When making reference to an author’s work in your text, their name is followed by the year of publication of their work:
In general, when writing for a professional publication, it is good practice to make reference to other relevant published work. This view has been supported in the work of Cormack (1994).
Where you are mentioning a particular part of the work, and making direct reference to this, a page reference should be included:
Cormack (1994, pp.32-33) states that 'when writing for a professional readership, writers invariably make reference to already published works'.
If you make reference to a work or piece of research without mentioning the author in the text then both the author’s name and publication year are placed at the relevant point in the sentence or at the end of the sentence in brackets:
Making reference to published work appears to be characteristic of writing for a professional audience (Cormack, 1994).
Where reference is made to more than one author in a sentence, and they are referred to directly, they are both cited:
Jones (1946) and Smith (1948) have both shown …
List these at the relevant point in the sentence or at the end of the sentence, putting the author’s name, followed by the date of publication and separated by a semi-colon and within brackets:
Where several publications from a number of authors are referred to, then the references should be cited in chronological order (i.e. earliest first):
Further research in the late forties (Jones, 1946; Smith, 1948) lead to major developments……
(Collins, 1998; Brown, 2001; Davies, 2008)
When there are two authors for a work they should both be noted in the text:
White and Brown (2004) in their recent research paper found...
with regard to PREP and the role of libraries, Crane and Urquhart (1994) suggest...
or indirectly, using an and:
During the mid nineties research undertaken in Luton (Slater and Jones, 1996) showed that...
or
Earlier research (White and Brown, 1966) demonstrated that the presence of certain chemicals would lead to...
Where there are several authors (more than four), only the first author should be used, followed by
‘et al.’ meaning
and others:
Green, et al. (1995) found that the majority …
or indirectly:
Recent research (Green, et al., 1995) has found that the majority of …
If more than one publication from an author illustrates the same point and the works are published in different years, then the references should be cited in chronological order (i.e. earliest first):
as suggested by Bloggs (1992, 1994) who found that …
or indirectly:
research in the nineties (Bloggs 1992, 1994) found that …
If you are quoting several works published by the same author in the same year, they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter directly, with no space, after the year for each item:
Earlier research by Dunn (1993a) found that…but later research suggested again by Dunn (1993b) that …
If several works published in the same year are referred to on a single occasion, or an author has made the same point in several publications, they can all be referred to by using lower case letters (as above):
Bloggs (1993a, b) has stated on more than one occasion that …
References to the work of an author that appears as a chapter, or part of a larger work, that is edited by someone else, should be cited within your text using the name of the contributory author not the editor of the whole work.
In his work on health information, Smith (1975) states …
In the reference list at the end of your document, you should include details of both the chapter author and the editor of the entire work
(See Section on Chapters of edited books for further details).
If the work is by a recognised organisation and has no personal author then it is usually cited under the body that commissioned the work. This applies to publications by associations, companies, government departments etc. such as Department of the Environment or Royal College of Nursing.
It is acceptable to use standard abbreviations for these bodies, e.g. RCN, in your text, providing that the full name is given at the first citing with the abbreviation in brackets:
1st citation:
… research in 2006 undertaken by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has shown that …
2nd citation:
More recently the RCN (2007) has issued guidelines …
Note that the full name is the preferred format in the reference list. Some reports are written by specially convened groups or committees and can be cited by the name of the committee:
Committee on Nursing (1972)
Select Committee on Stem Cell Research (2002)
Note there are some exceptions to this such as
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
BBC News
where the abbreviations or initials form part of the official name.
If the work is by a recognised organisation and has no personal author then it is usually cited under the body that commissioned the work. This applies to publications by associations, companies, government departments etc. such as Department of the Environment or Royal College of Nursing.
It is acceptable to use standard abbreviations for these bodies, e.g. RCN, in your text, providing that the full name is given at the first citing with the abbreviation in brackets:
1st citation:
… research in 2006 undertaken by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has shown that …
2nd citation:
More recently the RCN (2007) has issued guidelines …
Note that the full name is the preferred format in the reference list. Some reports are written by specially convened groups or committees and can be cited by the name of the committee:
Committee on Nursing (1972)
Select Committee on Stem Cell Research (2002)
Note there are some exceptions to this such as
BBC Philharmonic Orchestra
BBC News
where the abbreviations or initials form part of the official name.
