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NCSL International Technical Publications Style Guide

1. 12 9 1 BODY CLAUSES coecseccnavedtents 9 2 NUMBERING APPENDICES 9 3 LISTS 10 QUANTITIES UNITS AND LETTER SYMBOLS 10 1 QUANTITY 10 2 NUMBERS 10 3 METRIC SYSTEM ciceaccccdecasceceecedcccsesesceceeeesdececsastecneeasdecnededcesnesesdocdesacdeSneessdosdesesdccneessdeseesasdeSneeasdecneseeecsnes 14 10 4 LETTER SYMBOLS 5 a 14 10 5 amp 15 117 TABLES waves 15 11 1 LABELING AND PRESENTATION OF TABLES ssesssceccceceesessscecececeeseseeeesecececseseeaeseeececeeseeaeseeseseseseaaeaeeeeeceeses 15 11 2 NUMBERING AND CAPITALIZATION IN TABLES scssccccccececssssscececececseeeeesecccecseseeaeseeececeeseeaeseesesceeseaaeaeeeeeceese 15 11 3 PRESENTATION OF DATA AND TABLE FORMAT sssscccceceesessscesececeeseeaeeseescecseseeaeseeececeesesaeseeeesceeseaaeaeseesceeses 16 11 3 1 11 3 2 Gh ive 11 4 NOTES AND FOOTNOTES TO 11 5 11 6 TABLE PREPARATION 11 6 1 Consistency among tables 11 6 2 Table Structure Gnd USC 11 6 3 Horizontal and vertical rules 12
2. 22 14 5 2 Footnotes pros and cons 14 5 3 CONS orende a e a adaa l araea aaraa eaan iaaa 14 5 4 Special needs of endnotes 14 5 5 AVOIGING ov rl g NOTES e e aaan BACK MATTER css cccccssecsocessscccusstsncoveitecoseticcnteccscosssetcassdsvcosedssebsesdenssdsccougssesoncesscnsevtsccsescecousssetosed sceesssacuesses 15 BIBLIOGRAPHY 3 4 0 issscconsseecncsisnsseestiensscaisosdecnddessscadvessecndsesssebivesdosesseassediveoseestiessscaisesssendvesseceivetsacnsses 15 1 GENERAL EEEE A AE AE A E EA 15 1 1 Relationship of bibliographies tO NOLES ccceceesssssceseceseesssnscesecesnessasecesecsseenseassecssneneassasseeess 23 15 2 CITING STANDARDS N A BIBLO GRA T 24 15 3 ARTICLES IN PERIODICALS occon a 24 15 4 BOOKS zerrena 24 15 4 1 Other types Of 25 15 4 2 Annotated 25 NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 15 4 3 Articles incorporate repo a Ea 15 4 4 Articles presented at conferences 15 4 5 PUDLICATIONS
3. aa 15 4 6 Uniform resource locators 1 15 4 7 Theses dissertations ANd Other unpublished 16 AMENDMENTS CORRIGENDA AND ERRATA 16 1 GENERAL 16 2 AMENDMENTS AND CORRIGENDA ccccccccccseeceecccceeeceeceseeeeees 16 2 1 Numbering in amendments and corrigenda 16 2 2 Editorial instructions in amendments and corrigenda 16 2 3 Amendment revisione eneee tiii aaa aa iiaa 17 PERMISSIONS AND DISCLAIMERS cssssscccssssccccsssccccsssccccssssccssssssccessssesessscssassssssessssssassssssasssessoesees 17 1 PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE saisine AREER 17 2 SUMMARY OF CHANGES 18 FORMATTING 18 1 FONTS 29 18 25 MIARGINS SPAGCING 30 18 32 TABLES FIGURES easels 30 18 4 BULLETS ct E 30 18 5 18 6 NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 vi NCSL International Style Guide 2013 1 Scope This Style Guide establishes preferred s
4. 0 5 c In general text isolated numbers less than 10 should be spelled out when they are used without a measurement unit However in equations tables figures and other display elements Arabic numerals should be used Numbers applicable to the same category should be treated alike throughout a paragraph numerals should not be used in some cases and words in others d The value of a quantity shall be expressed by an Arabic numeral followed by a space and the appropriate unit name or symbol An upright Roman type font should be used for the unit symbol even if the surrounding text uses a sloping italic font e Iftolerances are provided the unit shall be given with both the basic value and the tolerance 150 m 5 mm Ranges should repeat the unit e g 115 V to 125 Dashes should never be used because they can be misconstrued as subtraction signs 10 3 Metric system Proposed new publications and revised publications submitted for approval should use metric units exclusively in the normative portions of the publication conforming to the International System of Units SI Imperial units may be included in parentheses after the metric unit if the sponsor believes that the audience for this document would benefit from their inclusion based on concerns for safety or clarity Metric units shall always be the primary unit of measurement One of the SI guides listed in Clause 2 either the NIST or BIPM guide should be used as the a
5. JCGM 200 2012 Working groups are strongly encouraged to use definitions that already exist instead of creating new definitions or slightly modifying existing definitions 8 4 2 Construction of the definitions clause Definitions should appear in alphabetical order and the term defined should be written out completely and should not be inverted e g drift rate rather than rate drift Each definition should be a brief self contained description of the term in question and shall not contain any other information such as requirements or elaborative text The term should not be used in its own definition 8 5 Acronyms and abbreviations 8 5 1 General Acronyms and abbreviations can be used to save time and space in the document If the draft makes extensive use of acronyms or abbreviations an appendix entitled Acronyms and abbreviations should be provided Acronyms and abbreviations followed by the full term only should be listed in alphanumeric order Within text the acronym or abbreviation should follow the first use of the full term the first time in the introduction then the first time in the body of the document and then the first time in any appendices in which the acronym appears The abbreviation or acronym should be placed in NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 11 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 parentheses when following the full term 8 5 2 Exceptions Exceptions to the convention listed a
6. NCSL International Technical Publications le Guide 2013 For Authors and Editors NCSLI Publications Oversight Committee NCSL International Technical Publications Style Guide First Edition Feb 2013 Prepared by NCSL International Publications Oversight Committee Copyright 2013 by NCSL International All rights reserved Publisher NCSL International 2995 Wilderness Place Suite 107 Boulder CO 80301 Phone 303 440 3339 Fax 303 440 3384 Email info ncsli org Vision To be the Recognized Leader for Excellence in Measurement Science Mission e Invest in the Advancement of Measurement Science e Promote Education and Skill Development NCSLINTERNATIONAL Provide Tools and Resources to Enhance Member Serving the World of Measurement Processes e Drive Technical Integrity in Documentary Standards NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Abstract This style guide provides editorial guidance to the authors of NCSL International publications including catalogs documentary standards guides and manuals handbooks reference publications recommend intrinsic and derived standard practices RISPs and recommend practice guides RPs Guidance is provided for all aspects of the content of these documents Adherence to the style and formatting conventions outlined in this guide ensures that NCSLI publications will maintain high quality standards and will have a consistent format that makes them easily acc
7. Footnotes are informative Footnotes in text may be included in a publication only for information clarification and or aid applicable to the use of the publication Mandatory requirements shall not be included in text footnotes because these footnotes are not officially part of the publication Footnotes in the front matter should be indicated separately from the body footnotes Front matter footnotes should be indicated with lowercase letters Footnotes in the body and appendices should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals When there are footnotes within tables and figures they should be lettered If a footnote is cited more than once each additional citation should refer back to its first mention 14 3 Examples Examples may be used as illustrations to aid understanding of the publication Examples are not a normative part of the publication therefore requirements shall not be included in the text of the example NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 21 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 14 4 Warnings and cautions Warnings call attention to the use of materials processes methods procedures or limits that have to be followed precisely to avoid injury or death Cautions call attention to methods and procedures that have to be followed to avoid damage to equipment A warning is more important than a caution If both are to be included in the same clause or subclause the warning shall precede the caution Warni
8. has the same implication as safe and thus should not be used For example this is the safest set of conditions for using a waveguide is an improper usage NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 9 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 The word safety should be avoided if it is being used to address a set of conditions or practices that have not been established for the purpose of promoting safety under all situations in which such conditions or practices will be employed For example the following 10 safety considerations should be reviewed before implementing this practice should not be used 8 2 Overview 8 2 1 General The Overview includes the scope of the publication as approved The overview may also include purpose application and other areas that the working group considers relevant These optional topics should be presented as separate subclauses of the overview they should not be components within the scope This clause shall be entitled Overview unless it contains only the scope in this case the clause shall be entitled Scope without any further subdivision The Overview shall not contain detailed discussions of the general technical content of the publication nor shall it list the contents of the publication since this is the purpose of the Table of Contents If the publication contains appendices then the application of these appendices should be described in the overview 8 2 2 Scope The Scope of the publication sha
9. Draft Recommended Practice for the Application and Testing of When an NCSLI publication covers a limited range of quantities such as voltage current power and size the numerical limits of the ranges covered shall be included in the title The use of non quantitative terms such as high and low large and small wide and narrow should be avoided Abbreviations should be avoided in titles of publications Note Measurement unit symbols are not abbreviations 7 8 Abstract The inclusion of abstracts in NCSLI publications allows the documents to be referenced in a wide range of bibliographic environments thereby increasing their utility visibility and availability to the public The abstract should be based on the scope and purpose of the publication and should specify what the designation number of the project is The abstract should be no longer than 15 lines 7 9 Introduction An Introduction should give the history of the publication a description of its purpose and if the NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 6 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 publication is a revision an explanation of the principal changes from the previous edition The Introduction should also explain the document structure for multipart publications or for documents within a family of publications An Introduction is not a part of the proposed publication and shall not contain requirements or recommendations If footnotes are necessary in an Introduc
