Guide for Authors

Style Guide

General Style

Words and Numbers

Units of Measurement

Time and Dates

Abbreviations

All ASABE peer-reviewed journals use the same editorial style, but they differ in scope and content. The best way to familiarize yourself with the general style of an ASABE publication is to review a recent issue of the journal to which you intend to submit your manuscript. With a few exceptions, ASABE conforms to The Chicago Manual of Style. If you have questions about style, usage, technical terms, or reference citations, feel free to ask us for assistance. Contact Glenn Laing at 269-429-0300, ext. 314, or e-mail: laing@asabe.org.

Words and Numbers

In general, use words for numbers one through nine, and use digits for 10 and over. For a series of numbers, any of which are over 10, use all digits. For example:

There were nine compounds used to create the substance.

The component consisted of 231 parts.

The substance contained 2 parts magnesium, 12 parts copper, and 8 parts lead.

When two numbers occur as adjacent adjectives, spell out the first one:

There were thirty 12 mm holes in the first section.

When a number begins a sentence, spell it out or rewrite the sentence:

Fifty samples were prepared.

We prepared 50 samples.

When you are reporting a number, the number of significant digits must be commensurate with the precision of your experimental method. If the quantity must be converted to SI units, multiply the quantity by the exact conversion factor and then round to the appropriate number of significant digits.

Units of Measurement

Express all units of measure in SI (metric) units. You may include inch/pound units in parentheses in special instances, such as when quoting research data or specifications that were originally supplied in non-metric units. For a further explanation of units and conversions, refer to ASAE Standard EP285.7: "Use of Metric Units."

To express a unit of measurement, space between the number and the unit:

5 g

20 ha

except for percentages and degrees:

37%

27°C

In a series of measurements, indicate the unit at the end:

3, 6, and 8 cm.

except for percentages and degrees:

2°C to 10°C

Precede fractional decimal values with a zero:

0.0125 (not .0125).

A comma is not necessary for numbers consisting of four digits:

1000 kg

Express derived units in exponent form:

12 kg m ^-2

32 MJ m ^-2 d^-1

with spaces between the elements of the derived unit.

When only two units of measurement are combined, the solidus ( / ) may be used:

9 Mg/m ³ or 9 Mg m^-3

but avoid using both styles in the same manuscript.

Time and Dates

There are two international methods of reporting time:

In the first method, the day is divided into two 12-hour periods. The first period is numbered 1:00 a.m. through 12:00 a.m. (noon), and the second period is numbered 1:00 p.m. through 12:00 p.m. (midnight).

In the second method, often called military time, the hours are numbered consecutively 1 through 24. The day begins at midnight (0000 h), and the last minute of the day ends at
2359 h:

4:00 a.m. = 0400 h

12:00 noon = 1200 h

10:43 p.m. = 2243 h

Note that the notation "2400 h on 14 January" is the same time as "0000 h on 15 January."

Occasionally, the 12-hour a.m./p.m. time system can lead to confusion, as the term "12:00 p.m." could be read as noon or midnight. In addition, the term "midnight of 22 November" is ambiguous; it can either refer to midnight of 21-22 November or midnight of 22-23 November. To avoid confusion, use of 24-hour military time is recommended.

Write all dates in day-month-year format, with no punctuation and with names, rather than numbers, for the months:

12 January 2002

29 April to 17 May

4 to 16 August

In tables, the names of months may be abbreviated to save space.

Abbreviations

Units of Measurement and Technical Terms

Abbreviations in References

States and Territories

In general, spell out abbreviations that that might be unfamiliar to the ASABE audience. Such abbreviations only need to be spelled out at their first occurrence in the text. Always abbreviate government agencies and organizations that are well known to the ASABE audience, such as USDA.

Spell out the scientific name of an organism at its first occurrence in the text. After the first occurrence, use the first letter of the genus and spell out the specific epithet.

If you abbreviate the names of months in tables and figures, use the following forms:

Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.

