What Information Do You Need?
Take these details from the article itself (the first page of the PDF or the journal's own landing page), not from a database record that may be incomplete.
- All authors, in the order printed.
- Year of publication and, for some styles, the exact date.
- Article title, including any subtitle after a colon.
- Journal name, plus volume and issue number.
- Page range or article number. Many online-only journals use an article number instead of pages.
- DOI, if there is one.
Illustrative examples. Journal names, authors and DOIs on this page are fictional or use a placeholder such as https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx, except where a real, well-known article is shown. Always copy the details from your own source, and follow your program's style requirements and academic-integrity policy where they differ from what you see here.
Cite the Journal, Not the Database
CINAHL, PubMed, MEDLINE, Ovid and EBSCO are search tools. They are not the publisher of the article, so their names do not go in the reference. If you read an article through your library's CINAHL or Ovid access, cite it exactly as you would cite the journal issue: authors, year, title, journal, volume, issue, pages and DOI. Adding the database name is one of the most common errors in student reference lists.
If an article has a DOI, use it. If it has no DOI and you read it through a library database that requires a login, leave the URL out. Only include a URL when it is open to any reader and will keep working.
APA 7th Edition: Journal Articles
Article with a DOI (real example)
Sackett, D. L., Rosenberg, W. M. C., Gray, J. A. M., Haynes, R. B., & Richardson, W. S. (1996). Evidence based medicine: What it is and what it isn't. BMJ, 312(7023), 71–72. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71
Fictional article, two authors
Nguyen, T. H., & Okafor, C. A. (2024). Nurse-led discharge education and 30-day readmissions: A cohort study. Riverbend Journal of Nursing, 31(2), 145–158. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
In-text
(Nguyen & Okafor, 2024) (Sackett et al., 1996) Sackett et al. (1996) argued that…
In APA 7th, the article title is in sentence case with no italics or quotation marks. The journal name is in title case and italic, and so is the volume number, but the issue number in parentheses is not. Use the full journal name, never an abbreviation.
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AMA 11th Edition: Journal Articles
AMA uses superscript numbers in order of first citation. Journal names are italic and abbreviated as listed in the NLM Catalog, and the DOI is written as doi: followed by the number.
Article with a DOI (real example)
1. Sackett DL, Rosenberg WMC, Gray JAM, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ. 1996;312(7023):71-72. doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71
Fictional article
2. Nguyen TH, Okafor CA. Nurse-led discharge education and 30-day readmissions: a cohort study. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;31(2):145-158. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Vancouver: Journal Articles
Vancouver (ICMJE/NLM style) also numbers references in order of citation. The journal name is abbreviated but not italic, and the year comes before the volume.
Article with a DOI (real example)
1. Sackett DL, Rosenberg WMC, Gray JAM, Haynes RB, Richardson WS. Evidence based medicine: what it is and what it isn't. BMJ. 1996;312(7023):71-72. doi:10.1136/bmj.312.7023.71
Fictional article
2. Nguyen TH, Okafor CA. Nurse-led discharge education and 30-day readmissions: a cohort study. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;31(2):145-58. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Harvard: Journal Articles
Harvard varies by institution, so treat this as the common pattern and let your school's guide settle small differences.
Fictional article
Nguyen, T.H. and Okafor, C.A. (2024) 'Nurse-led discharge education and 30-day readmissions: a cohort study', Riverbend Journal of Nursing, 31(2), pp. 145–158. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx.
In-text
(Nguyen and Okafor, 2024)
MLA 9th and Chicago Author-Date
MLA 9th
Nguyen, Thi H., and Chidi A. Okafor. "Nurse-Led Discharge Education and 30-Day Readmissions: A Cohort Study." Riverbend Journal of Nursing, vol. 31, no. 2, 2024, pp. 145–58. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Chicago author-date (17th ed.)
Nguyen, Thi H., and Chidi A. Okafor. 2024. "Nurse-Led Discharge Education and 30-Day Readmissions: A Cohort Study." Riverbend Journal of Nursing 31 (2): 145–58. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx.
Article Numbers and Online Ahead of Print
Some journals publish continuously and number each article instead of giving page ranges. Put the article number where the pages would go. Others release articles online before they are assigned to an issue, which is why you may see a DOI but no volume, issue or pages. Cite what exists now, and check later whether the final version has appeared.
