Style manual for Statistics New Zealand - Fifth edition - Stats NZ
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Style manual for
Statistics New Zealand
Fifth editionCrown copyright © This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Except for any photographic image, or any content with a specific copyright statement, you are free to copy, distribute, and adapt the work, as long as you attribute the work to Statistics NZ and abide by the other licence terms. To ask permission to reuse a photographic image, send a request to info@stats.govt.nz. Please note you may not use any departmental or governmental emblem, logo, or coat of arms in any way that infringes any provision of the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981, or would infringe any provision if the use occurred within New Zealand. Use the wording ‘Statistics New Zealand’ in your attribution, not the Statistics NZ logo. Liability While all care and diligence has been used in processing, analysing, and extracting data and information in this publication, Statistics New Zealand gives no warranty it is error free and will not be liable for any loss or damage suffered by the use directly, or indirectly, of the information in this publication. Citation Statistics New Zealand (2015). Style manual for statistics New Zealand (5th ed). Retrieved from www.stats.govt.nz. ISBN 978-0-478-42996-1 (online) Published in October 2015 by Statistics New Zealand Tatauranga Aotearoa Wellington, New Zealand Contact Statistics New Zealand Information Centre: info@stats.govt.nz Phone toll-free 0508 525 525 Phone international +64 4 931 4600 www.stats.govt.nz
Contents
1 Purpose...........................................................................................................................6
2 Writing for the web ........................................................................................................6
E-government guidelines .................................................................................................6
How to write for the web ..................................................................................................6
Web style .........................................................................................................................7
Plain English ....................................................................................................................9
Emails ............................................................................................................................10
Letters ............................................................................................................................11
Product descriptions and templates ..............................................................................11
3 Numbers, measurements, and statistical terms ......................................................12
About figures or words ...................................................................................................12
Ages ...............................................................................................................................12
Comparisons and ratios .................................................................................................12
Dates and time...............................................................................................................13
Fractions and decimals ..................................................................................................13
Money ............................................................................................................................14
Ordinal numbers ............................................................................................................14
Percent...........................................................................................................................14
Phone numbers .............................................................................................................14
Punctuation in numbers .................................................................................................14
Rounding........................................................................................................................14
Statistical terms .............................................................................................................15
Symbols and units .........................................................................................................15
4 Spelling and language ................................................................................................17
Spelling ..........................................................................................................................17
Abbreviations .................................................................................................................17
Government and legal terms .........................................................................................18
Foreign words and phrases ...........................................................................................19
Non-discriminatory language .........................................................................................20
5 Commonly used words and terms .............................................................................21
A, B, C............................................................................................................................21
D, E, F ............................................................................................................................23
G, H, I, J .........................................................................................................................24
K, L, M ............................................................................................................................25
N, O, P, Q ......................................................................................................................27
R, S, T ............................................................................................................................28
3Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
U, V, W, X, Y ..................................................................................................................31
6 Easily confused words ................................................................................................33
7 Plain English alternatives ...........................................................................................35
8 Māori language ............................................................................................................38
Capital letters .................................................................................................................38
Macrons .........................................................................................................................38
Names............................................................................................................................38
Plurals in te reo Māori ....................................................................................................40
Translated text ...............................................................................................................40
9 Te reo Māori word list..................................................................................................41
Greetings ngā mihi.........................................................................................................41
Farewells........................................................................................................................41
Concepts ........................................................................................................................41
People and their groups ................................................................................................42
Place names ..................................................................................................................42
Words often used on a marae .......................................................................................43
10 Punctuation and other styles .....................................................................................44
Apostrophe.....................................................................................................................44
Bold and italics...............................................................................................................45
Brackets .........................................................................................................................45
Capital letters .................................................................................................................45
Colon and semicolon .....................................................................................................48
Comma ..........................................................................................................................48
Ellipsis ............................................................................................................................49
En dash ..........................................................................................................................49
Exclamation and question marks ..................................................................................49
Forward slash ................................................................................................................50
Full stop .........................................................................................................................50
Hyphen...........................................................................................................................50
Lists ................................................................................................................................51
Quotation marks ............................................................................................................52
URLs and email .............................................................................................................52
11 Grammar errors ...........................................................................................................53
False subject ..................................................................................................................53
Incorrect use of article in proper names ........................................................................53
Misusing demonstrative pronouns .................................................................................53
Non-parallel construction ...............................................................................................53
Noun strings ...................................................................................................................54
4Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Pronoun disagreement ..................................................................................................54
Subject and verb disagreement .....................................................................................54
12 Crediting your sources ...............................................................................................55
When to cite a reference ...............................................................................................55
Citations in text ..............................................................................................................55
Cross references in text .................................................................................................56
13 Reference examples ....................................................................................................57
General points about our reference style ......................................................................57
Order of references........................................................................................................57
Works by the same author.............................................................................................58
Electronic and social media ...........................................................................................58
Books, book chapters, reports, and brochures .............................................................61
Conference papers and presentations ..........................................................................62
Dissertations, theses, limited circulation documents.....................................................62
Periodicals, journals, newspapers, and newsletters .....................................................62
14 References....................................................................................................................64
51 Purpose
Style manual for Statistics New Zealand outlines the styles and conventions our writers
and editors follow for publications on the web, in print, and as internal documents.
