Nature: journal article (with DOI)
- Use “&” before the last author.
- The journal name is italic and the volume bold; the year goes in parentheses at the end.
Nature: book
Not shown for Nature: chapter in an edited book, web page, report, thesis or dissertation. We publish only patterns we've checked against the Nature formatting guide for authors; for these, see the manual or your course's guide.
Nature in-text citations
Cite with superscript numbers in order of first appearance.
| Single source | …as reported previously¹. |
| Several sources | …in several studies¹⁻³. |
- Each reference number refers to one publication only.
Common Nature mistakes
- Putting the year after the author, as in author–date styles. Nature puts it in parentheses at the end.
- Listing several publications under one number.
Format a reference in Nature
Our free in-browser formatter covers journal articles in six styles (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver). Nature is one of the 2,500+ styles in the full MoreMind workspace.
Nature questions
How many authors does Nature list?
Nature's guidelines ask for up to five authors; for more than five, give the first author followed by “et al.” Check the current guide for the specific journal you are submitting to.
Does Nature style include DOIs?
Nature's published references often include DOIs, but its basic author format shown here doesn't require one. Follow your journal or course.
Do all Nature Portfolio journals use the same style?
Broadly, but individual journals have their own author guidelines. Check the guide for the journal you're writing for.
Why are chapters and websites missing?
We've included only the patterns we could confirm. For other source types, see the journal's formatting guide.
About the examples
Every style guide on this site formats the same six sources, so you can compare styles side by side. The journal article is real; the others are fictional, with placeholder names.
- Journal article (with DOI) (real): Hannah Jergas and Christopher Baethge, “Quotation accuracy in medical journal articles—a systematic review and meta-analysis,” PeerJ, volume 3, article e1364, published 27 October 2015, DOI 10.7717/peerj.1364.
- Book: Jane A. Doe, Evidence and argument in student research, Example University Press, London, 2021.
- Chapter in an edited book: Richard B. Roe, “Reading statistics critically,” pages 45–67 of A handbook of research methods, edited by Maria C. Sample and Lee D. Example, Example University Press, London, 2020.
- Web page: Pat Q. Public, “How to check that a source exists,” Example Research Hub (London), published 12 March 2024, https://www.example.org/guides/check-a-source, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Report: Example Institute for Education (author and publisher, London), Student research practices in higher education, 2023, https://www.example.org/reports/student-research-2023, accessed 15 October 2026.
- Thesis or dissertation: Alex B. Placeholder, Peer feedback and revision in first-year writing, unpublished PhD thesis, Department of Education, Example University, London, 2022.
Based on the Nature formatting guide for authors. Last reviewed 2026-11. Your instructor's or journal's own guidelines take precedence. Spotted an error? Email support@moremind.ai.