A-manual-for-writers-of-research-papers-theses-and-dissertations

disciplines. If you are writing a paper in the natural or physical sciences, mathematics, or anyother technical field, follow the conventions of the discipline.In some disciplines, you may need to use abbreviations not covered here. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary gives many abbreviations from many fields. Anotherresource is chapter 15 of the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition (2003). For style guides invarious disciplines, see the bibliography.If you are writing a thesis or dissertation, your department or university may have specificrequirements for using abbreviations, which are usually available from the office of thesesand dissertations. If you are writing a class paper, your instructor may also ask you to followcertain principles for using abbreviations. Review these requirements before you prepare yourpaper. They take precedence over the guidelines suggested here.24.1 General Principles24.1.1 Types of AbbreviationsTerms can be shortened, or abbreviated, in several ways. When a term is shortened to only thefirst letters of each word and pronounced as a single word (NATO, AIDS), it is called anacronym; if the letters are pronounced as a series of letters (EU, PBS), it is called aninitialism. Other terms are shortened through contraction: just the first and last letters of theterm are retained (Mr., Dr.), or the last letters are dropped (ed., Tues.). This chapter treats allof these forms under the general term abbreviations, with distinctions between types noted asrelevant.24.1.2 When to Use AbbreviationsIn most papers, use abbreviations sparingly in text because they can make your writing seemeither too informal or too technical. This chapter covers types of abbreviations that arepreferred over spelled-out terms and others that are considered acceptable in academic writingif used consistently.If your local guidelines allow it, you may use abbreviations for names, titles, and otherterms used frequently in your paper. Give the full term on first reference, followed by theabbreviation in parentheses. For subsequent references, use the abbreviation consistently. Ifyou use more than a few such abbreviations, consider adding a list of abbreviations to thefront matter of the paper to aid readers who might miss your first reference to an abbreviation(see A.2.1).Abbreviations are more common, and are often required, outside the text of the paper. Thischapter discusses some abbreviations that may be used in tables, figures, and citations. Foradditional discussion of abbreviations in tables and figures, see chapter 26; for abbreviationsin bibliography-style citations, see 16.1.6 and chapter 17; for abbreviations in reference list–style citations, see 18.1.6 and chapter 19.www.itpub.net