2 Writing for the web
Think ‘web first’ when you write for Statistics NZ. The website is our main publication tool,
and if your document works well on the web, it will be easier to read in a printed format.
E-government guidelines
Our website must comply with the latest web accessibility and usability standards
available from New Zealand Government Web Toolkit.
This means our website must:
reflect core public service values (to have integrity, and be equitable, trustworthy,
and economical)
be authoritative and up to date, clear and concise (use plain English)
meet the needs of different audiences.
How to write for the web
A reader scans the text on a webpage to find what they want to read. Make the important
points stand out by using:
meaningful headings
keywords
short paragraphs and sentences
links
lists
structure that puts the most-important information first – start with a purpose and
a summary
quality metadata.
Also, do the following to help the reader.
Make your writing concise and to the point, with one idea per sentence. As you write,
ask yourself if you can say it in a clearer or shorter way.
Use active language (‘the survey looks at clothing prices’) rather than passive (‘clothing
prices are looked at by the survey’).
Use ‘you’ and ‘we’ to help you focus on your reader and avoid unnecessary jargon (‘you
need to attach your CV…’).
Make your content accessible to all readers, regardless of their physical limitations and
any technological limits (eg computer or browser).
6Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Web style
Alt(ernative) text
Provide a text equivalent for all non-text elements (images, graphs, diagrams, video,
audio, and links that are graphics).
Alt text is the text that people read or hear when they can’t or don’t see the image. For
graphs, include the title of the graph and the time period (…2015 to 2016).
Keep the alt text short, but give enough detail for the reader to know what the image is
about. End with a full stop and space (screen-reading software needs this).
Example: ‘Graph showing trend for new dwellings consented, monthly, June 2008 to
August 2015.’
Alt text can contain useful search keywords.
Filenames
Filenames need to be unique and self-explanatory. Note:
use only lower case, and no punctuation except hyphens
use a hyphen (-) between each word (not a space or underscore)
make names descriptive, but short (under 28 characters for files and 20 for
folders)
use a shortened version of the title; don’t use ‘and’, ‘of’, ‘at’
include a time period if title is part of a series (eg cpi-jun15qtr)
abbreviate months to three characters (eg jun, sep)
use the same construction for similar/related publications.
Example for graph: omt-jun15-merch-trade-value
Headings and subheadings
Headings break up the text and make it easy to scan the content.
Write descriptive headings – describe the content and avoid label headings (eg
use ‘Export prices for goods rise 1.76 percent’ not ‘Export prices’).
Use keywords in all headings (helps readers skim-read).
Use the Styles set for headings in Sitecore and Word document templates.
Use heading 1 (H1) style for the page title, H2 for the first level of subheading, H3
for the next level, and so on.
Information release section titles (eg Key facts) are H2, so use H3 for the first
subheading.
Use sentence case.
Use present tense in headings, but past in text.
Use plenty of headings and subheadings – have at least one on screen at all
times.
7Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Links
Links are like neon lights for the webpage’s content. Make the link text:
match the destination page title
left-aligned (on a new line) and sentence case
open in a new window if external to Statistics NZ (and add a tooltip, eg ‘Link to
Oxford Dictionaries website – opens in new window. ’)
not link from a heading.
Place links at the start of a new line where possible.
Include the directive as part of the link and add a descriptive phrase if necessary after the
linked text:
See Data quality for more detail.
Pages available in both te reo Māori and English
If a webpage is available in both te reo Māori and English, link the two versions.
On the English page, use ‘Tirohia tēnei whārangi i te reo Māori’ in the link and hover text.
On the te reo Māori page, use the ‘View this page in English’ in the link and hover text.
Metadata
Metadata (data about data) helps a search engine find information for readers searching
on a specific topic. This ‘invisible’ content also reflects e-government standards that
require equal access for all readers.
Follow the instructions and protocols in the Sitecore manual (Statistics NZ, nd,d) and
other documentation for the website when adding appropriate metadata.
Page title
Write a unique page title to signpost the content, and help a search engine find your
page. Remember to:
identify keywords for your page and use them in the title
place keywords at the start – move from the specific to the general topic
make the title short and direct – under 50 characters
use sentence case
use a strong active verb where possible, summarise the content, be concise and
precise, use plain English.
Be sure the title makes sense if it is saved as a bookmark or favourite webpage.
See the Sitecore manual (Statistics NZ, nd,d) for details.
Paragraphs and sentences
Start the webpage with a one or two sentence summary of the content. This may appear
as search-result text so it needs to make sense alone. Make the first sentence of each
paragraph descriptive. Also:
place the main point or key phrase of the paragraph first
keep paragraphs short (60–80 words – about six sentences of 15–20 words each)
list instructions in chronological order and number them.
8Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Landing pages
Include the following on the landing page for a publication:
name of the publication in the first sentence (to improve the chances of it being
found by search engines)
brief purpose of the publication
descriptive links to chapters or ‘sub-pages’
related documents (if part of a series) with the most-recent one first
citation, ISBN/ISSN, publication date
print-friendly version of the document (eg a PDF).
Use the templates for landing pages to copy the standard text for different landing pages.
