How to format your references using the Methods and Protocols citation style

This is a short guide how to format citations and the bibliography in a manuscript for Methods and Protocols. 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	Find the style here: output styles overview
Mendeley, Zotero, Papers, and others	The style is either built in or you can download a CSL file that is supported by most reference managers.
BibTeX	BibTeX styles 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

Caruana, C. An Eastern Promise of Regeneration. Nature 2005, 435, 998–999.

A journal article with 2 authors

Olsen, S.R.; Wilson, R.I. Lateral Presynaptic Inhibition Mediates Gain Control in an Olfactory Circuit. Nature 2008, 452, 956–960.

A journal article with 3 authors

Zavatta, A.; Viciani, S.; Bellini, M. Quantum-to-Classical Transition with Single-Photon-Added Coherent States of Light. Science 2004, 306, 660–662.

A journal article with 4 or more authors

Hankins, T.H.; Kern, J.S.; Weatherall, J.C.; Eilek, J.A. Nanosecond Radio Bursts from Strong Plasma Turbulence in the Crab Pulsar. Nature 2003, 422, 141–143.

Books and book chapters

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

An authored book

Christophers, B. Banking Across Boundaries; John Wiley & Sons, Ltd: Oxford, 2013; ISBN 9781118295496.

An edited book

Howland, R.A. Intermediate Dynamics: A Linear Algebraic Approach; Ling, F.F., Hart, W.H., Eds.; Mechanical Engineering Series; Springer US: Boston, MA, 2006; ISBN 9780387280592.

A chapter in an edited book

Robyns, B.; Francois, B.; Degobert, P.; Hautier, J.P. Fuzzy Supervisor. In Vector Control of Induction Machines: Desensitisation and Optimisation Through Fuzzy Logic; Francois, B., Degobert, P., Hautier, J.P., Eds.; Power Systems; Springer: London, 2012; pp. 155–193 ISBN 9780857299000.

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 Methods and Protocols.

Blog post

Andrew, E. Spy-Cam Rhinos To Take On Poachers With Devices Hidden In Their Horns Available online: https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/spy-cam-rhinos-take-poachers-devices-hidden-their-horns/ (accessed on 30 October 2018).

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 U.S.-EC Aircraft Agreement; U.S. Government Printing Office: Washington, DC, 1993;

Theses and dissertations

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

Doctoral dissertation

Layne, L.L. Military Leadership: Encouraging Enlisted Personnel to Participate in Continuing Education. Doctoral dissertation, University of Phoenix: Phoenix, AZ, 2008.

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

Barron, J. In the Age of Reality TV, a Best-Selling Author Calls In Real-Life Heroes. New York Times 2017, A18.

In-text citations

References should be cited in the text by sequential numbers in square brackets:

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	Methods and Protocols
Abbreviation	Methods Protoc.
ISSN (online)	2409-9279
Scope