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Citing References and preparing Bibliographies

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References & Bibliographies - An introduction

When you are preparing an essay, report or dissertation you will need to consult other people's work, and it is very important that you acknowledge the sources from which you obtained ideas and information. As well as giving credit where due to the originator of an idea, the main reasons for citing references are to demonstrate the body of knowledge upon which your research is based, and to enable those who read your work to locate your sources easily.
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of works, usually arranged by author, covering a particular topic. The bibliography may be annotated which means that it includes a short summary of the contents of each item listed. It may also be a list of works which you have used as a source of information, but have not cited in the body of your text (as opposed to your list of references).

The process of citing references consists of two interrelated parts

  • Citing - the way a writer refers from the text to the sources used (i.e. the references)
  • Referencing - the process of giving a clear and consistent description of each article or book (or any other publication type) used.

There are two main citation/reference systems: the Harvard System (also known as the name & date) and the Numeric System. The most commonly used method is the Harvard System.

Harvard System Citation method

Cited publications are referred to in the text by giving the author's name and year of publication, in either of the forms shown below:

  • In a recent study Smith (1986) argued that . . . 
  • In a recent study (Smith 1986) it was argued that . . . 

The full references are listed at the end of your text, arranged in alphabetical order according to author's name.

For publications by two authors, both names are given: 

  • In a recent study (Smith and Jones 1986) it was argued that . . .

For more than two authors, the surname of the first followed by "et al" is used:

  • (Reynolds et al 1986)

Anonymous works may be shown by Anon. in place of the author's name: 

  • In a recent study (Anon. 1984) it was argued that . . .

To cite more then one work by the same author published in the same year add letters after the dates:

  • Miller (1987a) and Miller (1987b)

If more than one part of a document is being referred to at different points, or if you are giving an exact quotation from a work, you should identify the page numbers:

  • Gates (1987, p32)

People reading your work can then find the full details of the item you have cited by going to the alphabetical list of references you have provided at the end of your text.

Numeric System Citation Method

Each publication is numbered according to the order it is first referred to in the text. This number is given in parentheses or as superscript:

  • In a recent book, Harris (3) suggested...
  • In a recent book, Harris 3 suggested...

You can also use the numbers on their own:

  • In a recent book (3) it is suggested
  • In a recent book 3 it is suggested

Subsequent citations of a particular document receive the same number as the first. The references are then listed in full in numerical order at the end of the text.

Second-hand references

Whenever possible, quote from original sources. However, in some cases you may wish to quote a piece of work that you have not read but which has been has been referred to in something you have read. This is called secondary referencing as you have not read the original piece of work. This may be because it is unpublished or not readily available. You are relying on the author you are reading giving a fair reflection of the contents of the original work. Nevertheless, if you still have to refer to it, your text must make it clear that you have not read the original but are referring to it from a secondary source. Use the term 'cited in.' followed by the reference for the work in which it is quoted.

 Using the Harvard System:
  • Reading professional literature can be seen as a means of continued learning for 
    nurses (Doyle 1933, cited in Gossner et al 1990)
Using the Numeric System:
  • Doyle states that reading professional literature can be seen as a means of continued 
    learning for nurses, cited in Gossner et al (5)

Note that the reference at the end of the text would be to the article you have actually read. 

That is, the article by Gossner, not the article by Doyle.

Quotations

Direct quotations from another author should have quotation marks at the start and finish of the quoted passage. If it is only a few words the passage may be inserted in the appropriate place in the text. If the quoted passage extends to a couple of lines or a small paragraph it should be indented as shown below (i.e. leave a double margin at both sides of the quotation). The . indicate that you have omitted words from the quote.

"The abbot Gregor Mendel was a particularly brilliant man. He is often portrayed as a genial old monk .In reality, Mendel, was probably the first mathematical biologist." (Jenkins 1998, p.18

Listing references at the end of the text

Bibliographical references sufficient to identify the publications fully must be listed at the end of your text. If there are two or three authors include them all, and if more than three, record the first followed by et al. More details and examples of referencing a variety of publication types are given in the next section. When the name of the author cannot be determined, the book should be listed by title (in alphabetical sequence if using the Harvard System). 