After the introductory statement, add the following wording.
Read the article [report/paper] online or download and print the PDF [and tables]
from ‘Available files’. If you have problems viewing the files, see opening files and PDFs.
Citation example:
Statistics New Zealand (2015). Global New Zealand – International trade, investment,
and travel profile: Year ended December 2014. Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Statistics
NZ. Retrieved from www.stats.govt.nz.
Plain English
Statistics NZ publications use plain English – writing that is clear, concise, well structured,
and appropriate to the reader. Using plain language results in material the intended
reader can read, understand, and act on (if necessary) at first reading.
Follow these principles of good writing when you write or edit.
Clarity: use plain English and unambiguous words and phrasing.
Coherence: be sure a clear, logical thread runs through your text, and that
sentences and paragraphs link together.
Completeness: include only as many details as you need to make your point.
Conciseness: aim for sentences of no more than 20 words that express a single
idea.
Consistency: use consistent terminology, tone, and punctuation. Follow the
same structure for lists.
Convincing: support your arguments with facts and examples, and include your
sources.
Correctness: check facts, quotations, numbers, and names of individuals and
organisations. Cross-reference numbers used in different sections.
Consideration: think how readers may respond to statements you make. Don’t
use discriminatory language.
Organisation: begin with the most-important information – from the reader’s
perspective. Arrange key points in right order for the reader.
Relevance: write appropriately for your audience and medium (eg the media,
webpages).
9Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
See Plain English movement homepage (Statistics NZ, nd,a) and Plain English document
store (Statistics NZ, 2010a) for more about plain language, including Your guide to our
Plain English Standard and our plain English checklist.
Active and passive writing
Active writing mentions the subject (the person or thing 'doing' the action) first in the
sentence (eg inflation pushed up house prices).
Passive writing mentions the object (the person or thing 'receiving' the action) first.
Passive sentences often include 'by' (eg house prices were pushed up by inflation).
Active writing is more direct and often simpler, and should be used most of the time.
However, passive writing can make a sentence easier to understand if a phrase is long.
Active: The effect of 0.2 percent decreases in each of the indexes for transportation,
clothing, and tobacco products and alcoholic beverages moderated the rise.
Passive: The rise was moderated by the 0.2 percent decreases in each of the indexes
for transportation, clothing, and tobacco products and alcoholic beverages.
Emails
These tips will help your reader understand the purpose of your email and act on it.
Be clear why you're sending your email and what you want the outcome to be. Is
a phone call a better option?
Always include a subject. Add ‘END’ if the subject is all you’re sending.
Make the subject clear – eg ‘Do we need larger room for team meeting next Fri?’
(not ‘Meeting’).
If your reply is on a different subject from the email you received, start a new
email (don’t just hit ‘reply’).
In your first sentence, say what the email is about and the response or action you
want. If you have more than one point, number them.
Add an empty line between paragraphs, and write short one- or two-sentence
paragraphs.
In your last sentence reinforce your purpose – provide something concrete and
unambiguous for the reader to reply to, or summarise your content if you don’t
need a reply.
Sign off with your first name, and your email signature – even on internal emails.
Include the previous message in your reply. To address several points in the
original email, add your answers below the appropriate original text.
Respond promptly, even if you just say you're too busy to respond then.
Using cc field: in the email, be clear who (if anyone) you expect to reply to your email
(eg Jane, please send a link to the latest version of the Annual Report; or I would
appreciate everyone's feedback about my ideas).
Using bcc field: only use if you email a list of people who do not need to know who else
is on the list. Put your name in the 'To' field and all other names in the 'bcc' field.
File attachment size: keep attachments you send externally under one megabyte by
dividing your document. For internal emails, include a link to the document management
system Tui Tuia.
10Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Naming attachments: make the file’s name distinctive so it’s easy to find (eg innovation-
in-nz-final-edit.doc, not final-edit.doc).
Letters
Follow the same guidelines as for writing emails. Make sure the purpose of the letter is
clear at the start, and let the reader know what to do once they’ve read the letter.
Product descriptions and templates
Follow the product briefs and use the appropriate templates, available from the Digital
Publishing homepage (Statistics NZ, nd,a),
113 Numbers, measurements, and statistical terms
About figures or words
Spell out numbers one to nine (and first to ninth) and use figures for 10 (and 10th)
onwards. Exceptions are:
8 percent (but ‘Eight percent’ if at start of sentence)
4 million (but ‘Four million’ if at start of sentence)
block 4; base 3
figure 6; table 3
chapter 7; section 5, page 9
ranges and ratios (eg students aged 6 to 16 years, in 8 of the 9 previous months,)
a list of numbers (eg 9, 13, 25).
Don’t start a sentence with a figure. Rewrite the sentence (eg A total of $12,684…or In
one suburb alone, $12,684…).
Exception: Bullet lists can start with a figure or symbol.
For October 2007 compared with September 2007:
Total retail sales decreased 0.7 percent.
15 of the 24 industries had decreased sales.
Noun-verb agreement: Use singular verb with ‘number’ and a definite article (eg the
number of divorces has…); plural with an indefinite article (eg a number of divorces
have…).
Ages
Include the age unit (years, months, or days), on the first use, or on each webpage, then
shorten later uses.
