1.13 Referencing systems

There are several different referencing systems, with variations within each. Check with your tutor which system is preferred on your course/in your department and also ask if there are any guidelines available.

PLEASE NOTE THAT NONE OF THE INFORMATION BELOW APPLIES TO ENGLISH LITERATURE/LANGUAGE STUDIES STUDENTS. PLEASE CONSULT YOUR FACULTY TUTORS FOR GUIDANCE.

The important thing is that your referencing is COMPLETE, ACCURATE and CONSISTENT.

Pay careful attention to the referencing systems used in the books and journals you are reading.

The most commonly used systems are:
The Harvard Method : an Author-Date system
The Vancouver Method : a Numerical system

THE HARVARD METHOD

This is the most commonly used system, preferred by the majority of departments here at Birmingham City University.

Within your text, you simply state the SURNAME of the author (without an initial or first name), the YEAR OF PUBLICATION, and sometimes the PAGE NUMBER (separated from the date by a colon, or written p.78). For example:

According to Stewart (1996), this is not always the case.

Butcher (1991:78) gives an entirely different explanation of the phenomenon.

It is forecast that the number of banks closing will continue well into the next century (Lloyds Bank, 1998).

Notice that in the last example, if there is no one particular author, the body or company publishing the material is regarded as the author.

The full details of the source then appear at the end of the work, in your references section (maybe referred to as bibliography, or primary/secondary sources: check with your tutor).

Your references must be strictly alphabetical.

This is how you make a full reference to various types of source material available. The first is analysed in detail, as the criteria here apply to most other references.

Book

Bhatia, V. (1993) Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings.
London: Longman.

Bhatia = surname of author (sometimes in bold or CAPITALS)

V = author's initial (better to put just the initial, rather than the full first name; also in bold if the surname is)

1993 = year of publication (the final date shown at the beginning of the book) The date sometimes comes at the end of the entry, in which case the brackets are omitted.

Analysing Genre: Language Use in Professional Settings. = book title (usually in italics, but sometimes underlined, especially if your work has been handwritten, or even in bold).

London = city of publication (not country)

Longman = publisher (publisher and city may be the other way round)

Note also that the second (or any subsequent) line in the reference should be slightly indented to make it easier to pick out each individual entry.

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Book with editor

This is how you refer to a book which has an editor and consists of various articles by different authors:

Bailey, K.M. (1990) 'The use of diary studies in teacher education programs' in J.C Richards and D. Nunan (eds.). Second Language Teacher Education. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Note that the title of the article is in normal print and inverted commas, that the initials of the editors (eds.) come first, and that the title of the book they have edited is in italics.
If one author has more than one book/source referred to, then these appear in date order (earliest first).

Journal article

Gaies, S.J. (1983). 'The investigation of language classroom processes'. TESOL Quarterly 17:205-17

The name of the article comes first, followed by the name of the journal in italics, and then the issue number of the journal and the page numbers.

Internet source

Gower, D. (1997). Advantages of being left-handed [online]. London: Marylebone Cricket Club. Available from:
http://www.lords.org/gower.html [Accessed 30 June 1997]

You'll notice that most of the entry is similar to a book, but it's also very important that you put the full internet address and the date that you accessed it (as information is often regularly updated). Again, if there doesn't seem to be a particular author, then treat the organisation as the author.

Newspaper or magazine article

If the journalist is identified (which is usually the case):

Hopkins, N & Thorpe, M. (1999) 'Hoddle: my conscience is clear', The Guardian, 2 February, p.1.

If not, simply:
The Guardian (1999) Hoddle: my conscience is clear', 2 February, p.1.

Citing secondary sources

If a source you are using cites another source, and you yourself make a reference to this secondary source, how it would appear in your references depends on how it is used. The following forms part of the advice given by
The University of Central Queensland:

Minor citation from a secondary source

If the secondary source (Morris in the example below) is claimed only as an authority to support your argument, mention the secondary publication as part of the in-text citation:

Morris' study (cited in Smith 1995, p. 23) explained why ...

and only show the primary source (Smith) in the bibliography, that is:

Smith, A.M. (1995), Technology options, CQU Press, Rockhampton.

Significant citation from a secondary source

If you are using actual words quoted directly from the secondary source (Morris) in the primary source (Smith), or if you wish to make significant use of the ideas or information offered by the secondary source, cite the secondary source in the text:

As described in Smith (1995, p. 23), Morris (1993) presents this critical process in detail ...

and show both primary and secondary references in the reference list using Smith's reference list to provide the reference for Morris:

Morris, M.R. 1993, 'Student performance and the use of computer mediated communication in distance education', Journal of Computer Mediated Communication, vol. 3, no. 2, pp. 13-25.

Smith, A.M. 1995, Technology options, CQU Press, Rockhampton.

For other types of reference, try one of the links at the bottom of the page, or check with your tutor or with us.

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THE VANCOUVER METHOD

In your text, this method uses a number, either in brackets or superscript, instead of the year of publication.

Studies by Hussain (8) indicate that global warming may be a myth.

Studies by Hussain8 indicate that global warming may be a myth.

Your references are then listed numerically, not alphabetically. They will always appear together at the end of your work, and in addition, some writers include them as a footnote to each page, or maybe instead, at the end of each chapter/section. In addition to this, a separate alphabetical list may also be included at the end of your work.

As always, if you are asked to use this method, check the exact reference format with your tutor.

Here is an example of a full reference in the Vancouver Method; there are some minor variations to the Harvard Method:

Crawley, John. The Transition from County to Country (Preston: Red Rose, 1996)

Notice that the full name of the author, as it appears on the book, is given, and that the place of publication, publisher and year of publication are together in brackets).

Links to further resources on referencing systems

Mantex

Anglia Ruskin University