10. Publications listed shall include designation and title They can be either dated or undated whichever is appropriate to a particular entry Examples B1 ASME BPVC I 2004 Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code Section 1 Power Boilers B2 Code of Federal Regulations Title 29 Part 1210 Section 354 29CFR1210 354 Health and Safety Standards Head injury B3 ISO IEC 7498 4 Information processing systems Open Systems Interconnection Basic Reference Model Part 4 Management framework 15 3 Articles in periodicals Consult The Chicago Manual of Style for detailed information on how to list periodicals Articles listed shall include the following information in the order shown a Last name of author or authors and first name or initials or name of organization b Title of article in quotation marks including subtitle c Title of periodical in full and set in italics d Volume number and if available part and date e Date of issue f First and last pages of article g URL for online periodicals Example B1 Boggs S A and N Fujimoto Techniques and instrumentation for measurement of transients in gas insulated switchgear IEEE Transactions on Electrical Installation vol ET 19 no 2 April 1984 87 92 15 4 Consult The Chicago Manual of Style for detailed information on how to list books Books listed shall include the following information in the order shown a Last name of author or e
11. a singular pronoun b Ifa particular sentence becomes cumbersome when he or she is used the sentence should be rewritten in the plural or completely rewritten to avoid using pronouns The indefinite pronoun one should be avoided In references to a company the pronoun it not we or they should be used 8 1 2 5 Absolute verbiage Avoid making guarantees if there is a possibility of unforeseen situations or circumstances altering an outcome Review the text for any explicit or implicit guarantees made within the document especially those that are safety related For example words such as insure guarantee always etc should be modified if they are inaccurate Substitutions might include ensure maximize or minimize or often 8 1 2 6 Use of the terms safe or safety Avoid the use of the word safe in a publication unless the condition or practice referenced by the word safe has been tested under all cases as being in fact safe Typically this is not the case Thus unless it can be demonstrated that such condition or practice is safe it should not be used Words such as safer or safest can be used in a relative context if it can be demonstrated to be the case For example it is proper to say that one set of conditions or practices is safer than another if in fact true or that it is safer to employ a certain practice than not in a given situation However the term safest implies an absolute condition which in certain contexts
12. citation This information is given for the convenience of users of this publication and does not constitute an endorsement by the NCSLI of these products Equivalent products may be used if they can be shown to lead to the same results In addition to the above footnote within the text add or the equivalent after the name of the product service or company For example use an ABC or the equivalent to monitor 7 Front matter 7 1 Required front matter elements The front matter of an NCSLI publication is informative meaning it is not officially part of the technical guidance or related information provided by the publication Drafts should contain a front matter and main text and follow the style outlined in this guide The front matter is paginated separately from the body of the draft The front matter is paginated using Roman numerals e g i 1 ili etc The body of the draft is paginated with Arabic numerals e g 1 2 3 etc Front matter elements are required in the draft prior to going to ballot plus the designation the title of the publication the introduction and copyright statements A notice to users laws and regulations copyrights updating of NCSLI documents errata interpretations is also required 7 2 Draft labeling and designations All drafts shall be clearly labeled to reflect their status as unapproved publications The draft designation and the date of the draft shall appear in the upper
13. manner Complicated tabular material lists and other entities not part of the text should be put in an appendix rather than in the footnotes A parenthetical note in the text might read for example For a list of institutions involved see Appendix A BACK MATTER 15 Bibliography 15 1 General Complete and current information for bibliographic entries shall be supplied by the Working Group including publication dates etc The bibliography shall always be an informative lettered appendix that appears as either the first or last appendix of the publication If bibliographic items are cited in text tables figures or notes the citation should be placed at the point where reference is made to them The bibliography should be ordered alphanumerically without respect to the type of publication being cited 15 1 1 Relationship of bibliographies to notes Although not all annotated works require a bibliography since full details can be given in the notes an alphabetical bibliography serves a number of purposes Specifically a full biography that includes all the sources cited in the text in addition to providing an overview of the sources and therefore an indication of the scope of an author s research can serve as a convenient key to shortened forms of the notes In electronic publications a full bibliography can significantly streamline the process of creating links to works cited and in turn can enable publishers of those cited works
14. numbered in a separate series and in the order of their reference in the text e g Table 1 Table 2 Table 3 Hyphenated numbers should not be used except in publications of considerable length In the latter case it is appropriate to label the first table in a clause with the number 1 preceded by the clause number e g Table 6 1 Table 6 2 Tables should be numbered separately from any illustrations Table 1 Table 2 etc Tables included in appendices should also carry the identifying letter of the appendix in which they appear followed by a period For example the first table in Appendix A should be identified as Table A 1 NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 15 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Tables should be referenced in the text by the word Table and their number only e g see Table 1 If referring to two or more tables in the same sentence each should be named separately For example use see Table 1 Table 2 and Table 3 instead of see Tables 1 through 3 Only the initial letter of the first word and proper nouns should be capitalized in Table titles Column and line headings in tables see Table 1 11 3 Presentation of data and table format 11 3 1 Units of measure Units of measure shall always be provided either in the title in parentheses or preceded by a solidus in the column headings e g for volts either or E V would be acceptable or ina NOTE The same units of measure s
15. part permission must first be obtained from the NCSLI Other entities seeking permission to reproduce this document in whole or in part must also obtain permission from the NCSLI The following information shall appear on every page of the draft at the bottom of the page Copyright lt 201X gt NCSLI All rights reserved This is an unapproved NCSL International Publication Draft subject to change 7 4 Copyright renewal or other changes The date of copyright renewal or a change in the name of the copyright owner is sometimes reflected in the copyright notice if the work is reprinted Copyright renewal is shown in the following manner 1943 by Miriam Obermerker renewed 1971 by Miriam Obermerker 7 5 Edition Edition as opposed to impression or printing is used in at least two senses e Anew edition may be defined as one in which a substantial change has been made in one or more of the essential elements of the work e g text notes appendix or illustrations As a general tule at least 20 percent of a new edition should consist of new or revised material A work that is republished with a new Preface or Afterword but is otherwise unchanged except for corrections of typographical errors is better described as a new impression or a reissue the title page may NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 5 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 include such words as With a New Preface e Edition may be used to designate a
16. reissue in a different format for example a paperback deluxe or illustrated version or an electronic edition of a printed work or under the imprint of a different publisher A new edition is best designated on the Title page Second Edition Third Edition and so forth Such phrases as revised and expanded are redundant on the title page since the nature and extent of the revision is normally described in the prefatory material or on the cover 7 6 Amendments and Errata Sheets If amendments or minor revisions are made to a publication for the purpose of correcting errors or minor omissions or for the purposes of reformatting the publication year should not change However the publication should be marked in a way that indicates it has an amendment for example the year could be changed from 2011 to 2011 B The front matter of the publication should include the dates when the actual revisions were approved and included Revisions can be made to the text or in the form of errata sheets that are appended to the document 7 7 Title The title on the draft document shall be within the scope as stated on the most recently approved publications policy All titles of NCSLI drafts shall start with the word Draft followed by a Recommended Practice for for recommended practices b Guide for when furnishes information The initial letter of each word except short prepositions and articles should be capitalized Example
