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Reference List: Common Reference List Examples

Article (with doi).

Alvarez, E., & Tippins, S. (2019). Socialization agents that Puerto Rican college students use to make financial decisions. Journal of Social Change , 11 (1), 75–85. https://doi.org/10.5590/JOSC.2019.11.1.07

Laplante, J. P., & Nolin, C. (2014). Consultas and socially responsible investing in Guatemala: A case study examining Maya perspectives on the Indigenous right to free, prior, and informed consent. Society & Natural Resources , 27 , 231–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2013.861554

Use the DOI number for the source whenever one is available. DOI stands for "digital object identifier," a number specific to the article that can help others locate the source. In APA 7, format the DOI as a web address. Active hyperlinks for DOIs and URLs should be used for documents meant for screen reading. Present these hyperlinks in blue and underlined text (the default formatting in Microsoft Word), although plain black text is also acceptable. Be consistent in your formatting choice for DOIs and URLs throughout your reference list. Also see our Quick Answer FAQ, "Can I use the DOI format provided by library databases?"

Jerrentrup, A., Mueller, T., Glowalla, U., Herder, M., Henrichs, N., Neubauer, A., & Schaefer, J. R. (2018). Teaching medicine with the help of “Dr. House.” PLoS ONE , 13 (3), Article e0193972. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0193972

For journal articles that are assigned article numbers rather than page ranges, include the article number in place of the page range.

For more on citing electronic resources, see  Electronic Sources References .

Article (Without DOI)

Found in a common academic research database or in print.

Casler , T. (2020). Improving the graduate nursing experience through support on a social media platform. MEDSURG Nursing , 29 (2), 83–87.

If an article does not have a DOI and you retrieved it from a common academic research database through the university library, there is no need to include any additional electronic retrieval information. The reference list entry looks like the entry for a print copy of the article. (This format differs from APA 6 guidelines that recommended including the URL of a journal's homepage when the DOI was not available.) Note that APA 7 has additional guidance on reference list entries for articles found only in specific databases or archives such as Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, UpToDate, ProQuest Dissertations and Theses Global, and university archives. See APA 7, Section 9.30 for more information.

Found on an Open Access Website

Eaton, T. V., & Akers, M. D. (2007). Whistleblowing and good governance. CPA Journal , 77 (6), 66–71. http://archives.cpajournal.com/2007/607/essentials/p58.htm

Provide the direct web address/URL to a journal article found on the open web, often on an open access journal's website. In APA 7, active hyperlinks for DOIs and URLs should be used for documents meant for screen reading. Present these hyperlinks in blue and underlined text (the default formatting in Microsoft Word), although plain black text is also acceptable. Be consistent in your formatting choice for DOIs and URLs throughout your reference list.

Weinstein, J. A. (2010).  Social change  (3rd ed.). Rowman & Littlefield.

If the book has an edition number, include it in parentheses after the title of the book. If the book does not list any edition information, do not include an edition number. The edition number is not italicized.

American Nurses Association. (2015). Nursing: Scope and standards of practice (3rd ed.).

If the author and publisher are the same, only include the author in its regular place and omit the publisher.

Lencioni, P. (2012). The advantage: Why organizational health trumps everything else in business . Jossey-Bass. https://amzn.to/343XPSJ

As a change from APA 6 to APA 7, it is no longer necessary to include the ebook format in the title. However, if you listened to an audiobook and the content differs from the text version (e.g., abridged content) or your discussion highlights elements of the audiobook (e.g., narrator's performance), then note that it is an audiobook in the title element in brackets. For ebooks and online audiobooks, also include the DOI number (if available) or nondatabase URL but leave out the electronic retrieval element if the ebook was found in a common academic research database, as with journal articles. APA 7 allows for the shortening of long DOIs and URLs, as shown in this example. See APA 7, Section 9.36 for more information.

Chapter in an Edited Book

Poe, M. (2017). Reframing race in teaching writing across the curriculum. In F. Condon & V. A. Young (Eds.), Performing antiracist pedagogy in rhetoric, writing, and communication (pp. 87–105). University Press of Colorado.

Include the page numbers of the chapter in parentheses after the book title.

Christensen, L. (2001). For my people: Celebrating community through poetry. In B. Bigelow, B. Harvey, S. Karp, & L. Miller (Eds.), Rethinking our classrooms: Teaching for equity and justice (Vol. 2, pp. 16–17). Rethinking Schools.

Also include the volume number or edition number in the parenthetical information after the book title when relevant.

Freud, S. (1961). The ego and the id. In J. Strachey (Ed.),  The standard edition of the complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud  (Vol. 19, pp. 3-66). Hogarth Press. (Original work published 1923)

When a text has been republished as part of an anthology collection, after the author’s name include the date of the version that was read. At the end of the entry, place the date of the original publication inside parenthesis along with the note “original work published.” For in-text citations of republished work, use both dates in the parenthetical citation, original date first with a slash separating the years, as in this example: Freud (1923/1961). For more information on reprinted or republished works, see APA 7, Sections 9.40-9.41.

Classroom Resources

Citing classroom resources.

If you need to cite content found in your online classroom, use the author (if there is one listed), the year of publication (if available), the title of the document, and the main URL of Walden classrooms. For example, you are citing study notes titled "Health Effects of Exposure to Forest Fires," but you do not know the author's name, your reference entry will look like this:

Health effects of exposure to forest fires [Lecture notes]. (2005). Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com

If you do know the author of the document, your reference will look like this:

Smith, A. (2005). Health effects of exposure to forest fires [PowerPoint slides]. Walden University Canvas. https://waldenu.instructure.com  

A few notes on citing course materials:

• [Lecture notes]
• [Course handout]
• [Study notes]
• It can be difficult to determine authorship of classroom documents. If an author is listed on the document, use that. If the resource is clearly a product of Walden (such as the course-based videos), use Walden University as the author. If you are unsure or if no author is indicated, place the title in the author spot, as above.
• If you cannot determine a date of publication, you can use n.d. (for "no date") in place of the year.

Note:  The web location for Walden course materials is not directly retrievable without a password, and therefore, following APA guidelines, use the main URL for the class sites: https://class.waldenu.edu.

Citing Tempo Classroom Resources

Clear author: 

Smith, A. (2005). Health effects of exposure to forest fires [PowerPoint slides]. Walden University Brightspace. https://mytempo.waldenu.edu

Unclear author:

Health effects of exposure to forest fires [Lecture notes]. (2005). Walden University Brightspace. https://mytempo.waldenu.edu

Conference Sessions and Presentations

Feinman, Y. (2018, July 27). Alternative to proctoring in introductory statistics community college courses [Poster presentation]. Walden University Research Symposium, Minneapolis, MN, United States. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/symposium2018/23/

Torgerson, K., Parrill, J., & Haas, A. (2019, April 5-9). Tutoring strategies for online students [Conference session]. The Higher Learning Commission Annual Conference, Chicago, IL, United States. http://onlinewritingcenters.org/scholarship/torgerson-parrill-haas-2019/

Dictionary Entry

Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Leadership. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary . Retrieved May 28, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leadership

When constructing a reference for an entry in a dictionary or other reference work that has no byline (i.e., no named individual authors), use the name of the group—the institution, company, or organization—as author (e.g., Merriam Webster, American Psychological Association, etc.). The name of the entry goes in the title position, followed by "In" and the italicized name of the reference work (e.g., Merriam-Webster.com dictionary , APA dictionary of psychology ). In this instance, APA 7 recommends including a retrieval date as well for this online source since the contents of the page change over time. End the reference entry with the specific URL for the defined word.

Discussion Board Post

Osborne, C. S. (2010, June 29). Re: Environmental responsibility [Discussion post]. Walden University Canvas.  https://waldenu.instructure.com  

Dissertations or Theses

Retrieved From a Database

Nalumango, K. (2019). Perceptions about the asylum-seeking process in the United States after 9/11 (Publication No. 13879844) [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses.

Retrieved From an Institutional or Personal Website

Evener. J. (2018). Organizational learning in libraries at for-profit colleges and universities [Doctoral dissertation, Walden University]. ScholarWorks. https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6606&context=dissertations

Unpublished Dissertation or Thesis

Kirwan, J. G. (2005). An experimental study of the effects of small-group, face-to-face facilitated dialogues on the development of self-actualization levels: A movement towards fully functional persons [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center.

For further examples and information, see APA 7, Section 10.6.

Legal Material

For legal references, APA follows the recommendations of The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation , so if you have any questions beyond the examples provided in APA, seek out that resource as well.

Court Decisions

Reference format:

Name v. Name, Volume Reporter Page (Court Date). URL

Sample reference entry:

Brown v. Board of Education, 347 U.S. 483 (1954). https://www.oyez.org/cases/1940-1955/347us483

Sample citation:

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court ruled racial segregation in schools unconstitutional.

Note: Italicize the case name when it appears in the text of your paper.

