To find journal abbreviations, use the Chemical Abstract Service Source Index (CASSI) or National Library of Medicine (NLM) Journal Lookup Tool:
In the name-year system, in-text references contain the name of the author(s) and the year of publication, enclosed in parentheses. Leave a space between the authors' names and the year. There should be no comma between the last author's name and the year.
One Author
(Author's last name year of publication)
If the author's name is stated in the sentence, only the year is needed.
Smith's (2009) study shows that.
Two Authors
(First author's last name and second author's last name year)
(Flannigan and Sims 2003)
If the surnames are identical, add the initials.
(Smith TL and Smith UT 1999)
Three or More Authors
(First Author et al. year)
(Dawson et al. 1986)
Organizations as Authors
If an organizational author is only referenced once or twice in a document, use the full organizational name.
(National Library of Medicine 2002)
If an organizational author is referenced several times in a document, a shortened form of the organizational name can be used. In this case, use the initial letter of each part of the name or a recognizable abbreviation. Include the abbreviation as the initial element of the end reference within square brackets.
End reference: [IOM] Institute of Medicine (US). 1975. Legalized abortion and the public health; report of a study by a committee of the Institute of Medicine. Washington (DC): National Academy of Sciences.
Unknown Dates
For in-text references referring to publications with no date, places the words "date unknown" within square brackets.
(Smith [date unknown])
End reference: Smith J. [date unknown]. Alimentation et cancer [Diet and cancer]. 3rd ed. Brussels (Belgium): Nauwelaerts.
Books
Author(s). Date. Title of Book. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Schiebinger L. Has feminism changed science? 2nd ed. Cambridge (MA): Harvard University Press; 1999.
Conference Papers (Online)
Author(s) of paper. Date. Title of paper. In: Editor(s). Title of Book. Number and Name of Conference; Date of Conference; Place of Conference. Place of Publication: Publisher. [Date Accessed]. Pages. URL. DOI.
Blanchette M. 2003. A comparative analysis method for detecting binding sites in coding regions. In Vingron M, Istrail S, Pevzner P, Waterman M, editors. RECOMB '03. Proceedings of the Seventh Annual International Conference on Computational Molecular Biology; 2003 Apr 10-14; Berlin, Germany. New York (NY): ACM Press. [accessed 2022 Nov 23]. p. 57-66. https://dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1145/640075.640082. doi: 10.1145/640075.640082.
Conference Proceedings
Editor(s). Date. Title of Book. Number and Name of Conference; Date of Conference; Place of Conference. Place of Publication: Publisher.
Meiselwitz G, editor. 2020. SCSM 2020. Proceedings of the 12 International Conference on Social Computing and Social Media; 2020 Jul 19-24; Copenhagen, Denmark. New York (NY): ACM Press.
Dissertations and Theses
Author. Date. Title of Dissertation or Thesis [Content Designator]. [Place of Publication]: Publisher.
Litz M. 2012. Impacts and dispersal of invasive species [dissertation]. [Columbia (SC)]: University of South Carolina.
Journal Articles (Online)
Author(s). Date. Title of Article. Abbreviated Journal Title. [Date Accessed];Volume(Issue):Page numbers.
Savage E, Ramsay M, White J, Beard S, Lawson H, Hunjan R, Brown D. 2005. Mumps outbreaks across England and Wales in 2004: observational study. BJM. [accessed 2017 Jan 3];330(7500):1119-1120. http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/reprint/330/7500/1119. doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7500.1119.
Journal Articles (Print)
Author(s). Date. Title of Article. Abbreviated Journal Title. Volume(Issue):Page numbers.
Park SU, Park NI, Kim YK, Suh SY, Eom SH, Lee SY. 2009. Application of plant biotechnology in the medicinal plant, Rehmannia glutinosa Liboschitz. J Med Plant Res. 3(13):1258-1263.
Journal Articles With More Than 10 Authors (Print)
First 10 authors' names, et al. Date. Title of Article. Abbreviate Journal Title. Volume(Issue):Page numbers.
Pizzi C, Caraglia M, Cianciulli M, Fabbrocini A, Libroia A, Matano E, Contegiacomo A, Del Prete S, Abbruzzese A, Martignetti A, et al. 2002. Low-dose recombinant IL-2 induces psychological changes: monitoring by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). Anticancer Res. 22(2A):727-732.
Websites
Title of Website. Date. Place of Publication: Publisher; [Date Updated; Date Accessed]. URL.
US Geological Survey. 2022 Sep 28. Washington (DC): US Department of the Interior; [accessed 2022 Dec 1]. http://www.usgs.gov.
Webpages
Author(s). Title of Website. Place of Publication: Publisher. Title of Webpage. Date. [Date Accessed]. URL.
Lavelle M. 2022 Nov 30. National Geographic Magazine. Washington (DC): National Geographic Society. Could dinosaurs swim? A new fossil revives an old-age debate. [accessed 2022 Dec 1]. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/article/swimming-dinosaur-new-fossil-natovenator.
*If the date is not listed, include the copyright year instead with a "c" preceding the year: