Best Examples of NLM: Diverse Reference Page Examples for 2025

Instead of starting with theory, let’s go straight into examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples that mirror what you actually cite in a modern health sciences paper. All examples follow the current NLM guidance as reflected in the Citing Medicine manual and the NLM style recommendations used by PubMed journals.

Quick reminder: NLM uses a numbered reference list, in the order sources appear in the text. Author names are in LastName Initials format, journal titles are abbreviated, and DOIs or URLs appear at the end when relevant.

Below, each example of an NLM reference is shown in reference-list format, followed by a short explanation.

Journal Article Examples of NLM: Diverse Reference Page Examples

Most students and researchers start by hunting for journal article models, so let’s anchor on those first. These examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples cover classic print-style articles, online-first articles, and open access journals.

1. Standard Research Article in a Medical Journal

Reference page example:

1. Smith JA, Patel R, Nguyen T. Impact of telehealth follow-up on hospital readmissions in heart failure patients. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024;83(7):945-954. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2024.01.012.

Why this matters: This is the best example of a straightforward NLM citation for a peer-reviewed article. You get:

• Authors (up to 6 listed; if more, list first 6 then et al.)
• Article title in sentence case (no quotes)
• Abbreviated journal title (per NLM Catalog)
• Year; volume(issue):page range
• DOI at the end

You can verify journal title abbreviations using the NLM Catalog: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog.

2. Online-Only Journal Article with DOI

Reference page example:

2. Lee S, Gonzalez M, Harper K, et al. Long COVID symptoms and work productivity among U.S. adults: a cross-sectional study. JAMA Netw Open. 2024;7(3):e245678. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2024.5678.

Here the page range is replaced by an e-location ID (e245678), which is common in online-only journals like JAMA Network Open. NLM treats that number as the article identifier instead of traditional pages.

3. Early Online / Epub Ahead of Print

Reference page example:

3. Allen DM, Kaur P, Johnson L, et al. Emergency department crowding during respiratory virus surges: lessons from 2022–2024. Ann Emerg Med. Epub 2025 Jan 10. doi:10.1016/j.annemergmed.2025.01.003.

For early online articles, NLM style allows you to use the Epub date and DOI when volume, issue, or pages are not yet assigned.

Examples of NLM: Diverse Reference Page Examples for Books and Chapters

NLM style handles books differently from journal articles, especially when you have editors, chapters, or online-only textbooks. These examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples show the patterns you can reuse.

4. Entire Print or E-Book

Reference page example:

4. Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Kasper DL, Hauser SL, Jameson JL, Loscalzo J, editors. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. 21st ed. New York (NY): McGraw-Hill; 2022.

Key details:

• List editors followed by editors.
• Include edition number (21st ed.).
• City and state abbreviation in parentheses, then publisher, then year.

5. Chapter in an Edited Book

Reference page example:

5. Martinez J, O’Connor P. Management of type 2 diabetes in older adults. In: Jameson JL, De Groot LJ, editors. Endocrinology: adult and pediatric. 8th ed. Philadelphia (PA): Elsevier; 2023. p. 1103-1120.

This example of a book chapter citation shows how NLM uses In: to connect the chapter authors to the book editors. Note the page range at the end.

6. Online Textbook with Update Date

Reference page example:

6. National Center for Biotechnology Information. GeneReviews® [Internet]. Seattle (WA): University of Washington, Seattle; 1993– [updated 2024 May 15; cited 2025 Feb 3]. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1116/

This is one of the best examples to model when you cite a continuously updated online text. You include:

• [Internet] after the title
• Start year and dash (1993–)
• Latest update date
• Your access date in brackets
• URL at the end

NLM’s Citing Medicine manual has more book patterns: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/.

Government and Organizational Reports: Real Examples in NLM Style

Public health and policy papers often lean on CDC, NIH, or WHO reports. These real examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples show how to handle institutional authors and online reports.

7. U.S. Government Health Report (CDC)

Reference page example:

7. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2019 [Internet]. Atlanta (GA): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019 [cited 2025 Jan 20]. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf

Notice that the institution is the author. You also label it [Internet] and include your citation date plus the direct URL.

You can find more CDC report formats at: https://www.cdc.gov/library/reference/styleguide.html.

8. NIH or Agency Report with Series Information

Reference page example:

8. National Institutes of Health. Strategic plan for NIH nutrition research: a report of the NIH Nutrition Research Task Force [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health; 2020 [cited 2025 Feb 1]. (NIH publication; no. 20-7991). Available from: https://www.niddk.nih.gov/about-niddk/strategic-plans-reports

The series statement (NIH publication; no. 20-7991) is included in parentheses before the URL. This is a strong example of how NLM handles reports with publication numbers.

Clinical Guidelines and Professional Society Documents

In 2024–2025, many assignments require you to cite updated guidelines from groups like the American Heart Association or specialty societies. These examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples show how to format them.

9. Professional Society Clinical Guideline (Journal Format)

Reference page example:

9. Heidenreich PA, Bozkurt B, Aguilar D, et al. 2022 AHA/ACC/HFSA guideline for the management of heart failure: a report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Joint Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines. Circulation. 2022;145(18):e895-e1032. doi:10.1161/CIR.0000000000001063.

Even though this is a guideline, it follows standard journal article format because it appears in a journal.

10. Web-Only Practice Guideline

Reference page example:

10. American Diabetes Association Professional Practice Committee. Standards of care in diabetes—2025 [Internet]. Arlington (VA): American Diabetes Association; 2025 [cited 2025 Feb 2]. Available from: https://diabetes.org/diabetes/standards-of-care

This example of a web-only guideline uses the same pattern as online reports: institutional author, [Internet], place, publisher, year, citation date, and URL.

