Clinical Practice References

This page contains reference examples for clinical practice for nurses, including the following:

1. UpToDate article
2. Cochrane review
3. Clinical practice guideline with a group author
4. Clinical practice guideline by individual authors at a government agency, published as part of a series
5. Drug information
6. Lab or diagnostic manual
7. Mobile app reference work
8. Entry in a mobile app reference work

• Articles in the UpToDate database are available only in that database and have information that changes over time.
• In the reference list, format UpToDate articles like periodical articles. Italicize the database name in the reference like a periodical title, but do not italicize the database name if it appears in the text.
• Use the year of last update in the date element.
• Include a retrieval date because the content is designed to change over time and versions of the page are not archived.

• Cochrane reviews follow the journal article format.
• Provide the name of the database (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews) in italic title case in the reference, but if you write the name of the database elsewhere in the paper, do not italicize it.
• Different versions of Cochrane reviews include different information, which means the reference might vary too. Follow the principle of citing what you see.
  • Full-text versions of Cochrane reviews do not include volume numbers, issue numbers, or article numbers. The full-text version displays when you visit the DOI of the article.
  • However, the article PDFs show the year as the volume number, an issue number, and an article number.
  • It is fine to omit the volume, issue, and article number from the Cochrane review reference if the information is missing from your version of the article, but if you do see this information, include it just as you would for any journal article

• Most clinical practice guidelines are published as reports or webpages and so follow the report or webpage reference type, which have the same structure.
• Use the committee or agency that developed the guideline in the author element of the reference when no individual authors are credited.
• When the title page or cover credits both a committee and an agency, provide the committee name in the author element of the reference and the agency name in the source element of the reference. The first example shows this: The committee is the Healthcare Infection Control Practices Advisory Committee, and the agency is the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• When the title page or cover credits only an agency, provide the agency name in the author element of the reference. The second and third examples show this: The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) and the World Health Organization are agencies.
• Provide the year in which the guideline was developed in the date element of the reference.
• If you are citing an updated guideline, use the year of the update in the reference.
• Provide the title of the guideline in italic sentence case.
• Provide the name of the website from which the guideline was obtained in the source element of the reference.
• If the website name is the same as the author, omit the site name to avoid repetition (as in the NICE guideline example).
• Provide a URL for the guideline.

• When a guideline has individual authors, provide the names in the author element of the reference.
• Provide the year of the report in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the guideline in italic sentence case.
• After the title, provide the name of the series (here, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report) and volume and issue number for the report in parentheses after the title.
• Provide the publisher of the guideline in the source element of the reference.
• Provide a URL for the guideline.

• The format for drug information is the same as for a webpage.
• Provide the name of the drug or pharmaceutical company that manufactures the drug in the author element of the reference.
• If a date is not available, substitute “(n.d.).”
• Provide the title of the drug information (usually the name of the drug) in italic sentence case, followed by the description “[Drug information]” in square brackets (or other wording as appropriate).
• Provide the name of the website from which the drug information was obtained in the source element of the reference. If the website name is the same as the author, omit the site name to avoid repetition.
• Provide a URL for the drug information.

• Laboratory or diagnostic manuals follow the format for books.

• For a mobile app reference work with individual authors (as shown in the example), provide the author names in the author element of the reference.
• Provide the year of the version used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the app in italic sentence case.
• When the app includes an edition number (as with the example), place the edition information in parentheses without italics after the title.
• Provide the version number of the app (which you can obtain from the app itself once it is downloaded) in a separate set of parentheses.
• Provide the publisher of the app or the name of the app store (e.g., App Store, Google Play Store). In the example, the app was downloaded from the publisher’s website, so the publisher (F. A. Davis Company) is provided in the source element of the reference. If you downloaded the app from the App Store instead, use “App Store” instead of “F. A. Davis Company.”
• Provide a URL when possible.

• To cite an entry in a mobile app reference work, follow the format for an edited book chapter.
• Provide the author of the app in the author element of the reference. In the example, the company that produces the app (Lexicomp) is treated as a group author.
• Provide the date year of the app version that you used in the date element of the reference.
• Provide the title of the entry in the reference work in the title element of the reference.
• In the source element, provide the name of the app in italics (which in the example happens to be the same as the author), the version of the app used in parentheses, the description “[Mobile app]” and the publisher or app store from which the app was obtained.
• Provide a URL when possible.