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Is it grammatically correct to abbreviate expressions with of in the middle? If so, what will be the singular and plural forms of such abbreviations if the word that changes is not the last one in the expression?

In particular, I am interested in quantity of interest. My guess is QoI for singular and QoIs for plural.

And here is yet another question: should o for of be capitalized as well?

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  • Think MPs Members of Parliament.
    – Kris
    Mar 13, 2013 at 12:36
  • Abbreviations are adopted after careful consideration of many factors, including other existing ones. You cannot make up your own one if there already exists a standard abbreviation for the expression or if the abbreviation already has a standard expansion. abbreviations.com/QOI acronymfinder.com/QOI.html
    – Kris
    Mar 13, 2013 at 12:43
  • Dictionaries and other reference works do not "adopt" abbreviations or set standards for them. When they decide to document an abbreviation, they base their decision on the frequency with which the abbreviation is found "in the wild", not on its suitability or uniqueness or any other prescriptive factor. There is also absolutely nothing wrong with making up your own abbreviation as long as you explain it so the reader understands what you did.
    – MetaEd
    Mar 16, 2013 at 18:30

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Yes, it's fine to abbreviate Quantity of Interest to either QoI or QOI. Their plural forms would be QoIs and QOIs respectively.

Capitalising the O is a matter of style. Since QoIs looks a little odd, it might be better to capitalise the abbreviation to QOI which would make its plural QOIs. If you're working with a style guide, it will be a good idea to consult it to see if it has anything to say on the matter.

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