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By theory, I should cite page x (page ten) like [Krusche1999, p. x]. If it were on page iii or page xi, it would look better, such as [Krusche1999, p. iii] or [Krusche1999, p. xi]. However, it is on page x, so we end up with p. x. At least to me, I won't understand, what p. x means at first sight. What do you think? Any good ideas?

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  • Ah, it took me a few seconds to understand this is a problem similar to the 4th subsection of section 10 in APS style, i.e., Sec. XD
    – Yuichiro Fujiwara
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 1:26
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    To me, "p. x" seems more or less as understandable as "p. xi". In isolation, "x" wouldn't look as obviously like a Roman numerical, but after "p." I don't see any other plausible interpretation. So I wouldn't worry about this (but maybe other people would find it weirder than I would).
    – Anonymous Mathematician
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 1:37
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    This suggests an interesting possibility for my next paper: "We refer the reader to [Krusche1999, p. x], where x is the solution of equation (17)".
    – Federico Poloni
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 9:22
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    @AnonymousMathematician: I disagree: An x at any place where a number (or a title, or something) is expected inherently makes me think "Someone forgot to look up the exact page and substitute the placeholder in their camera-ready version." as the most plausible interpretation. That said, I am totally in favour of writing "p. x" nonetheless, as a page reference is only irrelevant eye-candy for readers who don't actually look for the page in the source, and readers who do will immediately find out what is meant by x.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 10:39
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    @O.R.Mapper has the right idea - besides, if the page number really is "x" you don't have a lot of choice. This should be a rare occurrence anyway as (lower case) roman page numbering is generally used for front matter which doesn't tend to contain anything worth citing (anything in the abstract could be better cited from a more detailed part of the work).
    – Chris H
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 11:09

2 Answers 2

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You shouldn't be veering from the style guide (you are of course following a style guide, right?), and style guides cover such meticulous points as this. Even if you feel their advice is a little off and you might have a better solution to a readability problem, you should never contradict it. (Why you should not contradict it is a lengthier topic, and I think this answer stands without going into it.)

So, the right thing to do is consult your respective style guide whether it's AMA or Chicago or anything else, and do what it says.

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    Maybe this is field-specific (and I think so, because this has repeatedly struck as very unusual when reading some remarks here on Academia SE), but at least in the areas of CS I am acquainted with, "style guides cover such meticulous points as this" is absolutely not true. I am used to styleguides that cover (if at all) a few very common issues and simply do not make any statements about any of the less usual cases.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 10:44
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    Style guides for the journals I've written for don't go into anything like this level of detail either.
    – Chris H
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 11:05
  • I agree that this is not only field-specific but venue-specific. You use a style guide if you're targeting a particular publication venue that requires that particular style. Some style guides are strict, some are flexible; some journals/editors are strict about making you adhere to the style guide, some are flexible. I don't think the issue raised in this particular question is a major one, but I think in many cases it is absolutely appropriate to contradict a style guide if adhering to it will make something more confusing.
    – BrenBarn
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 21:07
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To expand on AAA's answer, the correct answer to any question about citation style is always "check with the guidelines of the journal in question." To give one example, the Chicago Manual of Style clearly lists how to cite introductory page numbers. Your journal will link to something similar; check their documentation and do whatever they say.

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  • If the journal's style guide covers such points, your answer is perfect. But I don't recall coming across a journal in my own field (theoretical comp. sci.) where the style guides go into anything like this level of detail.
    – David Richerby
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 13:11
  • @DavidRicherby - Good point. Many journals (where "many" is completely unquantified) will simply say "use APA style" or "use IEEE style", which simplifies things. However, if a journal tries to "roll their own", then yeah, that's an issue.
    – eykanal
    Commented Jan 5, 2015 at 13:35

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