General Format

- Authors(Last name First Name Initial). Article title. Abbreviated Journal Title. Year Month Date; Volume Number(Issue Number):Inclusive Pages.
- The words "volume" and "number" (or their abbreviations) are usually omitted when citing journal articles, but are included when citing books.
- Note: Titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. The list of abbreviations can be found here.
Example:
Meneton P, Jeunemaitre X, de Wardener HE, MacGregor GA. Links between dietary salt intake, renal salt handling, blood pressure, and cardiovascular diseases. Physiol Rev. 2005 Apr;85(2):679-715.
Jun BC, Song SW, Park CS, Lee DH, Cho KJ, Cho JH. The analysis of maxillary sinus aeration according to aging process: volume assessment by 3-dimensional reconstruction by high-resolutional CT scanning. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2005 Mar;132(3):429-34.
No Author given
- When there is no author, begin the citation with the title of the article. Do not use anonymous.
- Title. Article title. Journal Title. Date of Publication. Vol. (issue): page numbers. Place of Publication.
Example:
Drug-resistance tuberculosis among the foreign-born in Canada. Can Commun Dis Rep. 2005 Feb 15;31(4):46-52. English, French.
Part of an article
- Authors. Article Title: Journal Title. Date of Publication; Volume(Issue):Location. Name and Number of Part, Title of Part; p. Location of Part.
Example:
Butany J, Carmichael K, Leong SW, Collins MJ. Coronary artery stents: identification and evaluation. J Clin Pathol. 2005 Aug;58(8):795-804. Table 3, Common stent complications; p.796.
Online Journal
- Author(s). Article Title. Abbreviated journal name [Type of Medium(e.g. Internet)]. Date of Publication [cited Date of Citation];Vol(issue number): Location. Available from: URL
Example:
Kaul S, Diamond GA. Good enough: a primer on the analysis and interpretation of non-inferiority trials. Ann Intern Med [Internet]. 2006 Jul 4 [cited 2007 Jan 4];145(1):62-9. Available from: http://www.annals.org/cgi/reprint/145/1/62.pdf
Happell B. The influence of education on the career preferences of undergraduate nursing students. Aust Electron J Nurs Educ [Internet]. 2002 Apr [cited 2007 Jan 8];8(1):[about 12 p.]. Available from: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/nhcp/aejne/vol8-1/refereed/happell_max.html
Online Journal from a database
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The general format for a reference to a database/retrieval system on the Internet, including punctuation:
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For a single database:
- Title [Type of Medium]. Place of Publication: Publisher; Date of Publication [modified Date of Update/Revision; Date of Citation]. Available from: URL.
Example: Database of Human Disease Causing Gene Homologues in Dictyostelium Discoideum [Internet]. San Diego (CA): San Diego Supercomputer Center; 2003 [modified 2003 Mar 30; cited 2007 Feb 2]. Available from: http://dictyworldbench.sdsc.edu/HDGDD/.
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For a single database:
Newspaper
- Authors. Article Title. Newspaper Title (Edition). Date of Publication: Section: Location(Column Number).
- Names of newspapers are NEVER abbreviated, although a leading "The" may be dropped if desired.
- The location where a newspaper is published is added to the title if the newspaper title does not indicate it, either within or after the title, as appropriate.
- Section information, if present, replaces volume and issue information.
- Only the beginning page number of an article is included.
Example:
Gaul G. When geography influences treatment options. Washington Post (Maryland Ed.). 2005 Jul 24:Sect. A:12(col.1).
Conference Proceedings
- Editors. Conference Title; Date of Conference; Place of Publication: Publisher; Date of Publication. Pagination.
Example:
Dostrovsky JO, Carr DB, Koltenburg M, editors. Proceedings of the 10th World Congress on Pain; 2002 Aug 17-22; San Diego, CA. Seattle: IASP Press; c2003.