Name of Act, Title Source § Section Number (Year). URL

Sample reference entry for a federal statute:

Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 et seq. (2004). https://www.congress.gov/108/plaws/publ446/PLAW-108publ446.pdf

Sample reference entry for a state statute:

Minnesota Nurse Practice Act, Minn. Stat. §§ 148.171 et seq. (2019). https://www.revisor.mn.gov/statutes/cite/148.171

Sample citation: Minnesota nurses must maintain current registration in order to practice (Minnesota Nurse Practice Act, 2010).

Note: The § symbol stands for "section." Use §§ for sections (plural). To find this symbol in Microsoft Word, go to "Insert" and click on Symbol." Look in the Latin 1-Supplement subset. Note: U.S.C. stands for "United States Code." Note: The Latin abbreviation " et seq. " means "and what follows" and is used when the act includes the cited section and ones that follow. Note: List the chapter first followed by the section or range of sections.

Unenacted Bills and Resolutions

(Those that did not pass and become law)

Title [if there is one], bill or resolution number, xxx Cong. (year). URL

Sample reference entry for Senate bill:

Anti-Phishing Act, S. 472, 109th Cong. (2005). https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/senate-bill/472

Sample reference entry for House of Representatives resolution:

Anti-Phishing Act, H.R. 1099, 109th Cong. (2005). https://www.congress.gov/bill/109th-congress/house-bill/1099

The Anti-Phishing Act (2005) proposed up to 5 years prison time for people running Internet scams.

These are the three legal areas you may be most apt to cite in your scholarly work. For more examples and explanation, see APA 7, Chapter 11.

Magazine Article

Clay, R. (2008, June). Science vs. ideology: Psychologists fight back about the misuse of research. Monitor on Psychology , 39 (6). https://www.apa.org/monitor/2008/06/ideology

Note that for citations, include only the year: Clay (2008). For magazine articles retrieved from a common academic research database, leave out the URL. For magazine articles from an online news website that is not an online version of a print magazine, follow the format for a webpage reference list entry.

Newspaper Article (Retrieved Online)

Baker, A. (2014, May 7). Connecticut students show gains in national tests. New York Times . http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/08/nyregion/national-assessment-of-educational-progress-results-in-Connecticut-and-New-Jersey.html

Include the full date in the format Year, Month Day. Do not include a retrieval date for periodical sources found on websites. Note that for citations, include only the year: Baker (2014). For newspaper articles retrieved from a common academic research database, leave out the URL. For newspaper articles from an online news website that is not an online version of a print newspaper, follow the format for a webpage reference list entry.

OASIS Resources

Oasis webpage.

OASIS. (n.d.). Common reference list examples . Walden University. https://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/apa/references/examples

For all OASIS content, list OASIS as the author. Because OASIS webpages do not include publication dates, use “n.d.” for the year.

Interactive Guide

OASIS. (n.d.). Embrace iterative research and writing [Interactive guide]. Walden University. https://academics.waldenu.edu/oasis/iterative-research-writing-web

For OASIS multimedia resources, such as interactive guides, include a description of the resource in brackets after the title.

Online Video/Webcast

Walden University. (2013).  An overview of learning  [Video]. Walden University Canvas.  https://waldenu.instructure.com  

Use this format for online videos such as Walden videos in classrooms. Most of our classroom videos are produced by Walden University, which will be listed as the author in your reference and citation. Note: Some examples of audiovisual materials in the APA manual show the word “Producer” in parentheses after the producer/author area. In consultation with the editors of the APA manual, we have determined that parenthetical is not necessary for the videos in our courses. The manual itself is unclear on the matter, however, so either approach should be accepted. Note that the speaker in the video does not appear in the reference list entry, but you may want to mention that person in your text. For instance, if you are viewing a video where Tobias Ball is the speaker, you might write the following: Tobias Ball stated that APA guidelines ensure a consistent presentation of information in student papers (Walden University, 2013). For more information on citing the speaker in a video, see our page on Common Citation Errors .

Taylor, R. [taylorphd07]. (2014, February 27). Scales of measurement [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDsMUlexaMY

OASIS. (2020, April 15). One-way ANCOVA: Introduction [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/_XnNDQ5CNW8

For videos from streaming sites, use the person or organization who uploaded the video in the author space to ensure retrievability, whether or not that person is the speaker in the video. A username can be provided in square brackets. As a change from APA 6 to APA 7, include the publisher after the title, and do not use "Retrieved from" before the URL. See APA 7, Section 10.12 for more information and examples.

See also reference list entry formats for TED Talks .

Technical and Research Reports

Edwards, C. (2015). Lighting levels for isolated intersections: Leading to safety improvements (Report No. MnDOT 2015-05). Center for Transportation Studies. http://www.cts.umn.edu/Publications/ResearchReports/reportdetail.html?id=2402

Technical and research reports by governmental agencies and other research institutions usually follow a different publication process than scholarly, peer-reviewed journals. However, they present original research and are often useful for research papers. Sometimes, researchers refer to these types of reports as gray literature , and white papers are a type of this literature. See APA 7, Section 10.4 for more information.

Reference list entires for TED Talks follow the usual guidelines for multimedia content found online. There are two common places to find TED talks online, with slightly different reference list entry formats for each.

TED Talk on the TED website

If you find the TED Talk on the TED website, follow the format for an online video on an organizational website:

Owusu-Kesse, K. (2020, June). 5 needs that any COVID-19 response should meet [Video]. TED Conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/kwame_owusu_kesse_5_needs_that_any_covid_19_response_should_meet

The speaker is the author in the reference list entry if the video is posted on the TED website. For citations, use the speaker's surname.

TED Talk on YouTube

If you find the TED Talk on YouTube or another streaming video website, follow the usual format for streaming video sites:

TED. (2021, February 5). The shadow pandemic of domestic violence during COVID-19 | Kemi DaSilvalbru [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGdID_ICFII

TED is the author in the reference list entry if the video is posted on YouTube since it is the channel on which the video is posted. For citations, use TED as the author.

Walden University Course Catalog

To include the Walden course catalog in your reference list, use this format:

Walden University. (2020). 2019-2020 Walden University catalog . https://catalog.waldenu.edu/index.php

If you cite from a specific portion of the catalog in your paper, indicate the appropriate section and paragraph number in your text:

...which reflects the commitment to social change expressed in Walden University's mission statement (Walden University, 2020, Vision, Mission, and Goals section, para. 2).

And in the reference list:

Walden University. (2020). Vision, mission, and goals. In 2019-2020 Walden University catalog. https://catalog.waldenu.edu/content.php?catoid=172&navoid=59420&hl=vision&returnto=search

Vartan, S. (2018, January 30). Why vacations matter for your health . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/why-vacations-matter/index.html

For webpages on the open web, include the author, date, webpage title, organization/site name, and URL. (There is a slight variation for online versions of print newspapers or magazines. For those sources, follow the models in the previous sections of this page.)

American Federation of Teachers. (n.d.). Community schools . http://www.aft.org/issues/schoolreform/commschools/index.cfm

If there is no specified author, then use the organization’s name as the author. In such a case, there is no need to repeat the organization's name after the title.

In APA 7, active hyperlinks for DOIs and URLs should be used for documents meant for screen reading. Present these hyperlinks in blue and underlined text (the default formatting in Microsoft Word), although plain black text is also acceptable. Be consistent in your formatting choice for DOIs and URLs throughout your reference list.

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Knowledge Check: Common Reference List Examples

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• Manuscript Preparation

How to write your references quickly and easily

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Table of Contents

Every scientific paper builds on previous research – even if it’s in a new field, related studies will have preceded and informed it. In peer-reviewed articles, authors must give credit to this previous research, through citations and references. Not only does this show clearly where the current research came from, but it also helps readers understand the content of the paper better.

There is no optimum number of references for an academic article but depending on the subject you could be dealing with more than 100 different papers, conference reports, video articles, medical guidelines or any number of other resources.

That’s a lot of content to manage. Before submitting your manuscript, this needs to be checked, cross-references in the text and the list, organized and formatted.

The exact content and format of the citations and references in your paper will depend on the journal you aim to publish in, so the first step is to check the journal’s Guide for Authors before you submit.

There are two main points to pay attention to – consistency and accuracy. When you go through your manuscript to edit or proofread it, look closely at the citations within the text. Are they all the same? For example, if the journal prefers the citations to be in the format (name, year), make sure they’re all the same: (Smith, 2016).

Your citations must also be accurate and complete. Do they match your references list? Each citation should be included in the list, so cross-checking is important. It’s also common for journals to prefer that most, if not all, of the articles listed in your references be cited within the text – after all, these should be studies that contributed to the knowledge underpinning your work, not just your bedtime reading. So go through them carefully, noting any missing references or citations and filling the gaps.

Each journal has its own requirements when it comes to the content and format of references, as well as where and how you should include them in your submission, so double-check before you hit send!

In general, a reference will include authors’ names and initials, the title of the article, name of the journal, volume and issue, date, page numbers and DOI. On ScienceDirect, articles are linked to their original source (if also published on ScienceDirect) or to their Scopus record, so including the DOI can help link to the correct article.

