How to format your references using the AORN Journal citation style

This is a short guide how to format citations and the bibliography in a manuscript for AORN Journal. For a complete guide how to prepare your manuscript refer to the journal's instructions to authors.

Using reference management software

Typically you don't format your citations and bibliography by hand. The easiest way is to use a reference manager:

Paperpile	The citation style is built in and you can choose it in Settings > Citation Style or Paperpile > Citation Style in Google Docs.
EndNote	Download the output style file
Mendeley, Zotero, Papers, and others	The style is either built in or you can download a CSL file that is supported by most references management programs.
BibTeX	BibTeX syles are usually part of a LaTeX template. Check the instructions to authors if the publisher offers a LaTeX template for this journal.

Journal articles

Those examples are references to articles in scholarly journals and how they are supposed to appear in your bibliography.

Not all journals organize their published articles in volumes and issues, so these fields are optional. Some electronic journals do not provide a page range, but instead list an article identifier. In a case like this it's safe to use the article identifier instead of the page range.

A journal article with 1 author

Macilwain C. Meeting hints at thaw in relations between genome rivals. Nature. 2001;411(6839):726.

A journal article with 2 authors

Peel MC, McMahon TA. Continental runoff: a quality-controlled global runoff data set. Nature. 2006;444(7120):E14; discussion E14-5.

A journal article with 3 authors

Ruefli-Brasse AA, French DM, Dixit VM. Regulation of NF-kappaB-dependent lymphocyte activation and development by paracaspase. Science. 2003;302(5650):1581-1584.

A journal article with 7 or more authors

Yuan ZL, Guan YJ, Chatterjee D, Chin YE. Stat3 dimerization regulated by reversible acetylation of a single lysine residue. Science. 2005;307(5707):269-273.

Books and book chapters

Here are examples of references for authored and edited books as well as book chapters.

An authored book

Mazze RS, Strock ES, Bergenstal RM, et al. Staged Diabetes Management. Wiley-Blackwell; 2011.

An edited book

Arnaldi S, Ferrari A, Magaudda P, Marin F, eds. Responsibility in Nanotechnology Development. Vol 13. Springer Netherlands; 2014.

A chapter in an edited book

Bullinger M, Schmidt S, Naber D. Cross-cultural Quality of Life Research in Mental Health. In: Ritsner MS, Awad AG, eds. Quality of Life Impairment in Schizophrenia, Mood and Anxiety Disorders: New Perspectives on Research and Treatment. Springer Netherlands; 2007:67-98.

Web sites

Sometimes references to web sites should appear directly in the text rather than in the bibliography. Refer to the Instructions to authors for AORN Journal.

Blog post

O`Callaghan J. A Key Ingredient For Life Has Been Found Around Another Star. IFLScience. June 8, 2017. Accessed October 30, 2018. https://www.iflscience.com/space/a-key-ingredient-for-life-has-been-found-around-another-star/

Reports

This example shows the general structure used for government reports, technical reports, and scientific reports. If you can't locate the report number then it might be better to cite the report as a book. For reports it is usually not individual people that are credited as authors, but a governmental department or agency like "U. S. Food and Drug Administration" or "National Cancer Institute".

Government report

Government Accountability Office. Answers to Questions With Regard to Statements on the Office of Technology Assessment. U.S. Government Printing Office; 1977.

Theses and dissertations

Theses including Ph.D. dissertations, Master's theses or Bachelor theses follow the basic format outlined below.

Doctoral dissertation

Torres N. Do Family Nurse Practitioner Students Understand the Physiological Changes Associated with Andropause in Men over Forty? Doctoral dissertation. California State University, Long Beach; 2012.

News paper articles

Unlike scholarly journals, news papers do not usually have a volume and issue number. Instead, the full date and page number is required for a correct reference.

New York Times article

Hubbard B. With Driving Ban Ending, Saudis Wonder Which Rules Will Fall Next. New York Times. September 27, 2017:A4.

In-text citations

References should be cited in the text by sequential numbers in superscript:

This sentence cites one reference ¹.
This sentence cites two references ^1,2.
This sentence cites four references ^1–4.

About the journal

Full journal title	AORN Journal
Abbreviation	AORN J.
ISSN (print)	0001-2092
Scope	Medical–Surgical