How to write and publish a scientific paper - Barbara Gastel, Robert A. Day 2022

Examples of different reference styles
How to cite the references
Preparing the text

So that you can see at a glance the differences among the three main systems of referencing, here are three sample references as they might appear in the references section of a journal. (In some journals, references in these systems will look somewhat different from those here because journals differ among themselves in such aspects as how, if at all, they use italics and boldface in references.)

Name and Year System

Bonetti P, Leuz C, and Michelon G. 2021. Large-sample evidence on the impact of unconventional oil and gas development on surface waters. Science 373:896—902.

Ingelfinger JR. 2021. Hematuria in adults. N. Engl. J. Med. 385:153—163.

Steen DA. 2019. Secrets of snakes: the science beyond the myths. Texas A&M University Press.

Alphabet-Number System

1. Bonetti, P., Leuz, C., and Michelon, G. 2021. Large-sample evidence on the impact of unconventional oil and gas development on surface waters. Science 373:896—902.

2. Ingelfinger, J.R. 2021. Hematuria in adults. N. Engl. J. Med. 385: 153—163.

3. Steen, D.A. 2019. Secrets of snakes: the science beyond the myths. Texas A&M University Press.

Citation Order System

1. Bonetti P, Leuz C, Michelon G. Large-sample evidence on the impact of unconventional oil and gas development on surface waters. Science. 2021;373:896—902.

2. Steen DA. Secrets of snakes: the science beyond the myths. Texas A&M University Press, 2019.

3. Ingelfinger JR. Hematuria in adults. N Engl J Med. 2021;385:153—163.

In addition to its nonalphabetical arrangement of references, the citation order system tends to differ from the others in its advocacy of eliminating periods after abbreviations (of journal titles, for example) and commas after authors’ surnames.