A spotless reference list

Luckily, compiling and editing the references in your scientific manuscript can be easy – and it no longer has to be manual. Management tools like Mendeley can keep track of all your references, letting you share them with your collaborators. With the Word plugin, it’s possible to select the right citation style for the journal you’re submitting to and the tool will format your references automatically.

Like with any other part of your manuscript, it’s important to make sure your reference list has been checked and edited. Elsevier Author Services Language Editing can help, with professional manuscript editing that will help make sure your references don’t hold you back from publication.

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• Referencing

A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.

Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .

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Table of contents

Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:

Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).

An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.

When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:

Sources with multiple authors

When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sources with no page numbers

Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:

Multiple citations at the same point

When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:

Multiple sources with the same author and date

If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:

Prevent plagiarism, run a free check.

A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.

The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).

Sources with multiple authors in the reference list

As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used source types are given below.

• Entire book
• Book chapter
• Translated book
• Edition of a book

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal with no DOI
• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.

No publication date

When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:

Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.

When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.

When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

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If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 21 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

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In-Text Citations

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References: How to Cite and List Correctly

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When we write an essay, research paper, thesis, or book, it is normal to include information from the work of others or support our arguments by reference to other published works. All such academic documents draw heavily on the ideas and findings of previous and current researchers available through various sources such as books, journals, theses, newspapers, magazines, government reports, or Internet sources. In all these cases, proper referencing is essential in order to ensure easy retrieval of information. Referencing is the name given to the method of showing and acknowledging the sources from which the author has obtained ideas or information.

Everything deep is also simple and can be reproduced simply as long as its reference to the whole truth is maintained. But what matters is not what is witty but what is true. Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965)

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Thomas, C.G. (2021). References: How to Cite and List Correctly. In: Research Methodology and Scientific Writing . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-64865-7_15

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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 11. Citing Sources
• Purpose of Guide
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• Glossary of Research Terms
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A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your research paper. It refers to a source of information that supports a factual statement, proposition, argument, or assertion or any quoted text obtained from a book, article, web site, or any other type of material . In-text citations are embedded within the body of your paper and use a shorthand notation style that refers to a complete description of the item at the end of the paper. Materials cited at the end of a paper may be listed under the heading References, Sources, Works Cited, or Bibliography. Rules on how to properly cite a source depends on the writing style manual your professor wants you to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note that some disciplines have their own citation rules [e.g., law].

Citations: Overview. OASIS Writing Center, Walden University; Research and Citation. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Citing Sources. University Writing Center, Texas A&M University.

Reasons for Citing Your Sources

Reasons for Citing Sources in Your Research Paper

English scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, once wrote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”* Citations support learning how to "see further" through processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time and the subsequent ways this leads to the devarication of new knowledge.

Listed below are specific reasons why citing sources is an important part of doing good research.

• Shows the reader where to find more information . Citations help readers expand their understanding and knowledge about the issues being investigated. One of the most effective strategies for locating authoritative, relevant sources about a research problem is to review materials cited in studies published by other authors. In this way, the sources you cite help the reader identify where to go to examine the topic in more depth and detail.
• Increases your credibility as an author . Citations to the words, ideas, and arguments of scholars demonstrates that you have conducted a thorough review of the literature and, therefore, you are reporting your research results or proposing recommended courses of action from an informed and critically engaged perspective. Your citations offer evidence that you effectively contemplated, evaluated, and synthesized sources of information in relation to your conceptualization of the research problem.
• Illustrates the non-linear and contested nature of knowledge creation . The sources you cite show the reader how you characterized the dynamics of prior knowledge creation relevant to the research problem and how you managed to effectively identify the contested relationships between problems and solutions proposed among scholars. Citations don't just list materials used in your study, they tell a story about how prior knowledge-making emerged from a constant state of creation, renewal, and transformation.
• Reinforces your arguments . Sources cited in your paper provide the evidence that readers need to determine that you properly addressed the “So What?” question. This refers to whether you considered the relevance and significance of the research problem, its implications applied to creating new knowledge, and its importance for improving practice. In this way, citations draw attention to and support the legitimacy and originality of your own ideas.
• Demonstrates that you "listened" to relevant conversations among scholars before joining in . Your citations tell the reader where you developed an understanding of the debates among scholars. They show how you educated yourself about ongoing conversations taking place within relevant communities of researchers before inserting your own ideas and arguments. In peer-reviewed scholarship, most of these conversations emerge within books, research reports, journal articles, and other cited works.
• Delineates alternative approaches to explaining the research problem . If you disagree with prior research assumptions or you believe that a topic has been understudied or you find that there is a gap in how scholars have understood a problem, your citations serve as the source materials from which to analyze and present an alternative viewpoint or to assert that a different course of action should be pursued. In short, the materials you cite serve as the means by which to argue persuasively against long-standing assumptions propagated in prior studies.
• Helps the reader understand contextual aspects of your research . Cited sources help readers understand the specific circumstances, conditions, and settings of the problem being investigated and, by extension, how your arguments can be fully understood and assessed. Citations place your line of reasoning within a specific contextualized framework based on how others have studied the problem and how you interpreted their findings in support of your overall research objectives.
• Frames the development of concepts and ideas within the literature . No topic in the social and behavioral sciences rests in isolation from research that has taken place in the past. Your citations help the reader understand the growth and transformation of the theoretical assumptions, key concepts, and systematic inquiries that emerged prior to your engagement with the research problem.
• Underscores what sources were most important to you . Your citations represent a set of choices made about what you determined to be the most important sources for understanding the topic. They not only list what you discovered, but why it matters and how the materials you chose to cite fit within the broader context of your research design and arguments. As part of an overall assessment of the study’s validity and reliability , the choices you make also helps the reader determine what research may have been excluded.
• Provides evidence of interdisciplinary thinking . An important principle of good research is to extend your review of the literature beyond the predominant disciplinary space where scholars have examined a topic. Citations provide evidence that you have integrated epistemological arguments, observations, and/or the methodological strategies from other disciplines into your paper, thereby demonstrating that you understand the complex, interconnected nature of contemporary research problems.
• Supports critical thinking and independent learning . Evaluating the authenticity, reliability, validity, and originality of prior research is an act of interpretation and introspective reasoning applied to assessing whether a source of information will contribute to understanding the problem in ways that are persuasive and align with your overall research objectives. Reviewing and citing prior studies represents a deliberate act of critically scrutinizing each source as part of your overall assessment of how scholars have confronted the research problem.
• Honors the achievements of others . As Susan Blum recently noted,** citations not only identify sources used, they acknowledge the achievements of scholars within the larger network of research about the topic. Citing sources is a normative act of professionalism within academe and a way to highlight and recognize the work of scholars who likely do not obtain any tangible benefits or monetary value from their research endeavors.

*Vernon. Jamie L. "On the Shoulder of Giants." American Scientist 105 (July-August 2017): 194.

**Blum, Susan D. "In Defense of the Morality of Citation.” Inside Higher Ed , January 29, 2024.

Aksnes, Dag W., Liv Langfeldt, and Paul Wouters. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories." Sage Open 9 (January-March 2019): https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019829575; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; D'Angelo, Barbara J. "Using Source Analysis to Promote Critical Thinking." Research Strategies 18 (Winter 2001): 303-309; Mauer, Barry and John Venecek. “Scholarship as Conversation.” Strategies for Conducting Literary Research, University of Central Florida, 2021; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; Newton, Philip. "Academic Integrity: A Quantitative Study of Confidence and Understanding in Students at the Start of Their Higher Education."  Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 41 (2016): 482-497; Referencing More Effectively. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Using Sources. Yale College Writing Center. Yale University; Vosburgh, Richard M. "Closing the Academic-practitioner Gap: Research Must Answer the “SO WHAT” Question." H uman Resource Management Review 32 (March 2022): 100633; When and Why to Cite Sources. Information Literacy Playlists, SUNY, Albany Libraries.

Structure and Writing Style

Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you acquired from another author’s work, and identifying where that information come from . You must cite research in order to do research, but at the same time, you must delineate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the thoughts and ideas of others. Citations help achieve this. Procedures used to cite sources vary among different fields of study. If not outlined in your course syllabus or writing assignment, always speak with your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the class because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it consistently. If your professor defers and tells you to "choose whatever you want, just be consistent," then choose the citation style you are most familiar with or that is appropriate to your major [e.g., use Chicago style if its a history class; use APA if its an education course; use MLA if it is literature or a general writing course].

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Are there any reasons I should avoid referencing other people's work? No. If placed in the proper context, r eferencing other people's research is never an indication that your work is substandard or lacks originality. In fact, the opposite is true. If you write your paper without adequate references to previous studies, you are signaling to the reader that you are not familiar with the literature on the topic, thereby, undermining the validity of your study and your credibility as a researcher. Including references in academic writing is one of the most important ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of how the research problem has been addressed. It is the intellectual packaging around which you present your thoughts and ideas to the reader.

