Cell referencing

Cell referencing is an author/date style of referencing designed for the journal Cell. This tutorial details the Cell style of referencing based on the advice given by Cell Publications Information for Authors.

It is essential that you use a consistent style in your own work.

Referencing in the Cell style is a two-part process:

It is important to be consistent and accurate when citing references. The same set of rules should be followed every time you cite a reference.

Creating in-text citations and references

In academic writing it is important to read around the subject to gather ideas, theories and facts about your assignment topic. It is not about making statements which are not backed up by evidence.

Referencing correctly is important for a number of reasons:

  • It is evidence of the reading you have done when preparing for your assignment.
  • It provides support for your own arguments.
  • It allows you to show your understanding of the issues involved in your subject and your ability to critically apply that understanding.
  • You avoid plagiarism by acknowledging the ideas, opinions and quotations that you have used in your own work.
  • It provides sufficient information for someone to follow up your reference and chase the item.

Referencing is also known as citing, the two words can be used interchangeably.

Each time you introduce an idea, thought, or theory in your work that belongs to another person, you should cite the author of the original work and the date of publication.

For multiple authors follow the table.

In text citation for multiple authors
No. of Authors In text citation Example
One author or creator Author Surname (Year) or (Author Surname, Year)

Smith (1987) found that wide variations in temperature reduced egg viability.

Wide fluctuations in temperature reduce egg viability (Smith, 1987).

Two authors or creators Author Surname and Author Surname (Year) or (Author Surname and Author Surname, Year)

Johanssen and Rowe (1999) altered larval perceptions by introducing a light regime.

Larval perceptions were altered by introducing a light regime (Johannsen and Rowe, 1999).

Three or more authors or creators First Author Surname et al. (Year) or (First Author Surname et al., Year)

Kingsolver et al. (2001) concluded that more than 80% of estimates were morphological traits.

It was found that more than 80% of estimates were morphological traits (Kingsolver et al., 2001).


  • When an author has published more than one cited document in the same year, these will be distinguished by adding a lower case letters after the year within the brackets, e.g.

    Smith (1987a), Smith (1987b)

  • If more than one citation is referred to within a sentence, list them all in the following form by date and then alphabetically, e.g.

    The behaviour is generally considered to be a display of male quality (Fredenholm, 1978; Agassiz and Moore, 1980; Summers, 1991).

  • This system does not use ‘ibid’ (in the same place) or ‘op cit’ (in the work previously cited).

A quotation is where you use the exact phrase or words of the original author. Indicate quotations by typing quotation marks around the exact words, phrase or sentence followed by the author's surname, year of publication and the page number of the quote in brackets. A full reference should be given in your reference list at the end.

It is unusual for science students to quote significant amounts of materials directly. You should read the literature - making notes in your own words and recording the sources of information - and then write, in your own words, a synthesis of the material based on your understanding of the subject. Longer quotations should only be used to emphasise key points in their original context.

Short quotations, up to two lines in length, can be included in the body of the text:

Kingsolver et al. (2001, p.254) found that, "selection via survival tends to be weaker than selection via fecundity or mating success". Similar studies also suggest that...

Longer quotations should be indented in a separate paragraph:

"Linkage analysis can reveal the chromosomal location of the genes of interest by identifying polymorphic genetic markers of known location that are coinherited with the disease in families."
(Hall et al. 1990, p.1684)

Try not to over-rely on quotations as this may show a lack of understanding of the information. You should summarise the key points you wish to make in your assignment in your own words.

Secondary referencing is when one author is referring to the work of another author and the primary source is not available. Secondary referencing should be avoided if at all possible.

If you've only read the later publication you are accepting someone else's opinion and interpretation of the original author's intention. You cannot have formed your own view or critically appraised whether the second author has adequately presented the original material. You must make it clear to your reader which author you have read whilst giving the details of the original, e.g.:

(Jones, 1928 cited in Smith, 1987, p.239)

In the bibliography or reference list you need to give the full reference for both sources, the one you have read and the one you have read about, indicating which is which in the following manner, e.g.:

Jones, 1928. Cited in: Smith, A. J. (1987). The effect of temperature on egg development and survival in the damselfly Calopteryx virgo. Journal of Zoology 47, 231-243.

The reference list must list all of the sources you have cited in your assignment that have been published or are in press.

If you have referred to any unpublished data, submitted manuscripts, abstracts, or personal communications in your work, these should be cited within the text only and not included in your reference list.

If you are not citing specific information or a specific page from a website you do not need to create an in-text citation or reference for it. When mentioning a website within your text, provide the name of the website followed by the URL in parentheses, e.g.

The BLAT Search Genome (https://genome.ucsc.edu/cgi-bin/hgBlat) was used to find similar sequences...

Include up to ten authors for an item in the reference list. If there are more than ten, list the first ten authors followed by "et al".

For an edited book, place the editor's names in the author position and put ed. or eds. after the last editor's name.

The author may be a corporate body or organisation. Spell out the full name of a corporate author rather than using an acronym or abbreviation.

The reference list gives the full citations for those works cited briefly within your text. For journal articles and book chapters, you must provide the page numbers for the full page range.

All of the references must be listed in alphabetical order by author's surname, and then by date (most recent first) if there is more than one reference for the same author. If more than one item by the same author has been published during a specific year they should be listed by letter, e.g. (2013a, 2013b).

Whenever possible, details should be taken from the title page of a publication and not from the front cover, which may be different.

Alphabetical list of items

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Attenborough (2009)...
...(Attenborough, 2009)

In the bibliography/reference list

Presenter or Director's Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title [Format]. (Place of publication: Publisher/Distributor/Broadcaster).

Attenborough, D. (2009). Life [DVD]. (London: 2 Entertain Video).

Notes
  • The Presenter or Director is the name of the person who has overall responsibility for the production, such as the director of a film; narrator of an audio file; conductor of music, etc. If the work is a collaboration between many individuals and no one clear person can be attributed, then start the reference with the title of the work.
  • The Year is the year that the film was released, broadcast was shown, etc.
  • The Title should be given in italics, with the first word capitalised.
  • Give the Format of the audio visual work in square brackets, such as [CD], [DVD], [TV], etc.
  • Give the place of recording and the name of either the publisher, distributor or broadcaster as appropriate.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Allison (2012)...
...(Allison, 2012)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of publication, Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Allison, L.A. (2012). Fundamental molecular biology, 2nd edition (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley).

Notes
  • Electronic books are referenced in the same way as print books, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • An Author may be a corporate body or organisation and, if so, the name of the corporate body or organisation should be written out in full.
  • Put the Year of publication in brackets, using the date of copyright rather than a reprint date. If no date is given use (n.d.) for "no date". If the date can only be estimated, add a small "c" for "circa" before the date, e.g. (c1995).
  • Only include the Edition if it is any edition other than the first.
  • The Series Statement is included if the work is part of a series.
  • The Place of publication is the town/city of publication rather than the country. If the book has more than one place of publication, only include the first one.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Book with two authors

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Rosenberg and Rosenberg (2012)...
...(Rosenberg and Rosenberg, 2012)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s)., and Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of publication, Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Rosenberg, L.E., and Rosenberg, D.D. (2012). Human genes and genomes: science, health, society (Oxford: Academic Press).

Book with three or more authors

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Alberts et al. (2015)...
...(Alberts et al., 2015)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., and Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of publication, Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Alberts, B., Johnson, A., Lewis, J., Morgan, D., Raff, M., Roberts, K., and Walter, P. (2015). Molecular biology of the cell, 6th edition (Abingdon: Garland Science).

Notes
  • Electronic books are referenced in the same way as print books, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • Include both authors in an in-text citation for two authors, but for three or more authors only include the first author followed by "et al".
  • Include up to ten authors for an item in the reference list. If there are eleven or more authors, include the first ten followed by "et al".
  • An Author may be a corporate body or organisation and, if so, the name of the corporate body or organisation should be written out in full.
  • Put the Year of publication in brackets, using the date of copyright rather than a reprint date. If no date is given use (n.d.) for "no date". If the date can only be estimated, add a small "c" for "circa" before the date, e.g. (c1995).
  • Only include the Edition if it is any edition other than the first.
  • The Series Statement is included if the work is part of a series.
  • The Place of publication is the town/city of publication rather than the country. If the book has more than one place of publication, only include the first one.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Allendorf and Ryman (2002)...
...(Allendorf and Ryman, 2002)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author(s) of chapter Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of chapter. In Title of book, Edition, Editor’s Initial(s). Surname, ed(s). (Place of publication: Publisher), page numbers.

Allendorf, F.W. and Ryman, N. (2002). The role of genetics in population viability analysis. In Population viability analysis, S.R. Beissinger and D.R. McCullough, eds. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 50-85.

Notes
  • Electronic books are referenced in the same way as print books, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • The Author(s) of the chapter come first in the reference, rather than the editor(s) of the whole book.
  • Put the Year of publication in brackets, using the date of copyright rather than a reprint date. If no date is given use (n.d.) for "no date". If the date can only be estimated, add a small "c" for "circa" before the date, e.g. (c1995).
  • Capitalise the first word in the Title of chapter.
  • Title of book is preceded by "In".
  • Only include the Edition if it is any edition other than the first.
  • Note that the initial(s) of the Editor(s) come before the surname(s), and the name(s) are followed by ed or eds.
  • The Place of publication is the town/city of publication rather than the country. If the book has more than one place of publication, only include the first one.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Krebs and Davies (1997)...
...(Krebs and Davies, 1997)

In the bibliography/reference list

Editor's Surname, Initial(s), and Editor's Surname, Initial(s), ed or eds. (Year). Title of publication, Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Krebs, J.R., and Davies, N.B., eds. (1997). Behavioural ecology: An evolutionary approach, 4th edition (Oxford: Blackwell Scientific).

Notes
  • Electronic books are referenced in the same way as print books, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • Include up to ten authors for an item in the reference list. If there are eleven or more authors, include the first ten followed by "et al".
  • An Author may be a corporate body or organisation and, if so, the name of the corporate body or organisation should be written out in full.
  • Put "ed" after the Editor's name or "eds" after the last Editor's name if there is more than one.
  • Put the Year of publication in brackets, using the date of copyright rather than a reprint date. If no date is given use (n.d.) for "no date". If the date can only be estimated, add a small "c" for "circa" before the date, e.g. (c1995).
  • Only include the Edition if it is any edition other than the first.
  • The Series Statement is included if the work is part of a series.
  • The Place of publication is the town/city of publication rather than the country. If the book has more than one place of publication, only include the first one.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

It’s important to acknowledge the source of code just like you would acknowledge the source of any work that is not your own. Referencing correctly will help to distinguish your work from others, give credit to the original author and allow anyone to identify the source.

See Referencing Code for guidance. You will need to adapt the guidance to your referencing style.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Ragan (2009)...
...(Ragan, 2009)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Paper title. In Title of conference including number of the conference, if appropriate, location and date of conference, Editor(s) Initial(s). Surname, ed(s). (Place of publication: Publisher). pp. start page-end page.

Ragan, M.A. (2009). Thinking laterally about genomes. In Genome Informatics 2009: Proceedings of the 20th International Conference, Pacifico Yokohama, Japan, 14 – 16 December 2009, S. Morishita, S.Y. Lee, and Y. Sakakibara, eds. (London: Imperial College Press). pp. 221-222.

Notes
  • Electronic papers are referenced in the same way as print papers, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • Include both authors in an in-text citation for two authors, but for three or more authors only include the first author followed by "et al".
  • Include up to ten authors for an item in the reference list. If there are eleven or more authors, include the first ten followed by "et al".

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Feret and Koeppl (2017)...
...(Feret and Koeppl, 2017)

In the bibliography/reference list

Editor's Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of conference including number of the conference, if appropriate, location and date of conference. (Place of publication: Publisher).

Feret, J., and Koeppl, H., eds. (2017). Computational Methods in Systems Biology, 15th International Conference, CMSB 2017, Darmstadt, Germany, September 27–29, 2017. (Cham: Springer International Publishing).

Notes
  • Electronic proceedings are referenced in the same way as print proceedings, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • If no author or editor is given on the title page, either the sponsoring organisation can be treated as the author or the name of the conference is cited first in italics.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Andre (2020)...
...(Andre, 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author's Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of dataset. Repository name, DOI.

