example of citation in research example

APA Citation Style

Citation examples.

• Paper Format
• Style and Grammar Guidelines
• Citation Management Tools
• What's New in the 7th Edition?
• APA Style References Guidelines from the American Psychological Association
• APA Style (OWL - Online Writing Lab, Purdue University)
• Common Reference Examples Handout
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Edited Book Chapter
• Dictionary Entry
• Government Report
• YouTube Video
• Facebook Post
• Webpage on a Website
• Supplemental Reference Examples
• Archival Documents and Collections

Parenthetical citations:  (Grady et al., 2019; Jerrentrup et al., 2018)

Narrative citations:  Grady et al. (2019) and Jerrentrup et al. (2018)

• If a journal article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If the journal article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range (for an explanation of why, see the  database information  page). The reference in this case is the same as for a print journal article.
• Do not include database information in the reference unless the journal article comes from a database that publishes original, proprietary content, such as UpToDate (see an example on the  database information  page).
• If the journal article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online journal that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the journal article has an article number instead of a page range, include the article number instead of the page range (as shown in the Jerrentrup et al. example).

Parenthetical citations:  (Rabinowitz, 2019; Sapolsky, 2017)

Narrative citations:  Rabinowitz (2019) and Sapolsky (2017)

• If the book includes a DOI, include the DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• Do not include the publisher location.
• If the book does not have a DOI and comes from an academic research database, end the book reference after the publisher name. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print book.

Parenthetical citations:  (Schaefer & Shapiro, 2019; Schulman, 2019)

Narrative citations:  Schaefer and Shapiro (2019) and Schulman (2019)

• If a magazine article has a DOI, include the DOI in the reference.
• If the magazine article does not have a DOI and is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print magazine article.
• If the magazine article does not have a DOI but does have a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online magazine that is not part of a database), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the magazine article does not have volume, issue, and/or page numbers (e.g., because it is from an online magazine), omit the missing elements from the reference (as in the Schulman example).

Parenthetical citation:  (Carey, 2019)

Narrative citation:  Carey (2019)

• If the newspaper article is from an academic research database, end the reference after the page range. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print newspaper article.
• If the newspaper article has a URL that will resolve for readers (e.g., it is from an online newspaper), include the URL of the article at the end of the reference.
• If the newspaper article does not have volume, issue, and/or page numbers (e.g., because it is from an online newspaper), omit the missing elements from the reference, as shown in the example.
• If the article is from a news website (e.g., CNN, HuffPost)—one that does not have an associated daily or weekly newspaper—use the format for a  webpage on a website  instead.

Parenthetical citation:  (Aron et al., 2019)

Narrative citation:  Aron et al. (2019)

• If the edited book chapter includes a DOI, include the chapter DOI in the reference after the publisher name.
• If the edited book chapter does not have a DOI and comes from an academic research database, end the edited book chapter reference after the publisher name. Do not include  database information  in the reference. The reference in this case is the same as for a print edited book chapter.
• Do not create references for chapters of authored books. Instead, write a reference for the whole book and cite the chapter in the text if desired (e.g., Kumar, 2017, Chapter 2).

Parenthetical citation:  (Merriam-Webster, n.d.)

Narrative citation:  Merriam-Webster (n.d.)

• Because entries in  Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary  are updated over time and are not archived, include a  retrieval date  in the reference.
• Merriam-Webster is both the author and the publisher, so the name appears in the author element only to avoid repetition.
• To quote a dictionary definition, view the pages on quotations and  how to quote works without page numbers  for guidance. Additionally, here is an example:  Culture  refers to the “customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group” (Merriam-Webster, n.d., Definition 1a).

Parenthetical citation:  (National Cancer Institute, 2019)

Narrative citation:  National Cancer Institute (2019)

The specific agency responsible for the report appears as the author. The names of parent agencies not present in the  group author name  appear in the source element as the publisher. This creates concise in-text citations and complete reference list entries.

Parenthetical citation:  (Harvard University, 2019)

Narrative citation:  Harvard University (2019)

• Use the name of the account that uploaded the video as the author.
• If the account did not actually create the work, explain this in the text if it is important for readers to know. However, if that would mean citing a source that appears unauthoritative, you might also look for the author’s YouTube channel, official website, or other social media to see whether the same video is available elsewhere.

Parenthetical citations:  (APA Databases, 2019; Gates, 2019)

Narrative citations:  APA Databases (2019) and Gates (2019)

• Present the name of the individual or group author the same as you would for any other reference. Then provide the Twitter handle (beginning with the @ sign) in square brackets, followed by a period.
• Provide the first 20 words of the tweet as the title. Count a URL, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words.
• If the tweet includes an image, a video, a poll, or a thumbnail image with a link, indicate that in brackets after the title: [Image attached], [Video attached], [Thumbnail with link attached].
• The same format used for Twitter is also used for Instagram.  

Parenthetical citation:  (News From Science, 2019)

Narrative citation:  News From Science (2019)

• Provide the first 20 words of the Facebook post as the title. Count a URL or other link, a hashtag, or an emoji as one word each, and include them in the reference if they fall within the first 20 words. 
• If a status update includes images, videos, thumbnail links to outside sources, or content from another Facebook post (such as when sharing a link), indicate that in square brackets.

