| Rule | Example |
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In-text citation numbers may accompany text/sentences, figures, tables, and boxes. |
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| Citations should take the form of superscript arabic numerals. | The control group showed no signs of behaviour change.5 |
| Citations should be placed outside of periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons. |
As Sanchez has noted,12 the results are problematic... The assessment tool asks the following24: |
| Citations may be placed at the end of a sentence or within the sentence at relevant positions. | A second study5 put into question Patel's argument.6 |
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Citation numbers should be sequential and correspond to the cited source in the reference list. |
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| When more than 2 references are cited at a given place in the text, use hyphens to join the first and last numbers of a series. | Further evidence is needed to support a revision to clinical practice.5-8 |
| Use commas without spaces to separate citations that are not sequential. | Smith et al have reported on results from various surveys.8,15,35 |
| Avoid placing a superscript right after a number or unit of measure to reduce confusion between the reference and an exponent. |
Avoid: A normal platelet count ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 mcL.14 Better: A normal platelet count14 ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 mcL. |
| If quoting a passage or if referencing a specific page, you may include page numbers after the superscript citation number. |
Emergency room wait times improve with "dedicated system administration support and resources."54(p2) Lakić9(pp16-18) found that flight nurses require ongoing counseling to provide patient care in high-pressure scenarios. |
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When citing a source that has already been cited elsewhere in the text, use the original superscript numeral again. Do not assign a new number. |