Andre, M. (2020). Thermal proteome profiling of phosphorylated proteoforms. Mendeley Data, http://dx.doi.org/10.17632/4vwzvxfcnd.4

Notes
  • A DOI refers to a Digital Object Identifier. It provides a stable, persistent link to the source you are referring to and can usually be found on the first page of the source. It begins with a prefix of either "https://doi.org/", “http:/dx.doi.org/”, “doi:” or “DOI:” followed by an alphanumeric string starting with the number 10, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.037
  • Whereas web addresses (URLs) may change and links become broken, DOIs will always stay the same and will enable the reader to easily access a dataset that you have referenced. Never end the link with a full stop as this will prevent the link from working.
  • If a DOI isn't available, you can use the web address (URL) instead.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Lackie (2013)...
...(Lackie, 2013)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author/Editor Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title, Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Lackie, J.M., ed. (2013). The dictionary of cell and molecular biology, 5th edition (London: Academic Press).

If there is no apparent Author/Editor

Title (Year). Edition or Series Statement (Place of publication: Publisher).

Merck index (2013). 15th edition (Cambridge: The Royal Society of Chemistry).

Notes
  • Certain types of material, such as dictionaries or encyclopedias, may not have one person or persons as the main originator. These can be referenced by title first.
  • Electronic dictionaries and encyclopedias are referenced in the same way as print ones, it is not necessary to include a URL.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

For Graphs see Images and Figures.

This guidance is for citing and referencing images and figures that you are referring to in your work. If you have inserted an image or figure into your work please see the "Guidance for taught course students inserting images and figures into university work."

In the text

The model in the image (Gathman, 2012)...

Da Vinci's drawing of the aortic valve (c1513)...

The diagram (Tuite, 2016) shows...

...illustrating how the ends can be sealed (Allison, 2012).

In the bibliography/reference list

From an online collection/social media site, e.g. Flickr, Instagram, etc.

Artist/Creator Surname, Initial(s). OR screen name. (Year). Title of image/figure [description]. Name of site. <URL>. Date accessed.

Gathman, A. (2011). DNA space-filling model [digital image]. Flickr. <https://www.flickr.com/photos/agathman/5367748554>. Accessed 11th January 2022.

From a museum/gallery (either viewed in person or online)

Artist/Creator Surname, Initials. (Year). Title of image/figure [description]. Name of museum/gallery, City. [If in person] Dated viewed. [If online] <URL>. Date accessed.

Da Vinci, L. (c1513) The aortic valve [drawing]. The Queen’s Gallery, Palace of Holyrood House, Edinburgh. Viewed 1st May 2019.

From a journal

Artist/Creator Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of image/figure [description]. In Title of journal article, Author of journal article (if different to Artist/Creator) Initial(s) Surname. Title of Journal, Volume(Issue), Page number.

Tuite, M.F. (2016). Three types of protein-based inheritance described in the yeast saccharomyces cerevisiae [diagram]. In Remembering the past: a new form of protein-based inheritance, Cell 167, 302.

From a book/ebook

Artist/Creator Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of image/figure [description]. In Title of book, Author of book (if different to Artist/Creator) Initial(s) Surname (Place of publication: Publisher), Page number.

Allison, L.A. (2012). DNA supercoiling [diagram]. In Fundamental molecular biology, 2nd edition (Hoboken, NJ: Wiley), p. 35.

Notes
  • Images/figures from online journals are referenced in the same way as images/figures from print journals, a URL or DOI is not necessary unless you are referencing an in press article or an article preprint.
  • Images/figures from online books are referenced in the same way as images/figures from print books, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • In some cases you may need to use the screen name of the creator if their real name is not available, which may be the case with image sharing or social media websites.
  • If a person or corporation cannot be identified as the artist/creator, omit the artist/creator and start the reference with the title.
  • If a title cannot be identified, add a description with enough details to make a meaningful title and enclose in square brackets, e.g. [Spirogyra structure].
  • Some online journal articles group multiple figures together as one downloadable image. If you are only referring to one of the figures within the image, make this clear by using the title of that particular figure in your citation/reference.
  • Include a description of the image/figure, e.g. [poster], [photograph], [print], [diagram], [table], etc.
  • If you are referencing an image or figure from a source other than those listed above, include the details of the source in the usual format for that item type after the details of the image.
  • You don't need to include a citation and reference for any images or figures that you have created yourself. Everything in your work is assumed to be your own work unless you state otherwise, i.e. by citing someone else's work.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

