Citing and referencing: a practical guide

This short guide explains how you cite some of the major types of materials you are likely to use when writing your thesis and dissertation. It is recommended that you consult one of the style guides listed in the bibliography for specific details about a particular bibliographic style.

Citing a book
Bryson, Bill. (1995) Notes from a small island. London : Black Swan.

Citing a chapter from a book

Ullestad, N. (1992). Diverse rock rebellions subvert mass media hegemony. In R. Garofalo (Ed.) Rockin' the boat: mass music and mass movements (pp.23-45). Boston: South End Press

Citing a journal article

Patton, Michael (1995) Evaluation as a tool. Journal of Social Science. 18 (3) pp.345-356.

Citing a newspaper article

Smith, T. (2003) University tuition fees: the debate. The Guardian, 23 June, p.16.

Citing a conference paper

Secker, J. (2005) Current issues in Information Literacy: are we making all the wrong assumptions? In: Martin,A. ed. Proceedings of the 4th eLiteracy Conference, June 15-17, 2005, Glasgow, Scotland. University of Strathclyde, pp.23-25.

Citing a website
London School of Economics and Political Science. 2005, June 6. The Identity Card Bill debate: what model might work? http://www.lse.ac.uk/collections/pressAndInformationOffice/newsAndEvents/archives/2005/ID_Car d_update.htm (accessed 9 June 2005).

Citing a thesis
Secker, Jane. (1999) Newspapers and historical research: a study of historians and custodians in Wales. Ph.D. thesis, University of Wales, Aberystwyth.

Citing a research report

Mullineux, N. (1997) The world tyre industry: a new perspective to 2005. Research Report 348. London, Economist Intelligence Unit.

Citing Legislation: Acts of Parliament

Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1987 (c.33) London, HMSO.

Parliamentary Papers
When citing parliamentary papers include the following information: Abbreviation of the House HC or HL Paper number Date of Parliamentary Session in brackets For example: HC 7 (1990-91)

Law reports and cases

The correct referencing method for Case Reports is commonly referred to as accepted legal citation. This is not part of the Harvard system but it is the preferred method used by the legal profession. Cases, therefore, are usually cited in this way: Names of the parties (plaintiff and defendant) underlined, in bold, or in italics and followed by a full stop Year the case was reported in square brackets Number of the volume in which it was reported Name of the series of law reports (in abbreviated form) Page number at which the report starts For example: Smith v. Smith [1988] 5 All E.R. 3

Films, Sound recordings and Off-air broadcasts

Raiders of the Lost Ark. (1981) Directed by Steven Speilberg. New York, Warner [film:35mm]. Panorama. (2003) Global warming: the inside story. London, BBC 1, 23 June, [video:VHS]. Children language and literature. (1982) Milton Keynes, Open University Press [sound recording:audiocassette]. JS. June 2005.