Parenthetical citations:  (Fagan, 2019; National Institute of Mental Health, 2018; Woodyatt, 2019; World Health Organization, 2018)

Narrative citations:  Fagan (2019), National Institute of Mental Health (2018), Woodyatt (2019), and World Health Organization (2018)

• Provide as specific a  date  as is available on the webpage. This might be a year only; a year and month; or a year, month, and day.
• Italicize the title of a webpage.
• When the author of the webpage and the publisher of the website are the same, omit the publisher name to avoid repetition (as in the World Health Organization example).
• When contents of a page are meant to be updated over time but are not archived, include a  retrieval date  in the reference (as in the Fagan example).
• Use the webpage on a website format for articles from news websites such as CNN and HuffPost (these sites do not have associated daily or weekly newspapers). Use the  newspaper article category  for articles from newspaper websites such as  The New York Times  or  The Washington Post .
• Create a reference to an open educational resources (OER) page only when the materials are available for download directly (i.e., the materials are on the page and/or can be downloaded as PDFs or other files). If you are directed to another website, create a reference to the specific webpage on that website where the materials can be retrieved. Use this format for material in any OER repository, such as OER Commons, OASIS, or MERLOT.
• Do not create a reference or in-text citation for a whole website. To mention a website in general, and not any particular information on that site, provide the name of the website in the text and include the URL in parentheses. For example, you might mention that you used a website to create a survey.

The following supplemental example references are mention in the  Publication Manual:

• retracted journal or magazine article
• edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
• edition of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD)
• religious work
• annotated religious work

Archival document and collections are not presented in the  APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition . This content is available only on the APA Style website .  This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.

Archival sources include letters, unpublished manuscripts, limited-circulation brochures and pamphlets, in-house institutional and corporate documents, clippings, and other documents, as well as such nontextual materials as photographs and apparatus, that are in the personal possession of an author, form part of an institutional collection, or are stored in an archive such as the Archives of the History of American Psychology at the University of Akron or the APA Archives. For any documents like these that are available on the open web or via a database (subscription or nonsubscription), follow the reference templates shown in Chapter 10 of the Publication Manual.

The general format for the reference for an archival work includes the author, date, title, and source. The reference examples shown on this page may be modified for collections requiring more or less specific information to locate materials, for different types of collections, or for additional descriptive information (e.g., a translation of a letter). Authors may choose to list correspondence from their own personal collections, but correspondence from other private collections should be listed only with the permission of the collector.

Keep in mind the following principles when creating references to archival documents and collections:

• As with any reference, the purpose is to direct readers to the source, despite the fact that only a single copy of the document may be available and readers may have some difficulty actually seeing a copy.
• Include as much information as is needed to help locate the item with reasonable ease within the repository. For items from collections with detailed finding aids, the name of the collection may be sufficient; for items from collections without finding aids, more information (e.g., call number, box number, file name or number) may be necessary to help locate the item.
• If several letters are cited from the same collection, list the collection as a reference and provide specific identifying information (author, recipient, and date) for each letter in the in-text citations (see Example 3).
• Use square brackets to indicate information that does not appear on the document.
• Use “ca.” (circa) to indicate an estimated date (see Example 5).
• Use italics for titles of archival documents and collections; if the work does not have a title, provide a description in square brackets without italics.
• Separate elements of the source (e.g., the name of a repository, library, university or archive, and the location of the university or archive) with commas. End the source with a period.
• If a publication of limited circulation is available in libraries, the reference may be formatted as usual for published material, without the archival source.
• Note that private letters (vs. those in an archive or repository) are considered personal communications and cited in the text only.

1. Letter from a repository

Frank, L. K. (1935, February 4). [Letter to Robert M. Ogden]. Rockefeller Archive Center (GEB Series 1.3, Box 371, Folder 3877), Tarrytown, NY, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Frank, 1935)
• Narrative citation: Frank (1935)
• Because the letter does not have a title, provide a description in square brackets.

2. Letter from a private collection

Zacharius, G. P. (1953, August 15). [Letter to William Rickel (W. Rickel, Trans.)]. Copy in possession of Hendrika Vande Kemp.

• Parenthetical citation: (Zacharius, 1953)
• Narrative citation: Zacharius (1953)
• In this example, Hendrika Vande Kemp is either the author of the paper or the author of the paper has received permission from Hendrika Vande Kemp to cite a letter in Vande Kemp’s private collection in this way. Otherwise, cite a private letter as a  personal communication .

3. Collection of letters from an archive

Allport, G. W. (1930–1967). Correspondence. Gordon W. Allport Papers (HUG 4118.10), Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, 1930–1967)
• Narrative citation: Allport (1930–1967)

To cite specific letters in the text, provide the author and range of years as shown in the reference list entry, plus details about who wrote the specific letter to whom and when the specific letter was written.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, 1930–1967, G. Boring to Allport, December 26, 1937)
• Narrative citation: Allport (1930–1967, Allport to G. Boring, March 1, 1939)
• Use the parenthetical citation format to cite a letter that E. G. Boring wrote to Allport because Allport is the author in the reference. Use either the parenthetical or narrative citation format to cite letters that Allport wrote.