17. right corner of each page of the draft The designation and date shall not be combined The NCSLI publication designation shall be structured as Document Nomenclature Draft Designator Draft versions shall be maintained and are most important during a ballot the draft number should be updated as least as often as the document is modified and or recirculated e g 1 1 1 2 1 3 etc Draft designations should indicate the development stage as follows NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 4 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 ED Exploratory Draft WD Working Draft RD Revision Draft FD Final Draft Example NCSLI RP XX WD 1 0 7 3 Draft copyright statements All NCSLI drafts are to include statements of copyright The following information shall appear on the first page of every NCSLI Publication draft NOTE The placeholder lt 201X gt shall be replaced with the current year of distribution Copyright 201X by NCSL International 2995 Wilderness Place Suite 107 Boulder CO 80301 USA All rights reserved This document is an unapproved draft of a proposed NCSLI publication As such this document is subject to change USE AT YOUR OWN RISK Because this is an unapproved draft this document must not be utilized for any conformance compliance purposes Permission is hereby granted for NCSLI Committee participants to reproduce this document for purposes of consideration Prior to adoption of this document in whole or in
18. 5 3 Endnotes pros and cons Endnotes which pose no page makeup challenges beyond those of ordinary text eliminate many of the disadvantages of footnotes in printed works The main problem with endnotes is that of finding a particular note although this difficulty is usually not encountered in electronic texts where text and notes are linked Endnotes to each chapter of a book are often best grouped in the end matter following the text and any appendices and preceding the bibliography if there is one 14 5 4 Special needs of endnotes Whereas footnote citations because they appear so close to the text can omit certain elements mentioned in the text omitting them in endnotes risks irritating readers who have to go back and forth For example an author or title mentioned in the text need not be repeated in the footnote citation though it is often helpful to do so In an endnote however the author or at least the author s last name unless it is obvious and title should be repeated since at least some readers may have forgotten whether the note number was NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 22 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 93 or 94 by the time they find it at the back of the work 14 5 5 Avoiding overlong notes Lengthy discursive notes especially footnotes should be reduced or integrated into the text Notes presented as endnotes can generally accommodate lengthier commentary but this should be limited in a judicious
19. FIGURES nccicscocsccccnssscscncscoconeessvcsesesnsctsscsnnssssnsnsessueassecseesestscncsesacesesseconeesusessvescsdessesnsessnconsdceussevcccsasese 12 1 REQUIREMENTS FOR CREATING FIGURES ssssssssssssssscssscssscscscseaeeceeeceeseseseseseseseseeeseseseseseaseeseseeesesesaeaeaeaeees 12 2 FIGURE NUMBERING AND TITLES s ccecsccecesseceecdesacdececcadeccoesssceceeseseecdessedecaccesdeceesssdesoesssdececsacdeceecasdeceessdcesaes 12 3 NOTESAND FOOTNOTES TO FIGURES on Ee IEE 13 MATHEMATICAL EXPRESSION G ccccccsssssssscceecccccssssseceeccccccsssssccesccccccessseceesccccsossssessssocececssseseess 13 1 LEGTERSYMBOLS ANDIUNITS E E aE 13 2 NUMBERING OF 5 13 3 PRESENTATION OF EQUATIONS 13 4 QUANTITY AND NUMERICAL VALUE EQUATIONS 14 NOTES FOOTNOTES EXAMPLES WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS 21 14 1 NOTES 21 14 2 FOOTNOTES 21 14 3 EXAMPLES 21 14 4 WARNINGS AND CAUTIONS 22 14 5 FOOTNOTES VERSUS ENDNOTIES 2 Sites 22 14 5 1 Footnotes endnotes
20. Performance of a technical and economic feasibility study of an HVDC compressed gas insulated transmission line Westinghouse Electric Corporation Trafford PA Final Report December 1983 15 4 4 Articles presented at conferences Example B3 Cookson A H and B O Pedersen Thermal measurements in a 1200 kV compressed gas insulated transmission line Presented at Seventh IEEE Power Engineering Society Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition Atlanta GA April 1979 15 4 5 Government publications Example NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 25 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 B2 Cookson A H Particle Trap for Compressed Gas Insulated Transmission Systems U S Patent no 4554399 November 1985 B3 EPRI EL 2040 Project 1352 1 Probability Based Design of Wood Transmission Structures Volume 3 User s Manual POLEDA 80 POLE Design and Analysis Final Report Goodman Vanderbilt M Criswell M and Bodig J 15 4 6 Uniform resource locators URLs For articles or sources that were consulted online the URL should be listed along with the source s title and date accessed to create a more stable reference Example B18 Moore James W 12207 as the Foundation for Enterprise Software Processes 2nd ed Virginia The MITRE Corporation accessed January 3 2013 http www techwell com sites default files articles XMLO0181_0 PDF 15 4 7 Theses dis
21. Publications c Footnotes to figures may contain normative information They should be marked with lowercase letters starting with for each figure See Figure 1 in Appendix A Both figure notes and figure footnotes should be placed under the figure but above the caption 13 Mathematical expressions 13 1 Letter symbols and units All terms shall be defined including both quantities and units in a tabulation following the equation 13 2 Numbering of equations If the publication contains more than one equation then equations of key importance should be numbered consecutively in parentheses at the right margin Derivations of equations or examples where values are substituted for variables need not be numbered An equation should be cited in the text by the word Equation and its number only e g see Equation 1 If referring to two more equations in the same sentence each should be named separately For example use see Equation 1 Equation 2 and Equation 3 instead of see Equations 1 through 3 Equations in appendices should be numbered beginning with the letter of the appendix where they are found For example the first equation in Appendix A would be numbered A 1 and the reference to it would be to see Equation A 1 13 3 Presentation of equations Certain types of material displayed as equations are automatically italicized Some simple general rules apply All var
22. a journal or series style The double rule traditionally used between title and column heads still used by some journals is seen less than it once was Vertical rules should be used sparingly for example when a table is doubled up or as an aid to comprehension in an especially long or complex table 12 Figures 12 1 Requirements for creating figures Figures should be created using software programs that produce vector output for best results Figures created in programs that do not support vector illustrations may result in bitmapped graphics or graphics that do not translate well into other applications that may not scale appropriately or that may not retain their quality If it is unavoidable however a TIFF version of the file should be submitted 12 2 Figure numbering and titles Figures should be numbered consecutively in a separate series and in the order of their reference in the text e g Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure 3 Hyphenated numbers should not be used except in publications of exceptionable length In the latter case it is appropriate to label the first figure in a clause with the number 1 preceded by the clause number e g Figure 6 1 Figure 6 2 Figure 6 3 Figures included in appendices should carry the identifying letter of the appendix in which they appear followed by a period For example the first figure in Appendix A should be identified as Figure A 1 A figure should be referenced in the text by the word Fi
23. and may The word shall indicates mandatory requirements strictly to be followed in order to conform to the publication and from which no deviation is permitted shall equals is required to NOTE The use of the word must is deprecated and shall not be used when stating mandatory requirements must is used only to describe unavoidable situations The use of the word will is deprecated and shall not be used when stating mandatory requirements will is only used in statements of fact The word should indicates that among several possibilities one is recommended as particularly suitable without mentioning or excluding others or that a certain course of action is preferred but not necessarily required should equals is recommended that The word may is used to indicate a course of action permissible within the limits of the publication may equals is permitted to A Working Group may choose to include the definitions of these terms within a publication If so the following text may be reproduced under an early subclause entitled Word usage for the benefit of users of the publication In this document the word shall is used to indicate a mandatory requirement The word should is used to indicate a recommendation The word may 15 used to indicate a permissible action 8 1 23 That and which The words that and which are commonly misused they are not interchangeable Use that in restrictive clauses use which in nonres
24. ateandedsvesenedoondsesssceeececonseedsseececess 3 5 1 LI SECO TRADEMARKS 3 5 2 NGSLITRADEMARKS an Ee e 3 6 COMMERCIAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS cssscccssssccccsssscccsssccccsssscccsssccecsssscscessssccesssesessssscesssssooes 3 6 1 GENERAD 3 6 2 CITATION 4 Te MATTER 5 2 2 7 1 REQUIRED FRONT MATTER ELEMENTS 7 2 DRAFT LABELING AND DESIGNATIONS 7 3 DRAFT COPYRIGHT 7 4 COPYRIGHT RENEWAL OR OTHER CHANGES 7 5 EDITION 7 6 AMENDMENTS AND ERRATA SHEETS 23 ssisosedsesssdsoseivedcosesesdtasedeodedsvessdaasebeodsesssesdlasedeodedsesssdassedvodsosesssdiasetss 7 7 6 7 8 TAA A EAA A ee oN eA 6 7 9 INTRODUCTION cers E 6 7 10 cACKNOWLEDGEMENTS sheng deen EA 7 TAL WABLE OF CONTENTS r 7 8 DRAFT PUBLICATION BODY ovo cscccciscstceccosstesssz
25. ation 2 The words Translated by translator s name appear on each page translated 3 The following disclaimer is included and understood by all persons or organizations translating this publication If the translation is copyrighted the translation must carry a copyright notice for both the translation and for the publication from which it is translated NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 28 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Disclaimer The materials and information contained herein are provided and promulgated as an industry aid and guide and are based on standards formulae and techniques recognized by NCSL International The materials are prepared without reference to any specific federal state or local laws or regulations and NCSL International does not warrant or guarantee any specific result when relied upon The materials provide a guide or recommended practices and are not all inclusive From time to time commercial equipment instruments or materials are identified in technical publications to foster understanding Such identification does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the NCSL International nor does it imply that the materials or equipment identified are necessarily the best available for the purpose 17 2 Summary of changes While providing detail where needed the following information is somewhat generalized EE EE 18 Formatting 181 Fonts Times New Roman All body text and Ta