2. What should I do if I find out that my great idea has already been studied by another researcher? It can be frustrating to come up with what you believe is a great topic only to find that it's already been thoroughly studied. However, do not become frustrated by this. You can acknowledge the prior research by writing in the text of your paper [see also Smith, 2002], then citing the complete source in your list of references. Use the discovery of prior studies as an opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the problem being investigated and, if applicable, as a means of delineating your analysis from those of others [e.g., the prior study is ten years old and doesn't take into account new variables]. Strategies for responding to prior research can include: stating how your study updates previous understandings about the topic, offering a new or different perspective, applying a different or innovative method of data gathering, and/or describing a new set of insights, guidelines, recommendations, best practices, or working solutions.

3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work? You still must cite the original work. For example, maybe you are using a table of statistics from a journal article published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or added new data to it. Reference the revised chart, such as, [adapted from Smith, 1996], then cite the complete source in your list of references. You can also use other terms in order to specify the exact relationship between the original source and the version you have presented, such as, "based on data from Smith [1996]...," or "summarized from Smith [1996]...." Citing the original source helps the reader locate where the information was first presented and under what context it was used as well as to evaluate how effectively you applied it to your own research.

4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas? You can indicate that the idea or information can be found in the works of others by stating something similar to the following example: "Though many scholars have applied rational choice theory to understanding economic relations among nations [Smith, 1989; Jones, 1991; Johnson, 1994; Anderson, 2003], little attention has been given to applying the theory to examining the influence of non-governmental organizations in a globalized economy." If you only reference one author or only the most recent study, then your readers may assume that only one author has published on this topic, or more likely, they will conclude that you have not conducted a thorough literature review. Referencing all relevant authors of prior studies gives your readers a clear idea of the breadth of analysis you conducted in preparing to study the research problem. If there has been a significant number of prior studies on the topic, describe the most comprehensive and recent works because they will presumably discuss and reference the older studies. However, note in your review of the literature that there has been significant scholarship devoted to the topic so the reader knows that you are aware of the numerous prior studies.

5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher? In the social sciences, the rationale in duplicating prior research is generally governed by the passage of time, changing circumstances or conditions, or the emergence of variables that necessitate a new investigation . If someone else has recently conducted a thorough investigation of precisely the same research problem that you intend to study, then you likely will have to revise your topic, or at the very least, review this literature to identify something new to say about the problem. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly with what you are trying to say, then you can quote from the author directly, referencing the source. Identifying an author who has made the exact same point that you want to make can be an opportunity to add legitimacy to, as well as reinforce the significance of, the research problem you are investigating. The key is to build on that idea in new and innovative ways. If you are not sure how to do this, consult with a librarian .

6. Should I cite a source even if it was published long ago? Any source used in writing your paper should be cited, regardless of when it was written. However, in building a case for understanding prior research about your topic, it is generally true that you should focus on citing more recently published studies because they presumably have built upon the research of older studies. When referencing prior studies, use the research problem as your guide when considering what to cite. If a study from forty years ago investigated the same topic, it probably should be examined and considered in your list of references because the research may have been foundational or groundbreaking at the time, even if its findings are no longer relevant to current conditions or reflect current thinking [one way to determine if a study is foundational or groundbreaking is to examine how often it has been cited in recent studies using the "Cited by" feature of Google Scholar ]. However, if an older study only relates to the research problem tangentially or it has not been cited in recent studies, then it may be more appropriate to list it under further readings .

7. Can I cite unusual and non-scholarly sources in my research paper? The majority of the citations in a research paper should be to scholarly [a.k.a., academic; peer-reviewed] studies that rely on an objective and logical analysis of the research problem based on empirical evidence that reliably supports your arguments. However, any type of source can be considered valid if it brings relevant understanding and clarity to the topic. This can include, for example, non-textual elements such as photographs, maps, or illustrations. A source can include materials from special or archival collections, such as, personal papers, manuscripts, business memorandums, the official records of an organization, or digitized collections. Citations can also be to unusual items, such as, an audio recording, a transcript from a television show, a unique set of data, or a social media post. The challenge is knowing how to properly cite unusual and non-scholarly sources because they often do not fit within standard citation rules like books or journal articles. Given this, consult with a librarian if you are unsure how to cite a source.

NOTE :   In any academic writing, you are required to identify which ideas, facts, thoughts, concepts, or declarative statements are yours and which are derived from the research of others. The only exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a commonly known fact [e.g., "George Washington was the first president of the United States"] or a statement that is self-evident [e.g., "Australia is a country in the Global South"]. Appreciate, however, that any "commonly known fact" or self-evidencing statement is culturally constructed and shaped by specific social and aesthetical biases . If you have any doubt about whether or not a fact is considered to be widely understood knowledge, provide a supporting citation, or, ask your professor for clarification about whether the statement should be cited.

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Carlock, Janine. Developing Information Literacy Skills: A Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Citing Sources . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2020; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; How to Cite Other Sources in Your Paper. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Lunsford, Andrea A. and Robert Connors; The St. Martin's Handbook . New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989; Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace . 3rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2015; Research and Citation Resources. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale Univeraity.

Other Citation Research Guides

The following USC Libraries research guide can help you properly cite sources in your research paper:

• Citation Guide

The following USC Libraries research guide offers basic information on using images and media in research:

Listed below are particularly well-done and comprehensive websites that provide specific examples of how to cite sources under different style guidelines.

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• Southern Cross University Harvard Referencing Style
• University of Wisconsin Writing Center

This is a useful guide concerning how to properly cite images in your research paper.

• Colgate Visual Resources Library, Citing Images

This guide provides good information on the act of citation analysis, whereby you count the number of times a published work is cited by other works in order to measure the impact of a publication or author.

Measuring Your Impact: Impact Factor, Citation Analysis, and other Metrics: Citation Analysis [Sandy De Groote, University of Illinois, Chicago]

Automatic Citation Generators

The links below lead to systems where you can type in your information and have a citation compiled for you. Note that these systems are not foolproof so it is important that you verify that the citation is correct and check your spelling, capitalization, etc. However, they can be useful in creating basic types of citations, particularly for online sources.

• BibMe -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles
• DocsCite -- for citing government publications in APA or MLA formats
• EasyBib -- APA, MLA, and Chicago styles
• Son of Citation Machine -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles

NOTE:   Many companies that create the research databases the USC Libraries subscribe to, such as ProQuest , include built-in citation generators that help take the guesswork out of how to properly cite a work. When available, you should always utilize these features because they not only generate a citation to the source [e.g., a journal article], but include information about where you accessed the source [e.g., the database].

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• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

How to Write References and Cite Sources in a Research Paper

Table of contents

• 1.1 Academic Integrity
• 1.2 Avoiding Plagiarism
• 1.3 Building Credibility
• 1.4 Facilitating Further Research
• 2.1 APA (American Psychological Association)
• 2.2 MLA (Modern Language Association)
• 2.3 Chicago Style
• 2.4 IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)
• 3.1 Author(s)
• 3.2 Title of the Source
• 3.3 Publication Date
• 3.4 Publisher
• 3.5 Page Numbers
• 3.6 DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
• 4.1.3 Chicago
• 4.2.1 Citing Multiple Authors
• 4.2.4 Chicago
• 4.3 Page Numbers in In-Text Citations
• 5.1 Formatting and Organizing Your References
• 5.2 Alphabetizing Your References
• 5.3.2 Journal
• 5.3.3 Chapter
• 5.3.4 Conference Paper/Presentation
• 5.3.5 Online Sources
• 6.1 Verify Your Source
• 6.2 Follow the One Style Guide
• 6.3 Verify DOI and URLs
• 6.4 Online Citation Generators
• 6.5 Use University Libraries and Writing Centers
• 7 Leave No Stone Unturned!

Citation is necessary while writing your school essay, a publication, or a Master’s thesis. We all want our efforts to be acknowledged, right? The lack of references and citations can make the source think you are trying to steal their work. Hence, the question is how to go about making references.

Do you want to learn how to cite in a research paper? Then this article is for you, as it contains the details of how to reference when writing a research paper. There is a standard way to do this in educational journals and organizational publications.

Hence, a researcher must understand how to reference their writings or journals. It is another thing to write a journal properly, but crediting the sources is more crucial.

Follow this guide to learn:

• The importance of referencing and citations for your academic works;
• How to cite in APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, and ASA styles;
• Essential guidelines to follow for a published work.

Why Referencing and Citation Matter

Another important question is: What is the need for referencing and citation? The major reason for citations in research paper format is to serve as directional cues for the employed knowledge. When you cite, readers can know that some portions of your content belong to you. Hence, it is easier to identify how recent the information is.

Citation for your paper comes with several advantages. They include:

Academic Integrity

The citation affirms the integrity of your academic writing. In this information age, there are several details, and it can be difficult to authenticate. When you reference, it helps readers understand the necessity of the discussed topic. Referencing certain authors can give more authority to your papers.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism refers to the mindless lifting of details from another material without acknowledging the details. For the source, they could believe you are stealing from them. In most countries, copyright infringement is a punishable crime and can make you lose your hard work.

