Referencing Styles

A guide to the reference styles used at the University of St Andrews

What you need to include:

Print journal article references include:

  • Author(s) of article.
  • Article title.
  • Journal title (abbreviated or full title)
  • Date YYYY MMM DD;
  • Volume number
  • (Issue number):
  • Page numbers.

Online journal article references include:

  • Author(s) of article.
  • Article title.
  • Journal title (abbreviated or full title)
  • [Internet].
  • Date YYYY MMM DD;
  • Date of citation [cited YYYY MMM DD];
  • Volume number
  • (Issue number):
  • Page numbers.
  • Available from: URL       

Print and online journal articles should be referenced in the same way, with additional information added to a reference to a journal article you have accessed online, this should include [Internet] after the journal title; a cited date after the date of publication; and "Available from:" and the URL added to the end.

Journal titles are abbreviated where possible.  Check the abbreviation given in the journal article or check the National Library of Medicine List of Serials Indexed for Online Users.  Where no abbreviation can be found use the full name of the journal.  Be consistent in your use of abbreviations or full titles, ie. where you have used the full title of a journal, ensure you use the full title if you cite another article from the same journal.

Publication date is given as Year, Month, Day, where given - if the article only displays a year and month this is what you give.  For online journals you also include the date you used the article 

The Basic Reference List format is:

Author AA. Article title. Abbreviated Journal title. Year Month(abbrevated to 3 letters) day; volume number (issue number): pp-pp.

In-text reference

Use either a bracketed number or superscripted number which refers to an entry in the Reference List.  If you refer to the same source again, use the same bracketed or superscripted number.

Reference List entry:

7. Denning PJ. Computational thinking in science. Am Sci 2017 Jan; 105(2): 13-17.

Example journal cover page Example journal article first page

 

In-text reference

Use either a bracketed number or superscripted number which refers to an entry in the Reference List.  If you refer to the same source again, use the same bracketed or superscripted number.

Reference List entry:

8. Kistner S, Vollmeyer R, Burns BD, Kortenkamp U. Model development in scientific discovery learning with a computer-based physics task. Comput Human Behav [Internet]. 2016 Feb 20 [cited 2017 Feb 13]; 59: 446-455. Available from  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563216300930?

Example of journal article first page

  • In-text citations are bracketed or superscripted numbers which refer to the item you are citing in a numerically arranged reference list.  When you refer to the same source again within your text you use the same number.
  • Ensure you include all the punctuation required in your reference.
  • For article references, the details of the article come before the details of the journal it's published in
  • For multiple authors give details of all the authors following the advice in the Author Rules tab, giving the Surname and up to two initials.  Each author is separated with a comma.
  • Full title of the journal article is given, including any subtitles.
  • You can either give an abbreviation of a Journal title (check the journal homepage for the correct abbreviation) or give the full title of the Journal.  Whichever option you choose, ensure you apply this consistently throughout your references.
  • The date of the article is given in the format YYYY MMM DD; where no month or date can be found just give the year.
  • The volume number is given, don't include the word "volume" ot "vol.", and the issue/part number is given in brackets where applicable, followed by a colon ":".
  • The page numbers of the article are given without the inclusion of "p". 
  • Where you are referencing an online journal article include "[Internet]" after the journal publication title
  • Where you are referencing an online journal article include [cited YYYY MMM DD] after the publication date.
  • Where you are referencing an online journal article include "Accessed from : URL" at the end of the reference.
  • URLs should not be hyperlinked.