Boston university medical center

BOSTON UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
ALUMNI MEDICAL LIBRARY
CITING / REFERENCING RESOURCES
CITATION STYLE MANUALS

There are a variety of popular styles for citing references in a bibliography: MLA, APA, NLM, Vancouver,
and others. Each style varies, so be sure that you are aware of the styles that are required by your
instructors and department. Style manuals are available at the Reference area:
Electronic Styles: A Handbook for Citing Electronic Information
Behind Reference Desk: T 11 L693e 1996

National Library of Medicine Recommended Formats for Bibliographic Citation
Reference Area: WZ 345 P314n 1991
Supplement
Referenc
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association
Reference Area: WZ 345 P976 2001
Citation Guides for Electronic Documents
http://www.ifla.org/I/training/citation/citing.htm

CITATION/REFERENCING FORMATS

WEB SITES

A typical citation for Web sites follows this pattern:
Author/editor. [Year]. Title (edition, if any), [Type of medium]. Producer (optional). Available (if
applicable): Web Site [Access date].

Example:
Hospital Infections Program, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention. [1998]. Universal Precautions for Prevention of Transmission of HIV and Other
Bloodborne Infections, [online]. Centers for Disease Control. Available:
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hip/universa.htm [1999, January 4].

NOTE: Do not site the path (i.e., MEDLINEplus, Google, etc.). Instead, you site the original source,
regardless of the path that you used to find the site.

Example of a journal article that was also published on the Web:

American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Bioethics [1995]. Informed Consent, Parental
Permission, and Assent in Pediatric Practice (RE9510). Pediatrics, 95(2): 314-317. Available:
http://www.aap.org/policy/00662.html [1999, January 4].
JOURNAL ARTICLES

A typical citation for a journal article follows the pattern below. NOTE: Remember to use the specific
style dictated by your facilitator.

Preferred medical style:
A typical NLM/Index Medicus citation for a journal article follows a pattern that looks like this:

Author(s). Journal Article Title. Journal Name. Volume(Issue): Pages, Year Month (if
available).
Examples:
Sechaud R. Graf P. Bigler H. Gruendl E. Letzkus M. Merz M. Bioequivalence study of a valsartan
tablet and a capsule formulation after single dosing in healthy volunteers using a replicated
crossover design. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology & Therapeutics. 40(1):35-40,
2002 Jan.

Spruill SC. Kuller JA. Hyperemesis gravidarum complicated by Wernicke's encephalopathy.
Obstetrics & Gynecology. 99(5 Pt 2):875-7, 2002 May.

Another popular style:
A typical APA citation for a journal article follows a pattern that looks ike this:

Author(s). (Date). Article Title. Journal Name, Volume (Issue), Pages.
Example:

Barrows, H.S. (1986). A taxonomy of problem-based learning methods. Medical Education, 20
(6), 481-486.
BOOKS AND BOOK CHAPTERS

A typical citation for books or book chapters follow the patterns below. NOTE: Remember to use the
specific style dictated by your facilitator.
Preferred medical style:
A typical NLM/Index Medicus citation for a book follows a pattern that looks like this:

Author/Editors(s). Book Name. City: Publisher, date.
Example:
Archampong, E.Q. Medical Education and National Development in Africa. Accra: Ghana
Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1990.
Another popular format:
A typical APA citation for a book follows a pattern that looks like this:

Author(s). (Year). Book Title. (edition, if any). City and State of Publication: Publisher.
Examples:
Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools. (1995). Proposed criteria: Distance
learning. Washington, DC: Accrediting Council for Independent Colleges and Schools.

Alreck, P.L., & Settle, R.B. (1995). The survey research handbook. (2nd ed.). Boston: Irwin.
A typical APA citation for a book chapter follows a pattern that looks like this:

Chapter Author(s). (Year). Chapter Title. In Book Authors/Editors (Eds.), Book Title (pp.
pages of chapter). City and State of Publication: Publisher.

Example:
Bates, M.J. (1992). Search and idea tactics. In H.D. White, M.J. Bates, & P. Wilson (Eds.), For information specialists: Interpretations of reference and bibliographic work (pp. 183-200). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
STAT!REF
Basic Format:

Author/editor. [Year]. Title (edition), [Type of medium]. Producer (optional). Available
Protocol (if applicable): Site/Path/File [Access date].
Example of a citation from a STAT!-Ref book chapter:
American Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Inc. [2002]. AHFS Drug Information:
: Pioglitazone Hydrochloride. Available: STAT!-Ref:
http://online.statref.com/Document.aspx?&DocId=934&FxId=1&SessionId=5AB09KJUUXTWXQZ
V&Scroll=1&Index=2 [2002, October 2].

UP-TO-DATE
Cite the UpToDate topic review as a chapter in a book titled UpToDate, edited by Burton D. Rose, published by UpToDate in Wellesley, MA. As a CD-ROM or online service, there are no page numbers to cite. Since UpToDate is released every four months, the publication year for any topic review should be the current year. Basic Format:
Topic/Chapter Author(s). Topic/Chapter Title. In: UpToDate, Rose, BD (Ed), UpToDate,
Wellesley, MA, 2003.
Example:
Marion, DW. Diaphragmatic pacing. In: UpToDate, Rose, BD (Ed), UpToDate, Wellesley, MA, 2003. Please note that Up-To-Date also includes references to journal articles at the end of each topic section. If you use one of those journal articles, you site that article NOT Up-To-Date. s:\share\library_pdfs\citation_guide.pdf (9/04)

Source: http://medlib.bu.edu/pdf/citation_guide.pdf