If the author cannot be identified use ‘
Anonymous’ or ‘
Anon’ and the title of the work and date of publication. The title should be written in italics. Every effort should be made to establish the authorship if you intend to use this work as supporting evidence in an academic submission:
Marketing strategy (Anon., 1999)
The abbreviation
n.d. is used to denote this:
Smith (n.d.) has written and demonstrated……
or indirectly:
Earlier research (Smith, n.d.) demonstrated that……
Every effort should be made to establish the year of publication if you intend to use this work as supporting evidence in an academic submission.
Including the page numbers of a reference will help readers trace your sources. This is particularly important for quotations and for paraphrasing specific paragraphs in the text:
Lawrence (1966, p.124) states "we should expect..."
or indirectly:
This is to be expected (Lawrence 1966, p.124)...
Please note page numbers: preceded with p. for a single page.and pp. for a range of pages.
If you want to include text from a published work in your essay then the sentence(s) must be included within quotation marks, and may be introduced by such phrases as:
the author states that “……..”
or
the author writes that “……..”
In order for a reader to trace the quoted section it is good practice to give the number of the page where the quotation was found. The quotation should also be emphasized (especially if it runs to 50 words or more) by indenting it and using quotation marks. This clearly identifies the quotation as the work of someone else:
On the topic of professional writing and referencing Cormack (1994, p.32) states:
'When writing for a professional readership, writers invariably make reference to already published works'.
You may come across a summary of another author’s work in the source you are reading, which you would like to make reference to in your own document; this is called secondary referencing.
A direct reference:
Research recently carried out in the Greater Manchester area by Brown (1966 cited in Bassett, 1986, p.142) found that …
In this example, Brown is the work, which you wish to refer to, but have not read directly for yourself. Bassett is the secondary source, where you found the summary of Brown’s work.
Indirectly:
(Brown, 1966 cited in Bassett, 1986, p.142)
In the example below White is the primary or original source and Black is the secondary source. It is important to realise that Black may have taken White's ideas forward, and altered their original meaning. If you need to cite a secondary reference it is recommended that, where possible, you read the original source for yourself rather than rely on someone else’s interpretation of a work.
White, (1990) as cited in Black (1994), suggests that...
The reference list at the end of your document should only contain works that you have read.When reproducing selected data from a diagram or table, or copying the entire table or diagram, a reference must be made to the source.
A reference within the text to a table taken from e.g. a book, should include the author and page (Smith, 2005, p.33) to enable the reader to identify the data. If the source of the data is not the author’s own, but obtained from another source, it becomes a secondary reference and needs to be cited as such:
(United Nations, 1975 cited in Smith, 2005, p.33)
If the table is reproduced in its entirety place the citation as a footnote. Be particularly careful to note the original source of data, as well as the authorship of the document. Full details should be included in the reference list.
In the following example, a table is reproduced from page 267, of a book written by Robert Amazon which is the 4th edition and published by FT Prentice Hall of Harlow, England in 2005. The title of the book is Management in the media: decision makers.
* If you wish to reproduce the table in your own work – replicate the table
and add a Footnote – at the bottom of the page in your own work acknowledging the source of the reproduced table.
*National Statistics Office 1985 cited in Amazon, 2005, p.267
* If you wish to quote from a table in the above book in your essay:
…..historical figures demonstrate that only sixty percent of households had televisions in Britain by the 1970s (National Statistics Office 1985 cited in Amazon, 2005, p. 267).
* Ensure you include the book in the reference list or bibliography at the end of your work:
Amazon, R., 2005. Management in the media: decision makers. 4th ed. Harlow: FT Prentice Hall.
When citing material found on a website, you should identify the authorship of the website. This may be a corporate author, an organisation or a company; a guide to this can be found by looking at the URL or web address. To find the date of publication, reference to this might be found at the bottom of a web page relating to copyright, or from a date headline.
In this example the authorship would be BBC and the date 2009.
Recent research on meningitis (BBC, 2009) has shown …
COMPILING THE REFERENCE LIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY
Use the title page, not the book cover, for the reference details. Only include the edition where it is not the first. A book with no edition statement is most commonly a first edition.