26. ble of Contents 11 Footnotes 10pt Figure Table label 11pt Format Figure Table amp bolded only ex Figure 2 How to format Header Footer 10pt Arial Title Page and headings only Title Page use template Table of Contents Figures Tables heading 14pt bold Headings level 1 14pt bold level 2 12pt bold level 3 11pt bold level 4 11pt bold no spacing between heading amp text unless a numbered heading NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 29 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 18 2 Margins Spacing Document margins 1 all around Ist indent 0 25 2nd indent 0 5 3rd indent 0 75 Spacing for heading 1 through 4 Paragraph Spacing Before 0 pt After Auto Spacing between text text amp text text amp graphics Paragraph setting is Auto Spacing between graphic amp graphic label none Spacing between bulleted items Table of Contents Table of Figures Table of Tables 6pt 18 3 Tables Figures Flush to L amp R margin or aligned with L margin All must be have a label Label bottom L no spacing Times New Roman 10pt 18 4 Bullets Standard bullets shall be used bulleted text shall have the same font and font size as the body text 18 5 Outlining Unless numbers letters serve a purpose they may be omitted Format when using an outline see below for format 1 x x x a 1 Indents 0 25 0 5 0 75 1 0 etc 18 6 Headers Footers Header Left justify Docum
27. bove are approved SI units SI unit symbols not abbreviations and shall not be included in a list of abbreviations and acronyms The treatment of letter symbols for units e g mm for millimeter letter symbols for quantities e g R for resistance and mathematical symbols e g log for logarithm are acceptable 9 Numbering the clauses and subclauses of a publication 9 1 Body clauses The body of a publication is usually divided into several major clauses that are further divided into subclauses NCSLI publication system for numbering clauses uses Arabic numerals in sequence A subclause should be numbered by adding a decimal point and number to the clause number e g 5 1 Subclauses may be divided into further subclauses by adding a second decimal point and number e g 5 1 1 Five numbers separated by decimal points is the maximum acceptable subdivision e g 5 1 1 1 1 If necessary the material should be reorganized to avoid subdivisions beyond this point An exception to this numbering is allowed for amendments Clauses and subclauses should be divided into further subclauses only when there is to be more than one subclause In other words clauses and subclauses should not be broken down into further subclauses if another subclause of the same level does not exist For example Clause should not have a 1 1 unless there is also a 1 2 All clause and subclause headings should consist of a number and a concise but meaningf
28. cations Publications should not endorse or appear to endorse any particular products services or companies Therefore it generally is not acceptable to include manufacturer lists service provider lists or similar material in the text of an NCSLI publication Where a sole source exists for essential equipment materials or services necessary to comply with or to determine compliance with the publication it is permissible to supply the name and NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 3 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 address of the source in a footnote as long as the words the equivalent are added to the reference 6 2 Citation Citation of a product service or company shall be avoided In those cases where a sole source exists the product service or company shall be described generically in text and the product service or company supplied in a footnote accompanying the text as follows At the time of this publication product service or company was an example of name of generic product etc This information is given for the convenience of users of this publication and does not constitute an endorsement by the NCSLI of these products Equivalent products may be used if they can be shown to provide comparable results If every effort has been made to substitute a generic word or phrase in text for the product service or company but no suitable substitute can be found add the following footnote to accompany the
29. ceipt of permission letters will be required before the recirculation ballot of the draft If there are difficulties with obtaining permission responses the Working Group should consider citing the information normatively rather than including an excerpt 43 Credit line The following credit line shall be used if specific language from the copyright holder is not available lt Indicate material gt reprinted from lt copyright owner title of publication year of publication gt 5 Trademarks 5 1 Use of trademarks Use of trademarks should be minimized When used trademarks shall be appropriate for their drafts and ensure that no fees are required limitations imposed etc This information is usually stated on the websites of the trademark owners Any trademarked items shall be identified in the publication and marked as such with either or as appropriate upon first reference All trademarked items cited in publications shall be credited to the trademark owner in the front matter of the publication 5 2 NCSLI trademarks NCSLI designations are trademarks of the NCSLI and shall be identified as trademarks appropriate at first citation of each designation in the front matter and in the body of the draft 6 Commercial terms and conditions 6 1 General Provisions involving business relations between buyer and seller such as guarantees warranties and other commercial terms and conditions shall not be included in NCSLI publi
30. coordinate planes including that axis Table 4 lists a number of functions and operators that are set in upright Roman text Table 4 Examples of functions and operators set in upright Roman text larg argument lhom homology min minimum cos cosine im Imaginary cot cotangent inf inferior Re Real det determinant ker kerna in sine diag diagonal lim imit superior dim dimension an tangent exp exponential max maximum var variance 13 4 Quantity and numerical value equations Equations shall be dimensionally correct Equations may be in either quantity equation form or in numerical value equation form Stipulation of units for substituted values in the variable list below the equation does not suffice to meet this requirement A quantity equation is valid regardless of the units used with the substituted values once any unit conversions and prefix scaling factors have been taken into account Example F ma is always correct A numerical value equation depends on the use of particular units and prefixes Such equations may be presented in one of two forms One form represents a numerical relationship among quantities whose dimensions have been reduced to 1 due to division by the appropriate prefixed units Example NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 20 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 TIK 273 15 The other form annotates the q
31. ditor s if any and first name or initials or name of organization Note that for a book with two or more authors only the first listed name is inverted in the bibliography entry NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 24 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 b Title of book in italics including subtitle if any c Editor compiler translator if any Edition number if applicable if not the 1 Volume s total if multi volume is referred to as a whole or if single volume of multivolume work is cited and title Series title and volume if applicable f Place of publication city g Name of publisher h Year of publication i First and last page of reference Example B26 Peck B W Hanson and Thornburn Foundation Engineering 2 ed New York McGraw Hill 1972 230 292 15 4 1 Other types of bibliographies Example For instructions on citing sources other than those listed in this subclause refer to The Chicago Manual of Style 15 4 2 Annotated bibliography Example B10 Henry S and Selig C Predicting source code complexity at the design stage JEEE Software vol 7 no 2 March 1990 36 44 This paper states that the use of design metrics allows for determination of the quality of source code by evaluating design specifications before coding causing a shortened development life cycle 15 4 3 Articles in corporate reports Example B6 Dale S J
32. echnical publications are organized into three major divisions the front matter also called preliminary matter or prelims the text and the back matter or end matter The front matter presents information about the publication s title publisher and copyright and provides a way to navigate the structure of the publication The text proper comprises the narrative including arguments data illustrations and so forth often divided into clauses and other meaningful NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 11 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 subclauses The back matter presents sources source notes appendices and other types of documentation supporting the text but outside its central focus or narrative The list that follows presents the traditional arrangement using lowercase Roman numerals for pages in the front matter and Arabic numerals for all the rest including the back matter Every page is counted in the page sequence even those on which no number actually appears such as the title and half title pages copyright page NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 iii NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Table of Contents ABSTRACT ET T cttcests ctotestestaneacestovesdeedivesdessdbesdeeduvesdestdvesdecdivestessdvesdesdivesiestibesdesdivesiessdvesseedioess Il ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ivc i0cesccesscesesedcccocsesscccescsecescsesssecescdsccscsesssconseseccacsesseccscssccscsesssccesessccacsesseecsseseseseses Il INTRODUCTION iviciccecesccecece
33. enccocesasexcsedetecossssysecoecesevssessueeenecosucssesseovacesesedsssgenccesensses 7 8 1 GENERAL E OE 7 8 1 1 Normative and informative 8 1 2 Word 8 2 OVERVIEW sssr 8 21 General 8 272 5 itida aai adani ii ainia diaii 82 3 PUPOS O au 8 2 4 A A ER N A 8 3 A 8 4 8 4 1 USAGE c ccccceseessssccecccsseessseeesecsssesessecssecsseesessesesessesesessaassessenseesaaseseseeseeenes 8 4 2 Construction of the definitions NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 iv NCSL International Style Guide 2013 8 5 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ssssssccccssssssessesccecsssssessesecscsessnesaesecscessenasaesecscessaeasaesecscseseseaaesecssessesauansecess 11 SDL Ss 11 85 2 O O 12 9 NUMBERING THE CLAUSES AND SUBCLAUSES OF A PUBLICATION
