with the Article ID number circled in green.
If an article you come across in your research has an Article ID, use only the ID in your ACS citation instead of inclusive page numbers.
Journals with Inclusive Page Numbers
When a journal article has inclusive page numbers instead of an Article ID, as the following example shows with the set of page numbers circled in red, make sure to include them in your citation.
When you come across a journal in your research that has page numbers and not an Article ID, include only the page numbers in your ACS citation.
DOIs in ACS Style
A DOI is the unique object identifier of a given journal article. Whenever a DOI is listed, use it in your ACS citation.
Below is an example of an article with the DOI circled in blue.
The Specifics of a DOI
In looking at the specifics of a DOI for an ACS journal, this article: https://axial.acs.org/2016/04/21/where-doi-come-from/ provides a thorough explanation.
See the image below for further details.
