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Referencing Help

Referencing Help

Reference List and Material Type

  • A reference list contains details of all sources cited in text and is placed at the end of a work. A bibliography includes all sources consulted for background reading, even if they are not cited in the document.
  • Arrange reference list alphabetically by author’s last name. If an item has no author, treat title exactly the same as the author and alphabetised accordingly. However, if the title starts with “A”, “An” or “The”, refer to the word after it.
  • Adams, D 1992, …

    Raskin, E 1992, …

    A short guide to college writing 2012, …

    The Smithsonian Institution n.d., …

  • When the title starts with quotation mark (“ or ‘), exclude the punctuation when alphabetising.
  • Avari, J & Hoferer, D 2009, …

    ‘Climate’ 2008, …

    Oey, GT 2004, …

    ‘When angels no longer fear to tread’ 2008, …

  • Commas are used to separate each item of the reference/citation.
  • If you have more than one item with the same author, list the items chronologically, starting with the earliest publication.
  • For electronic sources, use angle brackets (<>) to isolate URL from the rest of the reference. 

 

Arranging reference list in alphabetical order

  1. Highlight reference list
  2. On the [Home] tab, click 
  3. Select these options and click [OK]

  1. Reference list is now already arranged in alphabetical order
  2. References

    ‘31 major causes of failure – think and grow rich’ 2015, The Inspiring Journal, blog, 9 September, viewed 20 June 2022, <https://www.theinspiringjournal.com/31-major-causes-of-failure-think-and-grow-rich/>.

    Arends, RI 2012, Learning to teach, 9th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Kolb, DA 1984, Experiential learning: experience as the source of learning and development, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs.

    Kosminsky, E & Kosminsky, L 2003, ‘Improving motivation through dialogue’, Educational Leadership, vol. 61, pp. 150-154.

    Law, N, Yuen, H, Ki, W, Li, S, Lee, Y & Chow, Y 2000, Changing classrooms: a study of good practices in using ICT in Hong Kong schools, Hong Kong Centre for Information Technology in School and Teacher Education, University of Hong Kong.

    The music man 2009, film, Warner Home Video, Pyrmont, NSW.

    ‘The rich get richer in Malaysia’ 2011, The Star, 4 March, p. N6.

    Rowe, MB 1986, ‘Wait time: slowing down may be a way of speeding up’, Journal of Teacher Education, vol. 37, p. 43.

    The University of Tulsa 2020, ‘16 online test-taking tips’, Student Success Blog, blog, 5 October, viewed 20 June 2022, <https://utulsa.edu/16-online-test-taking-tips/>.

Audiovisual material/Video/Podcast

Format

Physical Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of material, edition, material type i.e. CD-ROM/audio/CD/DVD/VHS/film/animation/podcast, Publisher, Place of Publication.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of material, edition, material type i.e. CD-ROM/audio/CD/DVD/VHS/film/animation/podcast, Publisher/Website Name/Organisation, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Audiovisual materials/ CD-ROMs Luhta, E& 2010, How to cheat in Maya 2010: tools and techniques for Maya Animator, CD-ROM, Focal Press, Burlington.

(Luhta 2010)

Luhta (2010)

Film/ video/ television programme/ broadcast The music man 2009, film, Warner Home Video, Pyrmont, NSW.

This is highlighted in the film The music man (2009)

Online video/ Youtube Rowe, S 2015, How to do referencing in word document, video, Youtube, viewed 25 May 2015, <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWnooifg6N8>.

(Rowe 2015)

Podcast

Note: For audio podcasts, use "accessed" instead of "viewed"

Are blogs the new newspapers? 2009, podcast, Podcast Alley, accessed 20 March 2009, <https://www.podcastvalley.com/forum/showthread.php?=146809>. 

(Are blogs the new newspapers? 2009)

Book/E-book

When you access the book from Library databases or web free resources, as long as you can provide enough bibliographic information (publication details and pagination) for the book to be located by the reader, you can cite it as printed format. If not, include viewed date and URL to cite it as online format.

Format

Single author Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Book title, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.
2 or 3 authors Author’s Surname, INITIALS, Author’s Surname, INITIALS & Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Book title, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.
with editor Editor’s Surname, INITIALS (ed.) Year of publication, Book title, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.
In a series Editor’s Surname, INITIALS (ed.) Year of publication, Book title, Series title and volume - if available, Edition - if not the first, Publisher, Place of publication.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Book title, Publisher, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Single author Addison, P  2012, Principles of program design: problem solving with JavaScript, International edn, Course Technology Cengage Learning, Boston.

(Addison 2012)

Addison (2012) commented that….

2 or 3 authors Burns, AC & Bush, RF 2014, Marketing research, 7th edn, Prentice Hall, Boston.

(Burns & Bush 2014)

As stated by Burns and Bush (2014) …

More than 3 authors Bowerman, BL, O'Connell, RT, Murphree, ES & Orris, JB 2012, Essentials of business statistics4th edn, McGraw-Hill, New York.

(Bowerman et al. 2012)

As concluded by Bowerman et al. (2012) …

Editor (s) Woodside, AG (ed.) 2006, Advances in culture, tourism and hospitality research,  Elsevier JAI, Amsterdam.

(Woodside 2006)

Woodside (2006)…

Organisation as author (corporate author) Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development  2012, Food and the tourism experience: the OECD-Korea WorkshopOECD, Paris.

(Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development 2012)

Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2012) argues that…

In a series Swales, JM & Feak, CB 2004, Academic writing for graduate students: essential tasks and skills, Michigan series in English for academic and professional purposes, 2nd edn, The University of Michigan Press, Ann Arbor.

Swales and Feak (2004) incorporate new research in textual analysis.

Writing critiques helps articulate scholarly expectations (Swales & Feak 2004).

No author Networks and distributed system study book 2000, 3rd edn, Distance Education Centre, University of Southern Queensland, Toowoomba.

The Networks and distributed system study book (2000) indicates that…

(Networks and distributed system study book 2000)

Chapter in edited book Axelsson, B & Easton, G 1992, ‘Foreign market entry - the textbook vs the network theory’, in B Axelsson & G Easton (eds), Industrial networks: a new view of reality, Routledge, London, pp. 46-59.

(Axelsson & Easton 1992)

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2007, ‘Alcoholism is a serious problem for teens’, in TL Roleff (ed.), 2010, Alcoholism, Greenhaven,  Detroit, pp. 27-33.

(U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2007)

Citing specific page(s)

Reed, P & Baird, M 2019, ‘Brand positioning strategy’Strategic marketing: decision-making and planning5th edn, Cengage Learning Australia, South Melbourne, pp. 164-169.

 

Note: Include the page number after Place of publication, if you only cited from a specific page or specific continuing pages.

(Reed & Baird 2019) 

 

E-book Beiderwell, B, Tse, LF, Lochhaas, T & deKanter, NB 2012, Success in college, viewed 21 June 2022, <https://2012books.lardbucket.org/pdfs/success-in-college.pdf>.

(Beiderwell et al. 2012) 

Beiderwell et al. (2012) refer to …

Case Study

Format

Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of case, case, Publisher, Place of Publication.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of case, case, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Printed case study Gould, RM 1994, Revolution at Oticon A/S (B): acquiring change competence in a "spaghetti" organisation, case, International Management Development Institute, Lausanne.

In the case by Gould(1994),…

Online case study Gupta, P, Nagpal, A & Malik, D  2018, Starbucks: global brand in emerging markets, case, viewed 17 June 2022, <https://doi.org/10.1108/EEMCS-03-2018-0044>.

(Gupta, Nagpal & Malik 2018)

Sull, D & Turconi, S 2021, Netflix goes to Bollywood, case, viewed 17 June 2022, <https://mitsloan.mit.edu/sites/default/files/2021-03/Netflix%20Goes%20to%20Bollywood.IC__1.pdf>.

(Sull & Turconi 2021)

Comments

Reference the person making the comment, but also state that it is a comment on the original author's name and title.

