You can find instructions for formatting papers and for constructing bibliographic citations (references) in style guides.
There are many style guides in use today. They tend to be discipline specific. Typically, nursing and health sciences students will use either "APA style" or "AMA style" when writing papers and when formulating bibliographic citations for papers or literature reviews.
Check with your instructors to find out which style guide you should use.
APA style is the offical citaiton format for the The American Psychological Association but is used by most of the social sciences. Use the following sources to properly format your citations in APA style.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by These are software applications that will help you collect and organize your references and format your papers including your citations (references) according to the style manual you choose. The library is the most equipped to help you with Mendeley. You can learn more about using it on our Mendeley webpage.
Some of these tools you must purchase, but some, like the ones listed below, are available for free.
You should double check any citations you make using these tools though, as they may not be accurate.
The Multiliteracy Center can help with formatting papers and citing sources in APA, MLA, and Chicago style rules. Check their website for consultation scheduling and other services.