Terminalcoffee discussion

I am a research assistant for a professor who is writing a book. I am editing his footnotes and having trouble figuring out what the convention is for including quotations in a long explanatory footnote. If the professor wants to include an quote in an explanatory footnote about a point made in the body of the text, should he put the citation for the quote in the same footnote directly following the quote? Moreover, if the explanatory footnote is a comment on a piece of information that should be cited in a footnote, should the explanatory footnote include first the citation for the text it references in the body, then the professor's explanation, then the citation of the quote he used in his explanation? Or would it be preferable to have two footnotes following the same sentence in the body - one as a citation and the other as an explanation (which would then include a citation for the quote used in his explanation)?

My head hurts.

Mine too.

just pretend you wrote it and hope no one notices

Ask him. He's the professor.

Jonathan!

Allison...you joined Goodreads just to ask that question? You do realize we're just a big fat agglomeration of hayseeds, right?(1) Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world possible groups of all the websites you could have joined...you pick this one?

(1) [Jonathan excepted]

There are various ways to handle discursive footnotes, so you should probably consult carefully with the author (and perhaps the book's editor) about what format to use. In general, notes of this type should be used sparingly, as points requiring extensive explanation usually belong in the body of the text, not in the notes--but that said, discursive footnotes can be very handy in some instances. Whenever I use them, I try to make them as concise as possible but entirely readable--using normal expository prose rather than a clipped, telegraphic diction, for the most part, and incorporating citations and references back to the original text as needed. This approach is probably more suitable for endnotes in a book than for footnotes in a journal article; most printed journals strongly discourage discursive notes because space is at such a premium. Anyway, hope this helps.

Yeah but where's Allison?

Where are any of these drive-by posters?

With their sad drug stories and their evangelism for "Osin Fisher."

I'll never forget Osin Fisher. Well, actually, I did forget him.

Poor old Osin. Straight down the gurgler.

Thank you, Jonathon. And yes, Lobstergirl, I did join Goodreads just to ask this question. I found several other posters on Goodreads with similar questions that received what seemed like helpful feedback. And I did too! So agglomeration of hayseeds or not, you're a helpful bunch. Thanks!

Yay, Allison. Come back when you can spend some quality time.

::agglomerates with Jim & Larryx behind The Ficus::

::hands cool beverages to Phil and Larry::

::slides in a birthday cake::

I am proofreading a doctoral paper. The writer put a footnote and then the quotation, and then the page number. Normally, the page number is part of the footnote. Is there a reason to leave it AFTER the quotation in the footnote, or should I move it to where it usually belongs right after the publisher and date in parentheses?