Format

Commenter’s Surname, INITIALS or Online identity name of the commenter Year, comment on Original Author's Surname, INITIALS, ‘Title/Content/Caption of post’, Site Name, comment posted on date, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Comments CaptainFlack 2015, comment on Latchem, T, ‘Now you have heard of Bournemouth, and we diehard fans really do care’, The Guardian, comment posted on 29 April, viewed on 27 June 2022, <https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2015/apr/29/bournemouth-football-premier-league-fans-prize#comments>.

(CaptainFlack 2015)

OR

CaptainFlack (2015) commented that…

Rapier 2021, comment on Quiggin, J, ‘Economic lessons of the 20-year armistice’, Out of the Crooked Timber of Humanity, No Straight Thing Was Ever Made, comment posted on 18 February, viewed on 27 June 2022, <https://crookedtimber.org/2021/02/18/economic-lessons-of-the-20-year-armistice/#commentid38923>.

… (Rapier 2021)

OR

Rapier (2021) commented that…

Company Information

Format

Company / Market Research Report
Printed Author or Corporate author Year of publication, Title of report, Publisher, Place of Publication.
Online Author or Corporate author Year of publication, Title of report, viewed date, <URL>.
Company Profile
Online Author or Corporate author Year of publication, Title of report, company profile, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Company report/ market research report Bank Negara Malaysia 2012, Annual report 2011, Bank Negara Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur.

As Bank Negara Malaysia (2012) reports….

7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad 2021, Annual report 2020, viewed 29 April 2022, <https://www.7eleven.com.my/pdf/ar-2020.pdf>.

As 7-Eleven Malaysia Holdings Berhad (2021) reports….

Toyota Motor corporation 2013, Sustainability report 2013, viewed 11 March 2014, <http://www.toyota-global.com/sustainability/report/sr/pdf/sustainability_report13_fe.pdf>.

As Toyota Motor Corporation (2013) reports….

Ibisworld 2014, Pet stores in the US, viewed 11 March 2014, <http://www.ibisworld.com/gosample.aspx?cid=1&rtid=101>.

(Ibisworld 2014)

Company profile

MarketLine 2021, Seven-Eleven Japan Co Ltd, company profile, viewed 29 April 2022, <https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=bth&AN=154598292&authtype=shib&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s7320401>.

As MarketLine (2021) reports….

Conference Paper

Format

Published
Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, in Editor INITIALS Surname with (ed.) or (eds), Title of published proceeding, place held, date, Publisher, Place of publication, Page number(s).
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, in Editor INITIALS Surname with (ed.) or (eds), Title of published proceeding, place held, date, Publisher, Place of publication, viewed date, <URL>.
Unpublished
Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, paper presented to Name of Conference, place held, date.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, paper presented to Name of Conference, place held, date, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Printed conference paper (published) Ara, P 2009, ‘The realization problem for Von Neumann regular rings’, in H Marubayashi, K Masaike, K Oshiro & M Sato (eds), Ring theory 2007: proceedings of the fifth China-Japan-Korea conference, Tokyo, Japan, 10-15 September 2007, World Scientific, Hackensack, pp. 21-37.

(Ara 2009)

Ara (2009)…

DuPont, B 2012, ‘Marketing and the internet: implications for managers’, Proceedings of the third annual Australian Marketing Association, Melbourne, Australian Marketing Association, Melbourne, pp. 44-46.

(DuPont 2012)

DuPont (2012)…

Online conference paper from website (published) Vlas, R & Robinson, WN 2011, ‘A rule-based natural language technique for requirements discovery and classification in open-source software development projects’, Proceedings of the 44th Hawaii international conference on system sciences, Kauai, Hawaii, 4-7 January, viewed 5 April 2014, <http://www.hicss.hawaii.edu/hicss_44/bp44/in3.pdf>.

(Vlas & Robinson 2011)

Vlas and Robinson (2011)…

Printed conference paper (unpublished) Chang, JI, Yoo, SH & Kwak, J 2004, ‘Measuring the conservation value of the Songji Lagoon, with an investigation of preference uncertainty’, paper presented to the Thirteenth Annual Conference of the European Association of Environmental and Resource Economics, Budapest, Hungary, 25-28 June.

