The most common citaiton style in the social sciences is that of the American Psychological Association. The basic citation forms are:
Journal Article:
Format:
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.
Example:
Atkinson, M., & Gianani, R. (2009). The pancreas in human type 1 diabetes: Providing new answers to age-old questions. Current Opinion in Endocrinology, Diabetes & Obesity, 16(4), 279-285.
Book:
Format:
Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of work: Capital letter also for subtitle. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Bray, G. A., & Bouchard, C. (2004). Handbook of obesity: Etiology and pathophysiology. New York: Marcel Dekker.
Website:
Try to locate as much information as you can. The author can the the agency that produced the site or an individual. Look around on the page for a last modified date to use as the date. If none is available, use (n.d.) where the date usually goes.
Format:
Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication). Title of document. Retrieved from http://Web address
Example:
National Institute of Mental Health (2011). Eating disorders. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/eating-disorders/complete-index.shtml
For additional information, See:
In terms of citation style, the Journal of the American Dietitic Association's Guide for Authors states:
"The Journal follows the AMA Manual of Style, 10th ed, for references. One exception is that reference citations in the Journal must list all authors' names; use of "et al" is not acceptable. Abbreviate periodical titles according to the US National Library of Medicine's lists of biographic data found at: ftp://nlmpubs.nlm.nih.gov/online/journals/lsiweb.pdf. If a title does not appear on this list, provide the complete title. Published and updated dates, if available, and access dates for Web sites cited must be included. For example: Smith J. Risk factors for cancer. Cancer Risk Factors Web site. http://www.cancerriskfactors.gov. Published December 1, 2000. Updated January 15, 2008. Accessed February 1, 2008."
Some things to note about the AMA style that makes it different from APA:
Here are some examples:
Journal Article:
Book:
Albritton, R. Let them eat junk: How capitalism creates hunger and obesity. London: Pluto Press; 2009.
Website (List personal or organizational author when available):
United States Department of Agriculture. MyPramid.gov. Available at: http://www.mypyramid.gov. Accessed June 23, 2009.
For more informaiton on the AMA citation style, see: