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Potomac State College

Council of Science Editors (CSE) Formatting Guide: Abbreviating Journal Titles for CSE

Introduction

One tricky aspect of Council of Science Editors is the need to abbreviate journal titles. The journal titles are generally abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations maintained by the ISSN International Centre. This is discussed further in Appendix 29.1 in The CSE Manual (print holdings available at Library service desk).

Resources for Journal Title Abbreviations

List of Title Word Abbreviations (ISSN International Centre): You can search or browse alphabetically for words commonly used in journal titles according to the ISSN Network.

Web of Science Journal Title Abbreviations (Web of Science): This provides a fairly exhaustive list of abbreviated journal titles consistent with The CSE Manual. If your journal is fairly well known and reputable, its abbreviation should be discoverable here.

Other Journal Abbreviation Sources (compiled by Gerry McKiernan, Iowa State University Library): Lots of useful additional pages if you cannot find your journal title abbreviation in the previous resources or don't wish to determine the abbreviation yourself using the List of Title Word Abbreviations.

Some examples of abbreviated journal titles

  • Field Crops Research > Field Crop Res.
  • Horticultural Plant Journal > Hortic Plant J.
  • Journal of Horticultural Science > J Hortic Sci.
  • Plant and Soil > Plant Soil.