| RIS | |
|---|---|
| Filename extension |
.ris |
| Internet media type |
application/x-research-info-systems |
| Type of format | Bibliography |
RIS is a standardized tag format developed by Research Information Systems, Incorporated (the format name refers to the company) to enable citation programs to exchange data.1 It is supported by a number of reference managers. Many digital libraries, like Web of Science, IEEE Xplore, Scopus, the ACM Portal, Scopemed, ScienceDirect, SpringerLink, Rayyan, The Lens, Accordance Bible Software,2 and online library catalogs can export citations in this format. Citation management applications can export and import citations in this format.
Format
The RIS file format—two letters, two spaces and a hyphen—is a tagged format for expressing bibliographic citations. According to the specifications,345 the lines must end with the ASCII carriage return and line feed characters. Note that this is the convention on Microsoft Windows, while in other contemporary operating systems, particularly Unix, the end of line is typically marked by line feed only.
Multiple citation records can be present in a single RIS file. A record ends with an "end record" tag ER - with no additional blank lines between records.
Example record
This is an example of how the article "Claude E. Shannon. A mathematical theory of communication. Bell System Technical Journal, 27:379–423, July 1948" would be expressed in the RIS file format:
TY - JOUR AU - Shannon, Claude E. PY - 1948 DA - July TI - A Mathematical Theory of Communication T2 - Bell System Technical Journal SP - 379 EP - 423 VL - 27 ER -
Example multi-record format
This is an example of how two citation records would be expressed in a single RIS file. Note the first record ends with ER - and the second record begins with TY - JOUR:
TY - JOUR AU - Shannon, Claude E. PY - 1948 DA - July TI - A Mathematical Theory of Communication T2 - Bell System Technical Journal SP - 379 EP - 423 VL - 27 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - On computable numbers, with an application to the Entscheidungsproblem A1 - Turing, Alan Mathison JO - Proc. of London Mathematical Society VL - 47 IS - 1 SP - 230 EP - 265 Y1 - 1937 ER -
Tags
The TY - tag must appear first and the ER - tag must appear last.678 Most tags must appear at most once, but the author, keyword, and URL tags can be repeated.6
Each name must be formatted as a comma-separated list of last name, first name (including middle names, can be initials), and suffix, in that order, and must not be longer than 255 characters.69108 Unless otherwise specified, each date must be formatted as a slash-separated list of 4-digit year, 2-digit month, 2-digit day, and other info (e.g. season); unused fields may be omitted if they are at the end.6118
Many strings have limits on what characters they can contain (e.g. any ASCII character, just alphanumerics, or just digits) or their length (often limited to 255 characters). These are only sometimes noted in the table below; see the linked sources to double-check, particularly 9 and the pages in RIS Format Specifications.
There are two major versions of the RIS specification, one from 2001, and one from the end of 2011 with different lists of tags for each type of record, sometimes with different meanings.451213 Below is an excerpt of the main RIS tags, from both versions. Except for TY - and ER -, order of tags is free and their inclusion is optional.
| Tag | Meaning (see linked references for more details, such as which types have which interpretations) |
|---|---|
| A1 | Interviewee.14 (Primary) author.91015161718 Synonym of AU.8 |
| A2 | Secondary author/editor/translator, e.g. editor, performers, sponsor, series editor, reporter, institution, name of file, producer, series director, department, interviewer, issuing organization, recipient, or narrator. The tag must be repeated for each person. Synonym of ED.6910141981516182021 |
| A3 | Tertiary author/editor/translator, e.g. series editor/author, illustrator, editor, higher court, producer, director, international author, publisher, or advisor. The tag must be repeated for each person.691014815182021 Collaborators.1617 |
| A4 | Subsidiary/quaternary author/editor/translator, e.g. translator, counsel, sponsor, funding agency, performers, producer, department/division, or volume editor. The tag must be repeated for each person.614151821 |
| A5 | Quinary author / compiler.15 |
| A6 | Website editor.15 |
| AB | Abstract or synopsis.614815171820 Notes.1121 Synonym of N2.8 |