4. Unpublished papers, lectures from an archive or personal collection

Berliner, A. (1959). Notes for a lecture on reminiscences of Wundt and Leipzig. Anna Berliner Memoirs (Box M50), Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Berliner, 1959)
• Narrative citation: Berliner (1959)

5. Archival/historical source for which the author and/or date is known or is reasonably certain but not stated on the document

Allport, A. (presumed). (ca. 1937). Marion Taylor today—by the biographer [Unpublished manuscript]. Marion Taylor Papers, Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe College, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Allport, ca. 1937)
• Narrative citation: Allport (ca. 1937)
• Because the author is reasonably certain but not stated on the document, place the word “presumed” in parentheses after the name, followed by a period.
• Because the date is reasonably certain but not stated on the document, the abbreviation “ca.” (which stands for “circa”) appears before the year in parentheses.

6. Archival source with group author

Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs. (1949, November 5–6). Meeting of Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs. David Shakow Papers (M1360), Archives of the History of American Psychology, University of Akron, Akron, OH, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs, 1949)
• Narrative citation: Subcommittee on Mental Hygiene Personnel in School Programs (1949)

7. Interview recorded and available in an archive

Smith, M. B. (1989, August 12). Interview by C. A. Kiesler [Tape recording]. President’s Oral History Project, American Psychological Association, APA Archives, Washington, DC, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Smith, 1989)
• Narrative citation: Smith (1989)
• For interviews and oral histories recorded in an archive, list the interviewee as the author. Include the interviewer’s name in the description.

8. Transcription of a recorded interview, no recording available

Sparkman, C. F. (1973). An oral history with Dr. Colley F. Sparkman/Interviewer: Orley B. Caudill. Mississippi Oral History Program (Vol. 289), University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Sparkman, 1973)
• Narrative citation: Sparkman (1973)

9. Newspaper article clipping, historical, in personal collection

Psychoanalysis institute to open. (1948, September 18). [Clipping from an unidentified Dayton, OH, United States, newspaper]. Copy in possession of author.

• Parenthetical citation: (“Psychoanalysis Institute to Open,” 1948)
• Narrative citation: “Psychoanalysis Institute to Open” (1948)
• Use this format only if you are the person who is in possession of the newspaper clipping.

10. Historical publication of limited circulation

Sci-Art Publishers. (1935). Sci-Art publications [Brochure]. Roback Papers (HUGFP 104.50, Box 2, Folder “Miscellaneous Psychological Materials”), Harvard University Archives, Cambridge, MA, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (Sci-Art Publishers, 1935)
• Narrative citation: Sci-Art Publishers (1935)

11. Archived photographs, no author and no title

[Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes]. (ca. 1917–1954). Robert Mearns Yerkes Papers (Box 137, Folder 2292), Manuscripts and Archives, Yale University Library, New Haven, CT, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: ([Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes], ca. 1917–1954)
• Narrative citation: [Photographs of Robert M. Yerkes] (ca. 1917–1954)
• Because the archived photographs do not have a title, provide a bracketed description instead.
• Because the archived photographs do not have an author, move the bracketed description to the author position of the reference.

12. Microfilm

U.S. Census Bureau. (1880). 1880 U.S. census: Defective, dependent, and delinquent classes schedule: Virginia [Microfilm]. NARA Microfilm Publication T1132 (Rolls 33–34), National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC, United States.

• Parenthetical citation: (U.S. Census Bureau, 1880)
• Narrative citation: U.S. Census Bureau (1880)

Read the full APA guidelines on citing ChatGPT 

OpenAI. (2023).  ChatGPT  (Mar 14 version) [Large language model].  https://chat.openai.com/chat

• Parenthetical citation:  (OpenAI, 2023)
• Narrative citation:  OpenAI (2023)

Author:  The author of the model is OpenAI.

Date:  The date is the year of the version you used. Following the template in Section 10.10, you need to include only the year, not the exact date. The version number provides the specific date information a reader might need.

Title:  The name of the model is “ChatGPT,” so that serves as the title and is italicized in your reference, as shown in the template. Although OpenAI labels unique iterations (i.e., ChatGPT-3, ChatGPT-4), they are using “ChatGPT” as the general name of the model, with updates identified with version numbers.

The version number is included after the title in parentheses. The format for the version number in ChatGPT references includes the date because that is how OpenAI is labeling the versions. Different large language models or software might use different version numbering; use the version number in the format the author or publisher provides, which may be a numbering system (e.g., Version 2.0) or other methods.

Bracketed text  is used in references for additional descriptions when they are needed to help a reader understand what’s being cited. References for a number of common sources, such as journal articles and books, do not include bracketed descriptions, but things outside of the typical peer-reviewed system often do. In the case of a reference for ChatGPT, provide the descriptor “Large language model” in square brackets. OpenAI describes ChatGPT-4 as a “large multimodal model,” so that description may be provided instead if you are using ChatGPT-4. Later versions and software or models from other companies may need different descriptions, based on how the publishers describe the model. The goal of the bracketed text is to briefly describe the kind of model to your reader.

Source:  When the publisher name and the author name are the same, do not repeat the publisher name in the source element of the reference, and move directly to the URL. This is the case for ChatGPT. The URL for ChatGPT is  https://chat.openai.com/chat . For other models or products for which you may create a reference, use the URL that links as directly as possible to the source (i.e., the page where you can access the model, not the publisher’s homepage).

What to include and what to exclude

Works included in a reference list.

The reference list provides a reliable way for readers to identify and locate the works cited in a paper. APA Style papers generally include reference lists, not  bibliographies.

In general, each work cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text. Check your work carefully before submitting your manuscript or course assignment to ensure no works cited in the text are missing from the reference list and vice versa, with only the following exceptions.

Works Excluded From a Reference List

There are a few kinds of works that are not included in a reference list. Usually a work is not included because readers cannot recover it or because the mention is so broad that readers do not need a reference list entry to understand the use.

Information on works included in a reference list is covered in Sections 2.12 and 8.4 of the  APA Publication Manual, Seventh Edition

*This guidance has been expanded from the 6th edition.*

• Personal communications  such as emails, phone calls, or text messages are cited in the text only, not in the reference list, because readers cannot retrieve personal communications.
• General mentions of whole websites, whole periodicals, and common software and apps in the text do not require in-text citations or reference list entries because the use is broad and the source is familiar.
• The source of an epigraph does not usually appear in the reference list unless the work is a scholarly book or journal. For example, if you open the paper with an inspirational quotation by a famous person, the source of the quotation does not appear in the reference list because the quotation is meant to set the stage for the work, not substantiate a key point.   
• Quotations from research participants in a study you conducted can be presented and discussed in the text but do not need citations or reference list entries. Citations and reference list entries are not necessary because the quotations are part of your original research. They could also compromise participants’ confidentiality, which is an ethical violation.
• References included in a meta-analysis, which are marked with an asterisk in the reference list, may be cited in the text (or not) at the author’s discretion. This exception is relevant only to authors who are conducting a meta-analysis.

DOIs and URLs

The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. Because so much scholarship is available and/or retrieved online, most reference list entries end with either a DOI or a URL.

• A DOI is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works.
• A URL specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when possible.

Follow these guidelines for including DOIs and URLs in references:

• Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
• If a print work does not have a DOI, do not include any DOI or URL in the reference.
• If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
• For works without DOIs from websites (not including academic research databases), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).
• For works without DOIs from most  academic research databases , do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.
• For works from databases that publish original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as the UpToDate database) or for works of limited circulation in databases (such as monographs in the ERIC database), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session-specific (meaning it will not resolve for readers), provide the URL of the database or archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work. See the page on including  database information in references  for more information. 
• If the URL is no longer working or no longer provides readers access to the content you intend to cite, follow the guidance for works with  no source .
• Other alphanumeric identifiers such as the International Standard Book Number (ISBN) and the International Standard Serial Number (ISSN) are not included in APA Style references.

Follow these guidelines to format DOIs and URLs:

• Present both DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (i.e., beginning with “http:” or “https:”).
• Because a hyperlink leads readers directly to the content, it is not necessary to include the words “Retrieved from” or “Accessed from” before a DOI or URL.
• It is acceptable to use either the default display settings for hyperlinks in your word-processing program (e.g., usually blue font, underlined) or plain text that is not underlined.
• Leave links live if the work is to be published or read online.
• Follow the current recommendations of the International DOI Foundation to format DOIs in the reference list, which as of this publication is as follows:

https://doi.org/ xxxxx

• The string “https://doi.org/” is a way of presenting a DOI as a link, and “xxxxx” refers to the DOI number.
• The preferred format of the DOI has changed over time. Although older works use previous formats (e.g., “http:/dx.doi.org/” or “doi:” or “DOI:” before the DOI number), in your reference list, standardize DOIs into the current preferred format for all entries. For example, use  https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251  in your reference even though that article, published in 2016, presented the number in an older format.
• Copy and paste the DOI or URL from your web browser directly into your reference list to avoid transcription errors. Do not change the capitalization or punctuation of the DOI or URL. Do not add line breaks manually to the hyperlink; it is acceptable if your word-processing program automatically adds a break or moves the hyperlink to its own line.
• Do not add a period after the DOI or URL because this may interfere with link functionality.

When a DOI or URL is long or complex, you may use shortDOIs or shortened URLs if desired.

• Use the  shortDOI service  provided by the International DOI Foundation to create shortDOIs. A work can have only one DOI and only one shortDOI; the shortDOI service will either produce a new shortDOI for a work that has never had one or retrieve an existing shortDOI.
• Some websites provide their own branded shortened URLs, and independent URL shortening services are available as well. Any shortened URL is acceptable in a reference as long as you check the link to ensure that it takes you to the correct location.
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Citing Sources: Sample Reference List Citations

• Style Links & Samples
• Sample Reference List Citations
• Sample Notes and Bibliography Citations
• Sample Author Date Citations
• Citing Nontraditional Sources in Chicago
• Sample Citations
• Major Changes to the New MLA
• Capitalization and Personal Names in Foreign Languages
• Citing Primary Sources
• Ancient Texts
• Citation Consultations Policy

When formatting a citation in APA style, pay particular attention to italics, punctuation, indentation, and capitalization.

Many more samples of citations presented in the APA style can be found in the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . Please consult this book or a librarian for help with unusual resources.

All of the following samples are taken from:

American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

(In the above sample, the name of the organization is the author. Note that only proper names are capitalized in the title, and the edition number follows the title.)

Book: (This sample from Purdue OWL )

Calfee, R. C., & Valencia, R. R. (1991).  APA guide to preparing manuscripts for journal publication . Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

Book with an Editor:

Robinson, D. N. (Ed.). (1992). Social discourse and moral judgment . San Diego, CA: Academic Press.

Note: italicize the title of the book and do not capitalize any words in titles except the first word, proper names, and after a colon. Use the author's or editor's initials only for first and middle names.

Chapter from an Edited Volume or Anthology :

Haybron, D. M. (2008). Philosophy and the science of subjective well-being. In M. Eid & R. J. Larsen (Eds.),  The science of subjective well-being  (pp. 17-43). New York, NY: Guilford Press. 

Scholarly Article:

Fuentes, A. (2016). Contemporary evolutionary theory in biological anthropology: Insight into human evolution,  genomics  and challenges to  racialized  pseudo-science.   Revista   Cuicuilco , 23 (65), 293-304. 

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names or after a colon). Italicize the title of the journal and capitalize all words in the title of the journal. This sample includes the volume number (23) which is italicized to set it off from the other numbers. The issue number (65) appears in parentheses and is not italicized. You will also notice that there is no space left between the volume number and the first parenthesis for the issue number.

Scholarly Article (with multiple authors):

Calvo, M. G., & Lang, P. J. (2004). Gaze patterns when looking at emotional pictures: Motivationally biased attention. Motivation and Emotion, 28 , 221-243. https://doi.org/10.1023/B:MOEM.0000040153.26156.ed

Note: This sample includes the volume number (28), which is italicized to set it off from the page numbers. There is no issue number in this example because the journal is paginated by volume. Provide the DOI when available for electronic documents. If a DOI is not available for a scholarly article retrieved online, you should supply the URL of the journal's homepage (NOT the URL from the database). Note authors' names, indentations, spare use of capital letters, page numbers, and use of periods and commas.

Popular Article (with two authors):

Kandel, E. R., & Squire, L. R. (2000, November 10). Neuroscience: Breaking down scientific barriers to the study of brain and mind. Science, 290, 1113-1120.

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names, or after a colon). Italicize the title of the magazine and capitalize all keywords in the title. Italicize the volume number to set it off from the page numbers.

Newspaper Article:

Scwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post , pp. A1, A4.

Note: Do not set off the title of the article with quotes, italics, underlines, or capital letters (except for the first word, proper names or after a colon). Italicize the title of the newspaper and capitalize all keywords in the title of the newspaper.

Webpage Examples:  (These samples from  Purdue OWL )

Author, A. A. & Author B. B. (Date of publication ,  or  n. d. if no date ). Title of page [Format description when necessary]. Retrieved from https://www.someaddress.com/full/url/

Eco, U. (2015). How to write a thesis [PDF file]. (Farina C. M. & Farina F., Trans.) Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/...How_to_write_a_thesis/.../Umberto+Eco-How+to+Write+... (Original work published 1977).

If the page's author is not listed, start with the title. If the date of publication is not listed, use the abbreviation (n.d.):

Spotlight Resources. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/about_the_owl/owl_information/spotlight_resources.html

Only include a date of access when page content is likely to change over time (ex: if you're citing a wiki):

Purdue University Writing Lab [Facebook page]. (n.d.). Retrieved January 22, 2019, from https://www.facebook.com/PurdueUniversityWritingLab/

Nonperiodical Web Document or Report (Examples: government data such as U.S. Census): (This sample from Purdue OWL )

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Date of publication, or n.d. if no date).  Title of document . Retrieved from https://Web address

Angeli, E., Wagner, J., Lawrick, E., Moore, K., Anderson, M., Soderland, L., & Brizee, A. (2010, May 5).  General format.  Retrieved from http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/01/

Note: Italicize the title of the website but do not capitalize any words except the first, proper names, and the first word following a colon.

For citing company or industry reports from the library's MarketLine database, also see:

https://guides.library.ualberta.ca/apa-citation-style/business

Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 7.07

If map is within a book, cite as In Title of book after [Type of map].

Cite primary contributors in the Author's space followed by their contributing role in parentheses.

Other forms for [Type of map] include:

• [Demographic map]
• [Topographical map]

Use (n.d.) for No date.

Title of map. (Year). [Type of Map]. Publisher Location: Publisher.

Citation Examples:

Plattsburgh, Clinton County: Dannemora, Peru, Keeseville, Champlain, Rouses Point, New York State, 3rd ed.

(1999). [Road map]. Clifton Park, NY: Jimapco.

Topographical Map:

Berlin, N.Y. - Mass. - VT. (1988). [Topographical map]. reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey.

Online Map:

Follow the map citation guidelines as above, but also include a stable URL where the map is found.

Title of map. (Year). [Type of map]. Retrieved from http://xxx.xx

Manhattan sightseeing map. (2010). [City map]. Retrieved from http://www.ny.com/maps/shopmap.html

MTA Metro-North railroad. (2010). [Railroad map]. Retrieved from http://www.mta.info/mnr/html/mnrmap.htm

MTA New York City subway. (2010). [Subway map]. Retrieved from http://www.mta.info/nyct/maps/submap.htm

Charts and Graphs

Since the APA manual does not give direct information for citing every type of source, including charts or graphs, they instruct you to follow the example that is most like the source you are trying to cite. Be sure to provide enough information so your readers can locate the source on their own. When possible provide author or creator, year of publication, title, and publishing and/or retrieval data. When citing a chart, graph or map it may be best to follow the citation style for the format in which the information is presented.

All captions for charts should follow the guidelines below for captions for figures.

Captions for Figures (Charts, Graphs, and Maps): Publication manual of the American Psychological Association 5.20-5.25

All captions should be labeled as Figure followed by a number. The caption should begin with a descriptive phrase and include a citation to the original source and copyright information at the end.