The required elements for a book reference are:
Author, Initials., Year.
Title of book. Edition. (only include this if not the first edition) Place of publication (this must be a town or city, not a country): Publisher.
Reference
where 1st edition
Baron, D. P., 2008. Business and the organisation. Chester: Pearson.
where 3rd edition
Redman, P., 2006. Good essay writing: a social sciences guide. 3rd ed. London: Open University in assoc. with Sage.
An intext reference for the above examples would read:
Organisations have been found to differ (Baron, 2008) when there is …
Leading social scientists such as Redman (2006) have noted …
Please note where there is likely to be confusion with UK place names; for USA towns include the State in abbreviated form e.g. Birmingham, AL.
For books with two, three or four authors of equal status the names should all be included in the order they appear in the document. Use an
and to link the last two multiple authors.
The required elements for a reference are: Author, Initials., Year.
Title of book. Edition (only include this if not the first edition). Place: Publisher.
Reference
Barker, R. Kirk, J. and Munday, R.J., 1988. Narrative analysis. 3rd ed. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
An intext reference for the above examples would read
A new theory (Barker, Kirk and Munday, 1988) has challenged traditional thinking …
For books where there are more than four authors use the first author only with surname and initials followed by
et al.
The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials.
and et al, Year. Title of book. Edition (only include this if not the first edition). Place: Publisher.
Reference
Grace, B. et al., 1988. A history of the world. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.
For books which are edited give the editor(s) surname(s) and initials, followed by
ed., or
eds..
The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., ed., Year.
Title of book. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Keene, E. ed., 1988. Natural language. Cambridge: University of Cambridge Press.
Silverman, D.F. and Propp, K.K. eds., 1990. The active interview. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Allouche, Jose. ed., 2006. Corporate social resposibility, Volume 1: concepts, accountability and reporting. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.
For chapters of edited books the required elements for a reference are:
Chapter author(s) surname(s) and initials. Year of chapter. Title of chapter followed by
In: Book editor(s) initials and surnames with ed. or eds. after the last name. Year of book. Title of book. Place of publication: Publisher. Chapter number or first and last page numbers followed by full-stop.
References
Smith, J., 1975. A source of information. In: W. Jones, ed. 2000. One hundred and one ways to find information about health. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Ch. 2.
Samson, C., 1970. Problems of information studies in history. In: S. Stone, ed. Humanities information research. Sheffield: CRUS, pp. 44-68.
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Smith, 1975)
(Samson, 1970)
Where there are several works by one author and published in the same year they should be differentiated by adding a lower case letter after the date.
Remember that this must also be consistent with the citations in the text
For multiple works the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initals., Year.
Title of book. Place: Publisher.
Soros, G., 1966a. The road to serfdom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Soros, G., 1966b. Beyond the road to serfdom. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Works by the same author should be displayed in chronological order, earliest first (as above).
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Soros, 1966a)
(Soros, 1966b)
This also applies if there are several authors with the same surname. As an alternative their initials can be included in the citation.
So for example, if you have sources written by George Soros and also by Manuel Soros, you would list them in alphabetic order:
(Soros, G. 1966a)
(Soros, G. 1966b)
(Soros, M. 1966)
For works which have been translated the reference should include details of the translator, the suggested elements for such references being:
Author, Year.
Title of book. Translated from (language) by (name of translator) Place of publication: Publisher.
Canetti, E., 2001. The voices of Marrakesh: a record of a visit. Translated from German by J.A.Underwood. San Francisco: Arion.
For major works of historic significance, the date of the original work may be included along with the date of the translation:
Kant, I., 1785. Fundamental principles of the metaphysic of morals.Translated by T.K. Abbott., 1988. New York: Prometheus Books.
For e-books accessed through a password protected database from the University Library the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Year,
Title of book. [type of medium] Place of publication: Publisher. Followed by “Available through:” include e-book source/database, web address or URL [Accessed date].
Fishman, R., 2005. The rise and fall of suburbia. [e-book] Chester: Castle Press. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library [Accessed 5 June 2005].
