AIP referencing

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AIP referencing style is a numerical style designed by the American Institute of Physics. Within the AIP style, sources are cited in references at the end of the assignment, with a corresponding reference number placed in the text. Further details of AIP referencing can be found in the document Preparing Your Manuscript.

Some elements of the standard offer a choice of approaches and/or for some sources, the standard does not provide official guidance. The examples given in this tutorial are based on the University Library's interpretation of the Preparing Your Manuscript documentation.

AIP is a much simpler style than Harvard and, with the exception of Web Pages, online sources should be cited the same as their print counterparts. For example, an electronic book would be referenced in the same way as a print book.

It is essential that you use a consistent style in your own work.

Referencing in the AIP style is a two-part process:

It is important to be consistent and accurate when citing references. The same set of rules should be followed every time you cite a reference.

Creating in-text citations and references

In academic writing it is important to read around the subject to gather ideas, theories and facts about your assignment topic. It is not about making statements which are not backed up by evidence.

Referencing correctly is important for a number of reasons:

  • It is evidence of the reading you have done when preparing for your assignment.
  • It provides support for your own arguments.
  • It allows you to show your understanding of the issues involved in your subject and your ability to critically apply that understanding.
  • You avoid plagiarism by acknowledging the ideas, opinions and quotations that you have used in your own work.
  • It provides sufficient information for someone to follow up your reference and chase the item.

Referencing is also known as citing, the two words can be used interchangeably.

Each time you introduce an idea, thought, or theory in your work that belongs to another person, a reference number should be given, enclosed in square brackets, e.g. [1], [2]. This number should refer to an entry in a reference list at the end of your piece of work, giving full details of the sources you have cited. See Creating a Reference List for more information.

The general rules for creating an in-text citation are:

  • Numbers are added sequentially by the order they appear in the text.
  • The number should be included inside the punctuation of the sentence.
  • If you are using the same reference more than once, it will keep the same number all the way through your piece of work.

Examples:

The photoelectric effect can be used to determine the value of Planck's constant [1].

"All elements heavier than lithium are created by fusion or neutron capture in stellar interiors" [2].

[1] R.A. Millikan, Phys. Rev. 4, 73 (1914).

[2] E.M. Burbidge et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 547 (1957).

A quotation is where you use the exact phrase or words of the original author. Indicate quotations by typing quotation marks around the exact words, phrase or sentence followed by the numerical marker in square brackets. A full reference should be included in your reference list at the end of your piece of work.

It is unusual for science students to quote significant amounts of material directly. You should read the literature - making notes in your own words and recording the source of the information - and then paraphrase (write in your own words) a synthesis or summary of the material based on your understanding of the subject, always acknowledging the source in your references.

Try not to over rely on quotations, as this may show a lack of understanding of the information. You should summarise the key points you wish to make in your assignment in your own words. If in doubt, check with your tutor or in your course handbook for further guidance.

Quoting a definition

According to the SI standard, "The second is the duration of 9 192 631 770 periods of the radiation corresponding to the transition between the two hyperfine levels of the ground state of the cesium 133 atom." [3].

Quoting an opinion

(With which you do not necessarily agree)

Eddington stated, "If the contraction theory were proposed to-day as a novel hypothesis, I do not think it would stand the slightest change of acceptance" [4].

Quoting a first-hand account

Morgan recalled the mapping of spiral arms by means of H II regions as "a jewel all the way. It was absolutely perfect." [5].

References

[3] B.N Taylor and A. Thompson, (Eds.) The International System of Units (SI), 2008 ed. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2088).

[4] A.S Eddington, Obs. 43, 341 (1920).

[5] K. Croswell, The Alchemy of the Heavens, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996).

The reference list comes after the main body of your work, starting on a new page. It must list all the sources you have cited in your assignment.

General rules for creating a reference list:

  • The references in the reference list provide the full citation for those works referenced by numerical markers within the text.
  • References are listed by the number you have assigned the reference in the text.
  • List up to three authors in the reference list. For items with four or more authors, list the name of the first author followed by ‘et al.’.
  • Each reference should end with a full stop unless it ends with a DOI/URL (a full stop may prevent the link from working).
  • DOIs should be written as a permanent URL with the https://doi.org prefix.
  • Certain materials, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, may not have one person or persons as the main originator. These items can be referenced using the title first.
  • Use abbreviations for titles of journals. You can use the Web of Science Journal Titles Abbreviations.
  • When referencing a journal, the part number may be omitted if the volume has a continuous paging sequence.
Example reference list

[1] R.A. Millikan, Phys. Rev. 4, 73 (1914).

[2] E.M. Burbidge et al., Rev. Mod. Phys. 29, 547 (1957).

