Information systems
HICSS reference format
HICSS asks for references and in-text citations in APA format, with the 7th edition preferred. The list is alphabetical, unnumbered, and counts toward the 10-page limit.
Checked against the sources linked at the end of this page.
What HICSS expects
- Reference style: The format recommended by the APA Publication Manual; the 7th edition is preferred.
- Reference list: 9-point Times, single-spaced, in alphabetical order at the end of the paper. Entries do not have to be numbered.
- Template: Word and LaTeX format specifications are linked from the HICSS author page, with an Overleaf version of the LaTeX template.
- Length: The paper must not exceed ten pages, including references.
- Review: Double-blind. The initial manuscript must not have author names, and author information must be removed from the LaTeX format.
Setting up the bibliography
The HICSS author page states the APA rule and does not name a .bst file, so use the bibliography setup that comes inside the HICSS LaTeX zip or Overleaf template and check the output against APA 7.
If the output is not APA, the rule on the author page is the one that counts, not the default style in the template.
Three references in APA 7
- Boyd, D., Golder, S., & Lotan, G. (2010). Tweet, tweet, retweet: Conversational aspects of retweeting on Twitter. 2010 43rd Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2010.412
- Hamari, J., Koivisto, J., & Sarsa, H. (2014). Does gamification work? A literature review of empirical studies on gamification. 2014 47th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, 3025–3034. https://doi.org/10.1109/HICSS.2014.377
- Lindman, J., Tuunainen, V. K., & Rossi, M. (2017). Opportunities and risks of blockchain technologies: A research agenda. Proceedings of the 50th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. https://doi.org/10.24251/HICSS.2017.185
Three HICSS papers, formatted by hand in APA 7. Proceedings titles and author initials follow the Crossref record for each DOI; the 2017 record has no page range. Titles, authors, volumes and pages were checked against Crossref on 2026-10-01.
LaTeX template
HICSS publishes its own Word and LaTeX format specifications, linked from the HICSS author page together with an Overleaf template. Use those files. For APA reference handling in LaTeX more generally, see our APA 7 template page.
Common mistakes
- Treating references as outside the page limit. Ten pages includes them.
- Numbering the list in an IEEE habit. HICSS wants an alphabetical APA list.
- Leaving author names in the LaTeX author block of the initial manuscript.
Check your .bib file
- BibTeX Validator (free) checks a .bib file for syntax errors and missing required fields.
- Citation Generator (free) builds IEEE, APA, MLA and Chicago citations from entry fields, in your browser.
- Reference Converter (free) converts between BibTeX, RIS and EndNote. The same converter is below.
Converted output
Your references never leave your browser. There is no upload and nothing is stored.
Frequently asked
What reference style does HICSS use?
APA. The author page says references and in-text citations should follow the APA Publication Manual and that the 7th edition is preferred.
Do references count toward the HICSS page limit?
Yes. The paper must not exceed ten pages including references.
Is there a HICSS LaTeX template?
Yes. The HICSS author page links LaTeX format specifications as a zip download and as an Overleaf template, alongside the Word version.
Where this comes from
Every rule on this page was read from these pages on 2026-10-01. Venues change their instructions between cycles, so read the current call before you submit.
From the team behind these tools
Writing LaTeX on a Mac?
ModernTex is a native macOS LaTeX studio: multi-file manuscript navigation, a PDF preview that stays in sync, BibTeX completion that searches by author or title, and compile errors in plain language. $10 once, every 1.x update included.
Requires macOS 14 or later. Free 7-day trial, no account.
If this saves you time, you can leave a tip; it helps keep these tools free and online.