Carlsen, J. and Charters, S., eds. 2007. Global wine tourism. [e-book] Wallingford: CABI Pub. Available through: Anglia Ruskin University Library website [Accessed 9 June 2008].
For an e-book freely available over the internet:
The required elements for a reference are:
Authorship, Year,
Title of book. [type of medium] Place of publication (if known): Publisher. Followed by “Available at:” include web address or URL for the e-book [Accessed date].
For a pdf version of a Government publication or similar which is freely available:
The required elements for a reference are:
Authorship, Year,
Title of book. [type of medium] Place of publication: Publisher. Followed by “Available at:” include web address or URL for the actual pdf, where available [Accessed date].
Department of Health, 2008. Health inequalities: progress and next steps. [pdf] London: Department of Health. Available at: [Accessed 9 June 2008].
Bank of England, 2008. Inflation Report [pdf] Available at: [Accessed 20 April 2009].
An intext reference for the above example would read:
Recent evidence (Bank of England, 2008, pp.32-33) show the trends ...
For journal articles the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year. Title of article.
Full Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue/Part number), Page numbers.
Boughton, J.M., 2002. The Bretton Woods proposal: an indepth look. Political Science Quarterly, 42(6), pp.564-78.
Perry, C., 2001. What health care assistants know about clean hands. Nursing Times, 97(22), pp.63-64.
Cox, C., 2002. What health care assistants know about clean hands. Nursing today, Spring Issue, pp.647-85.
For journal articles from an electronic source accessed through a password protected database from the University Library the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year. Title of article.
Full Title of Journal, [type of medium] Volume number (Issue/Part number), Page numbers if availalble. Available through: name of database [Accessed date]
Boughton, J.M., 2002. The Bretton Woods proposal: an in depth look. Political Science Quarterly [e-journal] 42 (6) Available through: Blackwell Science Synergy database [Accessed 12 June 2005].
For an article from a web based magazine or journal, which is freely available over the web, the required elements for a reference are:
Authors, Initials., Year . Title of article,
Full Title of Magazine, [online]. Available at: web address (quote the exact URL for the article) [Accessed date].
Kipper, D. , 2008. Japan’s new dawn, Popular Science and Technology, [online] Available at: [Accessed 22 June 2009].
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Kipper, 2008) ...
For a journal abstract from a database where you have been unable to access the full article, the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year. Title of article.
Full Title of Journal, [type of medium] Volume number (Issue/Part number), Page numbers if availalble, Abstract only.
Available through:.[name of database]. [Accessed date].
Boughton, J.M., 2002. The Bretton Woods proposal: a brief look. Political Science Quarterly, [e-journal] 42(6), Abstract only. Available through: BlackwellScienceSynergy database [Accessed 12 June 2005].
Every effort should be made to read the article in full if you intend to use this work as supporting evidence in an academic submission.
For newspaper articles the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year. Title of article.
Full Title of Newspaper, Day and month before page numbers and column line.
Slapper, G., 2005. Corporate manslaughter: new issues for lawyers.
The Times, 3 Sep. p.4b.
(NB. 4b, this indicates that the article is on the fourth page of the newspaper, and “b” indicates this is the second column of newsprint across the page.)
For newspaper articles found in online newspapers, the required elements for a reference are:
Author or corporate author, Year. Title of document or page.
Name of newspaper, [type of medium] Additional date information. Available at:.[name of database]. [Accessed date].
Chittenden, M., Rogers, L. and Smith, D., 2003. Focus: ‘Targetitis ails NHS. Times Online, [online]1 June. Available at: [Accessed 17 March 2005].
Reference
Coney, J., 2009. Is this the start of a new home loan war? HSBC vows to lend £1billion to homebuyers with 10% deposits. Daily Mail, [online] (Last updated 9.47 AM on 09th April 2009) Available at: [Accessed on 20 April 2009].
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Coney, 2009)
It is good practice to keep in your files a copy of the front page of any website you useOTHER TYPES OF DOCUMENTS
The required elements are:
Short title with key words capitalized, which includes the year followed by the chapter number in brackets. Key words of titles are capitalized. Place of publication: Publisher.
Higher Education Act 2004. (c.8), London: HMSO.