Form plurals for abbreviations without an apostrophe:

PCs, CVs, PhDs

Omit periods after abbreviated units (except "in." for inch):

5 m, 30 cm, 40 ft

Abbreviate units only after a numeric value:

24 h

Several hours later

Units of Measurement and Technical Terms

The following abbreviations are for units of measurement and technical terms that are widely used in material published by ASABE:

alternating current AC

ampere A

bushel bu

coefficient of variation CV

cultivar cv. (for example: Syringa vulgaris cv. Mont Blanc)

direct current DC

dry basis d.b.

hectare ha

hour h

inch in.

inside diameter i.d.

joule J

kilo- k (as in kV)

liter L

micro- µ (as in µV)

milli- m (as in mL)

minute min

moisture content MC

outside diameter o.d.

pound lb

second s

volt V

watt W

wet basis w.b.

Use conventional abbreviations (not postal abbreviations) for names of states and territories.

Avoid abbreviating words or titles that might be unfamiliar to the ASABE audience.

Do not abbreviate titles of articles, books, or dissertations. For journal titles:

·  Drop all minor words from journal titles (such as articles, prepositions, and conjunctions) unless their omission could cause confusion.

·   Abbreviate similar words consistently.

·  Use the following abbreviations for the titles of journals and proceedings that appear in bibliographic references:

Agricultural Agric.

Agriculture Agric.

Agronomy Agron.

Annals Ann.

Annual Ann.

Applications Applic.

Association Assoc.

Biology Biol.

Chemical Chem.

Chemistry Chem.

Communications Comm.

Conference Conf.

Conservation Conserv.

Cooperative Coop.

Division Div.

Ecological Ecol.

Engineering Eng.

Engineers Eng.

Environmental Environ.

Experiment Exp.

Experimental Exp.

Extension Ext.

Federation Fed.

Fundamentals Fundam.

Goverment Gov.

Horticulture Hort.

Industrial Ind.

Industry Ind.

Institute Inst.

International Intl.

Irrigation Irrig.

Journal J.

Journal of J.

Literature Lit.

Management Mgmt.

Mathematics Math.

Mechanical Mech.

Mechanics Mech.

Medicine Med.

National Natl.

Occupational Occup.

Proceedings Proc.

Processing Process.

Product Prod.

Production Prod.

Publication Publ.

Publishing Publ.

Research Res.

Resource Resource

Review Rev.

Science Sci. (except the journal Science)

Society Soc.

Statistics Stat.

Symposium Symp.

System Syst.

Technical Tech.

Technology Tech.

Transactions Trans.

States and Territories

Use the full name (Alabama) for affiliations in the author notes and in the body of the article, for example: "The study was conducted on an experimental farm in Alabama."

Use conventional abbreviations (Ala.) in parenthetical notes (such as for product manufacturers) and in the references.

Use 2-letter postal abbreviations (AL) only in mailing addresses, such as for the corresponding author in the author notes.

Full name Conventional Postal

Alabama Ala. AL

Alaska Alaska AK

American Samoa Amer. Samoa

Arizona Ariz. AZ

Arkansas Ark. AR

California Cal. CA

Canal Zone C.Z.

Colorado Colo. CO

Connecticut Conn. CT

Delaware Del. DE

District of Columbia D.C. DC

Florida Fla. FL

Georgia Ga. GA

Guam Guam

Hawaii Hi. HI

Idaho Idaho ID

Illinois Ill. IL

Indiana Ind. IN

Iowa Iowa IA

Kansas Kansas KS

Kentucky Ky. KY

Louisiana La. LA

Maine Maine ME

Maryland Md. MD

Massachusetts Mass. MA

Michigan Mich. MI

Minnesota Minn. MN

Mississippi Miss. MS

Missouri Mo. MO

Montana Mont. MT

Nebraska Neb. NE

Nevada Nev. NV

New Hampshire N.H. NH

New Jersey N.J. NJ

New Mexico N.M. NM

New York N.Y. NY

North Carolina N.C. NC

North Dakota N.D. ND

Ohio Ohio OH

Oklahoma Okla. OK

Oregon Oregon OR

Pennsylvania Pa. PA

Puerto Rico P.R.

Rhode Island R.I. RI

South Carolina S.C. SC

South Dakota S.D. SD

Tennessee Tenn. TN

Texas Texas TX

United States U.S.

Utah Utah UT

Vermont Vt. VT

Virgin Islands V.I.

Virginia Va. VA

Washington Wash. WA

West Virginia W.V. WV

Wisconsin Wisc. WI

Wyoming Wyo. WY