Citations and bibliographies

This guide shows you how to cite different materials and compile a list of references. It includes advice on:

• Citing commonly referenced materials
• Reference lists and bibliographies

Accurate referencing should contain sufficient information to enable the reader to locate the source of any evidence or arguments cited in your work. There are strict conventions for how this information is presented, and you will be expected to follow a precise order and formatting for this information. Learning how to use referencing conventions is an important part of academic study; it demonstrates discipline and academic rigour.

This study guide demonstrates the Harvard system giving examples of types of references you may need to use. However, you should consult your course handbook (usually available online or on Blackboard if you don't have a copy) for details of the referencing system preferred by your school. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to guidance on some other referencing systems.

Here's the printable version of this guide on Citations and bibliographies, designed to be printed double-sided on A4 paper, then folded to make an A5 leaflet.

What does your department do…? Find out which referencing system your department prefers, and whether you need to provide a bibliography or a reference list.

Citing commonly referenced materials

When citing references it's important to follow the precise order and format of the referencing system you're using. You may not always have all the details listed here (especially with materials like websites), so the rule is to provide as many as you can. Whichever system you use, be consistent, especially when referencing unusual materials like films or television programmes.

Below are examples of how to reference some of the most commonly used materials using the Harvard system. For examples of materials not included here, see the Library's guide to Citing references. 

This includes examples of how to set out a full citation (for a bibliography or reference list) and a brief citation (in the body of your text or a footnote, where you refer to the text). If you use a direct quote, you will need to add the page number to your brief citation.

Use this table to go directly to an item or scroll down to browse.

Books	Chapter in book	Journals	Electronic journals
Websites	No author given	Cited by another author	E-books

Books

Include author – and (ed.) or (eds) if it is an edited volume - year of publication, title (in italics), place of publication and name of publisher. The punctuation marks are important – they divide up the information.

Full citation in bibliography: Bould, M. & Reid, M. (eds) (2005). Parietal Games. Cambridge: Science Fiction Foundation.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Bould & Reid, 2005.

A chapter in a book

Give details of the chapter first, then the book that it was found in. Add the page extent of the chapter.

Full citation in bibliography: Shahabudin, K. (2006). From Greek Myth to Hollywood Story: Explanatory Narrative in 'Troy'. In M. M. Winkler (ed.), Troy: From Homer's Iliad to Hollywood Epic. Malden, MA: Blackwell, 107-118.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Shahabudin, 2006.

Journals

As with a chapter in a book, give details of the article first, then the journal it was found in: title, volume and issue numbers, page extent. If there are more than two authors, you can use 'et al' in the brief citation instead of listing them all.

Full citation in bibliography: Turner, J.E., Henry, L.A. & Smith. P.T. (2000). The development of the use of long-term knowledge to assist short-term recall. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology. Section A. 53.2, 457-478.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Turner et al, 2000.

Electronic journals

If the electronic journal has a paper version it is preferable to cite this, even if you have read it online. If there is no paper version then substitute the web address and date accessed for the page numbers.

Full citation in bibliography: Hamilakis, Y., Pluciennik, M. & Tarlow, S. (2001). Academic Performances, Artistic Presentations. Assemblage, 6. www.shef.ac.uk/assem/issue6/art_web.html (accessed 08/07/02).

Brief citation in text/footnote: Hamilakis et al, 2001.

Websites

References should contain as many details as are available from: author, title of the page, year of publication, web address and date accessed. If there is no single person listed as author, look to see who has responsibility for the website (an organisation, for instance). If there is no date, use n.d. for not dated.

Full citation in bibliography: Royal Horticultural Society (n.d.). Plant finder: Genista. Online at www.rhs.org.uk/plantfinder/genista (accessed 25/08/07).

Brief citation in text/footnote: Royal Horticultural Society, n.d.

If no author is given

Anonymous works are listed using the title of the work. In the reference list they are placed at the beginning in alphabetical order of title.

Full citation in bibliography: Anon. (1981). Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas. (Editorial). British Medical Journal, 283, 628.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Anon, 1981.

Cited by another author

If you wish to refer to an instance where the author of a book or article (Author A) cites another author (Author B), you should follow up the reference to author B and read the original. This is best practice because you can make sure that the reference in the book you originally read has not been taken out of context etc. If you are unable to do this then it is acceptable to cite author B as being referred to in author A.

Full citation in bibliography: Chang, I. C. L. (1952). The fatty acid content of meat and poultry before and after cooking. Journal of the American Oil Chemists' Society, 29, 334-378. Cited by Bender, A.E. (1978). Food processing and nutrition. London: Academic Press.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Chang, 1952, cited by Bender, 1978.

E-books

For e-books which are facsimiles of paper books, if all details are available, you should reference as for ordinary paper books. Alternatively, if an e-book is only published online and is therefore more like a website, you can reference as you would a website. 

However some e-books (e.g. Kindle books) lack page numbers. In this case, chapter numbers are sufficient to point to the particular part of the book that you are referring to, as electronic searching will make it possible to find any direct quotes quickly and easily.

Full citation in bibliography: Matthews, D. J. (2010) What Cats Can Teach Us [ebook], London: Penguin.

Brief citation in text/footnote: Matthews, 2010, Chapter 6.

Other sources

For other sources including conference papers, legal sources, patents and radio and television programmes, see the Library guide to referencing.

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Reference lists and bibliographies

Check the instructions for your assignment (or your course handbook) to see if you are expected to provide a reference list or a bibliography, and what that should include.

As a general rule:

A reference list includes every source that you have cited in your work.

A bibliography may contain all of the above plus any background reading which you have not cited in your essay.

You may be asked to use numeric referencing in which each source that you use is assigned a number in the Reference List. This number is then used when citing the source in the body of your work.

Example of numeric referencing: In your text: Jones argues that this method is now outdated. [3.] In your reference list: 1. Brown, J. (2006) ..... 2. Smith, M.K. (2001) ..... 3. Jones, D.J. (1997), Trace analysis of mollusc deposits, London: Sage

Compiling a list of references/bibliography

The list should be arranged in alphabetical order by authors' surnames. Titles with no author go at the beginning. If you are citing two or more sources by the same author, they should be listed in chronological order of the year of publication.

Below is a list of the references used in this guide as an example.

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For more advice on referencing, see...

Using references in your work

Avoiding accidental plagiarism

LearnHigher Referencing website

Citing references (Library guide)

Harvard Referencing Examples - a comprehensive guide to Harvard Referencing from Staffordshire University, with examples of how to reference a wide range of unusual sources including TV programmes, lectures, and Acts of Parliament.

Effective note-taking

Download a printable version of our Study Guide on Citations and bibliographies. (These guides are designed to be printed double-sided on A4 and folded to A5.) 

Other styles of referencing

Oxford referencing system - basic principles from the University of New South Wales

Oxford referencing system - more detailed guide from Deakin University, Australia

APA referencing style - basic principles - once you've opened the tutorial (uses Flash), use the outline to navigate to the sections on referencing. For more detailed information, the full manual is accessed via the Publication Manual tab.

MHRA Style Guide - a link to download the full manual. Once you have downloaded it, use the bookmarks to navigate to Chapter 11 on References.

Chicago Manual of Style Online - includes a Quick Guide to using Chicago style for citations, and the Chicago Q and A which is a bank of questions and answers to more complex referencing queries: useful guidance for postgraduates working with more unusual and less easily-referenced materials, whatever style of referencing you are using.