Document(s) 8 of 10

• Abbreviations and official names
• Addresses

ABBREVIATIONS AND OFFICIAL NAMES

Use the name of an organization in full in its official language the first time the organization is mentioned and include the official acronym or abbreviation, for example, CIDA or FAO, in parentheses.

Thereafter, use the acronym or abbreviation only. If, as for IDRC, there are official abbreviations in more than one language, use the one that is in the language of the publication (see also "Organization names" in Chapter 1).

Latin-based abbreviations
IDRC style is to avoid Latin-based abbreviations such as e.g., i.e., and op. cit. The exception is et al. Sic, used in quotations, is not an abbreviation. 

Periods in abbreviations

Use a period

• For abbreviations of a person's given names, that is, initials.

  Examples

  "J.-M. Fleury" and "F.B. Davy."

  Note: there is no space in the initials.

• For Latin (which should be avoided) or other words and phrases that fulfill two criteria:
  • The abbreviated form does not need explanation and
  • It does not begin with the first letter and end with the last letter of the word (a contraction).

  Examples

  etc., e.g., and i.e. require periods,

  Mr, Dr, vs, and Ltd do not.

  Note: The second group are known as contractions where the first and last letters are used.

• In abbreviations (or acronyms) defined in the text;

  Exceptions

  If they will create confusion, such as using one or more uncapitalized letters that have a standard meaning — for example, "a," "in," or "be";

• International codes such as metric or country designations that have been published by the International Organization for Standardisation;
• Abbreviations of compass direction; and
• Abbreviations of countries.

  Examples

  UK, US, USA, and the former USSR.

Example

US currency is the legal tender of the United States (USA).

Abbreviations and articles

• If the abbreviation can be read as a word (an acronym), for example, MAC for Mutual Aid Committee, then "a" or "an" is appropriate to the whole "word," for example, in this case "a MAC."
• If the abbreviation must be read as initials, that is, cannot be pronounced, for example, MVP for most valuable player, then "a" or "an" is appropriate to the first initial — for example, an MVP but a PO Box.

Example

The Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) is located in Hull,

Canada: CIDA has projects in many parts of the world.

Sources

• Acronyms, Initialisms and Abbreviations Dictionary (2 volumes) [003.A3];
• New Acronyms, Initialisms and Abbreviations: Supplement [003.A31];
• International Acronyms, Initialisms, and Abbreviations Dictionary: Preliminary Edition [003.I52];
• UN Terminology Bulletin 311/Rev 1 [003.U53].

Miscellaneous points

Abbreviations in reference lists
Reference lists or bibliographies in IDRC publications do not use abbreviated journal titles.

Christian era
Use AD and BC with no periods.

IDRC's regional offices
Acronyms for IDRC's regional offices (such as LACRO and ASRO) must not be used in publications; they are for internal use only.

Time of day
Convert time of day to the 24-hour clock but if ante and post meridiem are needed, they should be AM and PM (no periods).

Units of measure
See "Units" in Chapter 3.

University degrees
When university degrees are abbreviated, use PhD, MSc, and BA. Otherwise refer to doctoral, master's, and bachelor's degrees. 

Provincial two-letter codes

US two-letter state codes

ADDRESSES

Addresses in text

If the reader is never likely to want to contact the person, something similar to the following would be appropriate.

Examples

Gilbert Croome, formerly of IDRC in Canada, suggested ....

Spike Minogue of Ottawa was known to ....

Example

Bill Carman of IDRC (PO Box 8500, Ottawa, ON, Canada K1G 3H9) proposes ....

Participants lists

Unpublished material

IDRC's address

Document(s) 8 of 10