Building Credibility

Credibility is the goal of every academic scholar. There is no better way to gain relevance than by citing sources from other credible ones.

Facilitating Further Research

For other researchers like you, providing citations can serve as other sources for more information. It helps them to know other philosophies about the subject.

Choosing the Right Citation Style

Now that the advantages have been established, the new worry is the choice of the right style. There are several styles with their respective peculiarities. For example, the MLA writing style is common in liberal scientific paper citations. Let’s delve more into MLA formatting for research papers and other styles.

APA (American Psychological Association)

The commonest style used by many scholars is APA formatting , especially if there is no stated style. This approach employs the use of in-text citations to explain the source. It’s the simplest form of citation.

Here is an in-text referencing example:

“Exercise is a good way to recover from ailments.” APA, n.d. (American Psychological Association).

The reference style includes:

• The author’s name;
• The author’s name is in parenthesis to follow the referenced excerpt;
• The publication date.

MLA (Modern Language Association)

MLA-style formation is concise and known for its scientific referencing format. The peculiarity of the MLA citation is its source citation, episode title, and document layout. You have to:

• Include the parenthetical citation;
• Create some spaces away from the left margin;
• Include the author’s or source’s name.

Ensure you capitalize every word when including the names. You can employ professional MLA Citation Generators to make the compilation easier. It is perfect for the citation format of scientific papers.

Chicago Style

Chicago’s style is famous for two things:

• The in-text citation within the paper;
• The reference list is at its end.

It is an author-date approach. Hence, the in-text citation for a research paper has the author’s or source name and publication year.

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

This employs the use of numbers. It is chronological as it arranges the citation based on the order of appearance. A click on it takes the reader to the full reference at the end of the paper. To make it easier, you can employ IEEE Citation Maker for a well-curated task. This way, you won’t have to worry about the manual compilation of the IEEE citation style.

This is similar to the author-date approach by Chicago Style. You can:

• Create the quotation;
• Include the parentheses for the author’s name and publication date;
• Add the page number using a colon.

Components of a Citation

Do you want to know how to complete a citation for your professional research paper writing service and research paper? Learn about its components.

The author is also regarded as the source. It is the original writer of the material you are referencing. Sometimes, there may be multiple authors. Do not miss out on anyone while citing a research paper.

Title of the Source

The title of the source is often the name given to the material by the author.

Publication Date

As the name implies, this refers to the date the source was published. Frequently, most writers include it at the start of their material. State the exact month and year of publication, separated with a comma. See example:

“(2016, March 7).”

Including the publisher’s details is only necessary for the full reference. It should be at the end of the paper. It can facilitate further research.

Page Numbers

The page number is necessary, as it helps to easily refer to different sections of the paper.

DOI (Digital Object Identifier) or URL (Uniform Resource Locator)

A DOI is a link to a resource on the internet. The resource can be a book or its chapter. On the other hand, a URL is an address that indicates where the resource can be found. It helps to locate the resource. The use of URLs and DOIs directs readers to the digital identifier of the source.

In-Text Citations

An in-text citation for a research paper is the brief form of the bibliography that you include in the body of the content. It contains the author’s family name and year of publication. It provides enough details to help users know the source in their reference list. Each citation format for research papers is unique.

See citation examples below.

How to Cite Direct Quotations for Each Citation Style

The general rule in referencing is that in-text citations must have a corresponding entry in your reference list. Let’s see how!

There are two types of APA in-text citations:

Parenthetical:

The researchers concluded, “Climate change poses significant challenges for coastal communities” (Johnson & Lee, 2021, p. 78).

In their study on the effects of exercise on mental health, Smith and Johnson (2019) found that regular physical activity was associated with a significant decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression. According to their research, engaging in exercise three times a week for at least 30 minutes had a positive impact on participants’ overall well-being.

APA in-text citation style employs the source’s name and publication year. A direct quotation will include the page number. Remember, you can generate a citation in a research paper using the APA style via a citation generator.

MLA is known as the scientific style of citation. The uniqueness of MLA Style formatting is the use of a direct quote (in quotes), the Author’s name and page number (in parentheses).

In the novel “To Kill a Mockingbird,” Atticus Finch imparts wisdom to his children, saying, “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view… until you climb into his skin and walk around in it” (Lee 30).

For Chicago, you are to include a parenthetical citation, the author’s name, the publication year, and the quote’s page number.

As Adams (2009) argues, “History is a vast early warning system” (53).

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) style typically uses numerical citations in square brackets for in-text citations. It doesn’t rely heavily on direct quotations in the same way as some other citation styles, like APA or MLA. Instead, IEEE generally prefers paraphrasing and citing the source, but direct quotations can be used when necessary. Here’s an example of a direct quotation in IEEE style:

In-Text Citation:

As stated by Smith, “In most cases, the impedance of the transmission line remains relatively constant throughout its length” [1].

Corresponding Reference Entry:

[1] A. Smith, “Transmission Line Impedance Analysis,” IEEE Transactions on Electrical Engineering, vol. 45, no. 3, pp. 212-225, 2010.

ASA is different because it contains the author’s name, publication year, and even the page number.

According to Smith (2010), “Social institutions shape our behaviors and interactions in profound ways” (p. 45).

How to Cite Paraphrased Information

While writing a college paper, paraphrasing is important to achieve clarity, but it is ideal to cite the source of the paraphrased information. The proper way to cite paraphrased information is to include a parenthetical citation. The style of referencing for all citation styles doesn’t change, but they should be in parenthesis.

“Strength can be defined in terms of ability and acquired skills, according to (Jack et al. 2023).

Citing Multiple Authors

The technique is different when you are citing a source that has multiple authors. For the first-time citation, you should include the names of all the authors. The subsequent activities to generate a citation in APA should only include the first author’s surname and the proper use of ‘et al.’ However, you should include the surname and initials of all these authors in the full reference. Separate the authors with commas and ampersands before the final name.

Two Authors:

When a source has two authors, include both authors’ names in the in-text citation every time you reference the source. Use an ampersand (&) between the authors’ names, and include the year of publication in parentheses. For example:

(Smith & Johnson, 2020) found that…

Three to Five Authors:

When a source has three to five authors, list all authors in the first in-text citation. Use an ampersand (&) between the last two authors’ names. For subsequent citations of the same source, use only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” and the year. For example:

First citation: (Smith, Johnson, & Williams, 2018)…

Subsequent citations: (Smith et al., 2018)…

Six or More Authors:

When a source has six or more authors, you should use “et al.” in both the first and subsequent in-text citations, along with the year. For example:

(Smith et al., 2019) conducted a study on…

Group Authors:

When citing sources authored by a group, organization, or company, use the full name of the group or organization as the author in the in-text citation. If the abbreviation is well-known, you can use the abbreviation in subsequent citations. For example:

First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2019)…

Subsequent citations: (APA, 2019)

When a source has two authors, include both authors’ names in the in-text citation, separated by the word “and.” For example:

(Smith and Johnson 45) found that…

Three or More Authors:

When a source has three or more authors, include only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in the in-text citation. For example:

(Smith et al. 72) conducted a study on…

If a source has no identifiable author, use a shortened version of the title in the in-text citation. Enclose the title in double quotation marks or use italics if it’s a longer work (e.g., a book or film). For example:

(“Title of the Source” 28) argues that…

(American Psychological Association 62) states that…

Author-Date System:

In the Author-Date system, when a source has two authors, include both authors’ last names and the publication year in parentheses in the in-text citation, separated by an ampersand (&). For example:

(Smith & Johnson 2020) found that…

When a source has three or more authors, you can use “et al.” after the first author’s name in the in-text citation. For example:

(Smith et al. 2018) conducted a study on…

Notes and Bibliography System:

In the Notes and Bibliography system, when a source has two authors, include both authors’ full names in the note. For example:

John Smith and Jane Johnson, Title of the Work (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number.

When a source has three or more authors, list the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in the note. For example:

John Smith et al., Title of the Work (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), page number.

When a source has two authors, include both authors’ last names in the in-text citation, separated by the word “and.” For example:

(Smith and Johnson 2020) found that…

Three Authors:

When a source has three authors, include all three authors’ last names in the in-text citation, separated by commas. For example:

(Smith, Johnson, and Williams 2018) conducted a study on…

More than Three Authors:

When a source has more than three authors, you should use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” in the in-text citation. For example:

(Smith et al. 2019) conducted a study on…

When a source has two authors, include both authors’ last names in the in-text citation, separated by “and.” For example:

[1] Smith and Johnson found that…

When a source has three or more authors, use the first author’s last name followed by “et al.” in the in-text citation. For example:

[2] Smith et al. conducted a study on…

Page Numbers in In-Text Citations

The use of page numbers in in-text citations is more peculiar to APA style. You can use paragraphs as indicated above if the source has no page, as seen in some e-books and websites.

