ABSTRACT
If a writer wants to refer to unpublished data they need to be aware of some general rules and of individual journal restrictions on this. Once a paper has been accepted for publication it can be cited as being 'in press'. Only papers that have been accepted (in full) may be cited as 'in press'. A conditional acceptance does not mean the paper is 'in press' since it is possible that the journal will not publish it. Submitting work to a journal or meeting does not equate to it being 'in press'. This may be frustrating, but consider it from the writer's viewpoint. Most journals allow citation of published abstracts and associated presentations at meetings, but some do not. If the abstract also appears in a journal writers should include its title since they are more likely to have access to journals than to conference proceedings. Some journals will only accept references published in journals.