[3] B.N Taylor and A. Thompson, (Eds.) The International System of Units (SI), 2008 ed. (National Institute of Standards and Technology, Gaithersburg, MD, 2088).

[4] A.S Eddington, Obs. 43, 341 (1920).

[5] K. Croswell, The Alchemy of the Heavens, (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1996).

[6] M.S. Longair, High Energy Astrophysics, 2nd ed., reprinted with corrections. (Taylor & Francis, London, 1997).

[7] British Ecological Society, Ecological Concepts: The Contribution of Ecology to an Understanding of the Natural World, (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1989).

[8] B.W. Carroll and D.A. Ostlie, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd ed. (Pearson/Addison Wesley, San Francisco, 2007).

[9] T.K. Gaisser, R. Engel, and E. Resconi, Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016).

[10] F.P. Incropera et al., Principles of Heat and Mass Transfer, 7th ed. (John Wiley & Sons, Hoboken, 2013).

[11] J. Hester et al., 21st Century Astronomy, 3rd ed. (W.W Norton, New York, 2003).

[12] M. Tegmark, in Many Worlds? Evertett, Quantum Theory and Reality, Ed. by S. Saunders, J. Barrett, A. Kent and D. Wallace (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010), p.554.

[13] M. Hoskin, (Ed). The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999).

[14] Systat Software, SIGMAPLOT Version 14.0, (Systat Software Inc., Chicago, 2018).

[15] Y. Miyake et al., Particle simulations of electric and dust environment near the lunar vertical hole. In: Diverse World of Dusty Plasmas: Proceeding of the 8th International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas, Prague, Czech Republic, May 20-25 2017, Ed. by Z. Nemecek, J. Pavlu and J. Safrankova. (AIP Publishing, Melville, 2018).

[16] Z. Nemecek, J. Pavlu and J. Safrankova, (Eds.) Diverse World of Dusty Plasmas: Proceeding of the 8th International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas, Prague, Czech Republic, May 20-25 2017, (AIP Publishing, Melville, 2018).

[17] J. Smith and M. Ross (2015). "Chemical and mineral compositions of sediments from ODP site," Zenodo, V.2.1, Dataset. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.45520

[18] A. Brash (2018). "High Purcell factor generation of coherent on-chip single photons", Figshare, Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.6241694.v1

[19] Cambridge Dictionary of Science and Technology, (Chambers, Edinburgh, 2007).

[20] G. Aad et al., Phys. Lett. B., 716(1), 1 (2012).

[21] A. Liu and M. Tegmark, MNRAS. 49(4), 3491 (2012).

[22] K. Hsu et al., Single-frequency Fiber Fabry-Perot Micro Lasers, US Patent 5 425 039, June 13, 1995.

[23] J. Wong, Constrained Filament Niobium-based Superconductor Composite and Process of Fabrication, EU Patent EP1556906, March 28, 2007.

[24] V.V. Kassandrov and J.A. Rizcallah, Grav. Cosmol 22, 230 (2016), arXiv:gr-qc/0012109.

[25] A.V. Ravindra, P. Padhan and W. Prellier, APL (accepted) (2012), arXiv:1210.1067v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci].

[26] R. H. Cyburt et al., arXiv:1505.01076 [astro-ph.CO].

[27] Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability, DOE-STD-1194-2011 (CH-1), 2011.

[28] Fine Bubble Technology. Sampling and Sample Preparation for Measurement. Ultrafine Bubble Dispersion in Water, BS ISO 20298-1:2018, 2018.

[29] R.J. Allison, The Dynamical Evolution of Young Star Clusters, PhD Thesis. (University of Sheffield, Sheffield, 2011).

[30] J. Schneider, The Extrasolar Planets Enyclopedia, WWW document, (http://exoplanet.eu/).

[31] CERN, ATLAS Detector: Magnet System, WWW document, (http://atlas.cern/discover/detector/magnet-system).

Alphabetical list of items

In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[6] M.S. Longair, High Energy Astrophysics, 2nd ed., reprinted with corrections. (Taylor & Francis, London, 1997).

[7] British Ecological Society, Ecological Concepts: The Contribution of Ecology to an Understanding of the Natural World. (Blackwell Scientific, Oxford, 1989).

Notes
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname and INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

or

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, INITIAL(S). Surname, and INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[8] B.W. Carroll and D.A. Ostlie, An Introduction to Modern Astrophysics, 2nd ed. (Pearson/Addison Wesley, San Francisco, 2007).

[9] T.K. Gaisser, R. Engel, and E. Resconi, Cosmic Rays and Particle Physics, 2nd ed. (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2016).

Notes
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname et al., Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[11] J. Hester et al., 21st Century Astronomy, 3rd ed. (W.W Norton, New York, 2003).

