Best Practices for Referencing in Life Sciences

In the fast-paced world of life sciences, new product communications are being created every day. Ensuring the accuracy of every word written is crucial, as any errors can lead to negative consequences for both the reader and the writer.

The importance of referencing in life sciences content cannot be emphasized enough. It plays a fundamental role in acknowledging others' work, validating research findings, and tracing the evolution of ideas. 

Referencing is a key element in building credibility, accuracy and ensuring that content aligns with all compliance guidelines and requirements. 

At Papercurve, we understand the necessity of referencing. That's why we've developed a solution to simplify the referencing process for medical claims.

Our tools ensure that your promotional material meets regulations, maintains credibility, and is ready for publication.

Here are some best practices when creating references in your promotional materials:

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1. Ensure all references are accurately linked and formatted

Documents often contain numerous pages with multiple reference citations. Ensuring accurate and consistent citation formatting throughout documents is crucial. However, new hires can be unaware of the required formatting, leading to inconsistencies and avoidable errors.

With the assistance of References powered by Paige AI, teams can significantly expedite the process. The tool efficiently links references in less than half the time it would take to do so manually.

When creating a reference, Paige AI recommends references that have been previously created, eliminating any repetitive work and ensuring consistency and proper formatting for everyone involved.

2. Make final edits to content before creating references

The process of creating and linking references can be time-consuming, especially when dealing with a large number of scattered references across multiple pages. 

To maintain accurate references, it is recommended to create them on the final versions of the content. This ensures that references remain in their proper locations. When edits are made after referencing, previously created references may be displaced and become incorrect.

We understand that edits might be necessary at a later stage, and in such cases, Papercurve offers a convenient solution to adjust references. 

If your references get moved, Papercurve allows you to effortlessly shift them back to their original locations. 

Moreover, you can individually move references by relinking them to the right place.

Here’s how it works:

‍3. Store reference documents in a central location

When all reference documents are stored in one accessible repository, it becomes significantly easier to locate specific reference documents when they are needed. 

This eliminates the need to search through multiple folders and ensures that everyone on the team has convenient access to the same set of resources.

Additionally, unused or outdated references can be promptly identified and removed, promoting a clutter-free and up-to-date database. This helps to maintain the relevancy and accuracy of the reference library. 

4. Ensure references include all necessary source information

It is crucial to ensure that references contain all the essential information that allows readers to easily locate the original source. This includes various key elements such as the names of the author(s), the publication year, the title, the volume, and the specific page numbers.

By ensuring that all these necessary components are present in references, readers can conveniently locate the referenced source, verify information, and delve deeper into the cited work for further exploration or analysis. It also adds credibility. 

Papercurve allows users to conveniently label the references and add a Reference ID and Annotation ID - which can be labeled by page number, author, or any detail you choose.

To learn more about Papercurve’s reference capabilities, book a discovery call with our team.