Citation & Referencing
Citation
A citation is a reference to a published item. Citations vary depending on the type of source. The most common citation formats are:
| MLA | Liberal Arts |
| APA | Social Sciences |
| Chicago/Turabian | Humanities/STEM Sciences |
| Minimum | Author(s), date of publication, title, page numbers |
| Default | + publisher, + publisher location |
| Best Practice | + unique identifier (ISBN, SICI, DOI) |
MLA (Modern Language Association)
| Book | Author last name, author first name. Book title. Publication city: publishing company, publication year. |
| Journal | Author last name, author first name. “Article title.” Journal title. Volume number. Issue number (publication year): page numbers. |
| Magazine | Author last name, author first name. “Article title.” Magazine title. Publication month and year: page numbers. |
| Newspaper | Author last name, author first name. “Article title.” Newspaper title. Date published: page numbers. |
| Website | Author last name, author first name. “Article title.” Website title. Publisher or website name, date accessed. |
APA (American Psychological Association)
| Book | Author last name, first initial. (Year published). Book title. Publication city: publishing company. |
| Journal | Author last name, first initial. (Year published). Article title. Journal title, volume number, page numbers. |
| Magazine | Author last name, first initial. (Publication date). Article title. Magazine title, volume number, page numbers. |
| Newspaper | Author last name, first initial. (Publication date). Article title. Newspaper title, page numbers. |
| Website | Author last name, first initial. (Publication date). “Article title.” Website title. Retrieved date, from URL |
Chicago/Turabian
| Book | Author last name, first name. Book title. Publication city: publisher, year published. |
| Journal | Author last name, first name. “Article title.” Journal title volume number (year published): page numbers. |
| Magazine | Author last name, first name. “Article Title” Magazine title, publication date. |
| Newspaper | Author last name, first name. “Article title.” Newspaper title, publication date. |
| Website | Author last name, first name. “Page title.” Site title. URL (retrieved date). |
Summary: Citations should supply detail to identify the item uniquely.
Referencing
Referencing relates to the method on how to link your citation between the text and the reference list. These are the three commonly accepted methods:
| 1. | Author-date |
| 2. | Numeric (Global & continuous count) |
| 3. | Footnotes (Count resets every section,article or paragraph) |
In the following examples the most relevant part of the individual reference approach is additionally marked bold.
Method: Author-date
Within Text The positive view on schools to value traditional and competitive sports very high is shared by Pitt and Norton (2012), who recognise it as well as Clooney (2010), to be one popular strategy to address boys' underachievement. Reference List Pitt, B. & Norton, E., (2012) Sports and School. Buckingham: Open University Press.Clooney G., (2010) Masculinity in young adults. Cambridge: University Publishing. |
Method: Numeric
|
Within Text The approach of schools to value traditional and competitive sports very high, [21] is a popular strategy to address boys' underachievement.[22] Reference List [21] Pitt, B. & Norton, E., (2012) Sports and School. Buckingham: Open University Press.[22] Clooney G., (2010) Masculinity in young adults. Cambridge: University Publishing. |
Method: Footnotes
Within Text The approach of schools to value traditional and competitive sports very high,¹ is a popular strategy to address boys' underachievement.² Reference List ¹ Pitt, B. & Norton, E., (2012) Sports and School. Buckingham: Open University Press.² Clooney G., (2010) Masculinity in young adults. Cambridge: University Publishing. |
Summary: Which method to use depends on your subject and department. Most universities have information on their website about general referencing conventions.