Creating a Reference List or Bibliography

Creating a reference list is one of the most important tips for writing a research paper because it shows the general scheme of paper citation. This part of the content is a step-by-step process you can follow to create your reference list for your research paper.

Formatting and Organizing Your References

Formatting and organizing your references is the first step when you want to create your bibliography. You need to arrange all the full references to the in-text citation in the downward part of your paper. To avoid missing out on any, writing every full reference when you write the in-text citation is advisable.

Alphabetizing Your References

Alphabetizing your references ensures you create your bibliography in an orderly fashion for easy comprehension. Hence, you can do it numerically or alphabetically. The numerical order is dependent on the referencing system you are using, while the alphabetical order uses the author’s name to organize the reference.

Citations for Different Source Types

Different source types have their respective references, even for scientific papers. The commonest sources include books, journals, chapters, presentations, and online (to cite a website).

See how to cite an example for each source below:

Author, Initial. (Year). Book Title. City of publication, Country/State: Publisher.

“Social, M. (2023). The effect of the internet in this modern era . London, England: Ink.”

Author last name, First name. Book Title: Subtitle . Edition, Publisher, Year.

Donaldson, Bruce. Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar . 3rd ed., Routledge, 2017..

Author last name, First name. Book Title: Subtitle . Edition. Place of publication: Publisher, Year. E-book format.

Donaldson, Bruce. Dutch: A Comprehensive Grammar . 3rd ed. Abingdon-on-Thames: Routledge, 2017.

• N. Last Name, Title , Edition. City: Publisher, 2000.
• Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings , 1st ed. New York: Random House, 1969

Quote (Name Date)

Referencing is vital in research (Smith 2020).

Author, Initial. (Year). Article Title. Journal Title. The volume of the Journal (in italics), issue number of journal in round brackets, page range of articles, URL, and first time.

Social, M. (2023). The effect of the internet in this modern era . Digital Technology, 26(8), 22-24. (Insert URL).

Author. Journal title Date, Page. DOI

Ahmed, Sara. “What is Whiteness.” Feminist Theory , vol. 8, no. 2, Aug. 2007, pp. 149–168. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464700107078139.

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Name Volume, No. Issue (Month or Season Year): Page range. DOI or URL.

Pickard, Hanna. “What Is Personality Disorder?” Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 18, no. 3 (September 2011): 181–84. https://doi.org/10.1353/ppp.2011.0040.

Author Initial(s) and Surname, “Article title,” Journal Title , volume number, issue number, page range, month, and year of publication.

• Chesum, “Innovations in Catalyzation,” J Adhes Sci Technol , Vol. 7, No. 1., pp. 11–24, July-September 2012.

Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. ‘Title’. Publication Title Volume Number (Issue Number): Pages Used. Retrieved October 10, 2013 (http://Website URL).

Sandelowski, Margarete. 1994. ‘Focus On Qualitative Methods. Notes On Transcription’. Research in Nursing \& Health 17(4):312.

Chapter Author’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year). Chapter or article title. Editor First Initial. Second Initial. Editor’s Last Name (Ed.). Book title: Subtitle (edition number, if not the first pages of the chapter). Location of publication: Publisher.

Social, M.O., (2023). Coarctation. In D.S. Moodie (Ed.). Management of heart disease: Indulthood (pp. 142-170). Minneapolis, Minnesota: Cardiotext Publishing.

Name. Book title: Subtitle. Editors. Location of publication: publisher.

Schwartz, Paula. “Redefining Resistance: Women in France.” Behind the Lines: Two World Wars , edited by Margaret R. Higonnet et al., Yale UP, 1987, pp. 141–53.

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Chapter Title.” In Book Title: Subtitle , edited by Editor first name Last name, Page range. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.

Nussbaum, Martha C. “Legal Reasoning.” In The Cambridge Law , edited by John Tasioulas, 59–77. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Author(s), “Chapter title,” in Book Title, Editor(s), Ed(s). City, Country: Publisher, year, p(p). page(s).

• Saito, A. Jorio, and M. S. Dresselhaus, “Properties of nanographene,” in The Oxford Book of Technology, vol. 2, Materials , A. V. NarlikarEds. Oxford, U.K.: Oxford Univ. Press, 2010, pp. 1–30.

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Year of publication. “Title of Chapter.” Pp. Numbers in Title of Book (italicized), edited by F.I. MI. Last. Location of publisher, state or province postal code or name of country (if a foreign publisher): Publisher’s Name.

Rubin, Avi. 2015. “The Slave: A Drama from the Last Century.” Pp. 87-103 in Society, Culture in Asia: The Modernities , edited by E. R. Toledano: Walter De Gruyter Incorporated.

Conference Paper/Presentation

Last name, initial (Year). Conference paper title. Editor initial, last name (Ed.), Proceedings Book Title . Place of Publication: Publisher.

Winstone, N. & Boud, D. (2017). Supporting students’ engagement: the adoption of practices in the U.K. and Australia. A nnual Conference . Newport, South Wales

Surname, First Name. “Paper Title.” Proceedings Title, Conference Location and Date , edited by Editor Name(s), Publisher, Date of Publication.

Lewis, Jack. “Literature: The Consequences of Loss.” Library Proceedings Conference, Amsterdam, 13–14 June , edited by W. Oldham, LCP Publications, 2015.

Author First Name Last Name, “Title of the Paper” (paper presentation, Conference, Location, Date of conference).

Allison Cloyd, “An Examination of College Students” (paper presentation, EasyBib Conference, New York, NY, July 30, 2014) .

Author initials. Last name, Book Title . City, Country: Publisher, Year.

• P. Hailman, Coding: Man-Made Signals . Cambridge: Harvard Univ. Press, 2008.

Author Surname, Author Forename. Year Published. ‘Title’. P. Pages Used in Publication Title . City: Publisher. Retrieved October 10, 2013 (http://Website URL).

Vargas, Jose. 2014. ‘The End Of Liberty’. Pp. 40-42 in The end . Buenos Aires: Elsevier.

Online Sources

Last Name, Initials. (Year, Month Day). Article title . Site Name. URL

The countdown: A prophecy takedown . (2020, October 19). BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/election-us-2020-54596667

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Book . Edition, Publisher, Year of publication.

Smith, Thomas. The Citation Manual for Students: A Guide . 2nd ed., Wiley, 2020.

Author First and Last Name, Title of Book (Place of publication: publisher, year), page number(s).

Albert Einstein, The Meaning of Relativity (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1923), 44–45.

Author initials. Last Name, Book Title . City (and state if in the U.S.), Country: Publisher, Year.

• P. Hailman, Redundancy: Man-Made Signals . Cambridge, MA, USA: Harvard Univ. Press, 2008.

Last Name, First M. Year. “Title of article.” Title of Journal volume (issue): pages.

DOI/Retrieved Month Day, Year (URL)

Granello, Paul F. 1999. “College Students’ Wellness Due to Social Support.” Journal of Counseling 2(2):110-120.

Doi: 10.1002/j.2161-1882.1999.tb00149.x.

Tips for Accuracy

The goal of citing your paper is because of the advantages stated above. As such, you should not negotiate the accuracy of your citation. Here are the tips you can follow for accurate referencing:

Verify Your Source

Confirm if your source is credible or not. It is easier to verify books, journal articles, and chapters. You should check multiple links to confirm their authenticity.

Follow the One Style Guide

Maintain a single referencing style throughout your paper. It is improper to employ multiple referencing styles. If not specified, you can consider the APA style.

Verify DOI and URLs

DOI and URLs can be tricky and sensitive. A simple error with the punctuation can make them invalid. Hence, verifying every DOI and URL with a click is advisable. Discrediting your citation format for a scientific research paper reference based on an invalid URL is not worth it.

Online Citation Generators

Thanks to the digital age, you don’t have to worry about manually compiling your reference or generating its in-text citation. You can employ online generators to do the rough work for you. In turn, you will have more time to focus on the major content of your research work.

Use University Libraries and Writing Centers

Libraries and writing centers have extensive collections of cited sources. Since books, publications, and journals are more credible sources, university libraries remain a valid source to increase the credibility of your paper.

Leave No Stone Unturned!

Referencing and citation are the best way to preserve the relevance of your academic paper. It gives it the appropriate credibility for future use. That means another writer can refer to your work over many years, even when the level of advancement may be unmatched. A well-referenced work is evergreen.

One must note that well-oriented research paper citations have a proper format. The options include APA, MLA (citation style for science), Chicago, IEEE, and ASA. If not stated, it is advisable to follow the APA formatting style, as it is the most common. However, stick with formatting while compiling cited sources for a research paper.

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Writing Research Papers

• Citing References

In your research paper, whenever you refer to prior research or to ideas that were generated by others, you should cite the source or sources in the text and in a References section at the end of the paper.   In the psychological sciences, typically references are cited using APA style (as specified by the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association ) . 

For related information, please see the Formatting Research Papers and Academic Integrity and Avoiding Plagiarism sections of this website.