References should include only articles that are published or in press. For references to in press articles, please confirm with the cited journal that the article is in fact accepted and in press, and include a DOI number and scheduled online publication date. (Information for authors, Cell, 2020)

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Linghu et al. (2020)...
...(Linghu et al., 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author(s) Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal, DOI

Linghu, C., Johnson, S.L., Valdes, P.A., Shemesh, O.A., Park, W.M., Park, D., Piatkevich, K.D., Wassie, A.T., Liu, Y., An, B., et al. (2020). Spatial multiplexing of fluorescent reporters for imaging signaling network dynamics. Cell, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.10.035

Notes
  • For articles with up to ten authors, include all the authors' names in the reference.
  • For articles with eleven or more authors, include the first ten authors' names in the reference followed by "et al.".
  • Give the full title of the article with only the first word and any proper nouns capitalised.
  • Only use an abbreviation for the title of the journal if your department recommends that you do so. Capitalise each significant word.
  • A DOI refers to a Digital Object Identifier. It provides a stable, persistent link to the source you are referring to and can usually be found on the first page of the source. It begins with a prefix of either "https://doi.org/", “http:/dx.doi.org/”, “doi:” or “DOI:” followed by an alphanumeric string starting with the number 10, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.037
  • Whereas web addresses (URLs) may change and links become broken, DOIs will always stay the same and will enable the reader to easily access an article that you have referenced. Never end the link with a full stop as this will prevent the link from working.
  • If a DOI isn't available, you can use the web address (URL) instead.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Posted preprints may also be included in the References list with appropriate identification information and an independent persistent identifier such as a DOI. (Information for authors, Cell, 2020)

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Burkhardt et al. (2020)...
...(Burkhardt et al., 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author(s) Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the article. Repository name, DOI

Burkhardt, D.B., Stanley, J.S., Tong, A., Perdigoto, A.L., Gigante, S.A., Herold, K.C., Wolf, G., Giraldez, A.J., van Dijk, D., and Krishnaswamy, S. (2020). Quantifying the effects of experimental perturbations at single-cell resolution. bioRxiv, https://doi.org/10.1101/532846

Notes
  • For articles with up to ten authors, include all the authors' names in the reference.
  • For articles with eleven or more authors, include the first ten authors' names in the reference followed by "et al.".
  • Give the full title of the article with only the first word and any proper nouns capitalised.
  • Only use an abbreviation for the title of the journal if your department recommends that you do so. Capitalise each significant word.
  • A DOI refers to a Digital Object Identifier. It provides a stable, persistent link to the source you are referring to and can usually be found on the first page of the source. It begins with a prefix of either "https://doi.org/", “http:/dx.doi.org/”, “doi:” or “DOI:” followed by an alphanumeric string starting with the number 10, e.g. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2007.11.037
  • Whereas web addresses (URLs) may change and links become broken, DOIs will always stay the same and will enable the reader to easily access an article that you have referenced. Never end the link with a full stop as this will prevent the link from working.
  • If a DOI isn't available, you can use the web address (URL) instead.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Article with one author

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

White (2020)...
...(White, 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal Volume, page numbers.

White, M.F. (2020). Bacteria SAVED from viruses. Cell 182, 5-6.

Article with two authors

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Vijg and Dong (2020)...
...(Vijg and Dong, 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s)., and Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal Volume, page numbers.

Vijg, J., and Dong, X. (2020). Pathogenic mechanisms of somatic mutation and genome mosaicism in aging. Cell 182, 12-23.

Article with three to ten authors

In the text

Harvey et al. (2020)...
...(Harvey et al., 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., and Author Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal Volume, page numbers.

Harvey, Z.H., Chakravarty, A.K, Futia, R.A., and Jarosz, D.F. (2020). A prion epigenetic switch establishes an active chromatin state. Cell 180, 928-940.

Article with eleven or more authors

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Anava et al. (2020)...
...(Anava et al., 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., Author Surname, Initial(s)., and Author Surname, Initial(s)., et al. (Year). Title of the article. Title of the Journal Volume, page numbers.

