Cite Sources: NLM Citation Style

• Do not put a period after initials in an author's name. List each author by surname and a maximum of two initials with just one space between surname and initial. Put a comma and a space between authors. List all authors. List authors in the order in which they appear. 
• Journal titles are always abbreviated. Look up the journal title in the NLM catalog to get the official abbreviations. 
• Provide full URL to online articles and websites.
• At the end of the paper, present a list of references called "references", "end references", "literature cited", or "bibliography".  

Examples of Common Citations

Book

Iverson C, Flanagin A, Fontanarosa PB, Glass RM, Glitman P, Lantz JC, Meyer HS, Smith JM, Winker MA, Young RK. American Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore (MD): Williams & Wilkins; c1998. 660 p.

Book with Organization as Author/Editor

Advanced Life Support Group. Acute medical emergencies: the practical approach. London: BMJ Books; 2001. 454 p.

Course Materials

*When citing handouts or course packs, check to see if the material is from another published source. If so, cite the original source. If it is not possible to determine the source, cite the material as follows:

Harcum College. Harcum EFDA Modality Manual: for the training of an Expanded Function Dental Assistant. Bryn Mawr: Harcum College; 2023. Unit 4. Isolation/Rubber Dam Procedures; p. 1-3.

Journal Article

Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Arch Neurol. 2005 Jan;62(1):112-6.

Journal Article with Organization as Author

Parkinson Study Group. A randomized placebo-controlled trial of rasagiline in levodopa-treated patients with Parkinson disease and motor fluctuations: the PRESTO study. Arch Neurol. 2005 Feb;62(2):241-8.

Omit any “the” at the beginning of an organization’s name.

Lexidrug for Dentistry Article

Lexidrug for Dentistry [Internet].  Waltham, MA: UpToDate Inc. 2024. Gabapentin; [cited 2024 July 10]. Available from: https://online.lexi.com/lco/action/doc/retrieve/docid/dental_f/46116?cesid=5grmQi7ZEk0&searchUrl=%2Flco%2Faction%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DGabapentin%26t%3Dname%26acs%3Dfalse%26acq%3DGabapentin

For more information on this citation, see Citing Medicine, Citation for Part of a Database on the Internet

Online Journal Article

Happell B. The influence of education on the career preferences of undergraduate nursing students. Aust Electron J Nurs Educ [Internet]. 2002 Apr [cited 2007 Jan 8];8(1):[about 12 p.]. Available from: http://www.scu.edu.au/schools/nhcp/aejne/vol8-1/refereed/happell_max.html

Polgreen PM, Diekema DJ, Vandeberg J, Wiblin RT, Chen YY, David S, Rasmus D, Gerdts N, Ross A, Katz L, Herwaldt LA. Risk factors for groin wound infection after femoral artery catheterization: a case-control study. Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol [Internet]. 2006 Jan [cited 2007 Jan 5];27(1):34-7. Available from: http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/ICHE/journal/issues/v27n1/2004069/2004069.web.pdf

Websites

Integrative Medicine Program [Internet]. Houston: University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center; c2022 [cited 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: https://www.mdanderson.org/research/departments-labs-institutes/programs-centers/integrative-medicine-program.html.

AMA: patient support & advocacy [Internet]. Chicago: American Medical Association; c1995-2022 [cited 2022 Jan 25]. Available from: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/patient-support-advocacy.

In-Text Citations: NLM does not specify a single method of referring to references in the text. Writers may choose to use either superscript numbers or name-year. 

Citation-Sequence: After the paraphrase or quote, place a raised number superscript (e.g. ¹) at the end of a sentence before the punctuation. List the references in the order of appearance in the paper. If you use a citation more than once, do not renumber, but continue to use the first number assigned to that reference. Citing more than one reference at a time is as simple as putting a comma between superscript numbers (e.g. ^1,3,5)

Citation-Name: Start by listing your references in alphabetical order by author's last name, then year of publication. Number the list. When you refer to a one of your references in the body of your paper, put the number of the reference at the end of the sentence after the punctuation.

Name-year:  When using this method, include the author of the work and the year of publication, enclosed in parentheses, such as (Williams 2010).

• For references with two authors put and between the names. (Iverson and Smith 2023)
• For references with three or more authors, list the first author's surname followed by "et al" (Polgreen et al 2006)

For more information, see Council of Science Editors Style Manual Committee. Scientific style and format : The CSE manual for authors editors and publishers. Eighth ed. Chicago (IL): Council of Science Editors in cooperation with the University of Chicago Press; 2014. 722 p.