SafetyLit not only is useful for finding information but makes report-writing less tedious

SafetyLit takes pride in simplifying the task of providing references and footnotes when writing reports. The reference formatting requirements often are complex to the point of absurdity (see below). Unlike other databases, great care is taken to assure that citation information is complete and in a consistent format that will allow a bibliography to be formed with no (or very little) editing – particularly when reference management software is used.

SafetyLit provides complete metadata for its contents in any of five different standard formats (BibTeX, Endnote, GS/HIghwire, RIS, UnAPI) to allow users of any brand of bibliography management software to seamlessly capture reference information with a single click. Authors who use this software to assist their writing have expressed their appreciation for this attention to detail that eliminates most of the tedium of inserting references and formatting a bibliography.

For example, the Chicago Manual of Style-16 states:

“Authors’ names are normally given as they appear on the title pages of their books or above their articles. Certain adjustments, however, should be made to assist correct identification. First names may be given in full in place of initials. If an author uses his or her given name in one cited book and initials in another (e.g., “Mary L. Jones” versus “M. L. Jones” versus “Mary Jones” versus “Mary Lois Jones” versus “M. Jones”), the same form, preferably the fuller one, should be used in all references to that author. To assist alphabetization, middle initials or names should be given wherever known”. [¶14.72] (emphasis added)

There are similar requirements with other citation styles. (See: APA Guideline 6.27.)

Without some assistance, it can be all but impossible to follow this requirement.

How is one to know if the M.L. Jones is Mary L. Jones, Michael Lewis Jones, or someone else? For some university professors, this blind attention to following the details of a style guide can make the difference between a passing or a failing grade. For manuscript submission this can be the difference between acceptance and rejection as attention to citation formatting may be used by manuscript reviewers as a gauge of an author's attention to scholarly detail.

SafetyLit provides (or attempts to provide):

• full author names even when the source document only provides initials – we consult multiple sources to verify authorship whenever names are incomplete or ambiguous; and
• standardized source and item title capitalization in “sentence case” to enable reference management software to convert the titles to the format required by the citation style.