Most journals request that you use the "standard abbreviations" as defined in BIOSIS (BIOSIS Serial Sources) or CASSI (Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index) for the journals cited in your reference list. Both BIOSIS and CASSI use the same guide (ISSN's List of Title Word Abbreviations) to build their abbreviations, though the journals cited by CASSI and BIOSIS differ to some extent.
The CAS Source (CASSI) Source Tool has recently become freely available, so start with this. If CASSI doesn't reference the journal for which you need the abbreviation, search it keyword by keyword, as abbreviations are standardized by keyword. If CASSI still doesn't have what you need, read on for additional suggestions!
Most journal abbreviations are based on a word list from the ISSN's " List of Title Word Abbreviations". This includes the journal lists used by BIOSIS, CASSI, PubMed, and CSA. If you can't find the exact journal title in one of the resources listed below, you can "build" your abbreviation word by word using the " List of Title Word Abbreviations" since the abbreviation for any word will be the same regardless of the other words in the title. An exception to this rule is if the journal has only one word; then the title should not be abbreviated (e.g., Nature, Science, Cell, Time, Newsweek).
All of the resources below with the "star icon"
provide the "standard" (ISO, ISSN,
BIOSIS, CASSI) abbreviation for journals:
From Chemical Abstracts Service, CASSI is the most comprehensive site for finding the authoritative abbreviations for journals in the chemical and biological sciences. This free resource can be used to quickly and easily look up or confirm publication titles and abbreviations, as well as CODEN, ISBN, or ISSN codes. Search by full title, abbreviated title, ISSN, or ISBN. The CASSI database contains a listing of publications indexed by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) since 1907; Chemical Abstracts is electronically available on campus as SciFinder.
To Use: Search by full title, abbreviated title, ISSN, or ISBN. There is a limit of 50 results per search, so be as precise in your searching as you can be.
CASSI is great for the sciences, but if you need help outside of the sciences, try Genamics JournalSeek. This database uses the "standard abbreviation", as defined by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI and covers all disciplines. Genamics JournalSeek is the largest completely categorized database of freely available journal information available on the internet, presently [2/2010] containing over 95,415 titles. Journal information includes the description (aims and scope), the official journal abbreviation, journal homepage link, subject category and ISSN, and (frequently) indicates which databases index the particular journal (e.g., Agricola, CAB Abstracts, Web of Science, etc.).
To Use: Type in the full title or abbreviation for a journal (or just one word), or the ISSN, and see the full titles that match.
Produced with funding from Openly Informatics.
— Journals indexed in Medline
(PubMed)
Enter the journal name, MEDLINE abbreviation, a word from the title, or ISSN. This database uses the "standard abbreviation", as definded by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI. The whole List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus (Pubmed) also available, in PDF format..
From Cambridge Scientific Abstracts / ProQuest, a list of nearly 10,000 journals that are indexed in their database, Biological Sciences. Alphabetical by title; includes abbreviations. This database uses, for the most part, the "standard abbreviation", as defined by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI. CSA/ProQuest provide "factsheets", which include lists of the serials indexed, for most of their databases. So if your field of interest is other than biology, take a look at the ProQuest Databases & Collections site for additional journal lists and abbreviations!
This database uses the "standard abbreviation", as defined by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI. [As of 6/2012, this site was down as the National Agriculture Library reviewed and revised the scope of AGRICOLA.]
Not available online.
The print version is on the Reference Desk in the Funk Library. Call or email the Funk Library Reference desk (217-333-2416 / email form) and we'll look a title up for you. Older versions are available for checkout -- Call number, 570.5 BIOA21B (Funk).
Alphabetical listing of serials currently included in BIOSIS Previews, Biological Abstracts, and Biological Abstracts/RRM (Reports, Reviews, Meetings).
Includes titles previously included, titles that have undergone title changes, as well as titles currently monitored by these databases. Provides the "official" *abbreviations for the journals, ISSN, publication frequency, publisher name and address etc.
* Official abbreviations are those that are based on the " List of Serial Title Word Abbreviations", published by the ISSN International Centre.