34. ent amendments and corrigenda If three significant amendments to a publication exist however working groups should revise the publication rather than develop an additional amendment 17 Permissions and disclaimers 17 1 Permission to reproduce Permission to Reproduce If you wish to take material from NCSLI technical publications figures extracts abstracts even full text and incorporate them into new works you will need to obtain copyright permission Please send a request to NCSL International requesting permission to reproduce republish material Permission to make fair use of the material contained in this publication provided that the following conditions are met 1 The use is limited and noncommercial in nature for teaching purposes 2 The NCSLI copyright notice appears at the beginning of the publication 3 The words NCSL International Technical Publication appears on each page reproduced 4 The following disclaimer is incorporated and understood by all persons or organizations reproducing the publication Reproduction of any material in this publication is permitted only with the written permission of NCSL International Requests for such permission should be addressed to NCSL International Permission to Translate Permission to translate part or all of this lt pub class and title gt is granted provided that the following conditions are met 1 The NCSLI copyright notice appears at the beginning of the transl
35. ent title including RP LM RISP Example RP 3 Calibration Procedure Requirements Footer Left justify with page at right margin Copyright 201X NCSLI All Rights Reserved then page Example Copyrights 201X NCSLI All Rights Reserved 1 NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 30 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Appendix A Process Flow Chart The following figure provides a general idea of the normal process for development and update of an NCSLI publication and is provided for general information Refer to the NCSLI Publication Policy for the current process requirements NCSLI Publications Development Process Publication Needis Identified 11 Purpose Vote to Approve Publications Project Working Group develops draft publication initial Editorial Full Committee Ballot NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 31
36. equire that it be entered and it s easier for the reader to remember a URL without it When listing Web addresses try to get the URL to fit on a single line If it is necessary to break the URL try to break it before a slash or period Don t allow the URL to break itself by adding a hyphen because that could change the address If a URL ends a sentence put a period after it but ensure the period is not included as part of the hyperlink in electronic publications In printed materials remove the blue underlined hyperlink marks that automatically appear in many word processing programs when you type in a complete URL http is used within a citation see Section 15 4 6 11 Tables 11 1 Labeling and presentation of tables Tables provide a clear and concise way of presenting large amounts of data in a small space Formal tables should be given a number and a concise title and should be cited in the text with the word Table followed by the number See 13 2 for information on the numbering of tables Tables should be boxed and ruled and should be organized to fit on a single page The table caption should be above the table If a table must carry over for more than one page complete column headings should be repeated at the top of successive pages The table number and title should be repeated at the top of the page as follows Table 1 Title continued 11 2 Numbering and capitalization in tables Tables should be consecutively
37. essible to the reader Acknowledgements The first edition of this style guide was developed by the Publications Oversight Committee and NCSLI Business Office in collaboration with NCSLI committee chair review Key members include Name Organization Michael Lombardi Chair National Institute of Standards and Technology Tim Osborne Board Member Dynamic Technology Trescal Del Caldwell Caldwell Consulting Group Craig Gulka NCSL International Introduction This NCSL International Technical Publications Style Guide is largely based on The Chicago Manual of Style It provides style guidelines that if followed properly by authors will allow all NCSLI standards documents to have a consistent format and be easily accessible to readers It was also designed to give NCSLI technical publications a simultaneous print and electronic publishing model so that electronic versions of NCSLI technical publications can emulate the organization and structure of their printed and bound counterparts Table 1 Publication Structure FRONT MATTER BODY TEXT BACK MATTER Cover First text page Illustration credits if not in Title page amp copyright page Scope captions or elsewhere Abstract Content Abbreviations and acronyms Acknowledgement of contributors References Glossary and company affiliation Terms and definitions Bibliography Table of Contents Appendix s Introduction Chronology Notes Permissions and Disclaimers Summary of Changes NCSLI t
38. gure and its number only e g see Figure 1 If referring to two or more figures in the same sentence each should be named separately For example use see Figure 1 Figure 2 and Figure 3 instead of see Figures through 3 Only the initial letter of the first word and proper nouns should be capitalized in figure titles 12 3 Notes and footnotes to figures A note to a figure is informative a footnote to a figure is normative This distinction should be kept in mind when determining whether information should go in a figure note or a footnote Important information on safety health or the environment shall not be included in notes to figures Notes to a figure should appear in the following order a General notes and specific notes General notes apply to the entire figure and should be NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 18 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 introduced by NOTE set in upright capital letters Specific notes should detail specific material or parts of the figure and should also be introduced by NOTE set in upright capital letters Multiple notes in sequence should be numbered NOTE 1 NOTE 2 etc b Crediting source Use either of the following credit lines a Reprinted with permission from Use when the figure is derived from another source from which permission to reproduce has been obtained b Source Use when figure is derived from another NCSLI
39. hall be used throughout each column ohms shall not be combined with megohms millimeters with centimeters or seconds with minutes To save space abbreviations and letter symbols should be used in column and line headings wherever possible 11 3 2 Numerical values Digits should be separated into groups of three counting from the decimal point toward the left and right The groups should be separated by a space not a comma period or dash If the magnitude of the number is less than one the decimal point should be preceded by a zero In numbers of four digits the space is not necessary unless four digit numbers are grouped in a column with numbers of five digits or more Examples 73 722 7372 0 133 47 All numbers should be aligned at the decimal point Only as many significant digits should be used as the precision of data justifies Decimal fractions should be used in tabulations unless fractions are commonly used in the field Common fractions and decimal fractions shall not be combined in the same table An em dash should be used to indicate the lack of data for a particular cell in a table 11 4 Notes and footnotes to tables A table note a note to a table is informative A table footnote is normative This distinction should be kept in mind when determining whether information should go in a table note or a table footnote A table note should immediately follow the table to which it belongs The text in the table note shall
40. hese practices will help ensure the uniformity of measurements across organizations Topics covered by RP publications include but are not limited to calibration procedures equipment selection interlaboratory comparisons laboratory design and measurement uncertainty analysis 3 8 Reference Publications NCSLI reference publications are collections of books or other sources to which one is directed or referred for further related information in the field of Metrology They are designed to provide a comprehensive listing of Metrology related material in one place so that items can be quickly looked up when necessary Topics include but are not limited to glossaries and lists of acronyms and abbreviations NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 2 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 4 Copyright and Permissions 41 General copyright policy Contributions by participants to NCSLI Publications projects are subject to the NCSLI copyright policy 42 Excerpts When using excerpts of published text tables or figures permission in writing to do so shall be obtained from the copyright owner with an applicable credit line NOTE Committee Working Groups are encouraged to request permission from copyright owners before including copyrighted material in a draft Committee Chair should initiate the permission seeking process prior to the start of initial publications ballot If excerpted material is inserted during ballot resolution re
41. iables are italic e g x Function names and abbreviations are Roman sin cos sinc sinh as are units or unit abbreviations e g deg Hz complete words e g in out and abbreviations of words e g max min or acronyms e g SNR Single letter superscripts and subscripts may be italic even if they are abbreviations unless this leads to inconsistency between italic and roman characters for similar types of subscripts 6699 A multiplication sign not the letter x nor a center dot should be used to indicate multiplication of numbers and numerical values including those values with units e g 3 cm 4 cm The general rules regarding the use of upright Roman and italic text in equations see Equation 1 are as follows Quantity symbols including the symbols for physical constants subscripts or superscripts representing symbols for quantities mathematical variables and indexes are NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 19 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 set in italic text Unit symbols mathematical constants mathematical functions abbreviations and numerals are set in upright Roman text Example x rsinOcos 1 where x 15 the x coordinate a Cartesian plane r 15 the length of the position vector 15 the angle between the position vector and a coordinate axis isthe angle from the plane in which both the axis and the position vector lie to either of the