The number of New Zealanders aged 65 years and over (65+) continues to grow
(becomes: ‘the number of women aged 65+ is higher than…’).
Use a hyphen to join adjectival phrases (eg the 24-year age group; the 24-year-olds)
Use an en dash to indicate a range (eg those aged 15–24 years).
To combine an age range and an adjectival phrase, use ‘the 15–24-year age group’; or
‘the 15–24-year-olds’.
Use singular 'year' in an age group (eg the 15–24-year age group), but use plural 'years'
in ‘the 65-years-and-over age group’.
Spell out ages one to nine, unless in a range (eg the one-year-old; the 6–12-year-olds).
Comparisons and ratios
When comparing two or more numbers, use figures, even if some are less than 10 (eg we
had 19 international visitors in June 2015, compared with 8 in June 2013).
12Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Use compared with, not compared to (eg two-thirds of people with a plan had a
three-day supply of water compared with 34 percent of those without).
[‘Compares to’ likens two things – eg Wellington compares to San Francisco as a city.]
If a comparison uses ‘from’ or ‘between’, also use ‘to’ or ‘and’, not an en dash (eg from
2010 to 2012…; between 8 and 10 people…).
When describing ratios, use figures, even when numbers are under 10 (eg the census
showed 1 in 4 people of Māori ethnicity spoke Māori).
Use a colon (for numbers) or slash (with words) to indicate a ratio. Don’t use spaces
before or after the colon (eg topographic survey maps use a ratio of 1:100,000; the
employment/population ratio is …).
Dates and time
Dates
Use a slash for a 12-month period (eg financial year) that crosses two years (2016/17).
Use ‘year ended 30 June’, or ‘June year’, for a 12-month period in a table or graph, not
‘year to 30 June’ (this could be interpreted as being from 1 January to 30 June).
Use an en dash for a range of two or more years (2014–16).
When a range spans more than one century, include all eight numerals (eg 1997–2018).
But when it’s in the same century, use six numerals (eg 1997–99).
Write a date as: day, month, year (eg 28 January 2018).
If the date includes a week day, separate it by a comma (eg Friday, 13 May 2016).
For a quarter, use ‘June 2016 quarter’.
Time
For hours and minutes under 10, use figures, but use words for weeks and years under
10 (eg the meeting lasted for 2 hours; the survey was held over three weeks).
For decades, use ‘the 2020s’.
For centuries use figures, as in ‘21st century’, unless at the start of a sentence (then use
‘Twenty-first century…’)
For time of day use a colon, but no space before 'am' or 'pm' (eg 11:30am, 12:15pm; but
12 noon, 12 midnight).
Fractions and decimals
Spell out common fractions (eg halves, thirds, quarters). Use hyphens: two-thirds, three-
quarters, two-and-a-half years.
Use ‘one-quarter’ not ‘a quarter’, to clarify this is a fraction and not a financial quarter.
Use zero before a number that is less than one and written as a decimal (eg 0.135).
Use singular for a unit name used as an adjective (a 0.2-metre length of wool) and plural
if it is a noun (the 0.2 metres of wool).
13Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Money
If you can’t rewrite a sentence to avoid starting with a sum of money, use words, with the
figure amount in brackets (eg Twelve thousand dollars ($12,000) was the amount in
question.).
For millions of dollars: $12 million; $2.7 million; not $12,000,000; 12.7 million dollars.
For amounts under $1.00, write xx cents, or use $ symbol and a zero (eg $0.04, $0.26).
Currency
Write currency as: the country abbreviation (if applicable), currency symbol, then amount
– no spaces between the three elements (eg NZ$60, US$4.20, €10,000).
Use lower case when currency is a word (eg yen, euro, dollar).
To insert currency symbols such as €, ¥, and £ in Word, select ‘Insert’ and ‘Symbol’.
See Currencies of the World for international currencies and symbols.
Write a currency range in full (eg €20 million to €25 million; not €20 to €25 million).
Ordinal numbers
Spell out first to ninth, then use 10th, 11th…onwards.
Don’t use superscript in ordinal numbers (use 21st century not 21st century).
Percent
In text and in table column headings, use the word ‘percent’ rather than the symbol %,
unless space is limited (eg response options for questionnaires).
For ranges, use 1.0–1.5 percent [where space is limited], or 1.0 percent to 1.5 percent.
Note: Percent and percentage point mean different things. If a growth rate goes from 4
percent to 5 percent, it increases 1 percentage point, but the increase is 25 percent.
Phone numbers
For New Zealand publications, use this style: 04 931 4600; 021 345 6789.
Online, use: +64 4 931 4600
Use a hyphen in toll-free (eg phone 0508 525 525 toll-free; or call us on our toll-free
number, 0508 525 525).
Punctuation in numbers
Separate hundreds from thousands with commas. No commas for index numbers.
Rounding
If figures in statistical calculations are rounded, use this phrase as a note: ‘Due to
rounding, individual figures may not always sum to the stated total(s).’
14Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Statistical terms
Average, mean, and median
Below are the terms and definitions for the common measures of central tendency.
Mean (arithmetic): The value if a total is evenly divided among all groups. It can be a
useful for comparing (distinct) groups.
