Documentation

On another list, a researcher just wrote (and I paraphrase for simplicity): “How much citation is enough? I can personally get bogged down in the multiple citations and lose my enthusiasm for the hunt.” EE’s response was a long Hmhh. ....

If you ever felt like source citation involves too many rules, this list is for you. Yes, in every style guide for every field, each "rule" is there for a purpose; but if you're able to remember them all, you're likely to be an editor or a fuss-pot. For everyone else—normal people who have learned to look up "particulars" in one of those style guides but would prefer to mentally tote around just a short list—here's EE's 7 Basic Rules.

1 January 2015 It's a new year. You've made your resolutions, right? Of course, No. 1 is, "I shall—from this day forward and forevermore—provide complete and accurate documentation for all my research." Wonderful! But what, exactly, does this call for? ...

4 February 2014 How many "facts" in the following sentence need supporting evidence? . . . .