Citing your Sources: General Information

Why look at citation information?

• To avoid plagiarism.
• To acknowledge the work of other writers.
• To enable other researchers and professors to trace your sources.
• To show how your research or paper follows on from or advances previous work.

Deciding which reference style to use

• When citing in papers as part of your Medical School Curriculum check with your instructor on which format to use.
• When citing for publication remember that different journals require different formats so read the "instructors to authors" section for individual information.
• Ensure that you use the same style throughout your paper and check which version of a format you are using as updates occur regularly.
• The College Of Medicine does not have a set style but you should use NLM/Vancouver or AMA style