Figure 1. Relations between trust beliefs and school adjustment at T1 and loneliness changes during development in early childhood. All paths attained significance at p> .05. Adapted from “The Relation Between Trust Beliefs and Loneliness During Early Childhood, Middle Childhood, and Adulthood,” by K. J. Rotenberg, N. Addis, L. R. Betts, A. Corrigan, C. Fox, Z. Hobson, & … and M. J. Boulton, 2010, Personality and social psychology bulletin , 36, p. 1090. Copyright 2010 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

Documentaries or Feature Films:

David, L., Bender, L., Burns S.Z. (Producers), & Guggenheim, P.D. (Director). (2006). An inconvenient truth [Motion picture]. United States: Paramount Pictures.

Note : If a film is not available in wide distribution, add the following to the citation after the country of origin: (Available from Distributor name, full address and zip code).

Online Resources

More examples and samples of papers written using the APA style can be found at the following websites:

• APA Style.Org The APA Citation Style's official website, as excerpted from the 6th edition.
• Excelsior College OWL APA style guide from Excelsior College's Online Writing Lab.
• Slate Citation Machine Excellent tool for citing sources in MLA and APA style. Simple fill in the form for the type of source you are citing, i.e. a book, journal article, website, etc., and this tool will show you the way to cite the reference. Be careful of your capitalization.
• Cornell University Library Guide to APA Citation Style

Additional Information for Citing Special Sources

• Ohio Wesleyan University - Citing Maps
• Map Citation Guide from the University of North Carolina
• Citation Fox (citation generator)
• Knight Cite from Calvin College (citation generator)
• Last Updated: Feb 15, 2024 12:48 PM
• URL: https://libguides.dickinson.edu/citing

Citing Sources: APA Citation Examples

• Citing Sources Overview
• Citing in the Sciences & Engineering
• APA Citation Examples
• Chicago Citation Examples
• Biologists: Council of Science Editors (CSE) Examples
• MLA Citation Examples
• Bluebook - Legal Citation
• Citing Orally in Speeches
• Citation Managers

APA Citations

• Periodicals

Basic Format for a Book:

Reference List: Authors' Last name, First Initial. (Year). Book title: Subtitle. (Edition) [if other than the 1st]. Publisher.

In-text: (Author, Year)

   ~ Book with One Author:

Reference List:  Brader, T. (2006). Campaigning for hearts and minds: How emotional appeals in political ads work . University of Chicago Press. 

In-text: (Brader, 2006)

   ~ ​Book with Two  Authors:

Reference List:   Miller, T. E., & Schuh, J. H. (2005). Promoting reasonable expectations: Aligning student and institutional views of the college experience. Jossey-Bass.

In-text:  (Miller & Schuh, 2005) *for more than two authors (3 or more), list only the first author’s name followed by “et al.” in every citation, even the first, unless doing so would create ambiguity between different sources. Example: (Kernis et al., 1993)

Basic format for an eBook:

Reference list:  author's last name, first initial. (year).  book title [format of book]. publisher. url , in-text:  (author, year),   ~ example:, reference list:  brock, j., & arciuli, j. (2014).  communication in autism [ebook edition] .  john benjamins publishing company. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-4806-2, in-text:  (brock & arciuli, 2014).

Basic Format for a Print Journal Article: 

Last name, First Initial. (Year, Month Day). Article title.  Magazine/Journal/Newspaper Title ,  Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers of the entire article.

   ~ Example:

Newman, J. L., Fuqua, D. R., Gray, E. A., & Simpson, D. B. (2006). Gender differences in the relationship of anger and depression in a clinical sample.  Journal of Counseling & Development ,  84 , 157-161.

Basic Format for an Online Journal Article:

Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Article title. Magazine/Journal/Newspaper Title, Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers. doi or URL of publication home page

   ~ Online Journal Article with DOI Assigned:

Basic Format: 

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Journal, volume number (issue number),   page range. https://doi.org/10.0000/0000

Denhart, H. (2008). Deconstructing barriers: Perceptions of students labeled with learning disabilities in higher education.  Journal of Learning Disabilities ,  41 (6), 483-497. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/0022219408321151

    ~ Online Journal Article with no DOI Assigned:

Basic Format:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of article.  Title of Journal, volume number (issue number).  http://www.journalhomepage.com/full/url/

Example: 

von Busch, O., & Palmas, K. (2016). Designing consent: Can design thinking manufacture democratic capitalism?  Organizational Aesthetics, 5 (2), 10-24. http://digitalcommons.wpi.edu/oa/. 

