{"id":3211,"date":"2019-11-20T09:11:58","date_gmt":"2019-11-20T09:11:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/common-errors-in-the-usage-of-abbreviations-in-scientific-writing\/"},"modified":"2026-03-06T10:42:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-06T05:12:36","slug":"common-errors-usage-abbreviations-scientific-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.editage.com\/insights\/common-errors-usage-abbreviations-scientific-writing","title":{"rendered":"Common errors in the usage of abbreviations in scientific writing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Abbreviations are shortened forms of words and phrases and are a common occurrence in research manuscripts as they can help make highly complex technical writing more concise and easier to read. However, they can also cause a lot of confusion, and make communication unclear if they are not used with caution. Consider these sentences:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

One of the most important skills for proofreading a manuscript is ATD. Poor ATD can result in embarrassing factual errors like not defining abbreviations at first mention.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Confused what we are talking about? Don\u2019t yet start looking up what ATD stands for. Here, we have used it to mean \u201cattention to detail.\u201d For all you knew, when you first read, it could have meant \u201cadvanced technology demonstration,\u201d \u201cachieving the dream,\u201d or something else that does not quite make sense in the context of the sentence.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s another example, this time, from the abstract of an actual manuscript:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We developed a program that included SST<\/u> for students and CMT<\/u> for teachers.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Either the abbreviations in this sentence are very common in the author\u2019s specialized field or the author has coined them himself\/herself. Because the author is so familiar with them, he\/she may not have realized that the target readers, some of whom may not be from the same discipline, may not understand them. Ideally, the author should have written the sentence as follows:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

We developed a program that included social skills training (SST)<\/u> for students and classroom-management training (CMT)<\/u> for teachers<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In this article, we will provide some tips on the use of abbreviations. Make sure you pay attention to these best practices when using abbreviations in your research writing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

1. Define abbreviations at first mentions<\/a><\/p>\n

2. Always consult the target journal’s guidelines on abbreviation usage<\/a><\/p>\n

3. Use standard abbreviations<\/a><\/p>\n

4. Preferred styles for using abbreviations<\/a><\/p>\n

5. Be careful when using alphanumeric abbreviations<\/a><\/p>\n

6. Use of Latin abbreviations<\/a><\/p>\n

1. Define abbreviations at first mentions<\/h2>\n

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention in each<\/u> of the following sections in your paper: title, abstract, text, each figure\/table legend. <\/span><\/span>Abbreviations work well when you want to reduce the number of words to use. But an abbreviation that is well known in one field may not be common in another. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Example:\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>We analyzed the results of the computational fluid dynamics<\/u> (CFD) simulations to determine fluid flow and to detect cavitation in centrifugal pumps.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

In the above example, the term CFD is fairly common in mechanical\/civil engineering fields, but might not be clear to an interdisciplinary audience.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span>As a best practice, once you have finished writing the entire manuscript, use the \u201cFind\u201d or equivalent function of your word processor to locate abbreviations and check if they are defined.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

2. Always consult the target journal\u2019s guidelines on abbreviation usage<\/h2>\n