Differences

This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.

--- requesting_styles [2011/04/15 21:55] – rmzelle
+++ requesting_styles [2011/10/07 01:17] – [2) Get your style's details] adamsmith
@@ Line 16: / Line 16: @@
 =====2) Get your style's details=====
-   * **Similar style**: What existing style is closest to the style you need? Take a look at the list of styles in the style repository and uncheck the "Show dependent styles" check box. You can hover your mouse over the style links to preview citations in each of those styles. You can also paste <nowiki>chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul</nowiki> into your Firefox location bar to launch a preview of selected items from your Zotero library in all the styles you currently have installed. Find the one that is closest to your style. Your best bet is often styles from the same discipline. So for example styles in medical journals usually resemble Vancouver/AMA style, many engineering journals are similar to IEEE, footnoted styles as used in many humanities are often close the the Chicago style etc. Often journals may even indicate this in their instruction for authors by stating "for any further questions refer to".
+   * **Similar style**: Which existing style is close to the style you need? Take a look at the list of styles in the style repository after checking the "Show only unique styles" check box to remove duplicates. You can hover your mouse over the style links to preview citations in each of those styles. You can also paste <nowiki>chrome://zotero/content/tools/cslpreview.xul</nowiki> into your Firefox location bar to launch a preview of selected items from your Zotero library in all the styles you currently have installed. Find a style that is close to the one you are requesting. Your best bet is often styles from the same discipline. So for example styles in medical journals usually resemble Vancouver/AMA style, many engineering journals are similar to IEEE, footnoted styles as used in many humanities are often close the the Chicago style etc. Often journals may even indicate this in their instruction for authors by stating "for any further questions refer to".
-   * **Differences from similar style**: The next step is to itemize the precise differences that need to be implemented to make that existing style into the style you need. Doing this will give the creation of the style a big jump-start. The most time-consuming part of style creation is not the technical part, but understanding how a style works and how it differs from existing styles. At a minimum you should carefully compare the output from the similar style to the style you are requesting for books, book sections, journal articles, and websites. Pay close attention to issues such as punctuation, the use of abbreviations (such as pp., eds., journal abbreviations), formating (italics, bold), the use of et al in the text and the bibliography (after how many authors, how many authors are displayed), the exact way a URL is cited (Is accessed date given? What is the exact phrasing, such as retrieved from, accessed) etc. Doing a thorough job means that you will get your style more quickly and you take up less valuable volunteer time.
+   * **Differences from similar style**: The next step is to itemize the precise differences that need to be implemented to make that existing style into the style you need. Doing this will give the creation of the style a big jump-start. The most time-consuming part of style creation is not the technical part, but understanding how a style works and how it differs from existing styles. At a minimum you should carefully compare the output from the similar style to the style you are requesting for books, book sections, journal articles, and websites. Pay close attention to issues such as punctuation, the use of abbreviations (such as pp., eds., journal abbreviations), formatting (italics, bold), the use of et al in the text and the bibliography (after how many authors, how many authors are displayed), the exact way a URL is cited (Is accessed date given? What is the exact phrasing, such as retrieved from, accessed) etc. Doing a thorough job means that you will get your style more quickly and you take up less valuable volunteer time.
    * **Link to style guide**: Find a reputable web page that describes your style and post a link to it in your request. If there is no good link, contact the organization that supplies the style guide and request better documentation. If possible, also post a link to a freely available copy of a work that follows the specific style, as this can often clarify issues not answered in the style guide. You can usually find a freely available pdf (e.g. on an authors homepage) by searching for a recent article title of the journal in question with google scholar.