| AD | (Author/editor/inventor) address, e.g. postal address, email address, phone number, and/or fax number.6149228151820 Institution.21 |
| AN | Accession number.6141521 |
| AU | (Primary) author/editor/translator, e.g. author, artist, created by, attribution, programmer, investigators, editor, director, interviewee, cartographer, composer, reporter, inventor, or institution. The tag must be repeated for each person. Synonym of A1.6101481617182021 |
| AV | Notes.14 Availability (description of where to find it).923815 Location in archives. |
| BT | Primary/secondary title.824161820 For Whole Book (BOOK) and Unpublished Work (UNPB) references, this maps to T1 or TI; for all other types, this maps to T2.824 Subtitle.16 Book title.17 |
| C1 | Custom 1, e.g. legal note, cast, author affiliation, section, place published, time period, term, year cited, government body, contact name, scale, format of music, column, or sender's e-mail.6141821 |
| C2 | Custom 2, e.g. PMCID, credits, year published, unit of observation, date cited, congress number, contact address, area, form of composition, issue, issue date, recipients e-mail, or report number.6141821 |
| C3 | Custom 3, e.g. size/length, title prefix, proceedings title, data type, PMCID, congress session, contact phone, size, music parts, or designated states.6141821 |
| C4 | Custom 4, e.g. reviewer, dataset(s), genre, contact fax, target audience, or attorney/agent.6141821 |
| C5 | Custom 5, e.g. format, packaging method, issue title, last update date, funding number, accompanying matter, format/length, references, or publisher.6141821 |
| C6 | Custom 6, e.g. NIHMSID, CFDA number, legal status, issue, or volume.6141821 |
| C7 | Custom 7, e.g. article number or PMCID.6141821 |
| C8 | Custom 8, not used by any of the standard types.6141821 |
| CA | Caption.614182021 |
| CL | Classification.15 |
| CN | Call number.6141516182021 |
| CP | City/place of publication.916 Issue.2218 |
| CR | Cited references.15 |
| CT | Caption.14 Primary title.2416 Address.18 Title of unpublished reference. |
| CY | Place published, e.g. city, conference location, country, or activity location.61422816182021 |
| DA | Date, e.g. date accessed, last update date, date decided, date of collection, date released, deadline, date of code edition, or date enacted.6141821 |
| DB | Name of database.614151821 |
| DI | Digital Object Identifier (DOI).18 |
| DO | Digital Object Identifier (DOI).6141516182021 This used to be documented as "Document Object Index".25 |
| DOI | Digital Object Identifier (DOI).17 |
| DP | Database provider.6141821 |
| DS | Data source.15 |
| ED | Secondary author.10 Editor.171820 Synonym of A2.816 Edition.15 |
| EP | Pages.14 End page.922816171820 |
| ER | End of reference. Must be the last tag.67924817 |
| ET | Edition, e.g. epub (electronic publication?) date, date published, session, action of higher court, version, requirement, description of material, international patent classification, or description.61416182021 |
| FD | Free-form publication data.15 |
| H1 | Location (library).16 |
| H2 | Location (call number).16 |
| ID | Reference identifier, may be limited to 20 alphanumeric characters.9248151820 |
| IP | Identifying phrase.15 |
| IS | Number, e.g. issue or number of volumes.6149228151617182021 |
| J1 | Notes.14 User abbreviation 1 of journal/periodical name.92681318 |
| J2 | Alternate title, e.g. alternate journal, abbreviated publication, abbreviation, or alternate magazine. If possible, it should be a standard abbreviation, preferably using the Index Medicus style including periods. This field is used for the abbreviated title of a book or journal name, the latter mapped to T2.614131821 |
| JA | Standard abbreviation for journal/periodical name.2613161718 |
| JF | Full name of journal/periodical.9268131516171821 |
| JO | Abbreviation (for journal/periodical name).148131516171820 "Periodical name: full format. This is an alphanumeric field of up to 255 characters."926 |
| K1 | Keyword.15 |
| KW | Keyword/phrase. Must be at most 255 characters long. May be repeated any number of times to add multiple keywords.61492781617182021 |
| L1 | File attachments, e.g. figure.614182021 "Link to PDF. There is no practical length limit to this field. URL addresses can be entered individually, one per tag or multiple addresses can be entered on one line using a semi-colon as a separator. These links should end with a file name, and not simply a landing page. Use the UR tag for URL links."923 Internet link.16 Local file.18 |
