PERRLA/Guides/MLA 9/Cochrane review

How to Cite a Cochrane Review in MLA 9

An MLA 9 Works Cited entry for a Cochrane review is formatted like a journal article: the first author's last name and first name (then et al. for three or more authors), the review title in quotation marks and title case, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in italics, no. and the issue, the date the version was published, article and the CD number, and the DOI as a link. The in-text citation is the author's last name: (Sherrington et al.).

The format

Last Name, First Name, et al. "Title of the Review." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. #, Day Mon. Year, article CDxxxxxx, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CDxxxxxx.pubx.

PERRLA MLA Experts · Updated October 27, 2026
Checked against the MLA Handbook, 9th edition. Every example is formatted by PERRLA's reference engine.

First, the easy way: PERRLA

Paste the review's DOI into PERRLA's reference search. PERRLA fills in the authors, the title, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews as the journal, the issue, the date, and the DOI, and it leaves out the Cochrane review group. PERRLA puts the title in title case and quotation marks and shortens three or more authors to et al.

Check two things before you save. First, the issue: it should match the issue in the review's "How to cite" line or at the top of its PDF (2016, Issue 8 means issue 8). Now and then, the DOI record behind the search carries a different one. Second, the volume: Cochrane numbers its issues within each year and has no volumes, so if the search put the year in Volume Number, clear it. The year is already in the date. The search also fills in the CD number as the article number, and PERRLA writes it after the date: article CD012424. Keep it.

Adding one by hand? Choose Journal, then Journal article and A single published article. Put Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews in Journal Name, the date the version was published in Publication Year (like 1/31/2019), and the issue in Issue Number. Leave Volume Number empty, give the CD number, like CD012424, as the article number in place of page numbers, then paste the DOI. If your version doesn't show an issue, leave that box empty too.

Not using PERRLA yet? Here is how to build the same works cited entry by hand.

The parts of the works cited entry

1. Authors

Start with the first author's last name, a comma, and their first name as the review prints it, with any middle initial. Two authors: invert only the first, then write and and the second author's name in normal order. Three or more, which is most Cochrane reviews: give the first author, a comma, and et al.

Sherrington, Catherine, et al.

Keep hyphens and accents exactly as the review prints them (Díaz-Rossello). Leave out the Cochrane review group and any editors the review credits.

2. Review title

Put the title in quotation marks and capitalize it in title case, even though Cochrane uses sentence case. The period goes inside the closing quotation mark.

"Exercise for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community."

3. Database name

Cochrane reviews are published only in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, so it's the container. Write its full name in italics and title case, followed by a comma, the way you'd write a journal name.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,

Don't shorten it to Cochrane Database Syst Rev, and don't swap in Cochrane Library or Wiley. Like a journal, it needs no publisher.

4. Issue, date, and article number

The PDF and the "How to cite" line show something like "2019, Issue 1." Write no. and the issue number, then the date this version was published, day, month, year. Abbreviate months longer than four letters (Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.).

no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019,

Cochrane has no volume numbers. Its issues start over every year, and the year already appears in the date, so there's no vol. in the entry. Use the date in "Version published" on the review's page, not the year the review was first written.

Cochrane reviews have no page numbers. Each one has a CD number instead, labeled Art. No. on the PDF and built into the DOI. Give it after the date as article and the number, followed by a comma.

no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019, article CD012424,

The full-text version in your browser often shows no issue number. Leave out what your version doesn't show.

5. DOI

End with the DOI as a full https://doi.org/ link, followed by a period. Every Cochrane DOI starts with 10.1002/14651858 and ends with the review's CD number and its version (.pub2, .pub3, and so on).

https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2.

Each update of a review gets its own .pub number, so copy the DOI of the version you read, not an older or newer one.

Examples

A Cochrane review with many authors

Sherrington and colleagues' 2019 review of exercise for fall prevention, a go-to source for gerontology and patient safety papers. It has nine authors, so MLA names only the first, then et al. The issue comes from the review's PDF: 2019, Issue 1. This version was published January 31, 2019.

  • In-text citation(Sherrington et al.)
  • Narrative citationSherrington et al. found that …

A Cochrane review with two authors

The 2016 review of kangaroo mother care for low birthweight infants, often cited in maternal-child and NICU papers. Both authors are named, and both have hyphenated last names, one with an accent. Keep all of it. Cochrane lists this version as 2016, Issue 8, published August 23, 2016.

  • In-text citation(Conde-Agudelo and Díaz-Rossello)
  • Narrative citationAs Conde-Agudelo and Díaz-Rossello report, …

A Cochrane review cited from the full-text web version

The 2023 update of the cranberries and UTI review, read in the browser at its DOI. That full-text page shows no issue number, so the entry goes straight from the database name to the date, the article number, and the DOI. This version, published November 10, 2023, replaced one from April 2023 (.pub6), so its DOI ends in .pub7.