Median: The ‘middle’ value when a group of numbers is divided into two equally sized
groups – after the values are arranged by size. Half the group is above this value and half
below. It is generally preferred to the mean when there are outliers, or when the
distribution is strongly asymmetric. It is useful for comparing groups.
Mode: The value that occurs most frequently in a group of numbers. It shows the most
common response, and is useful for categorical variables and variables with few
response categories.
Fewer and less
Generally, countable items are ‘fewer’ and non-countable items are ‘less’.
Fewer means a smaller number. If a number is smaller, even if an actual number is not
stated, use ‘fewer’ (eg In 2007, fewer organisations in the South Island used
biotechnology.).
Less means a smaller amount or degree. When describing something as being not as
much use ‘less’ (eg There is less traffic in the city; less money is available for lending.).
Increase/decrease, rise/fall
Generally speaking, trends increase or decrease, and volumes and indexes rise or fall.
Prices increase or decrease (and also rise and fall). Don’t use decline, as it has negative
connotations.
For the latest June quarter fruit prices rose 9 percent.
The school roll increased by 250 this year.
Import volumes fell 3 percent in the month of July.
The trend for sawn timber exports has been decreasing since June.
Specifying a time period
When comparing a result with another time period, specify both time periods.
The increase in the labour force participation rate for the December 2016 quarter was
also evident when compared with the December 2013 quarter [or the previous
December quarter].
Symbols and units
Use a numeral when a figure accompanies a symbol or unit of measurement (eg 5km).
If a number needs to be spelled out (eg it starts a sentence), spell out the measurement
unit too. (Twenty kilograms is the maximum weight allowance.) However, try rewriting the
sentence. (The maximum weight allowance is 20kg.)
Don’t use a mix of words and symbols for units – use ‘we measured the speed in both
km/h and mph’ (not ‘we measured the speed in both kilometres/h and miles per h’).
15Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Use lower case for units when written out in full (even derived from a proper name, eg
newton), except Celsius and Fahrenheit. Use upper case if the unit is at the beginning of
a sentence.
Abbreviations for units
Name of unit Symbol Quantity
ampere A electric current
cubic metre m3 volume
hertz Hz frequency
joule J energy
kilogram kg mass
kilogram per cubic metre kg/m3 density
litre L, mL volume
metre m length
metre per second m/s velocity
newton N force
ohm Ω electric resistance
pascal Pa pressure
second s time
square metre sq m (or m2 if font size area
supports this)
volt V electric potential
watt, gigawatt W, GW power
Unit symbols use lower-case letters except litre (L), units named after people (eg watt,
W), and when the prefix for the unit represents one million or more (as with mega (M),
giga (G), tera (T)). So the symbol for kilowatt hour is kWh, for megajoule MJ, and for
gigawatt GW.
Don’t add a space between the figure and the symbol in: 9%, 3rd, 5.5km, $510, 15°C,
8pm, 10am.
Use these symbols to qualify data in tables.
C confidential
E estimate
P provisional
R revised
S suppressed
-- figure too small to express (two hyphens)
--- figure too large to express (three hyphens)
.. figure not available
… not applicable
164 Spelling and language
Correct spelling and clear language lets the reader concentrate on the message in the
text, not the mistakes.
Spelling
Always use your computer’s spellchecker at the end of writing, but don’t depend on it.
Editors use The New Zealand Oxford Dictionary as their first reference, then the online
Oxford Dictionary of English. See:
Oxford Dictionary of English
Commonly used words and terms
Commonly confused words.
General rules
When the dictionary gives alternative spellings, use the first form.
Use –ise rather than –ize in words such as organisation, realise, recognise.
Use colour, labour, flavour, favourites, not American spellings (color, labor, flavor,
or favorites).
For proper names, follow the spelling used by the organisation or publication (eg
World Health Organization; Australian Labor Party).
Plurals
Where a word has more than one option for a plural, use the first option in the dictionary.
In Statistics NZ publications, ‘data’ can be singular or plural. Data is usually singular
when writing for a public audience, but may be plural in technical writing. Whichever you
choose, be consistent throughout the publication.
Add the plural to the first noun for compound words made up of more than one noun (eg
governors-general, mothers-in-law, powers of attorney).
In te reo Māori, the noun is unchanged in the plural. The article preceding it (‘te’ or ‘ngā’)
determines if singular or plural is intended.
See te reo Māori word list for more information
Abbreviations
An abbreviation is a shortened form of a word or phrase. It can be an acronym, initialism,
or a contraction.
Acronyms and initialisms
An acronym is a group of initial letters we pronounce as a word. Only some acronyms
use capital letters. Don’t use full stops between letters.
Anzac Day (Australian and New Zealand Army Corps)
sonar (sound navigation and ranging)
APEC (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation)
17Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
eftpos (electronic funds transfer at point of sale)
HES (Household Economic Survey)
If the acronym is a noun, don’t use ‘the’ in front (eg I use eftpos all the time).
If it is an adjective do use an article before it (eg we call a debit card an eftpos card).
An initialism is a group of letters, each of which is sounded out separately.