| L2 | URL.14 "Link to Full-text. There is no practical length limit to this field. URL addresses can be entered individually, one per tag or multiple addresses can be entered on one line using a semi-colon as a separator."923 Internet link.16 |
| L3 | DOI.14 Related records.923 Internet link.16 |
| L4 | Figure, e.g. URL or file attachments.614182021 Images.923 Internet link.16 Local file.18 |
| LA | Language.61415182021 |
| LB | Label.6141821 |
| LK | Links.15 |
| LL | Sponsoring library location.15 |
| M1 | Number, publication number, text number, size, bill number, series volume, computer, issue, chapter, status, document number, start page, issue number, folio number, number of screens, application number, number of pages, public law number, or access date.141821 Miscellaneous 1.92381718 A good place for type or genre information.8 |
| M2 | Start page, notes, or number of pages.1421 Miscellaneous 2.9231718 |
| M3 | Type of work, e.g. type (of work/article/medium/image); citation of reversal; medium; funding, patent, or thesis type; format; or form of item.6141821 Miscellaneous 3.92381718 Suitable to hold the medium.8 |
| N1 | Notes.61491181617182021 |
| N2 | Abstract.1491181618 Synonym of AB.8 |
| NO | Notes.15 |
| NV | Number of volumes, e.g. extent of work, reporter abbreviation, catalog number, study number, document number, version, amount received, session number, frequency, manuscript number, US patent classification, communication number, series volume, or statute number. Ignored for Press Release (PRESS).614182021 |
| OL | Output language (using one of the documented numeric codes).15 |
| OP | Original publication, e.g. contents, history, content, version history, original grant number, or priority numbers.61418 Other pages.1521 Original foreign title.15 |
| PA | Personal notes.15 |
| PB | Publisher, e.g. court, distributor, sponsoring agency, library/archive, assignee, institution, source, or university / degree grantor.6149228151617182021 |
| PMCID | PMCID.15 |
| PMID | PMID.15 |
| PP | Place of publication.15 |
| PY | (Primary) (publication) year/date, e.g. year decided, year of conference, or year released.61411816171821 Must always use 4 digits, with leading zeros if before 1000.6 Synonym of Y1.8 |
| RD | Retrieved date.15 |
| RI | Reviewed item, geographic coverage, or article number.141821 |
| RN | Research notes.141821 |
| RP | Reprint status, e.g. reprint edition, review date, or notes. Has three possible values: "IN FILE", "NOT IN FILE", or "ON REQUEST". "ON REQUEST" must be followed by an MM/DD/YY date in parentheses.6149278171821 |
| RT | Reference type.15 |
| SE | Section, screens, code section, message number, pages, chapter, filed date, number of pages, original release date, version, e-pub date, duration of grant, section number, start page, international patent number, or running time.141821 |
| SF | Subfile/database.15 |
| SL | Sponsoring library.15 |
| SN | ISSN, ISBN, or report/document/patent number.149228151617182021 |
| SP | Pages, description, code pages, number of pages, first/start page, or running time.149228151617182021 |
| SR | Source type: Print(0) or Electronic(1).15 |
| ST | Short title or abbreviated case name.14151821 |
| SV | Series volume.14 |
| T1 | (Primary) title.149241315161718 |
| T2 | Secondary title, journal, periodical, publication title, code, title of weblog, series title, book title, image source program, conference name, dictionary title, periodical title, encyclopedia title, committee, program, title number, magazine, collection title, album title, newspaper, published source, title of show, section title, academic department, or full journal name.6149248131516182021 Subtitle.16 |
| T3 | Tertiary title, volume title, series title, legislative body, institution, decision, website title, location of work, supplement no., international title, paper number, international source, or department.1492481516182021 |
| TA | Translated author.1421 |
| TI | (Primary) title, e.g. title of entry/grant/podcast/work, case name, or name of act.14248131617182021 |
| TT | Translated title.141821 |
| TY | Type of reference. Must be the first tag.6792481721 |
| U1 | Notes.1418 User definable 1.9238151617 Thesis-type hint.2820 |
| U2–U5 | Notes.1418 User definable 2–5.9238151617 |
| U6–U15 | User definable 6–15.15 |
| UR | Web/URL. Can be repeated for multiple tags, or multiple URLs can be entered in the same tag as a semicolon-separated list.69238151617182021 |
| VL | Volume, code volume, access year, reporter volume, image size, edition, amount requested, rule number, volume/storage container, number, patent version number, code number, or degree.1492281617182021 |