Anava, S., Neuhof, M., Gingold, H., Sagy, O., Munters, A., Svensson, E.M., Afshinnekoo, E., Danko, D., Foox, J., Shor, P., et al. (2020). Illuminating genetic mysteries of the Dead Sea Scrolls. Cell 181, 1218-1231.

Notes
  • Published electronic journal articles are referenced in the same way as print journal articles, a URL or DOI is not necessary unless you are referencing an in press article (see Journal Article - In Press) or an article preprint (see Journal Article - Preprint).
  • For articles with up to ten authors, include all the authors' names in the reference.
  • For articles with eleven or more authors, include the first ten authors' names in the reference followed by "et al.".
  • Give the full title of the article with only the first word and any proper nouns capitalised.
  • Only use an abbreviation for the title of the journal if your department recommends that you do so. Capitalise each significant word.
  • The volume number of the journal must be included, but the part number may be omitted if the volume has a continuous paging sequence.
  • Include the first and last page numbers of the full span of the article.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Citing informal or unpublished materials, such as handouts, lecture recordings and lecture notes is not generally recommended. Instead you should look to cite a primary source (such as a textbook or journal article) which describes or summarises the idea you are referring to. You may wish to ask your lecturer for recommended reading.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

World Health Organisation (2020)...
...(World Health Organisation, 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author's Surname, Initial(s). OR Corporate Author. (Year). Title of report, Report number (if available) (Place of publication: Publisher). <URL>

World Health Organisation. (2020). GLASS whole-genome sequencing for surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (Geneva: World Health Organisation). <https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240011007>

Notes
  • An author may be a corporate body or organisation and, if so, the name of the corporate body or organisation should be written out in full.
  • The URL should be given exactly as it appears in the address bar of your internet browser. The URL should be given inside angled brackets, e.g. <URL>.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

For Tables see Images and Figures.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

Jajesniak (2019)...
...(Jajesniak, 2019)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author's Surname, Initial(s). (Year). Title of thesis/dissertation. (Type and level of award, Awarding body).

Jajesniak, P. (2019). Expanding molecular toolbox for synthetic biology. (PhD Thesis, University of Sheffield).

Notes
  • Electronic theses and dissertations are referenced in the same way as print ones, it is not necessary to include a URL.
  • The first word of the Title should be capitalised.
  • Include the Type and level of award, e.g. PhD Thesis, MSc Dissertation, and the name of the awarding body, e.g. University of Sheffield, in brackets.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Generally speaking, you should only cite web sites that are recognised by the scientific community such as genome browsers, online analytical tools, etc. Wikipedia is almost never an acceptable or reliable source of information.

In the text

For an in-text citation in your work, you would cite the reference as follows:

National Human Genome Research Institute (2020)...
...(National Human Genome Research Institute, 2020)

In the bibliography/reference list

Author or Editor's Surname, Initial(s) OR Organisation. (Year). Title. <URL>. Date accessed.

National Human Genome Research Institute (2020). Human Genome Project timeline of events. <https://www.genome.gov/human-genome-project/Timeline-of-Events>. Accessed 23rd November 2020.

Notes
  • Often information is put on the internet by organisations without citing a specific Author. In such cases, ascribe authorship to the smallest identifiable organisational unit (this is similar to the standard method citing works produced by a corporate body) or start with the title. The name of the corporate body or organisation should be written out in full. If you cannot discover who 'owns' the site ask yourself whether the information you are using is dependable enough to be included in your assignment.
  • Include the Year of publication in brackets. Most web pages are updated on a regular basis. Date of publication is the date the pages were last updated. There is often a copyright statement at the bottom of the web page. If no publication date is given use (n.d.) for "no date". If you cannot discover how up-to-date the information is, ask yourself whether the information you are using is dependable enough to be included in your assignment.
  • The Title should be given with the first word capitalised (as well as any proper nouns). Use the title of the specific page you are citing.
  • The URL should be given exactly as it appears in the address bar of your internet browser. The URL should be given inside angled brackets, e.g. <URL>.
  • Give the Date when you viewed, downloaded or printed the web page. This statement is necessary to allow for any subsequent changes which may be made to the page or if the page is no longer available. Remember, information on the web is transient and web page addresses may change.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.