In academic writing, you must refer to your sources and cite them correctly. The demands may vary between different studies and fields, so “correctly” in this context is a very broad concept. Some use name/year in parenthesis, others use numbers in parenthesis, some use numbers superscripted, others use name/year in the footnote system.
There are many different citation styles: AMA, APA and MLA are just a few. Each academic field has its own preferences, and there is often an academic organisation behind a style. For instance, health studies tend to follow the NLM or AMA style, while interdisciplinary fields in the humanities or social studies tend to use the APA or Harvard.
If you need help with a specific style, you can find guides or tutorials on the web, but be sure to check the original sources. Below you can get an overview over the many styles you can choose from, and which fields of research they belong to. Ask your supervisor, if you are in doubt about which one to choose.
Reference styles
| ABBREVIATION | FIELD | INSTITUTION | TITLE | FORMAT | TYPE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMA / JAMA | HEALTH, Medicine | American Medical Association | AMA Manual of Style | E-book | Numerical1 (page references possible) |
| APA 7th | Interdisc. HUM + SOC. SC. + HEALTH – Psychology, Education, Communication, Cultural studies. | American Psychological Association |
Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 7th APA Style 7th Help APA 7th Guide |
Book (Mimer) Blog SDUB's Danish APA 7th guide |
Author/Year |
| CSE | SCIENCE | Council of Science Editors Style Manual Committee | The CSE-Style Citation Quick Guide | Website | Author/Year or Numerical1 |
| Chicago / Turabian | History, Law, Philosophy, American Studies | University of Chicago | Chicago Manual of Style | E-book | Author/Year or Footnotes |
| Harvard | Interdisc. SOC. SC. + HEALTH + TECH, Business | Harvard follows standard DS/ISO 690. |
DS/ISO 690:2021 (Eng. ed.) DS/ISO 690:2013 (Dan. ed.) |
ISO Standard Log in via “Adgang via uddannelses-sted”, choose SDU. |
Author/Year |
| IEEE | TECH, engineering, computer science, math | The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers | IEEE Editorial Style Manual | Website with PDF (IEEE Reference Guide) | Numerical [1] |
| MLA | HUM – Classical studies, Literature, Language | Modern Language Association |
MLA Handbook MLA Style Center |
Book (Mimer) Website |
Author/Year |
| NLM | HEALTH, Medicine | National Library of Medicine | Citing Medicine | E-book | Numerical (1) |
| Vancouver | HEALTH, Medicine | International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) |
Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts NB: refers to NLM’s Citing Medicine. |
Website | Numerical (1) |