Reference Style & Citation Examples

Accurate, complete, and properly formatted references are an essential component of scholarly communication. Authors are responsible for ensuring that all cited works are properly attributed, accurately described, and formatted in accordance with journal style requirements.

References should:

identify sources clearly enough to permit retrieval by readers,
appropriately credit prior work and ideas,
include DOI or persistent-link information where available,
accurately reflect publication status (e.g., forthcoming, preprint, working paper), and
conform to the citation and bibliography style used by the journal.

References should provide sufficient information to allow readers to identify and retrieve cited materials.

This page provides general examples of common reference formats used across INFORMS journals. Minor stylistic variations may be adjusted during copyediting; however, authors remain responsible for the completeness, accuracy, and consistency of all references and citations.

For guidance regarding originality, attribution, reuse of previously published materials, permissions, and related citation responsibilities, please also review:

General Citation Principles

The following conventions reflect common citation practices used across INFORMS journals.

In-Text Citations

INFORMS journals generally use an author–year citation format.

Examples:

One author: (Smith 2013)
Two authors: (Smith and Jones 2013)
Three or more authors: (Smith et al. 2013)

Some journals may use modified citation conventions or numbered reference systems. Authors should consult journal-specific guidance where applicable.

Multiple Citations

When multiple references are cited together, citations should generally be ordered chronologically and separated by commas.

Example:

(Smith 2001, Adams et al. 2004, Brown 2007)

For multiple works by the same author group, list the author name(s) once followed by the publication years.

Example:

(Smith 2010, 2011, 2015; Lee et al. 2014, 2017)

Direct Quotations

When citing a direct quotation, include page numbers where available.

Example:

(Ramirez et al. 2017, pp. 541–542)

Reference Accuracy

Authors should ensure that:

all references cited in the text appear in the reference list,
all references listed are cited in the manuscript,
publication years are consistent between citations and references,
URLs and DOIs are active and accurate at the time of submission, and
publication status descriptions (e.g., forthcoming, working paper, preprint) are current.

General Reference Style

References are generally listed alphabetically by the surname of the first author.
Author surnames precede initials.
Journal titles should use accepted abbreviations where appropriate.
Include all author names up to the journal’s permitted limit before use of “et al.”
Include DOI information whenever available.
Reference-management software may assist with formatting, but authors remain responsible for verifying all references before submission.

Authors should use stable, authoritative, and publicly accessible sources whenever possible.

References to unpublished, non-archival, or non-peer-reviewed materials should be used judiciously and only where appropriate to the scholarly contribution.

General Reference Examples

Journal Articles

Journal Article

Flynn J, Gartska S Jr (1990) A dynamic inventory model with periodic auditing. Oper. Res. 38(6):1089–1103.

Garvin DA (1987) Competing on the eight dimensions of quality. Harvard Bus. Rev. 65(November–December):101–117.

Nau RA, Garvin DA, Whitt W (1995) Coherent decision analysis with inseparable probabilities and utilities. J. Math. Econom. 29(2):331–361.

Forthcoming Publication

Use “forthcoming” only for accepted works that have not yet been formally published online or in issue form.

Johnson RD, Marakas GM (2017) The role of behavioral modeling in computer skills acquisition: Toward refinement of the model. Inform. Systems Res. Forthcoming.

Article Published Online Ahead of Print

Lu SF, Rui H (2017) Can we trust online physician ratings? Evidence from cardiac surgeons in Florida. Management Sci., ePub ahead of print June 13, https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2017.2741.

Books & Book Chapters

Book

Lilien GL, Rangaswamy A (1998) Marketing Engineering: Computer-Assisted Marketing Analysis and Planning (Addison-Wesley, Reading, MA).

Makridakis S, Wheelwright SC, McGee VE (1983) Forecasting: Methods and Applications, 2nd ed. (John Wiley & Sons, New York).

Page numbers are generally not required when citing books in their entirety.

Chapter in an Edited Volume

Martello S, Toth P (1979) The 0-1 knapsack problem. Christofides N, Mingozzi A, Sandi C, eds. Combinatorial Optimization (John Wiley & Sons, New York), 237–279.

Page numbers should generally be included for chapters or contributed sections within edited volumes.

Edited Book

Doyle P, Stern P, eds. (2006) Marketing Management and Strategy, 4th ed. (Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ).

Conference Materials

Conference Proceedings (Published)

Hill RR (1996) An analytical comparison of optimization problem generation methodologies. Medeiros DJ, Watson EF, Carson JS, eds. Proc. 21st Winter Simulation Conf. 1998 (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Washington, DC), 609–615.

Presentation or Lecture

Haltiwanger J (2004) What do we know (and not know) about the contribution of young businesses to economic growth? Presentation, Entrepreneurship in the 21st Century Conference, March 26, Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, DC.

Dissertations

Yi Y (1998) Developing and validating an observational learning model of computer software training. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Maryland, College Park.

Working Papers & Preprints

Working Paper (Unpublished)

Mishina K, Smith R (1992) Learning by new experiences. Working paper, Harvard Business School, Boston.

Working Paper with Publication Number

Gross DP (2016) The ties that bind: Railroad gauge standards and internal trade in the 19th century U.S. Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 17-044, Harvard University, Boston.

Preprint

Bertsimas D, Gupta V, Kallus N (2013) Data-driven robust optimization. Preprint, submitted December 31, https://arxiv.org/abs/1401.0212.

Babenko I, Choi G, Sen R (2018) Management (of) proposals. Preprint, submitted April 20, https://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3155428.

Reports & Government Publications

U.S. Small Business Administration (2003) Self-employment and computer usage. Report, Office of Advocacy, U.S. Small Business Administration, Washington, DC.

Newspapers, Magazines & Online Media

Print

Wall Street Journal (1997) Robust demand leaves industry front-runner unafraid of competitors. (January 20), B2.

Online

Morrison M (2003) Herb Kelleher on the record, part 3. Bus. Week Online (December 23), http://www.businessweek.com/stories/2003-12-23/herb-kelleher-on-the-record-part-3.

Reaves J (2001) A weighty issue: Ever-fatter kids. Interview with James Rosen. Time (March 14), http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/1234.html.

Websites & Online Resources

Federation of American Scientists. Resolution comparison: Reading license plates and headlines. Accessed March 29, 2006, http://www.fas.org/irp/imint/resolve5.htm.

Open Source Initiative (2006) The open source definition. Retrieved March 29, http://www.opensource.org/.

Multimedia & Archival Materials

Ailawadi K, Cesar J, Harlam B (2014) Quantifying and improving promotion profitability at CVS. Disc 05.01. 2005 Practice Prize Competition. DVD. INFORMS, Catonsville, MD. http://www.informs.org/site/ISM_DVD/article.php?id=4.

Interviews & Personal Communications

Interview

Hunt H (1976) Interview by Ronald Schatz. Tape recording, May 16. Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission, Harrisburg.

Personal Communication

Cummings JN (2005) Team configuration data provided via personal communication with the authors, January 4.

Journal-Specific Guidance

Some INFORMS journals maintain journal-specific citation or reference-style conventions, including variations in citation formatting, URL handling, or reference numbering systems. Authors should consult the journal’s individual submission instructions and editorial statements for any journal-specific citation or reference-style requirements.

Updated September 1, 2026.