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Citation Styles Playbook

The purpose of this playbook is to help you cite the sources used in your academic research.

Articles

ARTICLE TITLES are not essential in reference citations, but they are considered desirable to highlight the contents of a paper and facilitate location in reference libraries. Some ACS publications require the article title in journal references, whereas some do not. In ACS journals, capitalization follows that of the original publication; in other publications, all of the main words are capitalized.

JOURNAL TITLES, however, are an essential component. Chemists use a set of standard abbreviations for journal titles and for the names of conference proceedings. These abbreviations are published in CASSI, the Chemical Abstracts Service Source Index. You can locate the appropriate abbreviation for a specific journal with the CASSI search tool.

 

ACS Citation Style for Articles:
Journals, print

Option 1

Author, A. A.; Author, B. B.; etc. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation Year (bolded), Volume, Inclusive Pagination.

Klingler, J. Influence of Pretreatment on Sodium Powder. Chem. Mater. 2005, 17, 2755–2768.

Option 2

Author, A. A.; Author, B. B.; etc. Journal Abbreviation Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.

Klingler, J. Chem. Mater. 2005, 17, 2755–2768.

Journal from database

Author, A. A.; Author, B. B. Title of Article. Journal Abbreviation [Online],  Year (bolded), Volume, Article Number or other identifying information. Database Provider. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Fine, L. Einstein Revisted. J. Chem. Educ. [Online] 2005, 82.  Business Source Premier. http://www.epnet.com/academic/ bussourceprem.asp (accessed April 24, 2005).

Nonscientific magazines & newspapers

Author, A. A.; Author, B. B.  Article Title. Newspaper Title, Month Day, Year, Pagination.

Squires, S. Falling Short on Nutrients. The Washington Post, Oct 4, 2005, p H1.

 
Encylopedia Article, print

Article Title. Encyclopedia Name, Edition number; Publisher: Place of Publication, Year; Volume Number, Pagination.

Psychopharmacological Agents. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology, 4th ed.; Wiley: New York, 1996; Vol. 20, pp 455-457.

Encyclopedia Article, online

Article Title. Encyclopedia Name, Edition number [Online]; Publisher, Posted Date. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Alkanolamines from Nitro Alcohols. Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology [Online]; Wiley & Sons, Posted March 14, 2003. http://www.mrw.interscience.wiley.com/kirk/ articles/alkaboll.a01/frame.html (accessed Nov 7, 2004).