Chang, Yoo and Kwak (2004) argued that…..

Online conference paper from website (unpublished) Hallam, G, Hiskens, A & Ong, R 2013, ‘Conceptualising the learning organisation: creating a maturity framework to develop a shared understanding of the library’s role in literacy and learning’,  paper presented to the Seventy-nine IFLA General Conference and Assembly, Singapore, 17-23 August 2013, viewed 10 March 2014, <http://conference.ifla.org/past-wlic/2013/ifla79.htm>.

(Hallam, Hiskens & Ong 2013)

Hallam, Hiskens and Ong (2013)…

Dictionary/Encyclopedia

Format

Printed

Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of entry or article’, in Editor's INITIALS Surname with (ed.) or (eds), Title of dictionary/encyclopedia, Edition – if not the first, Publisher, Place of Publication, page number.

Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of entry or article’, in Editor's INITIALS Surname with (ed.) or (eds), Title of dictionary/encyclopedia, Edition – if not the first, Publisher, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Printed dictionary (with author) Oey, GT 2004, ‘Health and illness’, in AA Sharifah Zahran (ed.), Everyday Malay: phrase book and dictionary, 2nd edn, Tuttle Publishing, Singaporep. 121.

(Oey 2004)

Oey (2004)

Printed dictionary (no author) ‘Dragon’ 1997, Dictionary of world religions, Oxford University Press, Oxfordp. 298.

('Dragon' 1997)

Online dictionary (no author) ‘Global warming’ 2022, Macmillan dictionary, viewed 21 July 2022, <http://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/british/global-warming >.

('Global warming' 2022)

Printed encyclopedia entry (with author) Ayman, R 2004, ‘Leadership and culture’, in CD Spielberger (ed.), Encyclopedia of applied psychology, vol. 3, Elsevier Academic Press, Amsterdam, pp. 507-517.

(Ayman 2004)

Ayman (2004)

Printed encyclopedia entry (no author) ‘Greenhouse effect’ 2008, Britannica concise encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, p. 801.

('Greenhouse effect' 2008)

Online Encyclopedia entry (with author)

Jackson, ST 2021, ‘Climate change’, Encyclopedia Britannica, viewed 21 July 2022, <https://www.britannica.com/science/climate-change>.

(Jackson 2021)

Jackson (2021)

Online Encyclopedia entry (with editor)

Ananth, M 2013, ‘Climate change’, in R Chapman & J Ciment (eds), Culture wars in America: an encyclopedia of issues, viewpoints, and voices, 2nd edn, Routledge, viewed 21 July 2022, <https://go.openathens.net/redirector/university.sunway.edu.my?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.credoreference.com%2Fcontent%2Fentry%2Fsharpecw%2Fclimate_change%2F0%3FinstitutionId%3D6120>.

(Ananth 2013)

Ananth (2013)

Online Encyclopedia entry (no author) ‘Greenhouse effect’ 2020, Britannica Academic, viewed 21 July 2022, <https://academic-eb-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/levels/collegiate/article/greenhouse-effect/37976>.

('Greenhouse effect' 2020)

Refer to Citing a secondary source for details.

Images

Refer to Citing figures or tables for more examples

Format

Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of image, image, Publisher, Place of Publication.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of image, image, Website Name or Organisation, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Image Elkin, M, Perry, A & Potter, P 1996, Nursing interventions and clinical skillsimage, Mosby, St. Louis.

The photograph ‘Great client congenially’ illustrates a pleasant exchange between a nurse and a hospitalised patient (Elkin, Perry & Potter 1996, p.22).

Online image

Hanower, F 2011, Pizza, image, Flickr, viewed 27 June 2022,<https://flic.kr/p/a1xZxD>. 

(Hanower 2011)

Google maps Google 2022, Sunway College, Google maps, viewed 20 June 2022, <https://goo.gl/maps/wd6ReBEk156PjBLXA>. 