Citing References in APA Style

The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association has detailed guidelines for the citing of different sources within the text ( in-text citations ) and in the References section.  On this page we detail general guidelines and common cases of citing sources in APA style.

Please note that the following is an overview; for more in-depth information, referring to the Manual is recommended.  Please also note that required reference styles and the specifics of citing references may vary across courses.   Y ou should check with your instructor for any special referencing requirements.

In-Text Citations in APA Style 

In APA style, references are cited in the text using the last name of the author(s) and the publication date.  For example, if you are citing an article written by John Wixted in 2004, the in-text citation would typically be enclosed in parentheses as “(Wixted, 2004)”.  For example: 

Research in the fields of psychology and neuroscience provides support for the theory that forgetting often stems from retroactive interference (Wixted, 2004).

Alternatively, if you are referring directly to the name of the author in the text, then the name is followed by the year of publication.  The year of publication is enclosed in parentheses.  For example:

Wixted (2004) reviewed psychology and neuroscience research that provides support for the theory that forgetting often stems from retroactive interference.

If the reference has between two to five authors, then the last names of all authors are listed as part of the first in-text citation of that reference in the article.  For example:

Taking practice tests has been shown to boost 8 th   grade  students’ memory of U.S. history facts, relative to a restudy control condition, on a final test administered 16 weeks later (Carpenter, Pashler, & Cepeda, 2009).

After that initial in-text citation, all subsequent in-text citations for that reference only list the last name of the first author followed by et al.  For example:

The relative benefits of practice testing over restudy were larger on the final test administered 16 weeks later than on a final test administered 1 week later (Carpenter et al., 2009).

If the reference has more than five authors, the last name of the first author, followed by et al., is used for all in-text citations.

These examples represent among the most common cases of in-text citations; for further examples you might wish to consult the official APA Style website and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s guide to in-text citations in APA style.

Reference Lists in APA Style

In APA style, each peer-reviewed article is listed in a References section towards the end of the research paper.  Each reference of a journal article names the author(s), publication date, article title, name of journal, volume, and page number.   For example ( note that hanging indents are not shown ):

Wixted, J. T. (2004). The psychology and neuroscience of forgetting. Annual Review of  Psychology , 55 , 235-269.

Similarly, each reference of a book names the author(s), the editor(s) if applicable, book title, page numbers (if applicable), as well as publisher name and location.   For example ( note that hanging indents are not shown ):

Healy, A. F., Wohldmann, E. L., & Bourne, L. E., Jr. (2005). The procedural reinstatement principle: Studies on training, retention, and transfer. In A. F. Healy (Ed.), Experimental cognitive psychology and its applications; experimental cognitive psychology and its applications (pp. 59-71). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

As with in-text citations, the above examples represent two common cases of including a source in a Reference list; there are many other cases.  For further details on creating the References section, please see the Formatting Research Papers section of this website.  You may also wish to consult the official APA Style website and the Purdue University Online Writing Lab’s guide to the References list in APA style.

Workshops and Downloadable Resources

• For in-person discussion of the process of writing research papers, please consider attending this department’s “Writing Research Papers” workshop (for dates and times, please check the undergraduate workshops calendar).
• How to Write APA Style Research Papers (a comprehensive guide) [ PDF ]
• Tips for Writing APA Style Research Papers (a brief summary) [ PDF ]

Further Resources

How-To Videos     

• Writing Research Paper Videos

Databases and Search Engines (some may require connection to UCSD network)

• Google Scholar
• PubMed (NIH/NLM)
• Web of Science

UCSD Resources on Finding and Evaluating Sources

• UCSD Library Databases A-Z
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide: Start Page
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide : Finding Articles
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide : Evaluating Sources
• UCSD Library Psychology Research Guide : Managing Citations

  External Resources

• APA Style Guide from the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)
• APA Tutorial on the Basics of APA Style
• EasyBib Guide to Writing and Citing in APA Format
• How to Create APA Tables and Figures from SUNY Cortland

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Citing Sources: Sample Reference List Citations

• Style Links & Samples
• Sample Reference List Citations
• Sample Notes and Bibliography Citations
• Sample Author Date Citations
• Citing Nontraditional Sources in Chicago
• Sample Citations
• Major Changes to the New MLA
• Capitalization and Personal Names in Foreign Languages
• Citing Primary Sources
• Ancient Texts
• Citation Consultations Policy

When formatting a citation in APA style, pay particular attention to italics, punctuation, indentation, and capitalization.

Many more samples of citations presented in the APA style can be found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . Please consult this book or a librarian for help with unusual resources.

All of the following samples are taken from:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

(In the above sample, the name of the organization is the author. Note that only proper names are capitalized in the title, and the edition number follows the title.)

Book: (This sample from Purdue OWL )

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991).  APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Book with an Editor:

Robinson, D. N. (Ed.). (1992). Social discourse and moral judgment . San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Note: italicize the title of the book and do not capitalize any words in titles except the first word, proper names, and after a colon. Use the author's or editor's initials only for first and middle names.

Chapter from an Edited Volume or Anthology :

Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.),  The science of subjective well-being  (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press. 

Scholarly Article:

Fuentes, A. (2016). Contemporary evolutionary theory in biological anthropology: Insight into human evolution,  genomics  and challenges to  racialized  pseudo-science.   Revista   Cuicuilco , 23 (65), 293-304. 

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names or after a colon). Italicize the title of the journal and capitalize all words in the title of the journal. This sample includes the volume number (23) which is italicized to set it off from the other numbers. The issue number (65) appears in parentheses and is not italicized. You will also notice that there is no space left between the volume number and the first parenthesis for the issue number.

Scholarly Article (with multiple authors):

Calvo, M. G., & Lang, P. J. (2004). Gaze patterns when looking at emotional pictures: Motivationally biased attention. Motivation and Emotion, 28 , 221-243. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MOEM.0000040153.26156.ed

Note: This sample includes the volume number (28), which is italicized to set it off from the page numbers. There is no issue number in this example because the journal is paginated by volume. Provide the DOI when available for electronic documents. If a DOI is not available for a scholarly article retrieved online, you should supply the URL of the journal's homepage (NOT the URL from the database). Note authors' names, indentations, spare use of capital letters, page numbers, and use of periods and commas.

Popular Article (with two authors):

Kandel, E. R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, 1113-1120.

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names, or after a colon). Italicize the title of the magazine and capitalize all keywords in the title. Italicize the volume number to set it off from the page numbers.

Newspaper Article:

Scwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post , pp. A1, A4.

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names or after a colon). Italicize the title of the newspaper and capitalize all keywords in the title of the newspaper.

Webpage Examples:  (These samples from  Purdue OWL )

Author, A. A. & Author B. B. (Date of publication ,  or  n. d. if no date ). Title of page [Format description when necessary]. Retrieved from https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Eco, U. (2015). How to write a thesis [PDF file]. (Farina C. M. & Farina F., Trans.) Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/...How_to_write_a_thesis/.../Umberto+Eco-How+to+Write+... (Original work published 1977).

If the page's author is not listed, start with the title. If the date of publication is not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.):

Spotlight Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/about_the_owl/owl_information/spotlight_resources.html

Only include a date of access when page content is likely to change over time (ex: if you're citing a wiki):

Purdue University Writing Lab [Facebook page]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/PurdueUniversityWritingLab/

Nonperiodical Web Document or Report (Examples: government data such as U.S. Census): (This sample from Purdue OWL )

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication, or n.d. if no date).  Title of document . Retrieved from https://Web address

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5).  General format.  Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Note: Italicize the title of the website but do not capitalize any words except the first, proper names, and the first word following a colon.

For citing company or industry reports from the library's MarketLine database, also see:

https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/apa-citation-style/business

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 7.07

If map is within a book, cite as In Title of book after [Type of map].

Cite primary contributors in the Author's space followed by their contributing role in parentheses.

Other forms for [Type of map] include:

• [Demographic map]
• [Topographical map]

Use (n.d.) for No date.

Title of map. (Year). [Type of Map]. Publisher Location: Publisher.

Citation Examples:

Plattsburgh, Clinton County: Dannemora, Peru, Keeseville, Champlain, Rouses Point, New York State, 3rd ed.

(1999). [Road map]. Clifton Park, NY: Jimapco.

Topographical Map:

Berlin, N.Y. - Mass. - VT. (1988). [Topographical map]. reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey.

Online Map:

Follow the map citation guidelines as above, but also include a stable URL where the map is found.

Title of map. (Year). [Type of map]. Retrieved from http://xxx.xx

Manhattan sightseeing map. (2010). [City map]. Retrieved from http://www.ny.com/maps/shopmap.html

MTA Metro-North railroad. (2010). [Railroad map]. Retrieved from http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

MTA New York City subway. (2010). [Subway map]. Retrieved from http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

Charts and Graphs

Since the APA manual does not give direct information for citing every type of source, including charts or graphs, they instruct you to follow the example that is most like the source you are trying to cite. Be sure to provide enough information so your readers can locate the source on their own. When possible provide author or creator, year of publication, title, and publishing and/or retrieval data. When citing a chart, graph or map it may be best to follow the citation style for the format in which the information is presented.