42. ll explain in statements of fact what is covered in the publication and if necessary what is not covered in the publication In other words the technical boundaries of the document The Scope should be succinct so that it can be abstracted for bibliographic purposes For new projects and revised projects to revise an existing publication the scope of the draft shall be within the scope of that given on the approved proposal and scope as determined by the balloting group voting on the draft For amendments and corrigenda there is normally no scope in the draft Therefore on the proposal and scope form the scope shall state what the amendment or the corrigendum is changing Regardless of project type the scope of the draft has to be within the scope of the project given on the proposal and scope form 8 23 Purpose A paragraph describing the purpose of the publication is not mandatory in the draft However if included the purpose of the publication and its intended application shall be included in a separate subclause e g 1 2 The Purpose shall explain why the publications project is needed For new and revision projects the purpose if included of the draft shall be within the parameters of the purpose given on the proposal and scope as determined by the balloting group voting on the draft For amendments and corrigenda there is normally no purpose in the draft publication Therefore on the proposal and scope form the purpose
43. mpedance for linear coupler transformers 1 Resistance 2 Reactance 3 Impedance i For volts ii For amperes Figure 3 Example of a tiered list 10 Quantities units and letter symbols 10 1 Quantity The word quantity has many meanings in this subclause the word refers to physical quantities which are described in units of measure such as length mass time and temperature A unit is a particular sample of a quantity chosen so that an appropriate value may be specified Meter kilogram hour and degree NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 13 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Celsius are some of the units used for the four quantities noted previously The value of a quantity is generally expressed as the product of a number and a unit Quantities and units may be represented in text by letter symbols and are always so represented in equations If a number and unit cannot be identified for a quantity the discussion may concern an amount rather than a quantity in which case the term amount should be used NOTE See Guide for the Use of the International System of Units SI NIST Special Publication 811 10 2 Numbers The following rules should be observed a The decimal marker should be a dot on the line decimal point This applies even when the publication in question is intended for international adoption b For numbers of magnitude less than one a zero should be placed in front of the decimal point e g
44. ngs and cautions should start with a clear instruction followed with a short explanation if necessary If the warning or caution is of a general nature and is applicable throughout the text it should be placed at the start of the text This avoids the necessity of repeating the same warning or caution frequently throughout the text Warnings and cautions shall not be placed in informative text or notes Example WARNING Serious injury may result if the following parameters are not followed exactly 14 5 Footnotes versus endnotes 14 5 1 Footnotes and endnotes an overview As their name suggests footnotes appear at the foot of a page In a journal endnotes appear at the end of an article in a book at the end of a chapter or more commonly at the back of the book 14 5 2 Footnotes pros and cons The readers of scholarly works often prefer footnotes to endnotes for ease of reference This is especially true where the notes are closely integrated into the text and make interesting reading or if immediate knowledge of the sources is essential to readers The limiting factor in prohibited works is page makeup it can be difficult or impossible to fit a close succession of long footnotes onto the correct page a basic requirement for all footnotes is that they at least begin on the page on which they are referenced There is also the matter of appearance a page consisting almost exclusively of footnotes is daunting to the reader 14
45. not contain mandatory requirements Important information on safety health or the environment shall not be included in table notes Table notes should appear before any table footnotes in the following order a General notes and specific notes General notes apply to the entire table and should be introduced by NOTE set in upright capital letters Specific notes should detail specific material or parts of the table and should also be introduced by NOTE set in upright capital letters Multiple notes in sequence NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 16 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 should be numbered NOTE 1 NOTE 2 etc b Crediting source Use either of the following credit lines 1 Reprinted with permission from Use when data is derived from another source from which permission to reproduce has been obtained 2 Source Use when data is derived from another NCSLI Publication Footnotes to a table contain normative information They should be marked with lowercase letters starting with a for each table 11 5 Informal tables Simple tabulations that are not referred to outside of the subclause in which they appear may be organized into short informal tables that do not exceed five lines in depth However it is recommended that all tables be numbered and titled if possible See the sample draft in Appendix A for an example of an informal table 11 6 Table preparation Thi
46. ormative and informative clauses Subclause defines which parts of a publication are normative and which parts of a publication are informative Normative text is information that is required to implement the publication and is therefore officially part of the publication Informative text is provided for information only and is therefore not officially part of the publication Normative text information required to implement the publication includes the following The main clauses of the documents including figures and tables Footnotes to tables Footnotes to figures Appendices marked normative NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 7 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Informative text text provided for information only includes the following Front matter Notes to text tables and figures Footnotes within text Appendices marked informative e g Bibliography 8 1 2 Word usage 8 1 2 1 Homogeneity Uniformity of structure of style and of terminology should be maintained within each publication Analogous wording should be used to express analogous provisions identical wording should be used to express identical provisions The same term should be used throughout each publication to designate a given concept The use of an alternative term synonym for a concept already defined should be avoided As far as possible only one meaning should be attributed to each term used 8 1 22 Shall should
47. ously approved amendments or corrigenda The instructions shall not require interpretation by the editor by the balloter or by any user Therefore the placement of the changes as well as any required renumbering shall be delineated in an unambiguous manner Editorial instructions shall precede all changes and should begin with one of the four types of editing instructions which are formatted in bold italic change insert delete and for figures or equations replace Change shall be used when text or tables are being modified therefore strikethrough for deletions and underscore for insertions should be indicated NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 27 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Insert shall be used to add new text equations tables or figures in the publication Delete shall be used to remove existing text equations tables or figures without exchanging the information 1 it is not permissible to delete a paragraph and insert new one rather than showing the changes in the paragraph using the change instruction Replace shall be used only for figures and equations by removing the existing figure or equation and replacing it with a new one See Appendix B for examples of editorial instructions in amendments or corrigenda 16 2 3 Amendment versus revision The greater the number of amendments or corrigenda associated with a publication the more complex the editing instructions become for all subsequ
48. r devices not needed in other tables in the same work 11 6 2 Table structure and use A table normally consists of rows and columns which are analogous to the horizontal x and vertical y axes of a graph respectively The data in most tables include two sets of variables One set of variables is defined in the top row of a table in the column headings the other set is defined along the far left hand column of the table by the stub headings If the data consist of dependent and independent variables the independent variables are usually presented in the stub column though this choice is sometimes limited by the physical dimensions of the table The intersection between a row defined by a stub head and a NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 17 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 column defined by a column head is a cell sometimes called a data cell 11 6 3 Horizontal and vertical rules To produce a clear professional looking table rules should be used sparingly Many tables will require just three rules all of them horizontal one at the very top of the table below the title and above the column heads one just below the column heads and one at the bottom of the table along the bottom of the last row above any notes to the table Additional horizontal rules may be required to separate spanner heads from column heads or to enclose cut in heads A rule above a row of totals is traditional but not essential unless required by
49. rological area 3 2 Documentary Standards The NCSLI ASC Z540 Committee is the accredited committee to develop write and publish metrology related ANSI documentary standards and adopt ISO IEC and other standards The Committee is comprised of representatives from industry and government sectors and includes stakeholders that may be affected by the standards Documentary standards follow the style and format requirements of ANSI guidelines but may include NCSLI style and format requirements when not in conflict with ANSI 3 3 Guides and Manuals NCSLI Guides and Manuals are internal publications used within the organization by the NCSLI membership They contain non technical information and document the operation guidelines procedures NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 1 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 and policies of NCSLI Topics covered by NCSLI guides can include but are not limited to guidelines procedures and policies for the board of directors handbooks for committee chairs policies for NCSLI writing groups and handbooks for regional or section coordinators 3 4 Handbooks NCSLI handbook publications are prepared to facilitate the understanding and implementation of metrology related national or international standards Handbooks may include descriptive information theory recommended methods and techniques and an extended bibliography that the related committee thought would save individual users time and impro