(Google 2022)

Journal article

  • When you access the article from Library databases or web free resources, as long as you can provide enough bibliographic information (publication details and pagination) for the article to be located by the reader, you can cite it as printed format. If not, include viewed date and URL to cite it as online format.
  • If there is no volume number, just list the issue number.
  • If there is no volume or issue number, list any available designation such as the day and/or month or season.
  • When several dates been provided for the journal article, use the date that issue was published, not the article publication date.
  • Example:

 

Format

Printed Author's Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal (capitalize each unique word), volume number, issue number/month, page number.
Online Author's Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal (capitalize each unique word), volume number, issue number/month, article number, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation

Printed journal article

Trefts, K & Blaksee, S 2000, ‘Did you hear the one about Boolean operators? Incorporating comedy into library instruction’, Reference Services Review, vol. 28, no. 4, pp. 369-378.

(Trefts & Blaksee 2000, p.378)

This supports Trefts and Blaksee's (2000) evidence that

Dennis, R 2007, ‘Theory and practice in marketing research’, Journal of Marketing, vol. 27, Summer, pp. 131-140.

(Dennis 2007)

Online journal article

Brunskill, A & Hanneke, R 2021, ‘Students who are non-users of their academic library: a scoping review’, The Journal of Academic Librarianship  vol. 47, no. 5, article no. 102423, viewed 20 June 2022, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acalib.2021.102423>.

(Brunskill & Hanneke 2021).

Preprint journal article

Note: For journal articles that have been made available online but not yet formally published. Terms you may come across include 'preprint', 'online early', 'online first', 'advance online publication', or 'article in press'.

Ostern, NK, Holotiuk, F & Moormann, J 2021, ‘Organizations’ approaches to blockchain: a critical realist perspective’, Information & Management preprint, viewed 15 June 2022, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.im.2021.103552>.

(Ostern, Holotiuk & Moormann 2021)

Journal article with article number

Note: Some online journals do not have continuous page numbering across all the issues, but instead use article numbers.

Hughes, T, Stone, M, Aravopoulou, E, Wright, LT & Machtynger, L 2018, ‘Academic research into marketing: many publications, but little impact?’, Cogent Business & Management vol. 5, no. 1, article no. 1516108, viewed 17 June 2022, <https://doi.org/10.1080/23311975.2018.1516108>.

(Hughes et al. 2018)

Lecture Note

Format

Lecturer's Surname, INITIALS Year, Subject Code Subject Name, material type i.e. study guide, lecture notes, Semester/ month, Education Institution.

 

Note: It is advisable to use published primary sources rather than lectures as references in your paper.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Study guide Chin, R 2012, BSTA 0202 Quantitative Methods 2, study guide, March, Sunway College Johor Bahru.

Chin (2012) suggested...

Legal case/Legislation

Format

Acts Name of Act Year (Jurisdication)
Cases Party Names (Year) volume number LAW REPORT beginning page number

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Acts Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth)

As stated in the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth)…

Cases Carey v. Price (2005) 132 ALR 255

The case Carey v. Price (2005) 132 ALR 255 showed that…

Magazine/Newspaper Article

  • When you access the article from Library databases or web free resources, as long as you can provide enough bibliographic information (publication details and pagination) for the article to be located by the reader, you can cite it as printed format. If not, include viewed date and URL to cite it as online format.
  • Use webpage format for articles from news websites (e.g. BBC News, CNN, Reuters. These sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers.

Format

Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Title of Magazine/Newspaper (capitalize each unique word), day and month of article, page number of article.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Title of Magazine/Newspaper (capitalize each unique word), day and month of article, viewed date, <URL>.
Online press release Author’s Surname, INITIALS or Corporate Author Year issued, Title of article, medium, day and month of article, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Printed magazine article Avari, J & Hoferer, D 2009, ‘Windows 7: the definitive review’, Chip Malaysia, December, pp. 48-53.

(Avari & Hoferer 2009)

It is commented by Avari and Hoferer (2009).