For Acts prior to 1963, the regal year and parliamentary session are included:
Road Transport Lighting Act 1957. (5&6 Eliz. 2, c.51), London: HMSO.
If you need to refer to a specific section and paragraph, include the section, paragraph number and subsection.
Finance Act 2007. s.45(9)(b).
The required elements for a reference are:
Short title (with key words capitalized). Year. the abbreviation 'SI' followed by the year of publication and the SI number. Place of publication: Publisher.
Public Offers of Securities Regulations 1995. SI 1995/1537, London: HMSO.
The required elements for a reference are:
Authorship, which may be part of the title. Year.
Title, in italics if a separate element, Offically assigned number such as a Command number as it is on the document, within brackets, Place of publication: Publisher.
Royal Commission on civil liability and compensation for personal injury, 1978. (Pearson Report) (Cmnd. 7054) London: HMSO.
Select Committee on nationalised industries (1978-9). Consumers and the nationalised industries: prelegislative hearings (HC 334 of 1978-9) London: HMSO.
It is recommended that you follow
accepted legal citation, which is not part of the Harvard system. For this the required elements for a reference are:
Name of the parties involved in the law case, Year of reporting (in square brackets where there is no volume, or round brackets as indicated by the reference you are using) abbreviation for the law reporting series, part number/case number/page reference if available.
Jones v Lipman [1962] 1 WLR 832.
Saidi v France (1994) 17 EHRR 251, p.245.
R v White (John Henry) [2005] EWCA Crim 689, 2005 WL 104528.
In the last example you should only quote the two law reports if you have used them.
An intext reference for the above example would read:
In the recent case of R v White (John Henry) (2005), the defence noted …
The required elements for a reference are:
Corporate author, Year of publication.
Full title of annual report, Place of Publication: Publisher.
Marks & Spencer, 2004. The way forward, annual report 2003-2004, London: Marks & Spencer.
For an
e-version of an annual report. The required elements for a reference are:
Author or corporate author, Year.
Title of document or page, [type of medium]
Available at: include web site address/URL(Uniform Resource Locator)
[Accessed date]
Marks & Spencer, 2004. Annual report 2003-2004. [Online]
Available at:
[Accessed 4 June 2005].
It is good practice to keep in your files a copy of the front page of any website you use containing reference details If you have used material from Archives or Special collections, the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year.
Title of document. [type of medium]. Collection, Document number. Geographical Town/Place: Name of Library/Archive/Repository.
Brown, P.S., 1915. An address to the Farmer. [manuscript] Holdbury Collection. 600. London. Holdbury Library.
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Brown, 1915)
The required elements for a reference are:
Corporate author, Year of Publication.
Identifying letters and numbers and full title of BS, Place of publication: Publisher.
British Standards Institution, 1990. BS 5555:1990 Recommendations for wiring identification. Milton Keynes: BSI.
International Standards Office, 1998. ISO 690 - 2 Information and documentation: Bibliographical references: Electronic documents. Geneva: ISO.
The required elements for a reference are:
Inventor name, Initial(s)., Assignee.,Year.
Title. Place. Patent number (status, if an application).
Example:
Graham, C.P., Fonti, L. and Martinez, A.M., 1972. American Sugar Co. Tableting sugar and compositions containing it. U.S. Pat. 3,642,535. Leonard, Y., Super Sports Limited. 2008. Tin can manufacture and method of sealing. Canada. Pat. 12,789,675.
The required elements for a reference are:
Authorship/author, editor or organisation, Year.
Full title of conference report. Location, Date, Place of publication: Publisher.
UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), 2005. 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance. Seoul, Republic of Korea 24-27 May 2005. New York: United Nations.
The required elements for a reference are:
Authorship, Year. Full title of conference paper. In: followed by editor or name of organisation,
Full title of conference. Location, Date, Place of publication: Publisher.
Brown, J., 2005. Evaluating surveys of transparent governance. In: UNDESA (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs), 6th Global forum on reinventing government: towards participatory and transparent governance. Seoul, Republic of Korea 24-27 May 2005. New York: United Nations.
The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Year of publication.
Title of dissertation. Level. Official name of University.