50. s clause describes and illustrates the basic elements of a table and accepted ways of editing arranging and typesetting these elements No one table in this chapter should be taken as a prototype all merely illustrate workable patterns and may be adapted according to the data and the potential users of the tables Though most tables can be created using the table editor in a word processor they are nonetheless expensive 1 time consuming both to typeset and to correct in proofs and should therefore be designed and constructed with care It is wise to consult the publisher on the appropriate number size and physical form of any tables to be included in a work A table should be as simple as the material allows and understandable on its own even a reader unfamiliar with the material presented should be able to make general sense of a table The text may highlight the main points in a table and summarize its message but should not duplicate the details 11 6 1 Consistency among tables Because a prime virtue of tables is easy comparison consistency in style is indispensable for all of the tables in a publication A consistent style for titles column heads abbreviations and the like should be selected and followed for all tables in a single work Similarly choices related to line spacing indention fonts rules and other distinguishing features must be made uniformly for all tables in a work Certain tables however may require rules or othe
51. see the example appendix in Appendix A For publications containing only one appendix the letter A should appear in its title and should preface the clause and subclause numbers in the text Figures and tables included in appendices should also carry the identifying letter of the appendix in which they appear followed by a period 9 3 Lists Lists in a subclause may be ordered or unordered An ordered list of items within a subclause should be presented in outline form with items lettered a b c etc If a subdivision of the items is necessary 1 2 3 1 ii iii dashed subdivision items etc should be used to form a tiered list Only one occurrence of any level of an ordered list may be presented in any subclause to avoid confusing cross references e g itis OK to have an a level list followed by a 1 level list etc but there should not be more than one a level list in the same clause or subclause As an alternate solution authors may want to consider adding an additional subclause Dashed or bulleted lists can also be used instead of an ordered list if the list consists of short unordered items Examples of the different levels in an ordered list are provided in Figure 3 a Name of the manufacturer b Rated frequency if other than 60 Hz c Connection chart showing 1 Full winding development 2 Taps 3 Pole and pocket location d Instruction book number e Mutual reactance for linear coupler transformers f Self i
52. sertations and other unpublished works Example B5 Diessner A Studies on Compressed Gas Insulation Master s thesis Stanford University 1969 B6 Hazel R L DC Breakdown and Anode Corona Characteristics of Sphere and Rod Plane Gaps Insulated With Compressed Sulphur Hexa fluoride Ph D diss University of Windsor 1974 16 Amendments corrigenda and errata 16 1 General There are several ways of changing an already published publication a Amendment A document that adds to removes from or alters material in a portion of an existing NCSLI publication and may make editorial or technical corrections to that publication b Corrigendum A document that only corrects editorial errors technical errors or ambiguities in an existing publication c Erratum A document that contains only grammatical corrections to or corrections of errors introduced during the publishing process of an existing publication Errata are not balloted 16 2 Amendments and corrigenda Amendments and corrigenda 1 errors to be corrected give explicit instructions on how to change the text in an existing base publication or an existing amendment The editing instructions are important because the user should understand how the changes affect the base publication and because these documents are incorporated into the base standard sometime in the future Both types of documents have the same format The following text shall appear a
53. shall state why the changes are being made NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 10 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 8 2 4 Citations Refer to The Chicago Manual Style for rules on citing sources For citing Internet sources the following format should be used where lt entity gt is replaced with the name of the organization and lt URL gt is replaced by the Internet location is available from the lt entity gt website lt URL gt see the information at the following Internet location lt URL gt The URL should be the most stable location possible to avoid inadvertent or intentional changes that would affect the site name i e use the index to the page rather than the page itself If a document listed in a bibliography or normative reference is accessed from the internet the document title date version and other pertinent information should be listed followed by a footnote that gives the internet location 8 3 References Refer to Section 15 for guidance concerning references 8 4 Terms and definitions 8 4 1 General terminology usage English words should be used in accordance with their definitions in the latest edition of Merriam Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary Metrology terms not defined in Merriam Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary should be used in accordance with their definitions in the International Vocabulary of Metrology Basic and General Concepts and Associated Terms
54. t the beginning of either an amendment or a corrigendum NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 26 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 NOTE The editing instructions contained in this lt amendment corrigendum gt define how to merge the material contained therein into the existing base publication and its amendments to form the comprehensive publication The editing instructions are shown in bold italic Four editing instructions are used change delete insert and replace Change is used to make corrections in existing text or tables The editing instruction specifies the location of the change and describes what is being changed by using strikethrough to remove old material and underscore to add new material Delete removes existing material Insert adds new material without disturbing the existing material Deletions and insertions may require renumbering If so renumbering instructions are given in the editing instruction Replace is used to make changes in figures or equations by removing the existing figure or equation and replacing it with a new one Editing instructions change markings and this NOTE will not be carried over into future editions because the changes will be incorporated into the base publication Editing instructions and text indicating the changes to the base document follow the NOTE Change bars shall not be included Only material being affected by the changes of the amendment corrigendum shall be included wi
55. th the appropriate clause subclause headings 16 2 1 Numbering in amendments and corrigenda Amendments and corrigenda shall follow the clause numbering However if text is inserted between existing consecutive clauses or subclauses an additional letter may be included in the heads e g if clauses are inserted between Clause 4 and Clause 5 the new clauses would be labeled Clause 4A Clause 4B Clause 4C This would also apply to subclauses e g subclauses inserted between 4 1 3 and 4 1 4 would be labeled 4 1 3a 4 1 3b 4 1 3c Subdivisions of inserted subclauses would follow the numbering outlined in Clause 12 e g 4 1 3a 1 4 1 3a 2 4 1 3a 3 This numbering may be more appropriate for amendments with extensive changes that would affect numbering throughout the base publication so it would be difficult to outline all the numbering changes that would occur or for amendments to publications where exact references to clauses figures equations and tables are required Exceptions may be made for numbering established in previously published amendments Exceptions shall only be valid until a revision occurs after which the numbering will be implemented 16 2 2 Editorial instructions in amendments and corrigenda Amendments submitted for ballot shall clearly indicate the changes to the existing publication Editorial instructions shall clearly outline how the changes should be implemented in the base publication as modified by all previ
56. tion they shall be noted with lowercase letters a b c d etc 7 10 Acknowledgements At a minimum a roster of the officers and members of the working group that developed the document shall be provided by the working group Individuals or entities that also contributed to the preparation of the document may be included in addition to the working group list permission from entities shall be received prior to including the names in the draft Contributors shall be distinguished from others included in the listing The members of the associated approving committee may be included in the roster In the working group roster full first names are preferred over initials Titles Dr Ms P E shall be included with proper names Company or organization affiliation is to be included 7 11 Table of contents A Table of Contents listing the main clauses identified by one digit and the first series of subclauses under each clause identified by two digits should be supplied The next series of subclauses identified by three digits may be included when deemed appropriate by the editorial group and the working group The Table of Contents shall be generated automatically and should be frequently updated as the draft evolves Lists of tables and figures are included in the Table of Contents Only the appropriate clauses subclauses and normative and or informative appendixes should be listed 8 Draft publication body 8 1 General 8 1 1 N