Printed magazine article with volume & issue number Hutson, M 2022, ‘The future of computing’, Science News, vol. 201, no. 4, pp. 16-22.

(Hutson 2022)

As noted by Hutson (2022).

Online magazine article Ferguson, CJ 2012, ‘Sandy Hook shooting: video games blamed, again’, Time, 20 December, viewed 7 March 2014, <http://ideas.time.com/2012/12/20/sandy-hook-shooting-video-games-blamed-again/>.

(Ferguson 2012)

As concluded by Ferguson (2012)…

Online magazine article without author ‘Where angels no longer fear to tread’ 2008, The Economist, 19 March, viewed 7 March 2014, <http://www.economist.com/node/10875666>. Science has decided to explain the existence of religion (‘Where angels no longer fear to tread’ 2008).
Printed newspaper article Randerson, J 2008, ‘Researchers find fish that can count up to four’, The Guardian, 26 February,  p. 14.

(Randerson 2008)

Randerson’s (2008) article indicates that …

Printed newspaper article without author ‘The rich get richer in Malaysia’ 2011, The Star, 4 March, p. N6. It is found that the income gap in Malaysia is increasing (‘The rich get richer in Malaysia’ 2011).
Online newspaper article Asher-Schapiro, A 2022, ‘US states take centre stage in battles for control over social media’, The Star Online, 17 June, viewed 20 June 2022, <https://www.thestar.com.my/tech/tech-news/2022/06/17/us-states-take-centre-stage-in-battles-for-control-over-social-media>.

(Asher-Schapiro 2022).

Online press release Starbucks Corporation 2022, Starbucks affirms commitment to a planet positive future through innovation and learnings from store partners, press release, 15 March, viewed 17 June 2022, <https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2022/starbucks-affirms-commitment-to-a-planet-positive-future-through-innovation-and-learnings-from-store-partners/>.

(Starbucks Corporation 2022)

Manual

Format

School Year, Manual title, type of document i.e. practical or tutorial manual, Education Institution.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Manual School of Chemical and Life Sciences 2009, CP 1011 Cell biology and function, practical & tutorial manual, Singapore Polytechnic.

In the School of Chemical and Life Sciences (2009),…

Mobile apps

Use the name of the developer of the app if available. If not, use the title of the app as the first element.

Format

Developer Year of release/update, Title of App, edition/version, mobile app, viewed date.

 

Examples

Source Type Reference list In-text citation
Mobile apps Grab.com 2022, Grab Superapp, v5.205.0, mobile app, viewed 14 June 2022.

(Grab.com 2022)

As stated by Grab.com (2022), …

Personal communication

  • You must be sure to obtain permission from the person being referred to.
  • Students should not quote statements made by lecturers unless the information quoted has been officially published.
  • List of reference for personal communication is not required.
  • Only in-text citation is required for this material type. Details can be provided in running text or in parentheses.
  • The format must include author (communicator), year, format description, day and month. The initial of the person precede the family name.
  • Sender/Speaker/Author’s INITIALS Surname Year, personal communication, day and month.

    The Vice Chancellor's statement was confirmed during an interview (P Dawkins 2011, personal communication, 11 October).

    OR

    During an interview conducted on 11 October 2011, Prof Peter Dawkins stated that …

Slides

Format

Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of publication, Title of the slides, PowerPoint presentation, Education Institution, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
PowerPoint slides Aguilar, F 2001, Polyethylene biodigesters: production of biogas and organic fertiliser from animal manure, PowerPoint presentation, University of Adelaide, viewed 4 June 2005, <http://www.adelaide.edu.au/biogas/poly_digester/aguilar/index.htm>.

Aguilar (2001) has shown that…

Thesis

Format

Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of submission, ‘Title of thesis’, degree awarded, Name of University Awarding Degree.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of submission, ‘Title of thesis’, degree awarded, Name of University Awarding Degree, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Printed thesis Barnes, DL 2000, ‘An investigation into the process of formation of operations strategy by small manufacturing companies’, PhD thesis, Staffordshire University.