Richmond, J., 2005. Customer expectations in the world of electronic banking: a case study of the Bank of Britain. Ph. D. Anglia Ruskin University.
The required elements for a reference are:
Full title of DVD or video. Year of release. [type of medium] Director. (if relevant) Country of origin: Film studio or maker. (Other relevant details).
Great films from the 80s: a selection of clips from Warner Brothers top films from the 1980s. 2005 [DVD] New York: Warner Brothers.
Health for all children 3: the video., 2004. [video] London: Child Growth Foundation. (Narrated by D.B.M. Hall).
For a film the suggested elements should include:
Title. Year of release. [Medium] Director. Country of origin: Film studio.
Macbeth, 1948. [Film] Directed by Orson Wells. USA: Republic Pictures
For a broadcast the suggested elements should include:
Series title and episode name and number if relevant, Year of broadcast. [type of medium] Broadcasting organisation and Channel, date and time of transmission.
Little Britain, 2006. [TV programme] BBC, BBC2, 30 January 2006 20.00.
Following EU conventions, examples of various EU documents are given below:
The required elements for a reference are:
The name of the Institution where the document originates (e.g. Commission) Form (eg Directive or Decision) Year/Legislation number/ Initials of Institution followed by the date it was passed if known, followed by the title, all in italics.
Council Directive 2001/29 /EC of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society.
Commission Decision 93/42/EEC of 21 December 1992 concerning additional guarantees relating to infectious bovine rhinotracheitis for bovines destined for Denmark.
EU Regulation 1408/71
REGULATION (EEC) No 1408/71 OF THE COUNCIL of 14 June 1971 on the application of social security schemes to employed persons and their families moving within the Community.
Council Regulation (EEC) 1612/68[5] of 15 October 1968 on freedom of movement for workers within the Community.
It is important to check with the lecturer who has given the lecture that they are in agreement with course material being included in any Reference List. If they are in agreement, and if it is not a publicly available document, it is important to provide a copy in the Appendix of your work. The citation to the course material in your Reference List should then also refer to the Appendix.
It would also be advisable to follow up any sources mentioned in your lecture and read these for yourself.
Course material / lecture notes – print version
The required elements for a reference are:
Lecturer/Author, initial. Year. ‘Title of item’,
Module Code Module title. HE Institution, unpublished.
Williams, B., 2008. Guide to project management, BD45001S Management. Anglia Ruskin University, unpublished.
An intext reference for the above example would read:
(Williams, 2008)
Course material – electronic
The required elements for a reference are:
Lecturer/Author name, initial. Year. ‘Title of item’,
Module Code Module Title [online via internal VLE], HE Institution. Available at: web address if available over the internet, otherwise indicate if available through WebCT, SharePoint or other virtual learning environment address.
[Accessed date].
Williams, B., 2008. Guide to project management, BD45001S Management. [online via internal VLE] Anglia Ruskin University Available at:< J:\AIBS\AIBS Admin\ASSESSMENT MATERIAL\ASSESSMENT MATERIAL 2009-10\IBS & MARKETING & MA ARTS\IBS Sem 2 2009-10 Approved Material\Sem 2> [Accessed Date 13 June 2008].
An intext reference for the above examples would read:
(Williams, 2008) ...
The required elements for a reference are:
Map maker, Year of issue. Title of map.
Map series, Sheet number, scale, Place of publication: Publisher.
Ordnance Survey, 2006. Chester and North Wales. Landranger series,Sheet 106, 1:50000, Southampton: Ordnance Survey.
When reviewing a number of different plays it is essential to cite the title of the plays. If reviewing one play (for example Twelfth Night) it is not necessary to repeat the title in your citations.
Published plays may contain line numbers, particularly in classic texts such as Shakespeare. If they exist it is good practice to include the line number, but Act and Scene numbers must always be included.
Classic plays are available in edited editions and the editor’s name should be included with your reference.
The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initials., Year (of the edition).
Title of play. Editors, Edition. (only include this if not the first edition) Place of publication: (this must be a town or city, not a country) Publisher.