APA: article number
Lindqvist, M., & Reyes, L. M. (2024). Early mobility protocols on medical-surgical units: A quality improvement report. Riverbend Journal of Nursing, 12(4), Article e210. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
APA: online ahead of print
Okafor, C. A., Reyes, L. M., & Nguyen, T. H. (2025). Simulation-based training and new graduate nurse confidence: A mixed-methods study. Riverbend Journal of Nursing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
AMA: article number, then online ahead of print
3. Lindqvist M, Reyes LM. Early mobility protocols on medical-surgical units: a quality improvement report. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;12(4):e210. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
4. Okafor CA, Reyes LM, Nguyen TH. Simulation-based training and new graduate nurse confidence: a mixed-methods study. Riverbend J Nurs. Published online March 14, 2025. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Vancouver: article number, then online ahead of print
3. Lindqvist M, Reyes LM. Early mobility protocols on medical-surgical units: a quality improvement report. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;12(4):e210. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
4. Okafor CA, Reyes LM, Nguyen TH. Simulation-based training and new graduate nurse confidence: a mixed-methods study. Riverbend J Nurs. 2025 Mar 14. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx. Epub ahead of print.
Articles With Many Authors
The rules differ, so check which one your style follows before you trim an author list.
| Style | Reference list | In text |
|---|
| APA 7th | Up to 20 authors listed. With 21 or more, list the first 19, an ellipsis, then the final author. | Three or more authors: first author plus "et al." from the first citation. |
| AMA 11th | Up to 6 authors listed. With more than 6, list the first 3 followed by "et al". | Superscript number only. |
| Vancouver | ICMJE/NLM style lists up to 6 authors, then "et al." Some institutions set a different limit, so check your program. | Number in order of citation. |
| Harvard | Varies by institution: some list every author, others use "et al." after three. | Usually "et al." for three or more. |
AMA, nine authors
Nguyen TH, Okafor CA, Lindqvist M, et al. Title of article in sentence case. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;31(2):145-158. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Vancouver, nine authors
Nguyen TH, Okafor CA, Lindqvist M, Reyes LM, Patel SK, Haddad N, et al. Title of article in sentence case. Riverbend J Nurs. 2024;31(2):145-58. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Preprints and Retracted Articles
Preprints from servers such as medRxiv have not completed peer review. Cite them only when your assignment allows it, say in your text that the work is a preprint, and check whether a peer-reviewed version has since been published. If it has, cite the published version instead.
APA: preprint
Okafor, C. A., & Lindqvist, M. (2025). Title of the preprint in sentence case. medRxiv. https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
AMA: preprint
5. Okafor CA, Lindqvist M. Title of the preprint in sentence case. medRxiv. Preprint posted online March 3, 2025. doi:10.xxxx/xxxxx
Vancouver: preprint
5. Okafor CA, Lindqvist M. Title of the preprint in sentence case. medRxiv [Preprint]. 2025 Mar 3 [cited 2026 Mar 14]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx
Retracted articles. A retracted article should not be used as evidence for a practice or a claim. If you need to mention one, for example because you are discussing the history of a topic, state clearly in your text that it was retracted and cite the retraction notice as well. Your style manual and instructor may have further requirements.
Quick Comparison
| Element | APA 7th | AMA 11th | Vancouver | Harvard |
|---|
| Journal name | Full, italic | NLM abbreviation, italic | NLM abbreviation, plain | Full, italic |
| Article title | Sentence case | Sentence case | Sentence case | Sentence case, in quotation marks |
| Volume and issue | 31(2) | 2024;31(2) | 2024;31(2) | 31(2) |
| DOI form | https://doi.org/… | doi:10… | doi:10… | doi:10… or https://doi.org/… |
| Database named? | No | No | No | No |
Common Mistakes
- Naming CINAHL, PubMed or Ovid as the source instead of the journal.
- Abbreviating the journal name in APA, or writing it out in full in AMA or Vancouver.
- Italicising the issue number or the article title in APA.
- Leaving out the DOI when the article has one, or writing it as a login-only database link.
- Trimming the author list by a rule from a different style.
- Citing an abstract you found in a database when you did not read the full article.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a DOI in every reference?
Include it whenever the article has one. A DOI is a permanent link to the article, which is why styles prefer it over a web address. If the article has no DOI and you read it through a database, you can leave the URL off.
Where do I find the correct journal abbreviation?
Search the journal's title in the NLM Catalog, which lists the abbreviation used by AMA and Vancouver. Do not guess, and do not copy an abbreviation from a random reference list.
I found the article in PubMed Central. Do I cite PubMed Central?
No. A free full-text copy in a repository is still the journal article. Cite the journal, volume, pages and DOI.
Can I cite an article when I read only the abstract?
It is better to read the full text. If you cannot get it, say so to your instructor, and do not describe methods or results the abstract does not report.