Notes
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] Author's INITIAL(S). Surname, in Title of book, Ed. by Editor's INITIAL(S). Surname. Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication), starting page number.

[12] M. Tegmark, in Many Worlds? Evertett, Quantum Theory and Reality, Ed. by S. Saunders et al., (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2010), p.554.

Notes
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, (Ed.) Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[13] M. Hoskin, (Ed). The Cambridge Concise History of Astronomy, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1999).

Notes
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

It’s important to acknowledge the source of code just like you would acknowledge the source of any work that is not your own. Referencing correctly will help to distinguish your work from others, give credit to the original author and allow anyone to identify the source.

See Referencing Code for guidance. You will need to adapt the guidance to your referencing style.

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of software and version. Type of software (if neeeded) (Publisher, Place of Publication, Year).

[14] Systat Software, SIGMAPLOT Version 14.0, (Systat Software Inc., Chicago, 2018).

Notes
  • The author of an item may be a corporate author.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Paper title. In: Title of conference including number of conference, location and date of conference (if appropriate), Ed. by INITIAL(S). Surname. (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication), starting page number (if available).

[15] Y. Miyake et al., Particle simulations of electric and dust environment near the lunar vertical hole. In: Diverse World of Dusty Plasmas: Proceeding of the 8th International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas, Prague, Czech Republic, May 20-25 2017, Ed. by Z. Nemecek, J. Pavlu and J. Safrankova. (AIP Publishing, Melville, 2018).

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

[  ] Editor's INITIAL(S). Surname, (Ed.), Title of conference including number of conference, location and date of conference (if appropriate), (Publisher, Place of Publication, year of publication).

[16] Z. Nemecek, J. Pavlu and J. Safrankova, (Eds.), Diverse World of Dusty Plasmas: Proceeding of the 8th International Conference on the Physics of Dusty Plasmas, Prague, Czech Republic, May 20-25 2017, (AIP Publishing, Melville, 2018).

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname (Year dataset was made publicly available). "Title of dataset", Name of publisher/dataset holder and archive, Version (if needed), Dataset. DOI

[17] J. Smith and M. Ross (2015). "Chemical and mineral compositions of sediments from ODP site," Zenodo, V.2.1, Dataset. http://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.45520

[18] A. Brash (2018). "High Purcell factor generation of coherent on-chip single photons", Figshare, Dataset. https://doi.org/10.15131/shef.data.6241694.v1

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of book, Edition (if not the first edition). (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[19] Cambridge Dictionary of Science and Technology, (Chambers, Edinburgh, 2007).

Notes
  • Certain types of material, such as dictionaries and encyclopedias, may not have one person or persons as the main originator. These items can be referenced by title first.
  • Only list the edition of the book if it is any edition other than the first.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

For Graphs see Images and Figures.

This guidance is for citing and referencing images and figures that you are referring to in your work. If you have inserted an image or figure into your work please see the "Guidance for taught course students inserting images and figures into university work."

In the reference list

From an online collection/social media site, e.g. Flickr, Instagram, etc.

[  ] Artist/Creator INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of image/figure [description]. Name of site, Month Day Year of publication, (URL).

[32] N. Spence, NGC 7027 or the “Jewel Bug” nebula [online image], Flickr, September 26 2021, (https://www.flickr.com/photos/terraform-mars/51519480421/in/pool-35468155413@N01/).

From a museum/gallery (either viewed in person or online)

[  ] Artist/Creator INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of image/figure (Year) [description]. Name of museum/gallery, City, [If online] (URL).

[33] K. Dawney, Star Portrait of Helen Sharman – The First Briton in Space (2018) [vinyl on glass], Science Museum, London, (https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co8687254/star-portrait-of-helen-sharman-the-first-briton-in-space-portraits-designs).

From a journal

[  ] Artist/Creator INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of image/figure [description]. Title of Journal. Volume(Part), page (Year), [If online] (URL/DOI).

[34] K. Schultheiss et al., Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) image of the investigated structure [diagram]. Phys. Rev. Lett. 126, 137201 (2021), (https://journals.aps.org/prl/abstract/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.137201).

From a book/ebook

[  ] Artist/Creator INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of image/figure [description], in Title of book, Author of book (if different to Artist/Creator) INITIAL(S). Surname (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication), Page number. [If online] (URL or DOI).

[35] J. Polkinghorne, Non-commuting rotations [diagram], in Quantum theory: A very short introduction (Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2002), p. 29.