Basic Format for citing an image in the Reference List:

Last name, first initial. (year image was created).  title of work  [type of work]. url , note: if you can only find the screen name of an author, use that as the author's name. maintain the formatting of the screen name. for example, if a screen name is in all lower case, keep the name in lower case in your citations. if there is no title, create your own title that describes the content of the image., example of a reference list citation for an image: , sipler , d. (2005).  nap time [photograph]. flickr.  https://www.flickr.com/photos/photofarmer/284159867/in/set-72157594353612286, formatting figures in your paper:, each image in your paper should have a figure number, a title, and a caption. the caption should describe the image, provide a citation for the image, and provide copyright information. for example:, two cats resting,            , note. this photo shows two orange cats resting in the "loaf" position. from  nap time [photograph], by d. sipler, 2005, flickr ( https://www.flickr.com/photos/photofarmer/284159867/in/set-72157594353612286 ).  cc by 2.0 ., if you have taken the photo or created the image, you do not need to cite it or provide copyright information for it. you will still need to label the picture with a figure number and title, and you will need to provide a caption with information on what the image shows. , for more information on formatting tables and figures in your apa style paper, see:, apa style guide: tables and figures, apa style guide: clip art or stock image references, navigating copyright for reproduced images, if you did not create the image, you need to provide a copyright statement for that image. the apa style blog takes you through the four steps of navigating copyright for reproduced images:, understand the copyright status of the image., determine whether permission is needed to reproduce the image., secure permission to reproduce the image, if permission is needed.  , write the apa style copyright statement and reference list entry for the image.  , for more information on copyright and finding safe to reuse images, see the library's copyright guide . , basic format for a print article: ,    ~ magazine article:,  white, c. (2006, april). the spirit of disobedience: an invitation to resistance. harper's magazine, 312 (1871), 31-40. ,    ~ newspaper article: , zernike, k. (2015, october 25). white house moves to limit school testing.  new york times , p. a1. , note: for newspaper articles,  p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in apa style. single pages take p., e.g., p. b2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. b2, b4 or pp. c1, c3-c4. ,    ~ newspaper article found on a newspaper's website:, author, a. a. (year, month day). title of article. title of newspaper.  http://www.someaddress.com/full/url/ , zernike, k. (2016, february 29). testing for joy and grit schools nationwide push to measure students’ emotional skills.  the new york times . http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/01/us/testing-for-joy-and-grit-schools-nationwide-push-to-measure-students-emotional-skills.html_r=.

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A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples

Published on 14 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 15 September 2023.

Referencing is an important part of academic writing. It tells your readers what sources you’ve used and how to find them.

Harvard is the most common referencing style used in UK universities. In Harvard style, the author and year are cited in-text, and full details of the source are given in a reference list .

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Table of contents

Harvard in-text citation, creating a harvard reference list, harvard referencing examples, referencing sources with no author or date, frequently asked questions about harvard referencing.

A Harvard in-text citation appears in brackets beside any quotation or paraphrase of a source. It gives the last name of the author(s) and the year of publication, as well as a page number or range locating the passage referenced, if applicable:

Note that ‘p.’ is used for a single page, ‘pp.’ for multiple pages (e.g. ‘pp. 1–5’).

An in-text citation usually appears immediately after the quotation or paraphrase in question. It may also appear at the end of the relevant sentence, as long as it’s clear what it refers to.

When your sentence already mentions the name of the author, it should not be repeated in the citation:

Sources with multiple authors

When you cite a source with up to three authors, cite all authors’ names. For four or more authors, list only the first name, followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sources with no page numbers

Some sources, such as websites , often don’t have page numbers. If the source is a short text, you can simply leave out the page number. With longer sources, you can use an alternate locator such as a subheading or paragraph number if you need to specify where to find the quote:

Multiple citations at the same point

When you need multiple citations to appear at the same point in your text – for example, when you refer to several sources with one phrase – you can present them in the same set of brackets, separated by semicolons. List them in order of publication date:

Multiple sources with the same author and date

If you cite multiple sources by the same author which were published in the same year, it’s important to distinguish between them in your citations. To do this, insert an ‘a’ after the year in the first one you reference, a ‘b’ in the second, and so on:

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A bibliography or reference list appears at the end of your text. It lists all your sources in alphabetical order by the author’s last name, giving complete information so that the reader can look them up if necessary.

The reference entry starts with the author’s last name followed by initial(s). Only the first word of the title is capitalised (as well as any proper nouns).

Sources with multiple authors in the reference list

As with in-text citations, up to three authors should be listed; when there are four or more, list only the first author followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Reference list entries vary according to source type, since different information is relevant for different sources. Formats and examples for the most commonly used source types are given below.

• Entire book
• Book chapter
• Translated book
• Edition of a book

Journal articles

• Print journal
• Online-only journal with DOI
• Online-only journal with no DOI
• General web page
• Online article or blog
• Social media post

Sometimes you won’t have all the information you need for a reference. This section covers what to do when a source lacks a publication date or named author.

No publication date

When a source doesn’t have a clear publication date – for example, a constantly updated reference source like Wikipedia or an obscure historical document which can’t be accurately dated – you can replace it with the words ‘no date’:

Note that when you do this with an online source, you should still include an access date, as in the example.

When a source lacks a clearly identified author, there’s often an appropriate corporate source – the organisation responsible for the source – whom you can credit as author instead, as in the Google and Wikipedia examples above.

When that’s not the case, you can just replace it with the title of the source in both the in-text citation and the reference list:

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Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

A Harvard in-text citation should appear in brackets every time you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source.

The citation can appear immediately after the quotation or paraphrase, or at the end of the sentence. If you’re quoting, place the citation outside of the quotation marks but before any other punctuation like a comma or full stop.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

• A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
• A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2023, September 15). A Quick Guide to Harvard Referencing | Citation Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 6 May 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-style/

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APA 7th Edition Citation Examples

Apa citation overview.