Harvard System 

Entries are listed in alphabetical order by author's name and then by date, either as: Smith J.,  1986 or Smith, J. (1986). 
For example: 

  • Butler, A. (1983) Social work and mental illness. London: MacMillan. 
  • Jones, L.J. (1994) Social context of health and health work. London: MacMillan.
  • Lees, R. (1972) Politics and social work. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul. 
  • Lipsky, M. (1986) Protest as a political resource. American Political Science Review, 62, p. 1114-58. 
Numeric System

Entries are listed in numerical order to match the sequence of references in the text.
For example:

  1. Jones, L.J. Social context of health and health work. London: MacMillan, 1994.
  2. Butler, A. Social work and mental illness. London, MacMillan: 1983. 
  3. Lipsky, M. Protest as a political resource. American Political Science Review, 62, 1986, pp. 1114-58.
  4. Lees, R. Politics and social work. New York: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1972. 
Examples of referencing various types of publication

The following examples are for the Harvard System. However, if you need to use the Numeric system the examples can be adapted by simply altering the place of the date in the reference. It should appear at the end of the reference rather than after the authors' name(s).

In General.
To some extent, the details of punctuation are up to you as long as you are consistent. You may, for instance, decide to write authors' names in upper case (capitals), or to give their forenames in full, if you have that information. The purpose of highlighting (by italics, underlining or using bold) is not just to give emphasis, but to show which element in the citation is a separately published unit. It is especially important when you are citing a section (an article, a paper, or a chapter) in a collection or other composite work. Make sure that you choose one style of highlighting and stick to it.

Books

Include the following. Use the book's title page to find most of this information.

  • Name of author or editor . Give the surname followed by first name or initials. If there are more than three authors listed, you should give only the first author's name followed by et al. Authors' names should be given in the order in which they appear on the title page of the work. (Do not rearrange them into alphabetical order.) If a work has an editor (ed.) should appear after the name. A company or organisation can also be an author, known as a corporate author.
  • Date of publication . This information can usually be found on the reverse of the title 
    page. The date given should in fact refer to the publication date of the edition you used, 
    not the date a particular copy of the work was printed.
  • Title . These should be highlighted (in bold, italicized or underlined).
  • Edition. The edition should be given if the book has had more than one edition published.
  • Place of publication/Publisher . If several places are mentioned use the first named British one, otherwise use the first city named.
  • Pagination. Page numbers should be given if several references are made to different parts of the same work, or where there is a direct quote from the text.
Examples:
  • Simons, G.L. (1984) Introducing artificial intelligence . New York: NCC Publications. pp.34-37
  • Atkinson, E. (1994) Careers in social work . 5th ed. London: Kogan Page. 
  • Pearce, I.F., et al., 1976. A model of output, employment, wages and prices in the UK. Cambridge University Press.
  • World Bank (1994) Averting the old age crisis. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Chapters or parts of books

You may want to cite a part of a book with a different author and title from the book as a whole, such as a paper from an edited collection. Refer to the author and title of the part, first, then give details of the book as a whole. Give the pagination of the section to which you are referring.

For example:

Gregory, R.L. (1979) Mechanisms for perception, in: Dodd, G.G. (ed.) Computer vision and  sensor-based robots . New York: Plenum Press. pp. 51-68.

Conferences

It should be made clear whether you are referring to the whole record of a conference (known as the proceedings), or to an individual paper given at a conference.

Proceedings

The first element should be the editor of the proceedings. If this cannot be traced begin the reference with the title of the conference, and include the place and date of the conference if possible. Also include the publisher and date of publication of the proceedings.

For example:

  • Levinson, A.A. (ed.) (1970) Proceedings of the Apollo II lunar science conference, Houston, Texas, January 1970. London: Pergamon Press.
Papers 

The first element should be the author(s) and title of the paper first, then the details of the conference where it was given.

For example:

  • Phillips, K.G., Henselwood, F.W. (1991) A discussion of the detonation potential of ethylene vapor clouds. In: Cunningham, J. (ed.) International Conference on Modeling and Mitigating the Consequences of Accidental Releases of Hazardous Materials , New Orleans, Louisiana, May 1991. Chicago: American Institute of Chemical Engineers. 
Journal Articles (including newspaper articles)

References to journal articles should contain the following information: 

  • Author(s) of article Give the surname followed by first name or initials. If there are more than three authors listed, you should give only the first author's name followed by et al. Authors' names should be given in the order in which they appear on the title page of the work. (Do not rearrange them into alphabetical order.) Use "anon." if no author is mentioned.
  • Date
  • Title of article
  • Title of Journal. Journal titles should be highlighted (in bold, italicized or underlined) and should not be abbreviated, always quote them in full. 
  • Volume and part number (part number may not be available for some journals if the page numbers run consecutively throughout the year).
  • Pagination

For example: 

  • Manning, E.C., Machen, T.E. (1988) Effect of bicarbonate and pH on chloride transport by gastric mucosa. American Journal of Physiology , Vol.243 (3), pp60-68.
  • Gott, R. (1989) Crumbs and the capitalists. The Guardian , 20th Jan, pp21-22.

