APA (Author-date) Style Selected Examples
NLM (Numbered) Style Selected Examples
Quick Tips & Shortcuts
Citing Images (side bar)
Citing Unpublished works (side bar)
Citations, dissected - a review
Quick Tips for Grabbing a Citation
Access Medicine:
When citing a chapter, look near the top for the link "How to Cite this Chapter" and then copy the text in the box.
Get it at UC:
Part of UC Library Search. Open a record, and use Send to Citation to quickly grab a plain text version of the citation, which can be in a number of citation styles. For example:
Can't find what you need? Do you have something to cite and not sure how best to do that? Let me know and I'll help point you in the right direction.
Call Karen (858)534-1199 or email kheskett@ucsd.edu.
Need an answer right now? Try the UC Chat service - they are available 24/7.
What to do ...
After choosing a citation style, two things will help you with your citations:
If you are consistent with how you use your citations, both in the text and in your list, it will go a long way for you. Also, if someone wants to read what you have referenced, and you have given enough information so that is possible without requring a scavenger hunt to figure out what you are really referring to means you've done your job.
Citation Styles
These are dictated by an organization or journal and specify the order of the information as well as any special font characteristics and punctuation to use. Choices will vary by discipline and even within a discipline. You might already be familiar with using an author-date or a numerical style, so whenever possible, pick one that you know and are comfortable using.
Author - Date Styles:
Numerical Styles:
See the style guides below for examples of APA & Numbered/NLM.
Book Section |
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Bibliography
Mirowski GW, P. E. (2008). Chapter 74. biology and pathology of the oral cavity". In Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, Gilchrest B, Paller AS, Leffell DJ (Ed.), Fitzpatrick's dermatology in general medicine (7th ed., ). New York: McGraw Hill.
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(Mirowski GW, 2008) |
Book, Whole |
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Bibliography
Moore, E. E., Feliciano, D. V., Mattox, K. L., STAT!Ref, & Teton Data Systems. (2008). Trauma (6th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division. Retrieved from http://online.statref.com/document.aspx?FxId=74&DocID=1&grpalias=
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How the Citation is Reference (in the text of the document)
(Moore, Feliciano, Mattox, STAT!Ref, & Teton Data Systems, 2008) |
Journal Article, Print |
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Bibliography
Bravo, P., Edwards, A., Rollnick, S., & Elwyn, G. (2010). Tough decisions faced by people living with HIV: A literature review of psychosocial problems. AIDS Reviews, 12(2), 76-88.
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(Bravo, Edwards, Rollnick, & Elwyn, 2010) |
Journal Article, Online |
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Bibliography
Ku, G. (2008). Learning to de-escalate: The effects of regret in escalation of commitment. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 105(2), 221-232. doi:10.1016/j.obhdp.2007.08.002.
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(Ku, 2010) |
Web Pages |
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In general, the principles are the same - the things to include areL the author, title, and date published when available. For undated materials, include the date the resource was accessed. The following is an example of a "professional" wepage.
Bibliography
National Renewable Energy Laboratory. (2008). Biofuels. Retrieved May 6, 2008 . from http://www.nrel.gov/learning/re_biofuels.html
How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 2008) |
Images |
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Citing images can be a bit tricky. For more details, please see the side bar above.
Bibliography Cite the book or journal from which the image came.
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How the Citation is Reference (in the text of the document)
See the Citing Images side bar above for details |
Emails, Letters, or Personal Communications |
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Bibliography
None -- Emails and other personal communications are referenced in the text only - with no entry in the bibliography.
How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
Depending upon how you write, the email author's name will be either inside the parentheses or outside it.
(V.-G. Nguyen, personal communication, September 28, 1998), or T. K. Lutes wrote, … (personal communication, April 18, 2001) |
Lecturer’s Presentation |
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Bibliography
Ball, E. D. (2011). Blood and Marrow Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation. [Powerpoint slides]. La Jolla, USA: UC San Diego, Blood and Marrow Transplantation.
How the Citation is Reference (in the text of the document)
(Ball, 2011) |
Need more details or examples? |
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For a different type of reference, see the Cornell Library’s guide, APA Citation Style |
Book Section |
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Bibliography
1. Mirowski GW PE. Chapter 74. biology and pathology of the oral cavity". In: Wolff K, Goldsmith LA, Katz SI, Gilchrest B, Paller AS, Leffell DJ, editor. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 2008.
