How to write a reference
This guide aims to show you how to write references for different types of research material: books, website, magazines and DVDs.
If you ever get stuck when writing your reference list, come and ask at the LRC and we will help you out.
Books
To write a reference for a book, you need to provide the following information:
| Author: | Stephen King |
| Title: | Nightmares and Dreamscapes |
| Year published: | 1993 |
| Edition (if any): | |
| Place of publication: | London |
| Publishing company: | Hodder & Stoughton Ltd |
You will find this information on the back of a book’s title page.
You write the details in this order:
Author’s surname, initials. (Year in brackets) Title of the Book in Italics. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher.
- King, S. (1993) Nightmares and Dreamscapes. London: Hodder & Stoughton Ltd.
The title is in italics it to make it stand out.
Here are some more examples:
- Copeland, R. and Cohen, M. (1983) What is Dance? 3rd Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- O’Barr, J. (2002) The Crow. London: Titan Books Ltd.
- Rodney, A. (2005) Colour Management for Photographers. Oxford: Focal Press.
Click here to use our online book referencing tool
Electronic Books
With an e-book you need to provide the following information:
| Author: | Munro, E |
| Year: | 2002 |
| Title: | Effective child protection |
| Place of e-book supplier: | Ebrary |
| Address: | http://site.ebrary.com/lib/carlisle/home.action |
| Date you looked at the site: | 28th August 2009 |
Author’s surname, initials. (Year in brackets) Title of the Book in Italics. Name of e-book supplier [Online]. Available at:: URL (Accessed date).
- Munro, E. (2002) Effective child protection. Ebrary [Online]. Available at:http://site.ebrary.com/lib/carlisle/home.action (Accessed: 28th August 2009).
Click here to use our online electronic book referencing tool
Magazines/Journals
You have to give a bit more information when writing a reference for a magazine article:
| Author of article: | Kate Stables |
| Year: | 2001 |
| Title of article: | Run Lara run |
| Name of journal: | Sight and Sound |
| Volume and number: | 11 (8) — or state the month issued |
| Page Numbers: | 18- 19 |
You can usually find these details on the front cover or the spine of the magazine. Again, you must put the details in a special order:
Author surname, initials. (Year) ‘Title of article in quotation marks’, Journal Name in Italics, Volume (Number), Pages.
- Stables, K. (2001) ‘Run Lara Run’. Sight and Sound, 11(8), pp18 — 19.
- Hall, P. (2008) ‘Sharpen like an expert’, Digital Photo, August, pp56 — 59.
Click here to use our online magazine/journal referencing tool
Websites
It can be tricky to find all the information you need — websites don’t have title pages like books and magazines. If you can’t find the information, leave it out.
You should provide these things:
| Author or company: | Design Addict |
| Year: | 2009 |
| Page title: | Design index. Online |
| Title of website: | Design Addict |
| Address: | http://www.designaddict.com/design-index/index.cfm |
| Date you looked at the site: | 28th August 2009 |
Details are written in a similar order to books and magazines:
Author or company. (year) Title of Website. [Online]. Available: Http address. Date you looked at the site.
- Design Addict. (2009) Design index. [Online]. Available: http://www.designaddict.com/design-index/index.cfm. 28th August 2009.
- British Film Institute. (2009) British Film Institute. [Online]. Available: http://www.bfi.org.uk/. 28th August 2009.
Click here to use our online website referencing tool
DVDs
Again, it can be hard to find the information you need, so it is best to provide as much information as you can find. If you have borrowed the DVD or video from the LRC, you could check the catalogue record to find the details.
You write the details you can find in this order:
Title. (Year produced or broadcast). Format (DVD or video). Publisher. Here are some examples:
- The Third Man. (1949) DVD. Studio Canal UK.
- Halloween Special Edition. (2001) DVD. Anchor Bay Entertainment UK Ltd.
- The Official Guide to Hazard Perception. (2004) DVD. Driving Standards Agency.
Click here to use our online DVD referencing tool
Writing a bibliography
A bibliography is an alphabetical list of all the things you used to find information for your coursework.
Why bother?
- you need to show that you have done some proper research: this shows you really know about the subject
- you must acknowledge the sources of your information, or you could be accused of plagiarism
- other people might want to read more about what you have written: your bibliography will give them a place to start
- if you have to do similar research again, you can easily find information that you used before
The way you set out your bibliography is important. You have to give enough information to make it easy for someone else to find what you have used.
It makes it easier to read if you provide the same or similar information in the same order for every reference.
Always put your list of references in alphabetical order by surname of author, or title if there is no author. A bibliography for the examples used above would look like this:
British Film Institute. (2009) British Film Institute. [Online]. Available at: http;//www.bfi.org.uk/. 28th August 2009.
- Copeland, R. and Cohen, M. (1983) What is Dance? 3d Ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Design Addict. (2009) Design index. [Online]. Available at: http://www.designaddict.com/design-index/index.cfm. 28th August 2009.
- Hall, P. (2008) ‘Sharpen like an expert’, Digital Photo, August, pp56 — 59.
- Halloween Special Edition. (2001) DVD. Anchor Bay Entertainment UK Ltd.
- O’Barr, J. (2002) The Crow. London: Titan Books Ltd.
- The Official Guide to Hazard Perception. (2004) DVD. Driving Standards Agency.
- Rodney, A. (2005) Colour Management for Photographers. Oxford: Focal Press.
- Stables, K. (2001) ‘Run Lara Run’. Sight and Sound, 11(8), pp18 — 19.
- The Third Man. (1949) DVD. Studio Canal UK.
Related Links
