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I occasionally have a case where I want to give a formula and also attribute it. This ends up like that:

enter image description here

I do not really like that, though. The citation looks very odd at this spot. If the next paragraph would continue right after the citation mark, it would be worse, I fear.

  • One solution would be to just attach the citation mark at the end of the sentence, perhaps even after a colon behind “by”. This does not really make sense from a reading-flow perspective.

  • One could also try to mangle in another sentence, attribute that and give the equation afterwards. That would look nicer but not be correct.

  • Alternatively, we can use the \textcite command from biblatex which will produce

    Schatz, Weidinger, Deicher [SWD10]

    instead and can by used in the text like

    the factor is given by Schatz, Weidinger, Deicher [SWD10] as EQUATION.

    Or one could append that like this:

    the factor is given by EQUATION as given by Schatz, Weidinger, Deicher [SWD10].

What would be a good solution that is both scientifically correct and also the least ugly?

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    I think you've already answered your own question with your suggestions at the end. Personally, I prefer your last option, where the equation is embedded in a sentence. That's because I don't like putting a period at the end of an equation (since the period is not part of the equation). But your second-to-last option would work well also. I would never try to stick a citation on an equation. Too ugly. (p.s. 30 years of scientific publishing experience)
    – dmm
    Mar 2, 2016 at 16:59

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Your second option is one I have seen frequently. As an example of its use, have a look at page 19 of http://arxiv.org/abs/1501.07274, just above their equation (2.3), where they use that format of citation for a formula. (Never forget, though, that citation style is usually dictated by the journal you are submitting to. Be certain to check their editorial and style guidelines for the context-dependent answer to your question.)

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