The ISBN/ISSN Field

ISSN (International Standard Serial Number) and ISBN (International Standard Book Number) are codes used to identify a particular publication. An ISSN number would refer to an entire journal (such as the Journal of Virology), and an ISBN would refer to a particular edition of a book. An electronic edition of a book would have a different ISBN than a print edition, for example.

These numbers help to identify a specific publication if you need to order it or locate it. This field is also used for Report Number and Patent Number in the Report and Patent reference types.