Citing Sources Research Guide

For information on more citation styles, check out our Citing Sources Research Guide:

Mathematics Citation Styles

What is it?

AMS style is an author-year style commonly used in mathematics journals and books published by the American Mathematical Society. References appear as a numbered list, ordered alphabetically by author’s last name. In-text references usually use bracketed numbers that correspond to the numbered reference list.

In-text citation:

As shown by Smith and Kumar [3], the equation holds for all values of x. 

Reference list example:

[2] J. Smith and A. Kumar, Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd ed. MIT Press, Cambridge, 2009.

Helpful resources:

Tips:

  • Many math databases (MathSciNet, zbMATH) export directly to AMS format.

  • AMS style can be selected in citation managers like Zotero or EndNote.

What is it?
LaTeX is a document preparation system widely used in mathematics, physics, and computer science for typesetting equations, theorems, and references. BibTeX works with LaTeX to manage and format bibliographies automatically.

In-text citation:

The proof follows from known results in algebraic topology \cite{smith2009}.

Reference list example (BibTeX):

@book{smith2009,
  author    = {John Smith and Anita Kumar},
  title     = {Introduction to Algorithms},
  publisher = {Cambridge University Press},
  year      = {2009},
  edition   = {3}
}

Helpful resources:

Tips:

  • Most math researchers write papers in LaTeX because of its powerful math formatting and automated bibliography management.

  • Tools like Overleaf and citation managers (Zotero, EndNote) can export directly to BibTeX format.

  • Always choose a BibTeX bibliography style that matches your publisher’s requirements (e.g., amsplain, amsalpha).

Interdisciplinary Citation Styles

Need APA Style help? Try these helpful websites and books.

Need help citing sources and formatting bibliographies in MLA Style? Look no further than these helpful websites and books.