  • In-text citation(Williams et al.)
  • Narrative citationWilliams et al. concluded that …

In-text citations

Cite a Cochrane review like any journal article: the authors' last names, then the page number if your version has one, with no comma between them.

  • Two authors: both last names joined by and: (Conde-Agudelo and Díaz-Rossello)
  • Three or more authors: the first author and et al.: (Sherrington et al.)
  • Name in your sentence: no parenthetical is needed when there's no page: Williams et al. reviewed the trials of cranberry products for preventing UTIs.
  • A quote from the PDF: the PDF has page numbers, so add the page after the name, with no comma and no p. The full-text web version has none, so cite the names alone, and don't count paragraphs.
  • Two reviews at once: separate them with a semicolon: (Sherrington et al.; Williams et al.)

When you name the database in your sentence, keep it in italics, as MLA does with every container title: a review in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. Cochrane on its own, as in A Cochrane review by Sherrington et al. found …, is the organization's name and isn't italic.

Common mistakes

  • Sherrington, C., Fairhall, N. J., Wallbank, G. K., … & Lamb, S. E. (2019). Exercise for preventing falls in older people living in the community.Sherrington, Catherine, et al. "Exercise for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community."That's APA. MLA spells out the first name, names only the first of three or more authors before et al., and puts the title in quotation marks and title case. The date moves after the database name.
  • Cochrane Database Syst Rev, no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019,Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019,That's PubMed's abbreviation. MLA spells out the full name of the container.
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019, Issue 1. Art. No.: CD012424.Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019, article CD012424, https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD012424.pub2.Cochrane's own "How to cite" line isn't MLA. Write no. for the issue, give the date the version was published, write article before the CD number instead of Art. No., and end with the DOI.
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, vol. 2019, no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019,Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, no. 1, 31 Jan. 2019,Cochrane has no volumes. Database records sometimes put the year where a volume would go, but the year is already in the date.
  • "Exercise for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community." Cochrane Library, Wiley,"Exercise for Preventing Falls in Older People Living in the Community." Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews,The Cochrane Library is the website that holds several Cochrane databases. The review is published in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and like a journal, it gets no publisher.
  • https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub6https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD001321.pub7Each update of a review has its own DOI. Use the one for the version you read, and match the date to that version.

Quick checklist

  • First author inverted with the full first name; et al. for three or more
  • Review title in quotation marks and title case
  • Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews spelled out in italics
  • no. and the issue, then the date the version was published; no vol.
  • article and the CD number after the date
  • The DOI for that exact version as a https://doi.org/ link, ending with a period

Questions students ask

Is a Cochrane review a journal article?

For your Works Cited list, yes. Cochrane reviews are published only in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, so MLA treats the database as the container, in italics where a journal name would go.

Why doesn't my Cochrane entry have an issue number?

The full-text version on the Cochrane Library website doesn't show one, so you don't have to include it. The PDF does show the year and issue, and if you see the issue, put it in. Both versions are correct as long as the date and the DOI are there.

What does .pub5 at the end of the DOI mean?

It's the version number. Cochrane updates reviews as new studies come out, and every update gets a new DOI ending in .pub2, .pub3, and so on. Cite the version you read, with its own date and DOI. The review's page says whether a newer version exists.

Do I include the CD number or Art. No.?

Yes. The CD number (like CD012424) is the review's article number, labeled Art. No. on the PDF and repeated in the DOI. Cochrane reviews have no page numbers, so give the article number in their place, after the date: article CD012424.

Do I cite the Cochrane Library or the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews?

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. The Cochrane Library is the website that holds several Cochrane databases, but the reviews themselves are published in the CDSR, so that's the name that goes in your entry.

Can I cite the plain language summary instead?

The plain language summary is part of the review, so cite the review itself. If you quote the summary, say so in your sentence: In the plain language summary, Williams et al. explain …

Rules checked against the MLA Handbook (9th ed.), chapters 5 and 6 (the core elements, containers, and in-text citations), and the MLA Style Center (volume and issue numbers when a version doesn't show them; the italicization of site names in prose). The MLA has published no Cochrane example; the entry applies the journal-article template. Example sources verified against PubMed (PMIDs 30703272, 27552521, and 37947276) and Crossref on October 27, 2026: every author's full name and order, the version publication dates (31 Jan. 2019, 23 Aug. 2016, and 10 Nov. 2023), the issue, and the DOI.

PERRLA builds the Cochrane review entry from its DOI, with the authors, the full database name, and the DOI in place.

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