Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

1. What is the difference between references and a bibliography?

   • bibliography
     • Works consulted’ in the MLA, CSE and Chicago styles style
     • is a list of everything you consulted in preparation for writing an assignment,
     • Works consulted
   • reference
     • Works cited’ in the MLA, CSE and Chicago styles
     • the items you have read and specifically referred to (or cited) in your assignment
     • Works cited

2. When should I use page numbers in my in-text citations?

   • Single topic books
     • if you use and include a quotation from the book, you will need to include a page number in the citation
       • if you are referring to some specific detail that is secondary or incidental to the book’s core point
   • Other books and sources
     • If the reader will struggle to find precisely what you looked at without the benefit of page numbers in the citation
     • an electronic online source, your full reference will include the digital object identifier (DOI)

3. How do I cite and reference works written and edited by more than one author?

   • Harvard and British Standard numerical styles
     • In the citation:
       • there are more than three, the name of the first should always be given, but the names of the others may be omitted and replaced by the term ‘et al.’
         • e.g. (Burchell et al. 1999).
     • In the full reference:
       • the surnames of all should be shown in the reference list or bibliography.
         • MERRITT, F.S., M.K. LOFTIN, and J.T. RICKETTS (1995). Merritt’s standard handbook of civil engineering. 4th edn. [CD-ROM]. New York: McGraw Hill.
   • Vancouver numeric and IEEE
     • MHRA
       • For works by more than three authors, the name of only the first should be given, followed by ‘and others’
     • APA style
       • When a work has two authors, both names should be cited each time the source is mentioned in the text.
     • MLA style
       • reference
         • When the work has more than three authors, you can use et al. to replace all the author names, except the first.
       • citation
         • For a work with up to three authors, include all the names in the in-text citation.
     • Chicago
       • citation
         • For a work with up to three authors, include all the names in the in-text citation.
       • reference
         • Put the last name first for the first named author only,

4. What punctuation and capitalization style should I use in referencing?

   • Punctuation
     • Harvard and both numerical styles of referencing, the British Standard recommendations presents examples
       • HANDY, C. (1994). The empty raincoat: making sense of the future. London: Hutchinson.
   • Capitalization
     • All referencing styles except MHRA and MLA show all words
       • in the titles of full references, in lower case, apart from the first letters of titles and names of people, organizations and places.
     • for example (in the Harvard style): ASHBY, M.F. and K. JOHNSON. (2002). Materials and design: the art and science of material selection in mechanical design. Oxford: Butterworth Heinemann.

5. The source has no date. How can I reference this?

   • In that event, state ‘no date’ in your citation and in the reference, or use an abbreviation, ‘n.d.’.
   • You may find other sources, e.g. videos, without apparent production dates, so ‘no date’
     • or the same abbreviation can be used with other undated sources.

6. Can I use abbreviations in references?

   • Abbreviations in the text of assignments are not generally encouraged by tutors, except in scientific and technical writing, in tables, graphs and charts,
     • the terms ‘ibid’, ‘op cit.’ and ‘loc cit.’
       • j
         • Abbreviating months
           • For Harvard, MLA, Chicago, and British Standard numerical styles, the months of the year in full reference can be abbreviated, except May, June and July
           • APA style shows all the months of the year spelt in full.

7. I have noticed that both parentheses ( ) and squared brackets [ ] are sometimes used in references

   • Although British Standard does not show the year in brackets, it has become an accepted hybrid practice in Harvard style referencing to enclose the year of publication within round brackets in line with the APA style,
     • Hardy, T. (1887). The Woodlanders
   • Example (Harvard)
     • HARDY, T. (1887). The Woodlanders. [Online]. (Ed.) M. MONCUR. The Literature Page. Available at http://www.literaturepage.com/read/the-woodlanders.html [Accessed 25 July 2006].
   • The information about the type of source [Online] and the date when the student found it on the Internet [Accessed]
     • information to help the reader understand the type of source and currency of the information
       • is contained within square brackets.

8. How can I present and distinguish my own ideas and opinions in an assignment from those in published sources?

   • particularly in essays where their tutors have advised them to write in the third person and avoid using the first person term ‘I’.
   • the ideas and views were your own (albeit based on a wide reading of the topic).
   • These personal comments could also be linked with evidence from sources that connect with, and reinforce, your own perspective.
   • e.g. ‘It can be argued that . . .’ (and later) ‘The work of Smith (2008

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