Citations are incredibly important to a researcher’s workflow, as well as an author’s merit. The two more well-known kinds of citation formats are in-text citations and footnote citations.
Not too long ago we announced the release of footnote citation styles in Mendeley Cite and while adding that feature, we realized that information about citation styles isn’t readily available. And so, in our ongoing bid to constantly contribute to the research community, we have decided to share our data.
We came into this research period with expectations; the assumption was that in-text citations would dominate the list as they are the most popularly used citation style.
| Top 15 Citation Styles in Mendeley Cite (October 2023) | Percentage Share (%) |
|---|---|
| APA (American Psychological Association) | 56 |
| IEEE | 10 |
| Vancouver | 8 |
| Nature | 3 |
| American Medical Association (AMA) | 2 |
| Cite Them Right – Harvard | 2 |
| Vancouver (Superscript) | 1 |
| Associacao Brasileira De Normas Tecnicas | 1 |
| Chicago Manual of Style (Author Date) | 1 |
| Elsevier – Harvard (with titles) | 0.5 |
| American Sociological Association (ASA) | <0.5 |
| American Chemical Society (ACS) | <0.5 |
| Elsevier – Vancouver | <0.5 |
| American Political Science Association (APSA) | <0.5 |
| Royal Society of Chemistry | <0.5 |
And whilst the results corresponded with our assumptions, we didn’t expect to see only in-text citations in the top 15. But this is understandable as footnote citations styles only make up about 1% of citation style usage across Mendeley Cite, with “Chicago Manual of Style 17th edition (full note)” taking the top spot as the most popular footnote citation style (according to Mendeley Cite October 2023 data).
APA, IEEE and Vancouver being the top three most popular overall was also not a surprise as they are frequently referred to as some of the most used citation styles. However, in contrast to our assumptions MLA (Modern Language Association) was not included in the top 15 even though it is more than often cited as one of the most popular citation styles.
Whether you use in-text or footnote citation styles, whether you’re studying Chemistry, Economics or Law, all of these citation styles and more are available in Mendeley Cite. Save time and simplify your workflow by downloading Mendeley Cite today.
Find out more about the new footnote citation styles in Mendeley Cite here.
Download Mendeley Cite here.
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