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Reference List General Rules

Rule Example

Use a "References" list for all sources cited in the body of your document.

References should appear in numerical order, not alphabetical order.

 

Use a "Bibliography" to list all sources that were used to generate ideas or inform the content of your document but were not directly cited. You may include suggested readings in the Bibliography.

Your document can have both a "References" list and a "Bibliography."

 

References should follow the specific formatting described for each source type.

The format for Journal Articles & Preprints differs from how a Website should be formatted.

Spacing between numbers and punctuation in the formatting is intentional.

No space between the colon and the page numbers of an article, see Journal Articles & Preprints.
Author/editor: Last name + First name initial + Middle name initial (if available). Armand Peter Smith = Smith AP

Multiple authors:

  • List the names of all authors and editors regardless of number.
  • If space is a consideration, you may list the first 3 or first 6 authors follow by a comma and "et al" or "and others."
  • Whichever way chosen, be consistent throughout your reference list.

Smith TP, Brown A, McLane E, Geramie LS, Quin T, Liotta WR, Juntu E, Lenoe K.

Smith TP, Brown A, McLane E, et al.

Smith TP, Brown A, McLane E, Geramie LS, Quin T, Liotta WR, and others.

Titles:

  • Capitalize only the first word of a title, proper nouns, proper adjectives, acronyms, and initialisms.
  • Do not italicize titles of works such as books, journal articles, journal titles themselves, encyclopedias, web sites, etc.
Evidence-based medicine in South African clinical settings

Subtitles: 

  • Use a colon followed by a space to separate a title from a subtitle, unless another form of punctuation (such as a question mark, period, or an exclamation point) is already present.
Rural healthcare: a definitive guide

Content type:

  • A content type alerts the reader that the reference is not to a standard book but to a dissertation, master's thesis, website, etc. See specific material formats for examples.

Smith TP, Brown A, McLane E, et al. Developing a new approach to rural nursing [poster presentation].

Dates:

  • Whenever possible use the date format [YYYY Mon DD].
  • Exceptions permissible if full date information not available. e.g. [YYYY].
  • If no publication date is available, a copyright date can be used in place. If using a copyright date, use the format [cYYYY MMM DD] or [cYYYY].

[2021 Jun 25]

[2007 Apr 06]

[2012]

[c2019 Sep 15]

Publication location:

  • For USA/Canada use the format: City (State/Province)
  • Use two letter-abbreviation codes for states and provinces.
  • For well-known areas use just the city name.
  • For other areas, use the format: City (Country) 

Regina (SK): Saskatchewan Health Authority; 2021.

Singapore: Elsevier; 2014.

Berne (Switzerland): Swiss Publishing Co.; 2005.

Proper nouns: Always capitalize the first initial of country/city, person, clinical tool, organization, and/or association names.  
Repeated references: if you reference the same source more than once in your document, do not list it more than once in your reference list. Re-use the original citation number.  

Do not hyperlink the DOI of sources.

You may hyperlink URLs of sources, but do not include a period after the web address. If you choose to hyperlink URLs in your reference list, be consistent for all URLs.

doi:10.1177/0363546512458223

Available from: https://www.cadth.ca/

Example references list:

References

  1. Chari ST, Leibson CL, Rabe KG, Timmons LJ, Ransom J, de Andrade M, Petersen GM. Pancreatic cancer–associated diabetes mellitus: prevalence and temporal association with diagnosis of cancer. Gastroenterology [Internet]. 2008 Jan 1 [cited 2020 Oct 1];134(1):95–101. Available from: https://doi-org.shal.idm.oclc.org/10.1053/j.gastro.2007.10.040
  2. Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Archives of Neurol. 2005 Jan 1;62(1):112-6.
  3. Lebowitz ER. Addressing parental accommodation when treating anxiety in children [Internet]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019 [cited 2020 Oct 1]. 13 chapters. Available from: http://www.oxfordclinicalpsych.com/view/10.1093/med-psych/9780190869984.001.0001/med-9780190869984
  4. Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2009. 541 p.
  5. Lebowitz ER. Addressing parental accommodation when treating anxiety in children [Internet]. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 2019. Chapter 9, Obstacles to addressing accomodation [cited 2020 Oct 1]. Available from: http://www.oxfordclinicalpsych.com/view/10.1093/med-psych/9780190869984.001.0001/med-9780190869984
  6. Webb P, Bain C, Page A. Essential epidemiology: an introduction for students and health professionals. 3rd edition. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press; 2016. Chapter 4, Healthy research: study designs for public health; p. 104-138.
  7. Nutrition and Food Safety [Internet]. Geneva (CH): World Health Organization; [cited 2020 Oct 28]. Available from: https://www.who.int/teams/nutrition-and-food-safety