| VO | Volume.1518 Published Standard number. |
| WP | Date of electronic publication.15 |
| WT | Website title.15 |
| WV | Website version.15 |
| Y1 | "Year///Date".14 Primary date/year.911161718 Synonym of PY.8 |
| Y2 | Access date or date enacted.141821 Secondary date.911816 Date of publication.17 |
| YR | Publication year.15 |
Type of reference
The type of reference preceded by the TY - tag must abbreviated as:
| Abbreviation ("Field Label") | Type ("Ref Type") | Category14 |
|---|---|---|
| ABST | Abstract69298161820 | Journal Article |
| ADVS | Audiovisual (material)614929816 | Audiovisual Material |
| AGGR | Aggregated database614 | Aggregated Database |
| ANCIENT | Ancient text614 | Ancient Text |
| ART | Artwork614929816 | Artwork |
| BILL | Bill/resolution614929816 | Bill (was Bill, Unenacted Bill) |
| BLOG | Blog614 | Blog |
| BOOK | Book (whole)6149298161820 | Book |
| CASE | Legal case and case notes6149298161820 | Case |
| CHAP | Book section/chapter61492981618 | Book Section |
| CHART | Chart614 | Chart |
| CLSWK | Classical work614 | Classical Work |
| COMP | Computer program6149298161820 | Computer Program |
| CONF | Conference proceedings61492981618 | Conference Proceedings |
| CPAPER | Conference paper614 | Conference Paper |
| CTLG | Catalog614929816 | Catalog |
| DATA | Data file / dataset614929816 | Dataset (was Data File) AND Computer Program |
| DBASE | Online database614 | Online Database |
| DICT | Dictionary614 | Dictionary |
| EBOOK | Electronic book614 | Electronic Book |
| ECHAP | Electronic book section614 | Electronic Book Section |
| EDBOOK | Edited book614 | Edited Book |
| EJOUR | Electronic article614 | Electronic Article |
| ELEC | Web page / electronic citation149298161820 | Web Page |
| ENCYC | Encyclopedia614 | Encyclopedia |
| EQUA | Equation614 | Equation |
| FIGURE | Figure614 | Figure |
| GEN | Generic61492981618 | Generic |
| GOVDOC | Government document614 | Government Document |
| GRNT | Grant614 | Grant |
| HEAR | Hearing6149298161820 | Hearing |
| ICOMM | Internet communication6929816 | Personal Communication |
| INPR | In press article6929816 | Journal Article |
| INTV | Interview614 | Interview |
| JFULL | Journal/periodical (full)6929816 | Journal Article |
| JOUR | Journal/periodical (article)6149298161820 | Journal Article |
| LEGAL | Legal rule (or regulation)614 | Legal Rule |
| MANSCPT | Manuscript614 | Manuscript |
| MAP | Map or cartographic data6149298161820 | Map |
| MGZN | Magazine (article)6149298161820 | Magazine Article |
| MPCT | Film or broadcast / motion picture614929816 | Film or Broadcast |
| MULTI | Online multimedia614 | Online Multimedia |
| MUSIC | Music (score)614929816 | Music |
| NEWS | Newspaper (article)6149298161820 | Newspaper Article |
| PAMP | Pamphlet6149298161820 | Pamphlet |
| PAT | Patent6149298161820 | Patent |
| PCOMM | Personal communication6149298161820 | Personal Communication |
| POD | Podcast614 | Podcast |
| PRESS | Press release614 | Press Release |
| RPRT | Report6149298161820 | Report |
| SER | Serial (book, monograph)614929816 | Serial |
| SLIDE | Slide6929816 | Audiovisual Material |
| SOUND | Sound recording6929816 | Audiovisual Material |
| STAND | Standard614 | Standard |
| STAT | Statute6149298161820 | Statute |
| STD | Generic18 | |
| THES | Thesis/dissertation6149298161820 | Thesis |
| UNBILL | Unenacted bill/resolution6929816 | Bill (was Bill, Unenacted Bill) |
| UNPB | Unpublished work149298161820 | Unpublished Work |
| UNPD | Unpublished work6 | |
| VIDEO | Video recording6929816 | Audiovisual Material |
| WEB | Web page6 |
See also
See also
- BIBFRAME—bibliographic framework, an emerging standard to replace MARC
- Bibliographic record—general concept
- BibTeX—a text-based data format used by LaTeX
- EndNote—a text-based data scheme used by the EndNote program
- MARC—machine-readable cataloging standards
- refer—troff preprocessor for bibliographic references
References
References
- The origin of the name RIS was obtained via email from Henry Johnson, a Customer Technical Representative at Scientific Thomson Reuters. Research Information Systems was acquired by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI) in 1994, a division of Thomson Business Information (later Thomson Reuters and then Clarivate). Thomson subsequently acquired ProCite from Personal Bibliographic Software Inc, as well as Niles software, the creators of EndNote. The result of the merger was the creation of ISI ResearchSoft, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters, which produces Reference Manager, EndNote and ProCite. Email date 7/3/08.
