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Referencing

Referencing, explained once and properly

Eight styles, five source types, forty worked examples — every one generated by the same engine that powers our free citation tool, so the guidance and the generator can never disagree.

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Short answer

How does referencing work?

Every reference answers four questions in the order your style requires: who wrote it, when it was published, what it is called, and where it can be found. Styles differ in punctuation and element order, not in that underlying logic. They also differ in system: author–date (Harvard, APA, MLA), numeric (Vancouver, IEEE, AMA) or footnote (OSCOLA, Chicago notes–bibliography). Learn the system your style uses and the rest is mechanical.

By style

The eight styles

  • author–dateUK, Australia, New Zealand

    Harvard referencing

    Harvard is an author–date referencing system: an in-text citation gives the author surname and year, and a reference list at the end gives full details alphabetically.

    Business, social sciences, and most UK undergraduate courses

  • author–dateUnited States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada

    APA 7th edition referencing

    APA 7 is an author–date system published by the American Psychological Association.

    Psychology, nursing, education, business and the social sciences

  • author–dateUnited States, Canada

    MLA 9th edition referencing

    MLA 9 uses author–page in-text citations — (Smith 42) — and a 'Works Cited' list rather than a bibliography.

    English literature, languages, cultural studies and the humanities

  • footnoteUnited States, Canada, UK

    Chicago 17th edition referencing

    Chicago 17 offers two systems.

    History, art history and some social sciences

  • numericUK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada

    Vancouver referencing

    Vancouver is a numeric system used across medicine and health sciences.

    Medicine, nursing and the health sciences

  • footnoteUnited Kingdom, Ireland

    OSCOLA referencing

    OSCOLA (Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) is the footnote system used by UK law schools.

    UK law

  • numericInternational

    IEEE referencing

    IEEE is a numeric system used throughout engineering and computer science.

    Engineering, computer science and electronics

  • numericUnited States

    AMA 11th edition referencing

    AMA 11 is the numeric style of the American Medical Association, used across US medical publishing.

    US medicine and clinical health sciences

By source type

What are you citing?

Each combination has its own page with a worked example, the in-text form, and the mistakes that specific pairing invites.

Referencing guides by style and source type
Stylebookjournal articleweb pagebook chapterreport
HarvardGuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
APA 7GuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
MLA 9GuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
Chicago 17GuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
VancouverGuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
OSCOLAGuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
IEEEGuideGuideGuideGuideGuide
AMA 11GuideGuideGuideGuideGuide

Frequently asked questions

Which referencing style should I use?
Whichever your department publishes. As a rough map: Harvard and APA 7 across business and the social sciences, MLA 9 in literature, Chicago 17 in history, Vancouver in health, OSCOLA in UK law, IEEE in engineering, AMA 11 in US medicine. Your module handbook overrides all of this.
What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?
A reference list contains only the sources you actually cited. A bibliography may also include background reading you consulted but did not cite. MLA calls its list 'Works Cited'. Submitting a bibliography where a reference list was asked for is a common and easily avoided deduction.
Why does Harvard look different in every guide I find?
Because Harvard has no single governing authority. Cite Them Right, Leeds Harvard, Coventry Harvard and the Australian AGPS variant all differ in punctuation and element order. Use your own institution's guide and use only that one.
Do I need to reference an idea I put in my own words?
Yes. Attribution attaches to the idea, not the wording. Paraphrasing without a citation is plagiarism even when every word is your own — this is the single most common cause of academic misconduct findings.
How do I cite a source I found quoted in another source?
Read the original if you can. If you genuinely cannot, use secondary citation — 'Jones (1998, cited in Smith, 2019)' — and put Smith in your reference list, because Smith is what you actually read.