Formatting a reference list to GOST: a short guide

The reference list is one of the first places a reviewer looks at in a dissertation. A stray full stop or a missing page number is not a serious error, but together such details spoil the overall impression and lead to reformatting.

In Uzbekistan, bibliographic entries in dissertations and articles are usually based on two standards: GOST 7.1-2003 (bibliographic description) and GOST R 7.0.5-2008 (bibliographic reference). For doctoral dissertations the main requirements are set by HAC Regulation No. 2665. Your department or specialised council may add details – below is the most common form.

HAC requirements: what goes into the list

• Only sources cited in the text are included – literature you read but did not refer to stays out (Regulation No. 2665, clauses 12–13).
• The order can be alphabetical, systematic (by section) or in order of citation (by first mention in the text).
• An in-text reference matches the number in the list: [12] or with a page, [12, p. 45].

Basic rules

• Elements of an entry are separated by set punctuation: “full stop and dash” ( . – ), double slash ( // ), slash ( / ), colon ( : ).
• The author's surname is followed by initials: Karimov A.B.
• The place of publication may be abbreviated: Tashkent – T., Moscow – M., Saint Petersburg – SPb.
• One style for the whole list: GOST and APA are not mixed.

Book

With one to three authors, the entry starts with the first author's surname. With four or more, it starts with the title and the authors follow the slash (if there are many – the first one and “[et al.]”).

Karimov A.B. Raqamli iqtisodiyot asoslari. – T.: Iqtisodiyot, 2021. – 240 b.

Karimov A.B., Rahimova D.S. Innovatsion menejment: darslik. – T.: Fan, 2022. – 312 b.

Ilmiy tadqiqot metodologiyasi: oʻquv qoʻllanma / A.B. Karimov, D.S. Rahimova, S.T. Usmonov [et al.]. – T.: Universitet, 2023. – 198 b.

Journal article

The article title is followed by a double slash (//), then the journal name, year, issue and the article's pages.

Rahimova D.S. Kichik biznesda innovatsion faoliyat // Iqtisodiyot va innovatsion texnologiyalar. – 2023. – № 4. – B. 112–120.

A foreign article is written in its original language, with the DOI at the end if there is one:

Smith J. Digital transformation of SMEs // Journal of Economics. – 2020. – Vol. 12, № 3. – P. 45–60. – DOI: 10.1234/je.2020.045.

Collection and conference paper

Usmonov S.T. Raqamli platformalar va ilmiy kommunikatsiya // Fan va taʼlim: xalqaro ilmiy-amaliy konferensiya materiallari. – T., 2024. – B. 56–60.

Dissertation and author's abstract

Rahimova D.S. Kichik biznesda innovatsion faoliyatni rivojlantirish: iqt. fan. boʻyicha falsafa doktori (PhD) dis. … – T., 2022. – 160 b.

Rahimova D.S. Kichik biznesda innovatsion faoliyatni rivojlantirish: iqt. fan. boʻyicha falsafa doktori (PhD) dis. avtoref. – T., 2022. – 48 b.

Legal act

Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan (date, number, title) // National Database of Legislation. – URL: https://lex.uz/… (accessed: 01.11.2026).

In a systematic list, legal acts usually come first, ordered by legal force: the Constitution, laws, presidential decrees and resolutions, Cabinet of Ministers resolutions.

Web resource

Author I. Page title [Electronic resource]. – URL: https://… (accessed: 01.11.2026).

The access date is required: the page may change or disappear later.

Most common mistakes

The “Reference list” tool finds these mistakes automatically: paste your list or upload a Word file and the entries are converted to GOST or APA, sorted, cleared of duplicates, with missing data flagged. “Footnotes and citations” turns in-text references into [12, p. 45]. Both process your files in your browser.