The detail of order and punctuation may vary between one writer and another, or with the same writer on different occasions; for instance, volume and issue details of a journal article may be given in the style

  •  Vol.25 No.1 or
  •  25 (1) or
  • Vol.25 (1)

Page numbers can have pp. added before them if you wish. The important thing is to decide firmly at the start how you are going to proceed, and stick to that style. Publishers of books and journals have their own 'house-styles', and editorial staff to apply them rigorously; for your purposes, clarity and consistency are enough -- don't cite something unless you're quite sure you have enough information for a reader to identify it. 

Other types of publication

Examples are given here of the correct way to reference a variety of individual types of publications.

Theses or Dissertations
  • Brown, G.C. (1986) Control of mitochondrial respiration . PhD. thesis, Cambridge University.
British Standards
  • British Standards Institution. (1972) A guide to quality assurance . BS 4891.
Patents

Include the inventor(s) as well as the assignee (which will often be a company or organisation).

  • Graham, C.P., Fonti, L. and Martinez, A.M. (1972) American Sugar Company. Tableting 
    sugar and compositions containing it.     U.S. Pat. 3,642, 535.
Reports

Always include the report code and number (in brackets).

  • Scott, H. , Strause, K. (1984) Workstation control in a computer integrated manufacturing 
    system.     Society of Manufacturing Engineering. (Technical Report MS 84-786).
Videocassettes

Give the following information (if known)

  • Title
  • Date
  • Producer or director
  • Production company
  • Duration

For example:

  • Life on Earth : 1, the infinite variety (1979) Directed by David Attenborough BBC Natural 
    History Unit. Videocassette. 55mins.
Electronic Publications

An increasing number of documents are available electronically, such as online via the Internet or on CD-ROM. You should create references to these documents just as you would for a printed document. Electronic references are very similar to the references for printed documents. The aim, as before, is to provide sufficient information to enable others to trace the works you have consulted. The following rules are based on an International Standard. 
They are displayed with the elements required in the reference (author, title, etc) and the form these must take. Use the examples to help you construct the reference and include information only if it is relevant and available.

Pages from the World Wide Web
  • Author (if available)
  • Year
  • Title (highlighted)
  • Available at: Give the URL of the page
  • Date visited (in square brackets) As online material is continually updated or revised, the material you refer to may have undergone change since you cited it. Therefore, the date that you accessed the material must be included in the reference list.

For example: 

  • Student grants and loans: a brief guide for higher education students . (1998) Available at: 
    http://www.open.gov.uk/dfee/loans/loans.htm [Visited 30 September 1998]
Online journal or newspaper articles
  • Author(s) of article Give the surname followed by first name or initials. If there are more than three authors listed, you should give only the first author's name followed by et al. Authors' names should be given in the order in which they appear on the title page of the work. (Do not rearrange them into alphabetical order.) Use "anon." if no author is mentioned.
  • Date
  • Title of article
  • Title of Journal. Journal titles should be highlighted (in bold, italicized or underlined) and should not be abbreviated, always quote them in full. 
  • [Online]
  • Volume and part number (part number may not be available for some journals if the page numbers run consecutively throughout the year).
  • Pagination This information is often not given in electronic journals and may be  omitted.
  • Date cited (in square brackets) 

For example: 

Davison,K.K., Markey, C.N., Birch, L.L. (2000) Etiology of body dissatisfaction and weight concerns among 5-year-old girls. Appetite [online] , Vol.35 pp143-151 [cited 1/09/2002]

Journal or newspaper articles from a CD-ROM
  • Author(s) of article same guidelines as previous example 
  • Date
  • Title of article
  • Title of Journal or newspaper. same guidelines as previous example
  • [CD-ROM]
  • Volume and part number 
  • Pagination if available

For example:

Lascelles, D. (1995) Oil's troubled waters. Financial Times [CD-ROM], 11 January, p.18.