ACC, eg, IRD number, PhD, TVNZ, US, OECD
cif (cost, insurance, and freight); fob (free on board); nfd (not further defined)
Shortened words
Some abbreviations are formed from the first few letters of a word (eg Mon, Jan, etc, prof
(professor), inc (incorporated). Don’t use a full stop (except for no. (number)).
A contraction is a shortened form that uses at least the first and last letters of a word.
Don’t use a full stop (eg Dr, Mr, Mrs, Ltd).
A symbol, used as to represent a unit of measurement or a concept, is a shortened word
form. Don’t use a full stop (eg MWh (megawatt hours), g (gram), kb (kilobyte)).
Using abbreviations
Spell out abbreviations the first time they are used in the text. If they are unusual, or
unfamiliar, spell them out at first use in each chapter, webpage, or section of an
information release.
Don’t abbreviate a term used only once in a document.
Don’t use abbreviations or acronyms in headings and titles, or at the beginning of a
sentence. Spell them out, unless they are well-recognised (eg GDP or GST).
To form the plural of most abbreviations, add s, without an apostrophe (eg the total
number of TVs in New Zealand… not …total number of TV's…).
Only use eg, ie, etc, and & if space is limited (eg tables, graphs, diagrams, survey forms,
marketing material, and within brackets).
Webpages already have ‘Statistics New Zealand’ in the banner, so use ‘Statistics NZ’ in
web content.
Don’t abbreviate the name in the Annual report, Statement of strategic intentions, and
other corporate documents – always use Statistics New Zealand.
Don’t abbreviate to Stats, StatsNZ, or SNZ, even in internal documents.
Government and legal terms
Abbreviations and government departments
Avoid using abbreviations for government departments, where possible. Unless the
organisation is mentioned frequently, reword the text instead.
The Ministry for the Environment collects that information. Researchers then go to the
ministry for that information.
18Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
If the name is repeated often, or it isn't practical to refer to 'the ministry' or 'the
department', use an abbreviation. Spell it out in full when first mentioned.
See Government A–Z for a list of government agencies and links to their websites.
Ministers
Include a minister’s full title and most relevant portfolio in a letter or email.
See current MPs on New Zealand Parliament website.
These positions hold the title Right Honourable (Rt Hon) for life:
governor-general
prime minister
speaker of the house
chief justice.
Parliamentary terms
In general, capitalise only the formal title.
In the education vote for 2009 there was a... but…In Vote Education there was a...
Several ministers supported the strategy… but…The Minister for Statistics supported the
strategy.
Then the minister said…
This will be an issue in future budgets… but…That was an issue in Budget 2016.
The select committee reviewed the report… but…The Finance Committee reviewed the
report.
In years to come, parliament will...but… The New Zealand Parliament will host…
Transparency of process is important for good government.
In 2014, the National-led Government...
The minister was a member of the Government that changed labour laws in the 1990s.
Note: When referring to the full name of an Act, include the year it was passed (eg
Statistics Act 1975).
See New Zealand Legislation for Acts (statutes), bills, and the years they were passed.
See capital letters for more about when to use caps or lower case for government terms.
Taxes and benefits
Use lower case for taxes (eg goods and service tax (but GST), income tax).
Use lower case for benefits (eg jobseeker support, sole-parent support).
Foreign words and phrases
Avoid using foreign words or phrases unless they convey something that can’t be
expressed in English. Use italics and include any diacritical marks (eg macron, glottal
stop). Words and phrases from Māori and Pacific languages are not foreign so don’t use
italics (but include a translation in brackets if the meaning is not clear from the context).
19Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Use the inverted curly apostrophe (the ‘6’ shape, not the ‘9’shape) for the glottal stop in
Samoan, Tongan, and Hawaiian languages. Insert the symbol using the Unicode
character code 0x02BB.
Non-discriminatory language
Use inclusive language. And avoid phrases that make a judgement, such as ‘culturally
deprived’.
Use:
people, humans (not mankind, man)
staff, workforce, business people (not manpower, workmen, businessman)
chair (not chairman)
older person (not elderly)
Pacific people (not Pacific Islanders).
205 Commonly used words and terms
Check back regularly for updates to style in this list.
