Literature Cited
Authors have an ethical responsibility to fairly and correctly attribute previous work by citation. In most cases, it is preferable to cite the primary literature instead of a review. Authors should make every effort to cite only articles that are readily available and are particularly encouraged to cite work published in the Journal of Nematology.
References in Text
In the body of the manuscript, publications are cited using the name-year system, e.g., (Bird, 1996). In some instances, such as at the start of a sentence, or if the intent is to particularly stress the cited author’s contribution, only the date is in parentheses: e.g., “Bird (1996) showed that” However, authors are encouraged to limit their use of this form of citation. To cite a publication with two authors, list both: e.g., (Bird and Kaloshian, 2003); with three or more authors use et al.: e.g., (Bird et al., 2003). Note the comma used after the author name(s) and the comma and period after et al. When multiple citations are listed in parentheses, they are listed in chronological order from oldest to most recent and separated by semicolons. For example, (Zuckerman, 1980; Bird, 1996). If two or more cited papers are from the same year, list the papers from that year alphabetically: e.g., (Bird, 2003; Bird and Kaloshian, 2003; Bird and Opperman, 2003; Bird et al., 2003). For two or more articles by the same author(s) in the same year use letters: e.g., (Houser, 1992a, 1992b). The same applies if two multiple-author citations are from the same year: e.g., (Bird et al., 2003a, 2003b). Note that in these cases, the years are separated by a comma rather than a semicolon. Some manuscripts are published by consortia and do not list individual authors. In those cases, the name of the consortium should be considered to be the author’s name, e.g., (C. elegans Sequencing Consortium, 1998). On the rare occasions where the author of a legitimate published work is truly undisclosed, use “Anonymous” as the author’s name.
Thus, a complex example that incorporates the aforementioned rules might be: (Zuckerman, 1980; Houser, 1992a, 1992b; Bird, 1996, C. elegans Sequencing Consortium, 1998; Bird, 2003; Bird and Kaloshian, 2003; Bird and Opperman, 2003; Bird et al., 2003a, 2003b).
Manuscripts that are in preparation or have been submitted for publication but not yet accepted should not be cited as references, either in the text or in Literature Cited. If authors wish to mention such information, it can be listed parenthetically in the text as unpublished data (abbreviated as “unpub. data”). Making reference to unpublished material from sources other than the authors requires documented permission from the source, which must accompany the manuscript; an e-mail from the source of the information would normally suffice. Such personal communications should be listed parenthetically in the text with the initials, last name and affiliation of the communicator, e.g., (D. M. Bird, NCSU, pers. com.).
Reference List
The major subheading LITERATURE CITED is capitalized and centered, and begins on a separate page. List references alphabetically by authors’ surnames. Alphabetical order is determined by the first author’s surname (family name) and then, if necessary, by surnames of succeeding coauthors. When the author names are completely identical in two or more references, these references are sequenced by publication date (earliest to latest) and, if necessary, by the page numbers of articles published in the same journal. In rare instances where different authors share the same surname, it may be necessary to also consider the alphabetical order of the author initials. When citing multiple articles by the same author, list articles with one author before those with several authors. When author(s) are the same for articles published in the same year, use letters: e.g., 1987a, 1987b.
Each reference cited in the text (including figure legends, etc.) must be in the Literature Cited; the converse also must apply. Each citation should be checked against the original publication. Authors must pay precise attention to spelling, spacing, capitalization, indentation, and format in their literature citations. The first line of each citation is indented.
Citing a journal article
For example:
Lohar, D. P., Schaff, J. E., Laskey, J. G., Kieber, J. J., Bilyeu, K. D., and Bird, D. McK. 2004. Cytokinins play opposite roles in lateral root formation, and nematode and rhizobial symbioses. The Plant Journal 38:203-214.
In this example, note the following points:
1) All authors are listed (never use et al.) in the order in which they appeared in the original publication, with the surname, followed by all initials. Note the comma after the surname, periods and comma after initials, and space between initials.
2) The year given is the year of publication listed by the journal. In some cases this may differ from the year in which the article was actually published. In case of an article in press, give the best estimate of the year that the journal will list publication. Authors should be prepared to supply the JON editorial board with documented proof that a manuscript claimed as “in press” truly has been accepted.
3) The title should be given in sentence case. If the title contains a colon, the word after the colon should begin with a capital letter, even if not done so in the original reference. Do not use a capital letter after a dash.
4) Journal names must be spelled out in full. There is no period after the name of the journal.
5) The volume number is followed by a colon, and then the inclusive page numbers. Note the lack of spacing. Generally the issue number within a volume is not given, but in rare cases in which all issues of a journal begin with page 1, it may be required: e.g., Journal Name 34(4):78-93. For “in press” articles, include as much information as is known (such as the volume number). Page numbers can be added at the proof stage as they become known.
Citing a book
For example:
Thorne, G. 1961. Principals of nematology. New York: McGraw Hill.
In the this example, note the following points:
1) The format for author (or editor) name(s), date, and title are the same for journal articles (above).
2) List the place of publication, then the publisher. Do not use “Inc.” or “Ltd.” for a publisher, and for publishers with multiple locations, list only one city.
3) The number of total pages is not listed.
Citing a book chapter.
For example:
Herman, R. K., and Horvitz, H. R. 1980. Genetic analysis of Cenorhabditis elegans. Pp. 227-261 in B. M. Zuckerman, ed. Nematodes as biological models, vol. 2. New York: Academic Press.
In this example, note the following points:
1) The page range of the chapter is included, after the term “Pp.” and is followed by the word “in” in italics.
2) The initials of the editor(s) come before the surname(s); note the spaces between initials.
3) Information about the volume (abbreviated “vol.”) or edition (“ed.”) number comes after the name of the book.
Citing electronic sources.
In most instances, journals that are published only as electronic journals will have a bona fide citation and can be cited like a normal publication. Articles that don’t have a true citation probably shouldn’t be cited. The Editor handling the manuscript (or EiC) can make format recommendations for cases that don’t readily fit standardized JON rules. The following citation is to an electronic-only journal:
Scholl, E. H., Thorne, J. L., McCarter, J. P., Bird, D. McK. 2003. Horizontally transferred genes in plant-parasitic nematodes: A high-throughput genomic approach. Genome Biology 4:R39.1-R39.12.
Similarly, many electronic resources, such as an on-line database, have been published in journals, and thus can be cited in the standard manner. For example, the widely used BLAST tools can be cited as:
Altschul, S. F., Gish, W., Miller, W., Myers, E. W., and Lipman, D. J. 1990. Basic local alignment search tool. Journal of Molecular Biology 215:403-410.
Information about the web sites actually queried (including the URL and date), or versions of computer programs or databases used, should rightfully be included in the Materials and Methods section.
Citing other sources.
Authors should cite only those articles that are readily available, and should minimize the citation of theses, bulletins, company brochures and the like. Here are some examples of formatting for those types of articles:
Anonymous. 1945. Article title. Washington, DC: EPA Publications.
Jones, B. T. 1980. Article title. In P. L. Bond, ed. Title of larger work. Serial Publication 23:23-34.
Jones, B. T. 1987. Dissertation title. M.S./Ph.D. dissertation (or thesis), University Name, Place.
McDowell, R. I., Jr., Dewey III, F. R., and Resh, Jr., H.-T. 1985. Title. Publication and no., Name of Experiment Station, University (if needed), Place.
Teller, A. P., and Green, B. S. Title. Journal Name 28:561 (Abstr.).