tools-only Citation Styles Reference
This document provides detailed guidelines for formatting citations in various academic styles commonly used in literature reviews.
APA Style (7th Edition)
Journal Articles
Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume(issue), page range. https://doi.org/xx.xxx/yyyy
Example: Smith, J. D., Johnson, M. L., & Williams, K. R. (2023). Machine learning approaches in drug discovery. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 22(4), 301-318. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2023.001
Books
Format: Author, A. A. (Year). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Publisher Name. https://doi.org/xxxx
Example: Kumar, V., Abbas, A. K., & Aster, J. C. (2021). Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease (10th ed.). Elsevier.
Book Chapters
Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of book (pp. xx-xx). Publisher.
Example: Brown, P. O., & Botstein, D. (2020). Exploring the new world of the genome with DNA microarrays. In M. B. Eisen & P. O. Brown (Eds.), DNA microarrays: A molecular cloning manual (pp. 1-45). Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.
Preprints
Format: Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of preprint. Repository Name. https://doi.org/xxxx
Example: Zhang, Y., Chen, L., & Wang, H. (2024). Novel therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease. bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.001
Conference Papers
Format: Author, A. A. (Year, Month day-day). Title of paper. In E. E. Editor (Ed.), Title of conference proceedings (pp. xx-xx). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx
Nature Style
Journal Articles
Format: Author, A. A., Author, B. B. & Author, C. C. Title of article. J. Name volume, page range (year).
Example: Smith, J. D., Johnson, M. L. & Williams, K. R. Machine learning approaches in drug discovery. Nat. Rev. Drug Discov. 22, 301-318 (2023).
Books
Format: Author, A. A. & Author, B. B. Book Title (Publisher, Year).
Example: Kumar, V., Abbas, A. K. & Aster, J. C. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease 10th edn (Elsevier, 2021).
Multiple Authors
- 1-2 authors: List all
- 3+ authors: List first author followed by "et al."
Example: Zhang, Y. et al. Novel therapeutic targets in Alzheimer's disease. bioRxiv https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.01.001 (2024).
Chicago Style (Author-Date)
Journal Articles
Format: Author, First Name Middle Initial. Year. "Article Title." Journal Title volume, no. issue (Month): page range. https://doi.org/xxxx.
Example: Smith, John D., Mary L. Johnson, and Karen R. Williams. 2023. "Machine Learning Approaches in Drug Discovery." Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 22, no. 4 (April): 301-318. https://doi.org/10.1038/nrd.2023.001.
Books
Format: Author, First Name Middle Initial. Year. Book Title: Subtitle. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Example: Kumar, Vinay, Abul K. Abbas, and Jon C. Aster. 2021. Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier.
Vancouver Style (Numbered)
Journal Articles
Format: Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Title of article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;volume(issue):page range.
Example: Smith JD, Johnson ML, Williams KR. Machine learning approaches in drug discovery. Nat Rev Drug Discov. 2023;22(4):301-18.
Books
Format: Author AA, Author BB. Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher; Year.
Example: Kumar V, Abbas AK, Aster JC. Robbins and Cotran pathologic basis of disease. 10th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2021.
Citation in Text
Use superscript numbers in order of appearance: "Recent studies^1,2^ have shown..."
IEEE Style
Journal Articles
Format: [#] A. A. Author, B. B. Author, and C. C. Author, "Title of article," Abbreviated Journal Name, vol. x, no. x, pp. xxx-xxx, Month Year.
Example: [1] J. D. Smith, M. L. Johnson, and K. R. Williams, "Machine learning approaches in drug discovery," Nat. Rev. Drug Discov., vol. 22, no. 4, pp. 301-318, Apr. 2023.
Books
Format: [#] A. A. Author, Title of Book, xth ed. City, State: Publisher, Year.
Example: [2] V. Kumar, A. K. Abbas, and J. C. Aster, Robbins and Cotran Pathologic Basis of Disease, 10th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier, 2021.
Common Abbreviations for Journal Names
- Nature: Nat.
- Science: Science
- Cell: Cell
- Nature Reviews Drug Discovery: Nat. Rev. Drug Discov.
- Journal of the American Chemical Society: J. Am. Chem. Soc.
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences: Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.
- PLOS ONE: PLoS ONE
- Bioinformatics: Bioinformatics
- Nucleic Acids Research: Nucleic Acids Res.
DOI Best Practices
- Always verify DOIs: Use the verify_citations.py script to check all DOIs
- Format as URLs: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/yyyy (preferred over doi:10.xxxx/yyyy)
- No period after DOI: DOI should be the last element without trailing punctuation
- Resolve redirects: Check that DOIs resolve to the correct article
In-Text Citation Guidelines
APA Style
- (Smith et al., 2023)
- Smith et al. (2023) demonstrated...
- Multiple citations: (Brown, 2022; Smith et al., 2023; Zhang, 2024)
Nature Style
- Superscript numbers: Recent studies^1,2^ have shown...
- Or: Recent studies (refs 1,2) have shown...
Chicago Style
- (Smith, Johnson, and Williams 2023)
- Smith, Johnson, and Williams (2023) found...
Reference List Organization
By Citation Style
- APA, Chicago: Alphabetical by first author's last name
- Nature, Vancouver, IEEE: Numerical order of first appearance in text
Hanging Indents
Most styles use hanging indents where the first line is flush left and subsequent lines are indented.
Consistency
Maintain consistent formatting throughout:
- Capitalization (title case vs. sentence case)
- Journal name abbreviations
- DOI presentation
- Author name format