Notes
  • In some cases you may need to use the screen name of the creator if their real name is not available, which may be the case with image sharing or social media websites.
  • If a person or corporation cannot be identified as the artist/creator, omit the artist/creator and start the reference with the title.
  • If a title cannot be identified, add a description with enough details to make a meaningful title and enclose in square brackets, e.g. [Quantum tunnel].
  • Some online journal articles group multiple figures together as one downloadable image. If you are only referring to one of the figures within the image, make this clear by using the title of that particular figure in your citation/reference.
  • Include a description of the image/figure, e.g. [poster], [photograph], [print], [diagram], [table], etc.
  • If you are referencing an image or figure from a source other than those listed above, include the details of the source in the usual format for that item type after the details of the image.
  • You don't need to include a citation and reference for any images or figures that you have created yourself. Everything in your work is assumed to be your own work unless you state otherwise, i.e. by citing someone else's work.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of Journal. Volume(Part), Starting page (Year).

[20] G. Aad et al., Phys. Lett. B., 716(1), 1 (2012).

[21] A. Liu and M. Tegmark, MNRAS. 49(4), 3491 (2012).

Notes
  • Use abbreviations for titles of journals.
  • The part number may be omitted if the volume has a continuous paging sequence.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Citing informal or unpublished materials, such as handouts, lecture recordings and lecture notes is not generally recommended. Instead you should look to cite a primary source (such as a textbook or journal article) which describes or summarises the idea you are referring to. You may wish to ask your lecturer for recommended reading.

In the reference list

[  ] Inventor's INITIAL(S). Surname, Patent title, Patent number, Month Day, Year.

[22] K. Hsu et al., Single-frequency Fiber Fabry-Perot Micro Lasers, US Patent 5 425 039, June 13, 1995.

[23] J. Wong, Constrained Filament Niobium-based Superconductor Composite and Process of Fabrication, EU Patent EP1556906, March 28, 2007.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, Title of Journal. Volume(Part), Starting page (Year), arXiv ID.

[24] V.V. Kassandrov and J.A. Rizcallah, Grav. Cosmol 22, 230 (2016), arXiv:gr-qc/0012109.

[25] A.V. Ravindra, P. Padhan and W. Prellier, APL (accepted) (2012), arXiv:1210.1067v1 [cond-mat.mtrl-sci].

[26] R. H. Cyburt et al., arXiv:1505.01076 [astro-ph.CO].

Notes
  • Use abbreviations for titles of journals.
  • The part number may be omitted if the volume has a continuous paging sequence.
  • Articles from arXiv, the open access electronic archive, has a well-defined citation format. The date is not necessary, the version number specifies which version of the paper has been accessed.
  • arXiv articles may not have all publishing information available, omit as necessary.
  • If an article has been accepted for publication, use ‘(accepted)’ after the title of the journal.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, OR Organisation, Title of Report. (Publisher, Place of publication, Year of publication).

[20] CERN, CERN Annual Report 2019. (CERN, Geneva, 2019).

Notes
  • For a report, follow the guidance for referencing a book.
  • If the report was published by a learned society or organisation, e.g. CERN, include them as both the author and publisher in the reference.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.
In the reference list

[  ] Standard title, Standard number, Year.

[27] Nuclear Materials Control and Accountability, DOE-STD-1194-2011 (CH-1), 2011.

[28] Fine Bubble Technology. Sampling and Sample Preparation for Measurement. Ultrafine Bubble Dispersion in Water, BS ISO 20298-1:2018, 2018.

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

For Tables see Images and Figures.

[  ] Author's INITIAL(S). Surname, Title, Type and level of award. (Awarding body, Place of awarding body, Year).

[29] R.J. Allison, The Dynamical Evolution of Young Star Clusters, PhD Thesis. (University of Sheffield, Sheffield, 2011).

For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.

Citing informal or unpublished materials, such as handouts and lecture notes is not recommended. Instead you should look to cite a primary source (such as a textbook, journal article or pre-print) which describes or summarises the idea you are referring to. You may wish to ask your lecturer for recommended reading.

Whilst there is a lot of useful information online, the information you may find through search engines is not necessarily reliable, up to date or accurate. It's best to stick to sources of information that have been fact-checked such as peer-reviewed journals and books from reputable publishers. With the exception of ‘professional’ websites such as pre-print databases (e.g. arXiv) and official web pages of scientific collaborations or organisations such as the ATLAS Experiment website, you should think very carefully before using web pages as source material for academic assignments.

In the reference list

[  ] INITIAL(S). Surname, OR Organisation, Title of Web page, WWW document, (URL).

[30] J. Schneider, The Extrasolar Planets Enyclopedia, WWW document, (http://exoplanet.eu/).

[31] CERN, ATLAS Detector: Magnet System, WWW document, (http://atlas.cern/discover/detector/magnet-system).

Notes
  • There may be a corporate author of a website, rather than a person.
  • For more information about in-text citations, quotations, and creating a reference list see Creating in-text citations and references and click on the relevant section.