For reference, ADA materials are explained further here: https://diabetesjournals.org/ (publisher style pages often mirror NLM conventions).

Digital-First Sources: Preprints, Datasets, and Websites

Modern research projects almost always involve preprints, datasets, and websites. These examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples reflect how instructors and journals expect you to cite newer formats.

11. Preprint on medRxiv or bioRxiv

Reference page example:

11. Brown L, Ahmed S, Choi J, et al. Effectiveness of updated mRNA COVID-19 vaccines against emerging Omicron subvariants: a test-negative case-control study [preprint]. medRxiv. 2024 Jan 5. doi:10.1101/2024.01.05.24300567.

NLM treats preprints as [preprint] with the server name (medRxiv) and date, plus the DOI. This is increasingly common in 2024–2025, especially for fast-moving topics like COVID-19 and respiratory viruses.

12. Research Dataset

Reference page example:

12. U.S. Census Bureau. American Community Survey 2023 1-year estimates public use microdata sample (PUMS) [Internet]. Washington (DC): U.S. Census Bureau; 2024 [cited 2025 Jan 28]. Available from: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/microdata.html

This is a real example of how you might cite a dataset in NLM style. You treat the agency as the author, label it [Internet], and include access date and URL.

13. Webpage with Corporate Author (e.g., Mayo Clinic)

Reference page example:

13. Mayo Clinic Staff. Long COVID: symptoms and causes [Internet]. Rochester (MN): Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research; 2024 Apr 3 [cited 2025 Feb 1]. Available from: https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/covid-long-haul

NLM style for websites usually includes:

• Author or corporate author (Mayo Clinic Staff)
• Title of the page
• [Internet]
• Place and publisher
• Last update date if available
• Your citation date
• URL

For more health web examples, Mayo Clinic’s content is a reliable model: https://www.mayoclinic.org/.

Examples of NLM: Diverse Reference Page Examples for Grey Literature

Not everything you cite is peer-reviewed. Policy briefs, theses, and conference abstracts also show up often in health sciences papers. These examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples cover those gray areas.

14. Conference Abstract Published in a Journal Supplement

Reference page example:

14. Wilson K, Ramirez L, Chen Y. Trends in adolescent e-cigarette use after flavored product restrictions. J Adolesc Health. 2024;74(2 Suppl 1):S45. Abstract.

Here you indicate Abstract at the end. The supplement number and page (S45) follow the journal’s own structure.

15. Doctoral Dissertation

Reference page example:

15. Carter ME. Nurse-led telehealth interventions to reduce hospital readmissions in older adults [dissertation]. Boston (MA): Boston University; 2024.

For theses and dissertations, NLM style uses [dissertation] or [master’s thesis] in square brackets after the title, then location, institution, and year.

How to Build Your Own NLM Reference Page from These Examples

Now that you’ve seen multiple examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples across journals, books, reports, and digital sources, the next step is to adapt them to your own project. A few practical habits will keep you out of trouble:

• Collect full citation data early. As soon as you download a PDF or open a web resource, grab the authors, title, journal or site name, year, volume/issue, pages or e-location, DOI, and URL. You’ll thank yourself when you build the reference page.
• Check journal title abbreviations. Use the NLM Catalog to confirm you’re using the correct abbreviated form, not the casual nickname.
• Be consistent with dates. For online content, always look for both the publication or update date and your citation date. NLM expects both when content can change over time.
• Use DOIs when available. In 2024–2025, most medical journals expect DOIs to appear in references. If a DOI exists, include it.
• Match numbering to in-text citations. NLM uses superscript numbers or bracketed numbers in the text that correspond to the numbered list at the end. Do not alphabetize the reference list.

If you’re ever unsure, cross-check your draft with Citing Medicine from the National Library of Medicine: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/. Many of the best examples in this guide echo those official patterns, updated for current digital publishing trends.

FAQ: Common Questions About NLM Reference Page Examples

How many examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples should I follow in one paper?

You don’t need to copy every pattern in a single assignment. Instead, match your sources to the closest example of an NLM reference shown here: journal article, book, guideline, report, dataset, or website. As long as each source follows the right pattern for its type, your overall NLM reference page will look consistent.

Are DOIs mandatory in NLM reference lists?

If a DOI is available, most journals and instructors expect you to include it. NLM guidance strongly encourages DOIs for electronic articles because they are stable identifiers. When no DOI exists, a URL or database name may be used instead.

Can I use citation managers to create NLM references?

Yes, tools like Zotero, EndNote, and Mendeley can output NLM or “Vancouver/NLM” style. However, citation managers often struggle with edge cases like online guidelines or datasets. That’s why it helps to compare the output against real examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples like the ones above and fix details manually.

Where can I see more official NLM examples?

The National Library of Medicine maintains Citing Medicine, an online book with detailed patterns for almost every source type. You can access it here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/. Many university libraries, such as Harvard and others, also host NLM/Vancouver quick guides based on the same rules.

Do I need to include access dates for all online sources?

For online materials that can change over time—webpages, guidelines, databases, and living documents—yes, you should include the date you accessed the content. For stable journal articles with DOIs, an access date is usually not required unless your instructor or journal specifically requests it.

By grounding your work in these examples of NLM: diverse reference page examples, you’re not just checking a formatting box. You’re signaling to editors, instructors, and peer reviewers that your research lives comfortably inside the conventions of modern medical and health sciences publishing.