(Barnes 2000)

Barnes (2000)…

Online thesis from website Bickmore, TW 2003, ‘Relational agents: effecting change through human-computer relationships’, PhD thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, viewed 11 March 2014, <http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/bickmore/bickmore-thesis.pdf>.

(Bickmore 2003)

Bickmore (2003)…

Website/Social Media

Use webpage format for articles from news websites (e.g. BBC News, CNN, Reuters). These sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers.

Format

Blog Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year of posting, ‘Title of posting’, Title of blog, medium, day and month of posting, viewed date, <URL>.
Social Media Author’s Surname, INITIALS or Username or Corporate Author Year of posting, Title/Content/Caption of posting, Site Name, day and month of posting, viewed date, <URL>.
Webpage Author’s Surname, INITIALS or Corporate Author Year, Title of webpage, Website Name or Organisation, viewed date, <URL>.
Web document Author’s Surname, INITIALS or Corporate Author Year of document, Title of document, Publisher, Place of Publication, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

  Reference list In-text citation
Blog Batts, S 2007, ‘Antioxidants in berries increased by ethanol (but are daiquiris healthy)’, ScienceBlogs, blog, 24 April, viewed 2 May 2008, <http://scienceblogs.com/retrospectacle/2007/04/antioxidants_in_berries_icre_1.php>.

(Batts 2007)

Facebook/Instagram/Twitter Sunway College JB Library 2020, What makes you a good leader?, Facebook, 20 July, viewed 14 August 2020, <https://www.facebook.com/sunwayjblib/photos/a.201447589896906/4077206422320984/>.

(Sunway College JB Library 2020)

Sunway College JB Library 2020, Key databases for science, Instagram, 13 August, viewed 17 August 2020, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CD0nMvODSor/>.

As recommended by Sunway College JB Library (2020), …

Sunway College JB 2020, The team at Student Relations welcome you to our Sunway College JB eOpen Day…, Twitter, 18 July, viewed 17 August 2020, <https://twitter.com/sunwaycollegejb/status/1284416503350095872>.

(Sunway College JB 2020)

Webpage Laub, Z 2014, The Taliban in Afghanistan, Council on Foreign Relations, viewed 11 March 2014, <http://www.cfr.org/afghanistan/taliban-afghanistan/p10551#p6>.

(Laub 2014)

Natural Resources Defense Council 2011, An introduction to climate change: what it could mean to you and your family, NRDC, viewed 21 March 2014, <http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/climatebasics.asp>.

(Natural Resources Defense Council 2011)

State Government of Victoria 2013, Obesity in children - causes, Better Health Channel, viewed 25 May2015, <http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Obesity_in_children?open>.

(State Government of Victoria 2013)

Webpage (no author & no date) Perodua Myvi n.d., Carbase.my, viewed 25 May 2015, <http://www.carbase.my/perodua/myvi/generations>.

(Perodua Myvi n.d.)

Web document United States Environmental Protection Agency 2010, Methane and nitrous oxide emissions from natural sources, EPA, Washington, viewed 11 March 2014, <http://www.epa.gov/outreach/pdfs/Methane-and-Nitrous-Oxide-Emissions-From-Natural-Sources.pdf>.

(United States Environmental Protection Agency 2010)

Working paper

Cite discussion paper, research paper and briefing paper by following this format.

Format

Printed Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year, ‘Title’, Series title, working paper number – if available, Publisher, Place of Publication.
Online Author’s Surname, INITIALS Year, ‘Title’, Series title, working paper number – if available, viewed date, <URL>.

 

Examples

Source Type Reference list In-text citation
Printed working paper Selvarajah, CT 2013, ‘Marketing education in Malaysia: implications for Australian tertiary institutions’, Faculty of Business & Commerce Staff Papers, working paper no. 43, Swinburne Institute of Technology,  Melbourne.

(Selvarajah 2013)

Online working paper Givord, P 2020, ‘How a student’s month of birth is linked to performance at school: new evidence from PISA’, OECD Education Working Papers, working paper no. 221, viewed 23 June 2022, <https://doi.org/10.1787/19939019>.

Givord (2020) stated that…