Cite the conference abstract as its own publication, using the conference name, abstract locator, and a publication type that identifies it as an abstract rather than a journal article. The NLM style guide, Citing Medicine, provides structured rules and examples for citing conference material and other publication types, so use its conference-material format as the template and adapt the fields to what the abstract record actually contains.
- Confirm the item is an abstract, not a full paper. Check the conference program, abstract book, or the record's own labeling. If the record identifies the item as an abstract, treat it as a distinct publication and do not attach the citation to a full article that does not exist.
- Capture the conference and locator fields. Record the conference name, location, and date as given, plus the abstract number or page locator that the abstract book or program assigns. These fields let a reader find the exact abstract among many presented at the same meeting.
- Retrieve the deposited metadata for any DOI. A DOI lookup through the Crossref REST API returns the metadata deposited for that DOI, which you can use to confirm the title, contributors, and container information before finalizing the citation.
- Label the publication type accurately. Use wording such as "conference abstract" in the citation so the reader knows the source is an abstract. Citing Medicine's examples for conference material show how publication type is expressed in the reference.
- Write the citation from the abstract's own content. Cite only information present in the abstract, and avoid wording that implies you reviewed a full article.
If you need to locate the abstract record itself, Google Scholar supports title searches with quotation marks and author searches, which can help you find the conference listing before you build the reference.