Nursing: Source Categories & Styles

Within the text of a publication, individual references are presented in an abbreviated format that refers back to the list. These abbreviated references within the text are called in-text references.

General guidelines for in-text citations:

• References should be numbered consecutively with superscript Arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text.
• If a reference is used multiple times in one document, use the same number throughout the document.
• Reference numbers appear outside periods and commas and inside colons and semi-colons. 
• If appropriate, you may use the author name(s) within the citing paragraph.

Example (sentence with multiple citations):

Chocolate has many potential health benefits such as improved blood flow,¹ mood,² and brain function.³ 

Example (sentence citing two sources together):

Two studies^3,4 have shown that chocolate can lead to improved brain function.

When citing 2 references at a given place in the manuscript, use a comma without a space to cite both references.

Example (sentence citing three sources together):

Multiple studies^5-7 have shown that chocolate can lead to optimism.

When citing >3 references at a given place in the manuscript, use hyphens to join the first and last numbers of a closed series.

Example (sentence that cites a reference with one author):

According to Brennan,¹ chocolate significantly improves blood flow.

When citing a reference that only has one author, then list one author's name.

Example (sentence that cites a reference with two authors):

According to Barbato and Guisto,² chocolate significantly improves mood.

When citing a reference that has two authors, then list both authors' names.

Example (sentence that cites a reference with three or more authors):

According to Dupra et al,³ chocolate significantly improves brain function.

When citing a reference that has three or more authors, then list the first author’s surname and et al.