Shakespeare, W. 1995. Twelfth Night, (World’s Classics series) Warren, R and Wells, T. eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press
An intext reference for the above examples would read:
Much speculation has occurred when Malvolio imagines he might marry Olivia, “there is example for’t; the Lady of the Strachy married the yeoman of the wardrobe” (Shakeapeare, Twelfth Night Act 2 Scene 5 Line no 36-7).
The suggested elements for a reference are:
Artist/Photographer’s name (if known), Year of production.
Title of image. [type of medium] Collection Details as available (Collection, Document number, Geographical Town/Place: Name of Library/Archive/Repository).
Beaton,C., 1956. Marilyn Monroe. [photograph] (Marilyn Monroe’s own private collection).
Beaton,C., 1944. China 1944: A mother resting her head on her sick child's pillow in the Canadian Mission Hospital in Chengtu. [photograph] (Imperial War Museum Collection).
For an electronic reference the suggested elements are:
Artist/Photographer’s name, Year of production.
Title of image. [type of medium] Available at: include web site address/URL(Uniform Resource Locator) and additional details of access, such as the routing from the homepage of the source.[Accessed date].
Dean, R, 2008 Tales from Topographic Oceans. [electronic print] Available at: [Accessed 18 June 2008].
Where you have conducted an interview - from a primary source*
*
You are recommended to check with your Faculty Office for detailed guidance on what you may include.
Where you are conducting the interview, it is important to check with the person being interviewed that they will be in agreement with a transcript of the interview being made available. Since this will not be a publicly available document, it may be included as a transcript within an Appendix in your piece of work.
The citation for this interview should refer to the Appendix.
In an interview (Appendix A) the findings of the report were reviewed and White agreed with …
In the Appendix you should include details such as:
Interviewee’s name. Year of interview.
Title of interview.. Interviewed by …name. [type of medium/format] Location and exact date of interview . Together with the transcript.
Where you are using an interview from a source such as a television programme
The suggested elements for a reference are:
Interviewee name, and initial(s)., Year of Interview.
Title of Interview (or Interview on ..name of programme)
Interviewed by …name. [type of medium/format] Name of Channel, Date of transmission, time of transmission.
Ahern, B., 1999. Interview on Morning Ireland Interviewed by… John Boyd [radio] RTE Radio 1, 15 February 1999, 08:30.
An intext reference for the above examples would read:
(Ahern, 1999)
These may be paper or electronic.
For a paper resource:
Corporate author of press release, Year.
Title. Press release and date.
RCN, 2009. RCN praises health care staff as infections continue to fall. Press release, 18 June 2009.
Electronic:
Corporate author of press release, Year.
Title. [press release], date, Available at: web address
[Accessed date].
RCN, 2009. RCN praises health care staff as infections continue to fall. [press release], 18 June 2009, Available at: [Accessed 23 June 2009]
ELECTRONIC SOURCES
For websites found on the worldwide web the required elements for a reference are:
Authorship or Source, Year.
Title of web document or web page. [type of medium] (date of update if available) Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
If the URL appears to be exceedingly long, provide routing details which enable the reader to access the particular page via the site’s homepage. You may be taken to a particular page as a result of a search you performed, or be directed from a link to another place on a website. The resultant URLs may include specific data about your method of accessing that page that is not available to your reader. If this is the case use the homepage (from which the reference can be found).
Static URL
NHS Evidence, 2003. National Library of Guidelines. [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 October 2009].
Dynamic URL
We have highlighted the part of the URL that shows this is a dynamic search. If this is not available to everyone, use the second example below:
Example 1
National Electronic Library for Health, 2003. Can walking make you slimmer and healthier? (Hitting the headlines article) [online] (Updated 16 Jan 2005) Available at: newsAndRssArticle.aspx?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.library.nhs.uk%2Fresources%2F%3Fid%3D66149> [Accessed 10 April 2005].
Example 2
National Electronic Library for Health, 2003. Can walking make you slimmer and healthier? (Hitting the headlines article) [online] (Updated 16 Jan 2005) Available at: [Accessed 10 April 2005].
The title of a web page is normally the main heading on the page, or the title displayed on the top of the web browser.
An intext reference for the above examples would read:
(National Electronic Library for Health, 2003)
It is good practice to keep a copy of the front page of any website you useFor publications found on the internet the required elements for a reference are:
Author or corporate author, Year.