57. to identify and create cited by links 15 1 2 Format and placement of bibliography A bibliography arranged in a single alphabetical list is the most common and usually the most reader friendly form for a work with or without notes to the text All sources to be included books articles dissertations papers are alphabetically arranged in a single list by the last names of the authors 15 1 3 Kinds of bibliographies A full bibliography is recommended for book length works any of the bibliography categories listed here may be suited to a particular type of work For reference lists a form of bibliography adapted to the author date system see 15 10 16 15 1 3 1 Full bibliography A full bibliography includes all works cited whether in text or in notes other than personal communications Some particularly relevant works the author has consulted may also be listed even if not mentioned in the text The usual heading is Bibliography though Works Cited or Literature Cited NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 23 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 may be used if no additional works are included 15 1 3 2 Selected bibliography If for whatever reason the author does not wish to list all works cited the title must so indicate either Selected Bibliography or if the list is quite short Suggested Readings or Further Readings A headnote should explain the principles of selection 15 2 Citing standards in a bibliography
58. trictive clauses If the clause is essential to understanding the sentence then it is restrictive and the use of that is appropriate Commas are not used around a restrictive clause If the clause merely provides the reader with additional information but is otherwise non essential then it is non restrictive and the use of which is appropriate Commas are used around non restrictive clauses NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 8 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Examples a Defining the inputs and outputs provides a better understanding of the steps that are necessary to complete the process The clause that are necessary to complete the process defines the steps that this sentence refers to hence the clause is restrictive and the use of that is appropriate b Defining the inputs and outputs provides a better understanding of these steps which are explained later in this publication The clause which are explained later in this publication does not serve to define the steps that this sentence refers to hence the clause is non restrictive and the use of which is appropriate 8 1 24 Gender neutral language Use generic titles e g chair rather than chairman in the publication The following practices shall apply a When writing in the third person the phrase he or she should be used The male or female pronoun alone or the variations he she or s he should not be used Also the pronoun they should not be used as
59. tscececestccsecedscedecedecesecedecesecerscesecedecedecedecesecedecedecedscetecedecedecedecesecedecedecerseetecedecesecede Il Me SCOPE vise sceccscesccetecaacectevaascetecaaccvecenaccvevenasectsensccvedeaaseveeeaaccvedenagertsenaaceteesasevesendacvedenagertsensaceteeaasertseeaeedd 1 2 UREFERENCES ccceacccescentccaccsacccccctacceacceccceccteatccaccsacceaccencccacceacceaccescccaccsacceaccencccadcsncceaccesccceecenccoesc 1 3 TERMS AND DEFINITIONS vs ccccccste decswcecwcccicesdasewessvcccverscaccwesewescuetecascvevewaceucvecasewesewaseverscescwesevascvevecaccsen 1 3 1 CATALOG 1 3 2 DOCUMENTARY STANDARDS Seduce Sie deen eve 1 3 3 GUIDES AND MANUALS 1 3 4 HANDBOOKS tes tans 2 3 5 LABORATORY MANAGEMENT 2 3 6 RECOMMENDED INTRINSIC amp DERIVED STANDARD PRACTICE RISPS s ccssssscecsesceceessececeesceceeseseceeaeeecessaees 2 3 7 RECOMMENDED PRACTICE RP 3 8 REFERENCE PUBLIGATIONS i due satus adage caewavibinncens 4 COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSIONS 4 1 GENERAL COPYRIGHT POLICY 4 2 EXCERPTS 4 3 CREDIT LINE 5 TRADEMARKS ccesesisesscccccccsecesstcdecccessadessstecececsadacesdecccccdgaedsssaceceeeasaseussaac
60. tyle for the presentation and structure of all NCSLI technical publications defined in clause 3 This 2013 edition of the Style Guide is applicable to all drafts submitted for approval after February 2013 2 References The following documents are essential resources for writing an NCSLI Technical Publication Consult the most recent version of undated sources The Chicago Manual of Style Chicago The University of Chicago Press Available at www chicagomanualofstyle org home html Merriam Webster s New Collegiate Dictionary Springfield MA Merriam Webster Inc Available at www merriam webster com International Vocabulary of Metrology Basic and General Concepts and Associated Terms JCGM 200 2012 Available from www bipm org en publications guides vim html Guide for the Use of the International System of Units SI NIST Special Publication 811 2008 Available from www nist gov pml pubs sp8 1 1 index cfm BIPM The International System of Units SI 8 edition 2006 Available from www bipm org en si si_brochure general html 3 Terms and definitions 3 1 Catalog NCSLI catalogs are compilations of resources or reference information Catalogs may be in printed form or if compiled electronically they may be in a form of a database NCSLI catalogs can contain but are not limited to listings of intrinsic and derived standards lists of training courses or lists of laboratories offering capabilities in a given met
61. uantities with the units to be used Example t C T K 273 15 14 Notes footnotes examples warnings and cautions 14 1 Notes Notes are informative Notes are explanatory statements used in the text for emphasis or to offer informative suggestions about the technical content of the publication Notes provide additional information to assist the reader with a particular passage and shall not include mandatory requirements Because a note in the text is an informative part of the approved publication important information on safety health or the environment shall not be included A note should follow that paragraph to which it belongs and shall be set apart from the text by introducing the statement with the capitalized word NOTE Within each subclause notes should be numbered sequentially i e NOTE 1 NOTE 2 etc The one exception is when notes appear in the definitions clause Notes in the definitions clause should only be numbered if there are multiple notes that apply to a single definition That is each definition acts as if it were its own subclause Note that is normative and is translated to mean pay special attention to Note that is usually part of a paragraph while NOTE is set apart as its own paragraph The symbol 15 known as an em dash because it is the width of a capital to be distinguished from en dash 14 2 Footnotes
62. ul title Text immediately follows the subclause title but on a new line Hanging paragraphs i e unnumbered paragraphs following a main clause head or main subhead should not be used since reference to the text would be ambiguous It may be necessary to include a subhead with the title General to avoid instances of hanging paragraphs as shown in Figure 2 4 Example of hanging paragraph A hanging paragraph would follow the main clause head All text following this head is a part of the clause including all the text within subclauses so reference to this paragraph would be ambiguous 4 1 Subclause head Subclause text 5 Hanging paragraph corrected 5 1 General Text that is no longer a hanging paragraph 5 2 Subclause head Subclause text NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 12 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Figure 2 Hanging paragraphs The term clause should be used when referring to major clause headings e g see Clause 5 or at the beginning of a sentence All other cross references should be made by simply referring to the number e g see 5 1 not see subclause 5 1 9 2 Numbering appendices Consecutive capital letters and a title should be used to identify each appendix Text should be organized and numbered as described in 11 1 with the following exception clause and subclause numbers should be prefaced with the identifying letter of the appendix followed by a period
63. uthoritative reference for correct usage of the SI 10 4 Letter symbols Letter symbols include symbols for physical quantities quantity symbols and symbols for the units in which those quantities are measured unit symbols Unlike common abbreviations letter symbols are invariant in singular and plural they are not followed by a period and case is maintained independent of the surrounding text For example publication quantity symbols for Length Mass and Time are m t They are set in italic letters Unit symbols for the same three quantities are m kg and s set in Roman upright letters Note especially that V is the symbol for the unit volt and V italic is the symbol for the quantity voltage Unit symbols may not be used to stand for the quantity being measured NCSLI Style Guide Approved 2 4 13 Page 14 NCSL International Style Guide 2013 Examples The km between the substations is 20 but write instead distance between the substations is 20 km The amperes that flow into the ground but write instead The current that flows into the ground Polarity shall be additive for all kVA transformers rated at 200 but write instead Polarity shall be additive for all transformers with an apparent power rating of 200 kVA 10 5 Hyperlinks Within the body of text it isn t necessary to include http in a URL when it is clear that it s a Web address Browsers don t r
64. ve their usage of the related standard 3 5 Laboratory Management LM NCSLI Laboratory Management LM publications are guides and handbooks normally used by management for the daily operation of a calibration or test laboratory These publications tend to focus on management related issues Topics covered by LM publications include but are not limited to achieving laboratory accreditation interpreting accreditation standards and evaluating laboratory personnel 3 6 Recommended Intrinsic amp Derived Standard Practice RISPs NCSLI RISP publications provide recommended practices for the maintenance and operation of reference standards for a specific area of metrology such as voltage standards for example RISP publications are written by NCSLI committees that consist of metrology engineering professionals A high percentage of committee members are subject matter experts in the specific area of metrology being covered 3 7 Recommended Practice RP NCSLI Recommended Practice RP publications provide information and technical guidance to organizations associated with metrology calibration measurement and testing RP publications are written by NCSLI Committees and Working Groups that consist of metrology experts employed by organizations in both the public and private sectors The RP series of documents are developed to recommend and describe contemporary best practices that are currently being successfully implemented Adherence to t

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