A, B, C
D, E, F
G, H, I, J
K, L, M
N, O, P, Q
R, S, T
U, V, W, X, Y
A, B, C
A
acknowledgement, not acknowledgment
Act
adviser, not advisor
affect (v) to influence or have an effect on
age group
age-sex pyramid
age-specific
ageing, not aging
agricultural census (general reference); but 2012 Agricultural Census (short reference);
air fare, not airfare
am (eg 10:15am)
analyse (v)
analysis (n) analyses (pl)
Anzac (n) for people or day (Anzac Day]
ANZAC for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps
ANZSIC06
appendixes, not appendices
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
B
baby boom
baby-sitter
bachelor's degree but Bachelor of Science (etc)
back-casting
backcast (adj) data
back series
back up (v), but back-up (n)
balance of payments (BoP)
baseline
benchmark
benefit/risk analysis
best practice
21Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
bicultural
bilingual
biofuel
birthdate
bookkeeping
breakdown (n), but break-down (v)
budget (general); Budget 2007 (Government’s – specific year)
build up (v), but build-up (n)
business that, not business who
Business Register/Frame
benefits and taxes are lower case (eg sole-parent support)
C
Cabinet (ministers)
callback (n), but call back (v)
caregiver
cash flow
cellphone (but preferred use is mobile phone)
Celsius
2013 Census
2013 Census of Population and Dwellings
the census
census day/night (upper case only with specific date)
census helpline
censual – of or relating to a census (but, post-censal and intercensal)
censuses
century – 20th or 19th century
chain-volume (adj)
checklist
childbearing
childcare
China (tables may use China, People's Republic of)
cif (cost, insurance, freight)
comma-separated values (abbreviated as CSV)
commit/committed
compare with, not compare to
comprises, not comprised of
consumers price index (unless a publication: Consumers Price Index: March 2015
quarter)
cooperation, not co-operation
coordination, not co-ordination
cost-effective (adj); cost effective (n)
counterparty
country names, see ISO Online Browsing Platform
cost-of-living adjustment
criterion (sing); criteria (pl)
cross reference (n); cross-reference (v)
cross-section (n)
22Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Crown
Crown-owned buildings
Crown research institute
cut-back (n); cut back (v)
D, E, F
D
data is/are – both acceptable, but be consistent (use ‘is’ for public audience, 'are' for
technical readers)
Data Lab, not Data Laboratory
dataset
dates: 2006–07 for two years; 2006/07 for 12-month period; 1980s not 80s or 1980’s
database
daycare
de facto
defence, not defense
decimals: use zero before point if less than 1 (0.137 not .137)
decision-making (adj & n)
dependant (n); dependent (adj)
desktop (adj)
DGSs (pl) not DGS’s
different from, not different to
DocONE
doctorate, not PhD
DPB (domestic purposes benefit)
drop-down box
E
Earth, not the Earth
EAs (pl), not EA’s
e-book
e-commerce
end-user (n)
effect (n) result
effect (v) to accomplish or bring about
eftpos (electronic funds transfer at point of sale)
e-government, not e-govt
eg – use only where space is limited or in brackets
e-learning
elderly – don’t use – use 'older people', with age range
emphasise (v)
enquire (v) ask (inquire is to investigate; public enquiry, but ministerial inquiry)
etc – no full stop
European, not Pākehā
everyday (adj); every day (n)
exclusive economic zone (EEZ)
23Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
F
face-to-face (adj)
Fahrenheit
FAQs
farm-gate (adj); farm gate (n)
fertiliser
fewer (smaller number; use ‘less’ for a smaller amount/size)
fieldbook
fieldwork
financial year (use slash, 2009/10)
first name, not forename
fit for purpose (no hyphens)
fixed-weight (adj)
fob (free on board)
follow-up (n); follow up (v)
for example – preferred in text (use ‘eg’ where space limited)
formatted
formulae
free-phone number
freepost
free-to-air television
fresh water (n); but freshwater (adj) species
fringe benefit tax
FTE (adj,full-time equivalent) as in FTE employee/student
fulfil/fulfilled
full-time (adj), a full-time job
G, H, I, J
G
gender – use 'sex' instead
general election, but 2014 General Election
general electorates
geocoding
geoframes
goal-setting
Government (cap for specific entity – ‘the National Government’ or ‘the Government
ordered an enquiry’; lower case for ‘system of government’, ‘central government
publications’, or ‘local government’)
Governor-General (for specific person; governor-general for general use)
grandparent
gross domestic product (GDP)
growth rate
GST (goods and services tax)
24Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
H
handheld (n and adj)
hapū (not hāpu, which is from a dialect)
headcount
health care (n); healthcare (adj)
helpline
high point
HIV/Aids
homepage
Hong Kong (tables might use Hong Kong (SAR))
households that, not who
hydro generation
hydroelectricity
I
ice cream
ie – use only where space limited or in brackets
in-depth (adj)
indexes, not indices
Inland Revenue (not IRD, IR, or Inland Revenue Department; but IRD number)
in scope (n), but in-scope (adj) individuals
intermarriage
inquire (v) to investigate (enquire is to ask; so ministerial inquiry, but public enquiry)
IRD number
install
instalment
inter alia, use ‘among other things’ instead
inter-island
intercensal
International Labour Organization
internet
interrelated
iwi, no cap unless part of a name
J
judgment – for court-related decisions
judgement – for a personal view, opinion, or reasoning
K, L, M
K
kaumātua
keyword
kind-of-activity unit (KAU)
kiwifruit
kōhanga reo
25Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
Korea – use Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea on second use; and
Korea, Democratic People’s Republic of in tables); and Republic of Korea (South Korea
on second use; and Korea, Republic of in tables)
L
labour force
Laspeyres
Leader of the Opposition
less (smaller amount/size; use fewer for a smaller number)
life cycle
lifespan
lifestyle