Title of document. [type of medium] Place: Producer/Publisher. Available at: include web site address/URL(Uniform Resource Locator).[Accessed date].
Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines, 2001. Hypertension in the elderly. (SIGN publication 20) [online] Edinburgh : SIGN (Published 2001) Available at:
[Accessed 17 March 2005].
Boots Group Plc., 2003. Corporate social responsibility. [online] Boots Group Plc. Available at:
[Accessed 23 July 2005].
Defoe, D., 1999. The fortunes and the misfortunes of the famous Moll Flanders. [online] Champaign, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Available at: [Accessed 18 November 2005].
Independent Inquiry into Access to Healthcare for People with Learning Disabilities. n.d. Healthcare for all. [online] Available at: [Accessed 10 April 2009]
It is good practice to keep a copy of the front page of any website you useFor images found on the internet the required elements for a reference are:
Author, Year (image created).
Title of work. [type of medium] Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
Where the author is not known, begin the reference with the
title of the work.
Where none of the usual details are known, (such as author, date, or image title) try to find the filename of the image (for example by right clicking and looking at the properties of the file). If none of the above is available begin the reference with the
subject and title of the work.
Van Vechten, C. 1934. Man Ray. [photograph] Available at: [Accessed 04 October 2009].
Pepsi, 2009. Pepsi can designs. [image online] Available at: [Accessed 19 June 2009].
[Nimbus 1 returned sharp cloud cover photos, plus night time infra red pictures] n.d. [image online] Available at: [Accessed 13 November 2008].
[Child placing gauze over knee wound] n.d. [image online] Available at: < http://www.dadpal.com/2009/12/wounds-care-help-and-wound-vac-therapy.html> [Accessed 01 June 2010].
An in text reference for the above examples would read:
(Van Vechten, 1934)
(Pepsi, 2009)
(Nimbus 1, n.d.)
(Child placing gauze, n.d.)
Particular care needs to be taken if you are quoting from these as they may include personal email addresses and be from a restricted source.
Permission should be sought before these sources are quoted.
For email correspondence or discussion lists the suggested elements for a reference are:
Name of sender and email address, Year.
Message or subject title from posting line. [type of medium] Recipient's name and email address. Date sent: Including time. Available at: URL (e.g. details of where message is archived). [Accessed date].
Jones, P., jones@jones.com, 2005. Mobile phone developments. [email] Message to R G. Schmit (r.g.schmit@syy.ac.uk). Sent Monday 7 June 2005, 08:13. Available at: [Accessed 7 July 2005].
Copies of such correspondence should be kept, as these may need to be submitted as an appendix in an academic submission The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Year. Title of individual blog entry.
Blog title, [medium] Blog posting date. Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
Whitton Felix, 2009. Conservationists are not making themselves heard. Guardian.co.uk Science blog, [blog] 18 June, Available at: [Accessed 23 June 2009].
Blog comments
The required elements for a reference are:
Comment Author, Year. Title of individual blog entry.
Blog title, [medium] Comment posting date. Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
DGeezer, 2009. Conservationists are not making themselves heard. Guardian.co.uk Science blog, [blog] 18 June, Available at: [Accessed 23 June 2009].
An in text reference for the above examples would read:
(Whitton, 2009)
(Geezer, 2009)
The required elements for a reference are:
Author, Initial., Year. Subject Line,
Title of Mailing List. [online] date of message, Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
Murrey, T., 2009. ‘Sharing good practice’, Forum for International Students. [online] 23 June 2009, Available at : [Accessed 23 June 2009].
The required elements for a reference are:
Broadcaster/Author, Year.
Programme title, Series Title. (if relevant) [type of medium] date of transmission. Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
National Gallery, 2008. Episode Seventeen (March 2008), The National Gallery Monthly Podcast. [podcast] March 2008. Available at: < http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/podcasts> [Accessed 23 June 2009].
The required elements for a reference are:
Screen name of contributor,Year.
Video Title, Series Title. (if relevant) [type of medium] Available at: include web site address/URL (Uniform Resource Locator) [Accessed date].
Mrgeorged, 2009. Top Gear The Stig revealed Full. [video online] Available at:
