NUCLEAR SCIENCE REFERENCES CODING MANUAL

Abstract

This manual is intended as a guide for Nuclear Science References (NSR) compilers. The basic conventions followed at the National Nuclear Data Center (NNDC), which are compatible with the maintenance and updating of and retrieval from the Nuclear Science References (NSR) file, are outlined. The NSR database originated at the Nuclear Data Project (NDP) at Oak Ridge National Laboratory as part of a project for systematic evaluation of nuclear structure data.1 Each entry in this computer file corresponds to a bibliographic reference that is uniquely identified by a Keynumber and is describable by a Topic and Keywords. It has been used since 1969 to produce bibliographic citations for evaluations published in Nuclear Data Sheets. Periodic additions to the file were published as the ''Recent References'' issues of Nuclear Data Sheets prior to 2005. In October 1980, the maintenance and updating of the NSR file became the responsibility of the NNDC at Brookhaven National Laboratory. The basic structure and contents of the NSR file remained unchanged during the transfer. In Chapter 2, the elements of the NSR file such as the valid record identifiers, record contents, and text fields are enumerated. Relevant comments regarding a new entry into the NSR file and assignment of a keynumber are also given in Chapter 2. In Chapter 3, the format for keyword abstracts is given followed by specific examples; for each TOPIC, the criteria for inclusion of an article as an entry into the NSR file as well as coding procedures are described. Authors preparing Keyword abstracts either to be published in a Journal (e.g., Nucl. Phys. A) or to be sent directly to NNDC (e.g., Phys. Rev. C) should follow the illustrations in Chapter 3. The scope of 1See W.B.Ewbank, ORNL-5397 (1978). the literature covered at the NNDC, the categorization into Primary and Secondary sources, etc., is discussed in Chapter 4. Useful information regarding permitted character sets, recommended abbreviations, etc., is given in the Appendices. The NSR database has been in existence for decades, and responsibility for its upkeep has passed through many hands. Those familiar with the contents of NSR will note that not all of the formats and conventions discussed in this manual have always been adhered to. In recent years, however, these conventions have been followed fairly consistently, and it is expected that the preparation of new entries will follow these guidelines. The most up-to-date information about NSR contents and policies can be found at the NSR web site: http://www.nndc.bnl.gov/nsr. This manual is an update to BNL-NCS-51800 (Rev. 08/96) by S. Ramavataram and C.L. Dunford. Discussions with Mark Kellett of the IAEA are gratefully acknowledged, as are comments and suggestions from the NNDC staff and members of the U.S. Nuclear Data Program. This manuscript has been authored by Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC under Contract No. DE-AC02-98CH1-886 with the U.S.Department of Energy.