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When to Cite:
- Every time you use someone else's information or ideas.
- Every time you summarize someone else's information or ideas.
- Every time you quote someone else's information or ideas.
- Every time you paraphrase someone else's information or ideas.
- In other words, all the time when you are writing about other people's work or ideas.
When not to Cite:
- Your own creative output, such as new conclusions, research findings, description of your method.
In-Text Citations
- Use superscript numbers to cite material.¹
- Insert the superscript number into the document immediately following the information being cited.
- Place numbers outside periods and commas "As previously reported,¹-³..."
- Place numbers inside colons and semi-colons "The derived data were as follows²:..."
- Superscript numbers are assigned consecutively beginning with ¹ and continuing in order as information is cited.
- Re-use the number first assigned to a source throughout the paper.
In-Text Citations with Authors' Names
- It's acceptable to use authors' names in the text.
- Use last names only.
- For sources having one or two authors, include both. "Smith and Jones² reported..."
- For items with 3 or more authors, include the first author's name and then 'et al.' or 'and colleagues'. "Smith et al.¹ reported..." or "Smith and colleagues¹ found..."
References
- List references in the order they are cited in the text.
Acronyms & Abbreviations:
- Avoid their use, except for well-known and accepted units of measurement and well-recognized terms.
- Spell it out at the first use. Don't place periods between the letters.
- State names should always appear as full names in the text of a manuscript. In references, use the two-letter abbreviation.
Numerals (1, 2, 3, etc.) should be used in all writing, except when:
- The number begins the sentence or title "Twenty percent of..."
- Common fractions "Nearly three-fourths were..."
- Ordinals: first through ninth "The third patient..."
- Number spelled out in quotations or titles of referenced works.
- Consecutive numerical expressions "The group of fifteen 65 year-olds..."
Dates:
- Express dates as January 22, 2017 in the text.
- Numbers are acceptable 1/22/2017 in tables