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Book, Whole |
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Bibliography
1. Moore EE, Feliciano DV, Mattox KL, STAT!Ref, Teton Data Systems. Trauma. 6th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, Medical Pub. Division; 2008.
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How the Citation is Reference (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Journal Article, Print |
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Bibliography
1. Bravo P, Edwards A, Rollnick S, Elwyn G. Tough decisions faced by people living with HIV: A literature review of psychosocial problems. AIDS Rev. 2010 Apr-Jun;12(2):76-88.
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Journal Article, Online |
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Bibliography
1. Li L, Liang L, Wu Z, Lin C, Wen Y. Individual attitudes and perceived social norms: Reports on HIV/AIDS-related stigma among service providers in china. International Journal of Psychology [Internet]. 2009 Dec [cited 2/2/2011];44(6):443-50. Available from: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=
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How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Web Pages |
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There are so many types of web pages, I am a little leery of giving an example to represent all types. Please be sure to check the various ways a web page could be cited - I think there is one for every type of page. The following is an example of a government page.
Bibliography
1. U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research. Index to drug-specific information [Internet]. Silver Spring (MD): U.S. Food and Drug Administration; [updated 2009 Jun 4]. : Sleep disorder (sedative-hypnotic) drug information; [updated 2009 May 21; cited 2009 Jun 10]; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.fda.gov/Drugs/DrugSafety/PostmarketDrugSafetyInformation forPatientsandProviders/ucm101557.htm
How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Images |
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Images from a book or journal would be considered part of that book and cited as such - including the page number. Some images or figures are numbered, others may not be, so if the following examples don't seem quite right for the one you have, please check Citing Images the side bar for links to lots more examples. In text citations are a little trickier, see the side bar above for some suggestions.
Bibliography Book: 1. Thibodeau GA, Patton KT. Anatomy & physiology. 5th ed. St. Louis (MO): Mosby; c2003. Figure 6-13, Onycholysis; p. 179. Journal: 1. Wood RH, Gardner RE, Ferachi KA, King C, Ermolao A, Cherry KE, Cress ME,Jazwinski SM. Physical function and quality of life in older adults: sex differences. South Med J. 2005 May;98(5):504-12. Figure 2a, Physical function vs. SF-36 PCS in women; p. 510.
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How the Citation is Reference (in the text of the document)
(1, 3-6) |
Emails, Letters, or Personal Communications |
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References that are unpublished (and never will be published) like personal communications are often not included in the reference list. Most authorities suggest inserting it within the text itself and not as a formal reference at the end. Examples from Citing Medicine are below. Bibliography
None -- Emails and other personal communications are referenced in the text only - with no entry in the bibliography.
How the Citation is Referenced (in the text of the document) How the Email is Referenced (in the text of the document)
… and most of these meningiomas proved to be inoperable (2003 letter from RS Grant to me; unreferenced) while the few that …
How the Lecture is Referenced (in the text of the document)
... “According to Dr. Schrimsher (PubMed lecture, Sep 2003, Samford University, McWhorter School of Pharmacy), controlled vocabulary should always be used first prior to searching any database.” |
Need more details or examples? |
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Extensive details and examples of various types of references can be found in "Citing Medicine" The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 2nd edition |
Online or Internet Journal Example
Print Journal Example
Don't forget, images, charts, graphs, and figures should also be referenced. How you do this will vary by the style used.
APA Citation Style: Images
The best advice I've seen comes from Yahoo Answers - complete with reference to the APA manual. The high points are:
Numbered Citation Style: Images
A little more difficult to give definitive guidelines, images (figures, charts, etc.) should be references just like any other aspects of your paper. Whether from books or journals, the usual format will work with slight modification.
Information you use for your write ups must credit where that info comes from, even if it is not formally published, and could include your notes from a lecture or a personal email or letter. A typical lecture/lecturer's handouts or slides are a bit different and can be cited much like other material.
APA Style
Emails or Your Lecture Notes
Either of these are considered a "personal communication" simply because it is not public or "recoverable" data. It is simply referenced in the text of the document and does not have any entry in the bibliography.
Lecturer Slides or Handouts
Can be cited like other items (books or journals), so in the text, use author & date. In the bibliography, Include 5 pieces of information:
To see what that looks like, check the list of examples.
Numbered Style
Everything - email, letters, lectures - are referenced exactly the same, meaning, no bibliography entry. Any unpublished items are referenced only in the text of the document. The author of the info is usually mentioned in the text and the supporting information is given between parentheses. Information needed include:
To see what that looks like, check the list of examples.