How to format your references using the Molecular Cancer Research citation style

This is a short guide how to format citations and the bibliography in a manuscript for Molecular Cancer Research. 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

Power PP. Main-group elements as transition metals. Nature. 2010;463:171–7.

A journal article with 2 authors

Kim TW, Choi K-S. Nanoporous BiVO4 photoanodes with dual-layer oxygen evolution catalysts for solar water splitting. Science. 2014;343:990–4.

A journal article with 3 authors

Saitou M, Barton SC, Surani MA. A molecular programme for the specification of germ cell fate in mice. Nature. 2002;418:293–300.

A journal article with 7 or more authors

Liu Z, Sun C, Olejniczak ET, Meadows RP, Betz SF, Oost T, et al. Structural basis for binding of Smac/DIABLO to the XIAP BIR3 domain. Nature. 2000;408:1004–8.

Books and book chapters

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

An authored book

Sawant RJ. Infrastructure Investing. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2010.

An edited book

Mikolajczak C. Lithium-Ion Batteries Hazard and Use Assessment. Kahn M, White K, Long RT, editors. Boston, MA: Springer US; 2011.

A chapter in an edited book

Scheidler A, Merkle D, Middendorf M. Congestion Control in Ant Like Moving Agent Systems. In: Hinchey M, Pagnoni A, Rammig FJ, Schmeck H, editors. Biologically-Inspired Collaborative Computing: IFIP 20th World Computer Congress, Second IFIP TC 10 International Conference on Biologically-Inspired Collaborative Computing, September 8–9, 2008, Milano, Italy. Boston, MA: Springer US; 2008. page 33–43.

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 Molecular Cancer Research.

Blog post

Luntz S. Scientists Create “BioClay” In Groundbreaking Step Towards Pest-Free Crops [Internet]. IFLScience. IFLScience; 2017 [cited 2018 Oct 30]. Available from: https://www.iflscience.com/technology/scientists-create-bioclay-in-groundbreaking-step-towards-pestfree-crops/

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. China: U.S. Universities in China Emphasize Academic Freedom but Face Internet Censorship and Other Challenges. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 2016 Aug. Report No.: GAO-16-757.

Theses and dissertations

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

Doctoral dissertation

Steigner T. A study of cross -border takeovers: Examining the impact of national culture on internalization benefits, and the implications of early versus late -mover status for bidders and their rivals [Doctoral dissertation]. [Tampa, FL]: University of South Florida; 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

Isherwood C. A Madman Tangled in Thickets of Dark Satire. New York Times. 2016;C1.

In-text citations

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

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	Molecular Cancer Research
Abbreviation	Mol. Cancer Res.
ISSN (print)	1541-7786
ISSN (online)	1557-3125
Scope	Cancer Research Molecular Biology Oncology