- "New Features in 11.2". www.accordancebible.com. Archived from the original on 2016-06-05.
- "RIS File Format". ResearcherID.com. Thomson Reuters. 2012. Archived from the original on 2017-07-07.
- "RIS Format Specifications". Reference Manager. The Thomson Corporation. 2001-02-14. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30.
- "RIS Format Specifications". Reference Manager. The Thomson Corporation. 2011-10-06. Archived from the original on 2012-05-26.
- "EndNote: Directions for implementing EndNote Direct Export". Knowledge. Support - Clarivate. June 28, 2022. Archived from the original on September 30, 2023.
- "Field Types and Tags: Page 2 of 2". RIS Format Specifications. February 14, 2001. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "7.1. Writing RIS datasets". refdb handbook: covers version 0.9.6, Chapter 7. Data input. November 14, 2005. Retrieved 2023-10-01.
- Biblioteca Universitaria / Unibertsitateko Biblioteka; llzrimem (January 31, 2011). "ACCESS A RIS / Instrucciones para pasar registros de Access 2007 a RIS" (PDF). Universidad del País Vasco / Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea (in English and Spanish). pp. 10–13. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 1, 2023.
- "Tag Definitions: Authors". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 4. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "Tag Definitions: Year and Free Text Fields". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 5. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- larsgw (April 12, 2021). "RIS specification". Zotero Forums. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- Eaton, Alf (July 18, 2013) [July 15, 2013]. "ris-tags.md: Reference Manager RIS file format". Retrieved October 1, 2023 – via GitHub Gist.
- Melinn, Jennifer; Rodriguez, Cheryl (July 10, 2013). "EndNote: Directions for implementing EndNote Direct Export - EN RIS Documentation.xls" (XLS). EndNote Desktop, Exporting. Thomson Scientific (published June 28, 2022). Archived from the original on October 1, 2023. Retrieved September 30, 2023 – via Clarivate, hosted by Salesforce.
- "RefWorks Tagged Format". RefWorks. n.d. [It was first archived on March 12, 2004, but has had some changes since then.] Archived from the original on October 22, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- "Importing a RIS File". Citavi 6 Manual. April 11, 2019. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- "Comparison of the Medline (txt), Medline (xml), and RIS format". JabRef v5 GitBook. May 11, 2022. Retrieved October 1, 2023.
- Putnam, Chris (November 12, 2021). "lib/ristypes.c". Bibutils version 7.2. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023 – via SourceForge.
- RIS documentation summarised at Google Docs. Old version available at direct export.zip at the Wayback Machine (archived 17 July 2012); the differences are: the "Bill" sheet was named "Bill, Unenacted Bill"; the "Dataset" sheet was named "Data File"; the "Interview", "Podcast", "Press Release", and "Sheet1" (a list of the type abbreviations and full names) sheets did not yet exist; and "M1" meaning "Issue" was not yet in the "Conference Paper" sheet.
- Putnam, Chris (November 12, 2021). "lib/risout.c". Bibutils version 7.2. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023 – via SourceForge.
- Posthumus, Etienne (October 15, 2018). "bibserver/parserscrapers_plugins/RISParser.py". BibServer. Open Knowledge Foundation. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023 – via GitHub.
- "Tag Definitions: Periodical and Publisher Tags". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 8. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "Tag Definitions: Misc. Tags". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 9. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "Tag Definitions: Title and Reference Type Tags". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 3. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "RefWorks Tagged Format". RefWorks. Archived from the original on March 12, 2004.
- "Tag Definitions: Periodical Tags". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 7. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- "Tag Definitions: Keywords and Reprint Status". RIS Format Specifications. July 7, 2004. p. 6. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.
- Putnam, Chris (November 12, 2021). "lib/risin.c". Bibutils version 7.2. Archived from the original on October 1, 2023 – via SourceForge.
- "Reference Type Field Names". RIS Format Specifications. February 14, 2001. p. 10. Archived from the original on July 26, 2010.