Abstracts from online bibliographic database
  • Author(s) of article same guidelines as previous example
  • Date
  • Title of article 
  • [Online]
  • Title of Journal. same guidelines as previous example 
  • Volume, part number , pagination
  • Abstract or index entry from: (give relevant details)
  • Date cited (in square brackets) 

For example:

  • Lichtenberg-Kraag B., Hedtke C., Bienefeld K. (2002) Infrared spectroscopy in routine quality analysis of honey [online] Apidologie Vol.33(3) pp.327-337. Abstract from: Science Citation Index [cited 1/09/2002]
E-mail
  • Author
  • Date of message (in round brackets)
  • Subject of the message (highlighted)
  • E-mail to recipients name (in square brackets)
  • [Online]
  • Available e-mail: recipient's e-mail address

For example:

  • Corliss, B. (16 September 1992). News from Seattle [e-mail to T. Wright], [Online]. Available e-mail: TWRIGHT@UVMVM.UVM.EDU
Newsgroup/Discussion group message
  • Author
  • Date of message (in round brackets)
  • Subject of the message (highlighted)
  • [Discussion]
  • [Online]
  • Available e-mail: name of the group or email

For example:

  • Peters, W.R. 911 August 1995). International finance questions . Business Libraries Discussion List [Online]. Available e-mail: BUSLIB-L@IDBSU.BITNET
Official Publications

Acts of Parliament are referenced by citing the title and including the Act's chapter number for clarity. 

  • Pesticides Act 1998 . (c.26) London, The Stationery Office.

Acts are organised numerically throughout the year. Public General Acts are given arabic numerals. Local and Personal Acts are given lower-case roman numerals. N.B. Prior to 1963 a different system operated, based on the date of the Sovereign's accession to the throne and the dates of the Parliamentary session. 

  • Education Act 1944 (7&8 Geo 6 c.31) London, HMSO. 


Command Papers are cited by their author (usually a committee), date, title, publisher, command paper abbreviation and number. Command Papers are numbered sequentially regardless of Parliamentary session. The running number and prefix is on the bottom left hand corner of the cover and the title page. The prefix has changed over the years and you need to be careful in citing this abbreviation correctly

  •  Department of the Environment. (1990) This Common Inheritance: Britain's environmental strategy . London, HMSO. Cm1200.

House of Commons Papers are cited by their author (usually a committee), date, title, publisher, HC number, and parliamentary session.

  •  House of Commons Environment Committee. (1992) The government's proposals for an Environment Agency. London, HMSO. HC55 (1991-92)


Statutory Instruments are cited by their title (highlighted), the abbreviation "SI", year of publication, number, place and publisher.

  • National assistance (assessment of resources) regulations (1992) SI 1992/2977. London, HMSO.

Non-parliamentary publications
  • Department of the Environment.(1986) Landfilling wastes . London, HMSO (Waste Management paper, 26) 
  • Department of National Heritage. (1997) Guide to safety in sports grounds . 4th ed. London, HMSO
European Union publications

COM documents are proposals for new legislation put forward by the European Union. Include the following information as well as the title: the last two digits of the year in round brackets , the serial number, and the word 'final' to indicate that it is in fact, the final version and not one of the earlier drafts. 

  • Proposal for a Council directive on uniform procedures for checks on the transport of dangerous goods by road , COM (93) 965, final.

Secondary Legislation includes directives and decisions . Include the following information: Its institutional origin - Commission or Council. Its form - Regulation, Directive, Decision. Its unique number. Its year of enactment. The institutional treaty under which it was made - EEC/EC, ECSC, Euratom. The date it was passed. Optional information can include the title of the legislation and a reference to the issue of the Official Journal of the European 
Communities in which it was published.

Regulations are normally cited with the name of institutional treaty, followed by the legislation number and the year of enactment. 

  • Council Regulations (EC) No. 40/94 of 20 December 1993 on the Community trade mark.

A shorter version would be cited as follows 

  • Council Regulation 40/94/EC

Directives and Decisions are cited by the year of enactment, the legislation number and then the Institutional treaty. 

  • Council Directive 90/365/EEC of 28 June 1990 on the right of residence for employees and self employed persons who have ceased their occupational activity.
  • Commission Decision 94/10/EC of 21 December 1993 on a standard summary form for the notification of a decision to award the Community eco-label. 

Shorter Versions would be cited as follows:- 

  • Council Directive 90/365/EEC
  • Commission Decision 94/10/EC