local government
log on (v), not log in – go to this page to log on
logon (n), not login – here is your logon password
long-distance (adj)
long-term (adj) solution; but in the long term
low-income (adj) families
low-interest (adj) loans
low point
lower-skilled (adj) workers
Ltd for companies – not spelled out, no full stop
M
Macau (tables may use Macau (SAR))
macroeconomic
make up (v – to form something)
make-up (n – constitution of something)
manoeuvre
Māori
marketplace
master's degree but Master of Science
member of parliament (MP)
meshblock
metadata
microdata not micro-data
mid-1990s, but late 1990s
midpoint
mid-range
middle age (n), middle-aged (adj)
Minister of Finance, then the minister
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment; then the ministry / the ministries
mixed member proportional (MMP)
mobile phone
motor camp
multipurpose
multimedia
multimodal
26Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
multinational
N, O, P, Q
N
national statistics office, not agency
nationwide
net-debt-to-GDP ratio
New Zealand-born people
New Zealand-dollar debt
New Zealand-dollar equivalent
New Zealand Superannuation
newborn
ngā
ngāti
no one
non-private
non-Māori
non-respondent
North Island, but North and South islands
Northern Hemisphere
Northernmost
noticeboard
O
official cash rate, but OCR
Official Statistics System, but official statistics
offset
off-site
offshore
off special
older people, not elderly
online
on-site
one-person (adj)
one-third
ongoing
opposite-sex couple
ordinary time
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (or OECD)
out of date (eg the survey is out of date)
out-of-date (adj) survey
out of scope (eg children are out of scope)
out-of-scope (adj) individuals
overestimate (v, n)
over-sample (v)
overseas-born people, but people born overseas
overtime
27Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
overuse (v)
owner-occupier (n)
owner-operator (n)
P
Pacific peoples, not Pacific Islanders
Pacific ethnic group; islands; population
Pacific Rim
page hit – number of files downloaded from your webpage
page view – each individual webpage a visitor views
page visit – a visitor who browses your website
Pākehā – use European instead
part-time (adj)
payday, but pay week
percent
percentage points (avoid in media releases, to avoid confusion with percent change)
people who, not people that
pick-up (n) eg courier pick-up
pm (eg 2:30pm)
Police – referring to New Zealand Police – but police car, police inquiry
policymaker
policymaking (n)
population who – not population that
post-censal
post-study
post-war
postcode
postgraduate
prepaid
preschool
preventive
Prime Minister (cap only for specific one, ‘the Prime Minister said’)
private sector (n)
private-sector (adj) companies
production-based (adj)
proofread (v)
program (for computer program)
programme (for work programme)
public policy (n)
public-policy (adj) considerations
public sector
the Public Service
R, S, T
R
rebase
redesign
28Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
referendums
regional council area
reinsure (v)
reopen
respectively (use comma before)
restructure
reuse (v)
reweighting/reweighted
S
saleable
same-sex couple
same-sex (adj) couple, school
SAR – special administrative region (lower case for general use)
school year
seaport
self-employed; self-employment
sex, not gender
sheepmeat
short-term (adj), but ‘in the short term’
showcard
shut down (v)
shutdown (n)
skilful/skilfully
skim milk (n), skim-milk (adj) powder
slow down (v), slowdown (n)
snapshot
socio-economic
soft drink
sole mother/father, not solo
sole-parent family
sourcebook
South Island, but North and South islands
South-East Asia
Southern Hemisphere
stadiums
stocktake
storey (of a building)
State (entity like Government or Crown); state (territory within a country)
state house
state-owned enterprise
Statistics 2020 Te Kāpehu Whetū (no dash, abbr to Stats 2020, see DocID W1182954 for
more guidelines)
start up (v), but start-up (n, adj)
Statistics Act 1975
stepchild
stillborn
storetype
29Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
stormwater
stratum, but strata
student loan scheme
sub-index
sub-population
sub-site (for website)
sub-soil
subannual
subcategory
subdistrict
subdivide
subgroup
subheading
subnational
suboptimal
subproject
subregional
subsample
subsection
subsector
subseries
subset
subtitle
subtopic
subtotal
subtribe
superannuation, but New Zealand Superannuation
surplus lump-sum payment
System of National Accounts 2008 – abbreviation is 2008SNA
T
take-or-pay agreement
targeted
te (cap only when in name, place, school, institution, iwi, hapū)
te reo Māori
television, but TV
territorial authority area
the Tasman (sea)
the Treasury (lower case ‘the’)
thirties, not 30s
Tier 1 statistics
time series (n), but time-series (adj) data
timeframe
toll-free number
trade in (v); trade-in (n)
trade weighted index, but TWI
trans-Pacific
trans-Tasman
30Style manual for Statistics New Zealand (fifth edition)
twenties, not 20s
two-adult (adj) household
twofold
U, V, W, X, Y
U
undercount
undercoverage
underemployed
under-report (_ed, _ing)
under-represent
under way
unit-record data
United States – use in text (US at second use; tables may use United States of America)
U.S. Census Bureau
United States-dollar debt
update (v, n)
up to date (eg figures are up to date)
up-to-date (eg up-to-date figures)
URL (uniform resource locator)
user-friendly
V
value added (n) eg the proportion of value added fell
value-added (adj) eg the value-added digital technology
Viet Nam
W
wage-earner
wānanga
web
web-based
webpage
website
well-being
whānau
Whanganui is preferred spelling for Whanganui River, city, district, council, and region
(but still Manawatu-Wanganui region and Wanganui Rural Community Board)
winemaker
workforce
working-age population
workplace
World War I, World War II, World Wars I and II
worldwide
write off (v), but write-off (n)
X
x-axis
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