By discipline
Writing conventions, field by field
A methods section in nursing and a methods section in history are not the same document. Each page here covers one field: the citation style it uses, whether first person is accepted, how results get reported, and what reviewers in that field push back on.
16 FIELDS
Find your field
Psychology
Usually APA. Empirical journal articles in IMRaD, Lab reports and research methods coursework, Systematic and narrative literature reviews.
Nursing
Usually Vancouver. Reflective accounts of clinical placement, Evidence-based practice papers built on a PICO question, Care plans with structured assessment and rationale.
Medicine
Usually Vancouver. Original research articles reporting trials or cohorts, Systematic reviews and meta-analyses, Clinical case reports and case series.
Public Health
Usually Vancouver. Observational epidemiology papers reported against STROBE, Policy briefs written for non-academic decision makers, Program evaluation reports with a logic model.
Education
Usually APA. Master’s theses and doctoral dissertations in education, Action research reports from a practitioner’s own classroom, Program and curriculum evaluations.
Sociology
Usually APA. Theory-driven journal articles, Ethnographic monographs and field-based articles, Interview-based qualitative studies.
Law
Usually Chicago. Law review and student note articles, Case notes analyzing a single judgment, Doctrinal analyses tracing a rule across authorities.
Business and Management
Usually Harvard. Empirical management journal articles, MBA capstone projects and consulting-style reports, Teaching case studies with instructor notes.
Economics
Usually Chicago. Empirical papers with an explicit identification strategy, Theory papers built around a formal model, Working papers circulated before journal submission.
Engineering
Usually IEEE. IEEE-format conference papers within a page limit, Journal articles on methods, materials, or systems, Technical reports for industry sponsors.
Computer Science
Usually IEEE. Peer-reviewed conference papers within a strict page limit, System-description papers for a tool or platform, Empirical evaluation papers benchmarking an approach.
Biology
Usually Harvard. Primary research articles in IMRaD, Short-format reports and brief communications, Review articles synthesizing a subfield.
Chemistry
Usually Vancouver. Full papers describing new syntheses or methods, Communications reporting a single significant result, Supporting information documents with spectra and procedures.
History
Usually Chicago. Research articles built on archival evidence, Monographs and dissertation chapters, Historiographical essays surveying an interpretive debate.
Political Science
Usually Chicago. Empirical journal articles in comparative or international politics, Normative political theory essays, Qualitative case studies and process-tracing analyses.
Linguistics
Usually APA. Theoretical papers in syntax, semantics, or phonology, Corpus studies with quantitative analysis, Experimental papers on processing or acquisition.
One workspace
whatever the field expects
Draft with structure, cite in APA, MLA, Chicago or IEEE, and export to Word or PDF with the formatting intact.
