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Evidence-Based Practice

Credit Where Credit Is Due

Whether you're a student doing a course paper or presentation, a clinician who has found evidence for improving patient care, or a researcher writing a manuscript for publication, you need to cite the resources on which you're basing your work.

Video created by NCSU Libraries.  This video is licensed under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license.

Selecting a Citation Style

There are many different citation style guides.  Below are some of the more commonly used styles in the health sciences.  

**Be sure to check with your professor, supervisor, or publishing journal to confirm which style you should follow.**

Commonly Used Styles in the Health Sciences

AMA 11th Edition is the style maintained by the American Medical Association.  There are a couple copies available throughout the OSU Libraries, including 1 copy on Reserve at the Health Sciences Library:

The following websites also provide helpful examples and templates for formatting your AMA citations:

APA Style Manual is the style maintained by The American Psychological Association.  There are many copies of the style guide available throughout the OSU Libraries, including 1 copy on Reserve at the Health Sciences Library:

Sometimes called "Vancouver" or "Uniform", this style is maintained by the National Library of Medicine.  In addition, it is the style recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) in their Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (aka ICMJE Recommendations, formerly known as Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts).

Citation Management Tools

There are several Citation Management Tools available that can help you organize and cite your references.

For more information on how to sign up for and use these resources, check out our Citation Management Tools Guide:


Provided through the Library:

Freely Available: