Quick-reference for switching between 5 citation formats. Used by citation_compliance_agent and formatter_agent.
| Scenario | APA 7th | Chicago (Notes) | Chicago (Author-Date) | MLA 9th | IEEE | Vancouver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single author | (Smith, 2024) | ¹ (footnote) | (Smith 2024) | (Smith 45) | [1] | ¹ (superscript) |
| Two authors | (Smith & Jones, 2024) | ¹ | (Smith and Jones 2024) | (Smith and Jones 45) | [1] | ¹ |
| 3+ authors | (Smith et al., 2024) | ¹ | (Smith et al. 2024) | (Smith et al. 45) | [1] | ¹ |
| Direct quote | (Smith, 2024, p. 45) | ¹ | (Smith 2024, 45) | (Smith 45) | [1, p. 45] | ¹⁽ᵖ⁴⁵⁾ |
| Multiple works | (Chen, 2023; Smith, 2024) | ¹ ² | (Chen 2023; Smith 2024) | (Chen 12; Smith 45) | [1], [2] | ¹˒² |
| Order | Alphabetical | Order of appearance | Alphabetical | Alphabetical | Order of appearance | Order of appearance |
| Format | Section Title | Entry Order |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7th | References | Alphabetical |
| Chicago (Notes) | Bibliography | Alphabetical |
| Chicago (Author-Date) | References | Alphabetical |
| MLA 9th | Works Cited | Alphabetical |
| IEEE | References | Order of appearance |
| Vancouver | References | Order of appearance |
Discipline: Education, Psychology, Social Sciences
Journal Article:
Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2024). Article title in sentence case.
Journal Title in Title Case, 45(2), 123-145. https://doi.org/10.xxxx
Book:
Smith, J. A. (2024). Book title in sentence case (2nd ed.). Publisher.
Key rules: Hanging indent, DOI as URL, sentence case for titles, "&" before last author.
Discipline: History, Humanities, some Social Sciences
Footnote (first citation):
1. John A. Smith and Betty C. Jones, "Article Title in Title Case,"
Journal Title 45, no. 2 (2024): 123, https://doi.org/10.xxxx.
Footnote (subsequent):
2. Smith and Jones, "Article Title," 130.
Bibliography entry:
Smith, John A., and Betty C. Jones. "Article Title in Title Case."
Journal Title 45, no. 2 (2024): 123-145.
https://doi.org/10.xxxx.
Key rules: Full names, title case throughout, footnotes + bibliography, period after URL.
Discipline: Natural Sciences, some Social Sciences
In-text: (Smith 2024, 45)
Reference:
Smith, John A. 2024. "Article Title in Title Case." Journal Title
45 (2): 123-145. https://doi.org/10.xxxx.
Key rules: Year after author name, full names in reference, title case.
Discipline: Literature, Languages, Cultural Studies
In-text: (Smith 45) — author + page, no comma, no year
Works Cited:
Smith, John A., and Betty C. Jones. "Article Title in Title Case."
Journal Title, vol. 45, no. 2, 2024, pp. 123-45.
Key rules: No year in in-text, page numbers always, containers model, no DOI in basic format (include if online), title case for all titles.
Discipline: Engineering, Computer Science, Technology
In-text: [1] — numbered brackets in order of appearance
Reference:
[1] J. A. Smith and B. C. Jones, "Article title in sentence case,"
Journal Title, vol. 45, no. 2, pp. 123-145, Feb. 2024,
doi: 10.xxxx.
Key rules: Numbered [N], initials before surname, abbreviated month, "doi:" prefix (not URL).
Discipline: Medicine, Biomedical Sciences, Nursing
In-text: Superscript numbers ¹ or (1) in order of appearance
Reference:
1. Smith JA, Jones BC. Article title in sentence case. Journal Title.
2024;45(2):123-145. doi:10.xxxx
Key rules: Numbered in order of appearance, no spaces in initials, abbreviated journal titles (per NLM), semicolon before volume, colon before pages.
For complete specifications, see apa7_chinese_citation_guide.md. Below is a quick reference.
Chinese journal article:
Wang, Da-Ming, & Li, Xiao-Hua (2024). Article title. Journal Name, Volume(Issue), Pages. https://doi.org/xxxxx
Chinese book:
Zhang, San (2023). Book title. Publisher.
Government publication:
Ministry of Education (2024). Publication title. https://url
In-text citations: - Chinese uses full-width parentheses: (Author, Year) - English uses half-width parentheses: (Author, Year) - Chinese multiple authors use enumeration comma; English uses &
Reference list ordering:
| Option | Description | Applicable Scenario |
|---|---|---|
| Option A (Recommended) | Chinese first (ordered by stroke count), English after (ordered alphabetically) | Convention for most Taiwan journals |
| Option B | Mixed Chinese-English ordering (unified stroke count / alphabetical) | Some international journals |
Same author with both Chinese and English works: List separately — Chinese works go in the Chinese section, English works go in the English section.
Chinese APA → Chicago: 1. Publication format differs (APA 7 does not require publication location, Chicago does) 2. Change titles to "title case" format 3. Add footnote citation system
Chinese APA → IEEE: 1. Add numbered labels [N] 2. Remove year from after author position 3. Order by citation appearance (not stroke count)
Chinese paper format conventions: - Most Taiwan journals use APA - Humanities disciplines (history, literature) occasionally use Chicago - Engineering/CS fields mostly use IEEE - Medical fields use Vancouver
| Format | How to Cite AI |
|---|---|
| APA 7th | OpenAI. (2024). ChatGPT (Version 4) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com |
| Chicago | OpenAI. ChatGPT. Version 4. 2024. Large language model. https://chat.openai.com. |
| MLA | "ChatGPT response to [prompt description]." OpenAI, 15 Mar. 2024, chat.openai.com. |
| IEEE | [N] OpenAI, "ChatGPT," ver. 4, 2024. [Online]. Available: https://chat.openai.com |
| Vancouver | OpenAI. ChatGPT [Large language model]. 2024. Available from: https://chat.openai.com |