All captions for charts should follow the guidelines below for captions for figures.

Captions for Figures (Charts, Graphs, and Maps): Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 5.20-5.25

All captions should be labeled as Figure followed by a number. The caption should begin with a descriptive phrase and include a citation to the original source and copyright information at the end.

Figure 1. Relations between trust beliefs and school adjustment at T1 and loneliness changes during development in early childhood. All paths attained significance at p> .05. Adapted from “The Relation Between Trust Beliefs and Loneliness During Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adulthood,” by K. J. Rotenberg, N. Addis, L. R. Betts, A. Corrigan, C. Fox, Z. Hobson, & … and M. J. Boulton, 2010, Personality and social psychology bulletin , 36, p. 1090. Copyright 2010 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Documentaries or Feature Films:

David, L., Bender, L., Burns S.Z. (Producers), & Guggenheim, P.D. (Director). (2006). An inconvenient truth [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Note : If a film is not available in wide distribution, add the following to the citation after the country of origin: (Available from Distributor name, full address and zip code).

Online Resources

More examples and samples of papers written using the APA style can be found at the following websites:

• APA Style.Org The APA Citation Style's official website, as excerpted from the 6th edition.
• Excelsior College OWL APA style guide from Excelsior College's Online Writing Lab.
• Slate Citation Machine Excellent tool for citing sources in MLA and APA style. Simple fill in the form for the type of source you are citing, i.e. a book, journal article, website, etc., and this tool will show you the way to cite the reference. Be careful of your capitalization.
• Cornell University Library Guide to APA Citation Style

Additional Information for Citing Special Sources

• Ohio Wesleyan University - Citing Maps
• Map Citation Guide from the University of North Carolina
• Citation Fox (citation generator)
• Knight Cite from Calvin College (citation generator)
• Last Updated: May 22, 2024 1:38 PM
• URL: https://libguides.dickinson.edu/citing

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Formatting References for Scientific Manuscripts

Srinivas b s kambhampati.

Sri Dhaatri Orthopaedic, Maternity and Gynaecology Center, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, India

Lalit Maini

1 Department of Orthopaedics, Maulana Azad Medical College, New Delhi, India

While references are an essential and integral part of a scientific manuscript, format and style of references are as varied as the number of journals currently present. International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in their latest recommendations for publication, 1 advice authors to quote original references whenever possible. We would recommend the readers to go through these guidelines as they are given in sufficient detail to submit a good set of references including styling. Other resources for citing references include the PubMed section 2 which gives samples of formatting of different reference types and the eBook: Citing Medicine, 3 published by the U. S. National Library of Medicine, which gives assistance and rules to authors, editors, publishers and librarians for formatting of references for different reference types.

References are formatted in two basic styles – the Vancouver style which is numeric (more commonly used in medical journals) and Harvard which uses author-date style (more commonly used in natural and Social sciences journals). 4 Parts and order of the parts cited differ on what the author is citing (reference type) and the journal that is being submitted to. The most common types of references include journal article, book, book section or chapter, dissertation, monograph, and webpage. As an example, for a journal article, the parts of a reference in the sequence include authors, article title, journal title, date of publication, volume, issue, and location/pagination. Each journal has its own modification of the format for each part and the punctuation marks, or their lack of, between the parts. Formatting style in each part of a reference could involve placement of selected punctuation marks, bold and italics enhancements, alphabetical order or sequential ordering of references and style of citing in the text, making the combination of variations that create a unique reference style as large in number as the number of journals currently published. It is not clear why such a system has evolved, but it requires considerable attention to detail to get the formatting correct and is time-consuming for the author. The tradition of the journal has been thought as one of the reasons. 4 In manuscripts submitted for the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics (IJO), the reference section carries the most formatting errors committed by authors.

The advantage of having a constant style within a journal is two-fold, apart from an esthetic appearance of references across all articles published by the journal. Ease of reading the references at the end of each article and ease of finding reference part by the reader if he/she is used to the format and plans to look up the reference. As a student/professional in the medical field, one would require attention to finer details of his/her research work as well as in their clinical practice and hence exercising attention to the references would help improve those skills. Such a wide variation in the styles of references has also benefitted some software companies who deal with reference managers (RMs). Some RMs are free for use, and the authors are advised to use different RMs to see which one suits their needs best. While some RMs are cloud based, others are computer based and do not require an internet connection while some others are cloud and computer based. The variation in the style of references across journals appears unlikely to be standardized to a single universal format in the near future.

The Citation Style Language (CSL) is an XML-based computer language developed to standardize formatting of citations and references in manuscripts submitting to journals. They are text application editable files which are imported into RMs. An increasing number of RMs use CSL to help users format their list of references according to individual journal guidelines. However, not all journals are supported by CSL files.

There are two main repositories for access to CSL files – One by GitHub 5 and the other by Zotero 6 developed by Corporation for Digital Scholarship and Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media. These contain more than 8500 styles of references. Authors using Zotero, Mendeley, RefWorks, Papers, CrossRef, Bibliography, and some 42 other RMs can use these CSL files to manage references within them. IJO did not have a CSL file until now in both the repositories. In this scenario, there are a few options for the authors preparing references for a manuscript. First, to type and style references manually which would take a long time and prone to human errors. Second, a CSL file similar to IJO may be selected from the repository and used and later manually edited, if any needed. However, this involves searching for an exact match of style for a journal registered in the repository of CSL files. Third, there are RMs with inbuilt options to format references while citing in the text. This option is independent of CSL. The disadvantage here is that the author is bound by the list of reference styles already loaded within the software. They may not be able to add new formats. Fourth, some RMs allow authors to prepare a style, but this would take some time to prepare if the style is not already inbuilt. As a fifth option, a CSL file that is close to IJO may be chosen, and the code of this file tweaked with minor editing to convert it for use with IJO. To do that, the author must be familiar with programming or editing of HTML/XML files since HTML is a language that is closer to XML.

Zotero's repository 7 website has a user-friendly interface in which such searches are easier to perform. It has 9357 styles stored in the repository at the time of writing this article on March 17, 2019. There are 1924 unique styles through which one can search if their required journal is listed. Zotero draws CSL files from GitHub into their repository. Hence, if a file is created in GitHub, it is drawn into Zotero by default. CSL Project 8 is a website sponsored by four well known RMs. These are Zotero, Mendeley, 9 Papers, 10 and RefWorks. 11 This website gives detailed specifications and documentation of CSL language if one is interested in coding these files. If one is proficient with XML, they can create a style and submit it to the GitHub website for others to benefit. Editing is easier if one uses the Zotero RM as it has an inbuilt option to edit style. It can be done even in other managers or with the use of a standard text editing application in Windows or Mac operating systems. Once a new CSL file is developed, in order to publish it, it has to be validated by CSL validator website 12 and submitted at the GitHub site for accepting into the repository. Even finer details like number of author names before et al. while formatting reference, punctuation marks and their placement, style of each part of the reference and each style of the reference, etc., can be edited accurately.

Once developed, the output of references and citations is remarkably consistent, and too much time need not be directed to editing the punctuation marks and styling of the references and citations while preparing the manuscript. The only hurdle after this would be to get full details of the references reliably and accurately into the RM database while importing the references. The author needs to check that the references were properly imported into the database. If verified, they may be used any number of times with precision. With appropriate selection, the citing as well as the list of references can be formatted according to the journal that is being considered, for submission. Those who are already using RMs may be well aware of the advantages and the time such CSL files can save while preparing a manuscript.

We are happy to inform that a CSL file for IJO has now been created in the GitHub repository 1 and Zotero Styles repository 3 and it can be used by authors using the RMs listed in the CSL website and benefit from its use. The direct link of the file in the repository is given 13 [ Figure 1 ]. Basic users of RMs may download it through their RMs by selecting Indian Journal of Orthopaedics option. Advanced users who know where to place this file may access using the weblink given. Examples of reference style and citation for IJO are given in Figure 2 .

Screenshot of browser shows the web address and search words used to retrieve Citation Style Language file for Indian Journal of Orthopaedics

Examples of format of references and their citation in text for the Indian Journal of Orthopaedics

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Harvard is the main referencing style at colleges and universities in the United Kingdom and Australia. It is also very popular in other English-speaking countries such as South Africa, Hong Kong, and New Zealand. University-level students in these countries are most likely to use a Harvard generator to aid them with their undergraduate assignments (and often post-graduate too).

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A Harvard Referencing Generator solves two problems:

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MyBib supports the following for Harvard style:

🍏 What other versions of Harvard referencing exist?

There isn't "one true way" to do Harvard referencing, and many universities have their own slightly different guidelines for the style. Our generator can adapt to handle the following list of different Harvard styles:

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Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

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Published on 22.5.2024 in Vol 26 (2024)

Hallucination Rates and Reference Accuracy of ChatGPT and Bard for Systematic Reviews: Comparative Analysis

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