Listed below are resources that will help you decipher the full title of a journal, when you
only have the abbreviation for the journal. Some of them are also useful for going from the
full title to the abbreviation for the journal. Those sources that include the "standard
abbreviation", as defined by ISSN (and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI and others) are indicated by
this icon:
From Chemical Abstracts Service, CASSI is the most comprehensive site for finding the authoritative abbreviations for journals in the chemical and biological sciences. This free resource can be used to quickly and easily look up or confirm publication titles and abbreviations, as well as CODEN, ISBN, or ISSN codes. Search by full title, abbreviated title, ISSN, or ISBN. The CASSI database contains a listing of publications indexed by Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) since 1907; Chemical Abstracts is electronically available on campus as SciFinder.
To Use: Search by full title, abbreviated title, ISSN, or ISBN. There is a limit of 50 results per search, so be as precise in your searching as you can be.
CASSI is great for the sciences, but if you need help outside of the sciences, try Genamics JournalSeek. This database uses the "standard abbreviation", as defined by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI andcovers all disciplines. Genamics JournalSeek is the largest completely categorized database of freely available journal information available on the internet, presently [2/2010] containing over 95,415 titles. Journal information includes the description (aims and scope), the official journal abbreviation, journal homepage link, subject category and ISSN, and (frequently) indicates which databases index the particular journal (e.g., Agricola, CAB Abstracts, Web of Science, etc.).
To Use: Type in the full title or abbreviation for a journal (or just one word), or the ISSN, and see the full titles that match.
Produced with funding from Openly Informatics.
Enter the journal name, MEDLINE abbreviation, a word from the title, or ISSN. This database uses the "standard abbreviation", as definded by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI. The whole List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus (Pubmed) also available, in PDF format.
From the University of South Florida. Focus is on biological and medical journals.
From Cambridge Scientific Abstracts, a list of nearly 10,000 journals that are indexed in their database, Biological Sciences. Alphabetical by title; includes abbreviations. This database for the most part uses the "standard abbreviation", as defined by ISSN and used also by BIOSIS and CASSI.
An alphabetical listing of the journals reviewed for inclusion in the CAB Abstracts database. Just titles, no abbreviations. A list of nearly 7000 titles.
You probably do not want to use ISI's abbreviations-- they were established in-house when ISI was concerned with saving computer space and are quite "non-standard". But if you need a list of the journals indexed by Web of Science or Current Contents, this is a useful resource. Or, you may consult the Thomson Reuter (ISI) Master List of Journals (which does not include abbreviations). Note: the master list is also available from within the databases, Web of Science, or Journal Citation Reports.
List of journals indexed in the FSTA database -- just the full titles are listed; no abbreviations.
A collection of Web-based resources for translating journal titles. Lots of specialized listings, such as a list that has the BIOSIS information for Entomology journals.
If a journal has ever been cataloged by a library, you'll probably find it here. WorldCat has the cataloging records for thousands of libraries -- books, journal titles, etc. WorldCat won't give the abbreviation for the journal, but is useful if you're trying to decipher the full title of a journal. For instance, if the abbreviation is Senckenb. Lethaea, you could search: Senckenb* Lethaea*, and you'd find the full title is: Senckenbergiana lethaea! It's important that you guess as much as the word as possible. For example, don't search for J* Biol* Chem*, when you know that "J" stands for "journal", etc. A freely available version of WorldCat is available: http://www.worldcat.org/.
If you have an abbreviation, and need to know if University of Illinois has the journal, you can use the "Advanced Search" mode to enter parts of the title! As when searching WorldCat, it's important that you guess as much of the word as possible. For example, don't search for J? Biol? Chem?, when you know that "J" stands for "journal", etc.
Here's how to find the full title of the title Ann Rev Phytopath:
Call or email the Funk Library Reference desk (217-333-2416 / email form). We'll be happy to help you!
University LibraryFor comments on this page contact: Sarah Williams
Last modified by: Brady Waldrop on 3/9/13