• Volume and Issue Numbers
• Page Numbers
• Undated Sources
• Citing a Source Within a Source
• In-Text Citations
• Academic Journals
• Encyclopedia Articles
• Book, Film, and Product Reviews
• Online Classroom Materials
• Conference Papers
• Technical + Research Reports
• Court Decisions
• Treaties and Other International Agreements
• Federal Regulations: I. The Code of Federal Regulations
• Federal Regulations: II. The Federal Register
• Executive Orders
• Charter of the United Nations
• Federal Statutes
• Dissertations and Theses
• Interviews, E-mail Messages + Other Personal Communications
• Social Media
• Business Sources
• PowerPoints
• AI: ChatGPT, etc.

Based on APA Publication Manual , 7th Edition (2020). The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association is the APA's official citation guide and provides a more detailed explanation of how to use APA style. The Manual  is not freely available online, but the American Psychological Association does have Style and Grammar Guidelines on the APA Style website .

Need to create a paper or PowerPoint presentation in APA Format? Videos on how to format your paper in APA style using Microsoft Word, including how to create hanging indents for your reference list and how to format headings and PowerPoint presentations.  

APA Citation Basics Webinars The UMGC Library is providing a series of live citation help Sessions, offering citation advice and taking questions.  

Need more help? You can also ask a librarian for help with a citation-related question.

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APA Style (7th ed.)

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American Psychological Association (APA) Style is used by writers in the social sciences:

Editable Template Documents for Student Papers

• APA 7th ed. Template Document This is an APA format template document in Google Docs. Click on the link -- it will ask for you to make a new copy of the document, which you can save in your own Google Drive with your preferred privacy settings.
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• APA 7th ed. Annotated Bibliography template A Microsoft Word document formatted correctly for an annotated bibliography.

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• APA Example Paper An annotated sample student paper from APA.

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Citing references

• Introduction
• Using quotes & paraphrases
• Writing citations

The top five: 1. Book

The top 5: 2. journal article, the top five: 3. chapter in an edited collection, the top five: 4. website, the top five: 5. secondary referencing, archival material, company databases, conference papers, figures (such as charts, diagrams and graphs), government or corporate body publication/report, legal and parliamentary documents, literary texts, market research report, newspaper articles, personal communications.

• Radio programme

Sacred texts

Social media, teaching materials (posted on blackboard), technical standards e.g. british standards, youtube videos.

• Compiling a reference list or bibliography
• Different styles & systems of referencing
• Which style does your School/Department use?
• Avoiding unintentional plagiarism
• Using Turnitin to develop your referencing
• Managing your references
• Getting help

Example not here? Try this guide

Citation examples

This page lists the details you will need to include when writing citations for various types of source material. The examples given are in the 'Cite Them Right' version of the Harvard style.

For each example:

• Reference list  refers to the way it would be cited in your reference list or bibliography when using the 'Cite Them Right' Harvard style.
• In-text citation  refers to the way that a work would be cited either in the body of the text or in footnotes when using 'Cite Them Right' Harvard style.
• Referencing styles in use in the University Find out which style your Department uses. Please consult your course handbook for definitive guidance on which style to use.
• Styles of referencing Overview of different referencing styles in use at the University.

Note that, whatever the type of source, the title of the containing volume (i.e. the book, journal, collection etc) should always be marked out, usually by being put in italics but sometimes underlined. Whichever you use, be consistent and use the same formatting throughout your citations.

If the source you want to cite is not listed here consult the following book:

Alternatively ask your Academic Liaison Librarian or a Study Adviser for guidance:

• Contact your Academic Liaison Librarian
• Make an appointment with a Study Adviser

Elements to include:

• Authors or Editors
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title (in italics)
• Edition (if applicable)
• Place published
• Series and volume number (if applicable)

Authored book:

Reference list: Ashbourn, J. (2014)  Biometrics in the new world: the cloud, mobile technology and pervasive identity . 2nd edn. London: Springer .

In-text citation:   (Ashbourn, 2014)

Edited book:

Reference list: Nasta, S. and Stein, M.U. (eds) (2020)  The Cambridge history of Black and Asian British writing . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

In-text citation:   (Nasta and Stein, 2020)

Where an e-book looks like a printed book (usually PDFs) with publication information and page numbers - cite it in the same way as a printed book (above). Where specific pagination details are not available use the information you have e.g. %, loc, chapter/page/paragraph. Also add the DOI or web address to the full reference.

Reference list: Prior, H. (2020) Away with the penguins . Available at: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Away-Penguins-Hazel-Prior-ebook (Accessed: 20 September 2021).

In-text citation: (Prior, 2020, 74%)

Reference list: Faulkner, W. (2000) Light in August. Available at: https://www.vlebooks.com/vleweb/product/openreader?id=UniReading&isbn=9781446485521 (Accessed: 10 September 2021).

In-text citation: (Faulkner, 2000, ch. 7, p. 105)

• Elements to include
• Print journals or print journals now online
• Online only journals
• Versions in repositories

The information you include in the reference will depend on whether the journal is published in print (but uploaded for electronic access), only published online, or is a version found in an institutional repository. You can usually tell the difference by looking for page numbers. If each article in the journal begins at page 1, or has no page number at all, it is likely to be an online-only journal. 

• Article title (in single quotation marks)
• Journal title (in italics, capitalise the first letter of each word except linking words)
• Volume number
• Issue number (if present, in round brackets)
• Page numbers or article reference number (Include the page numbers of the whole article when writing your full citation, not just the pages you have referred to)
• DOI or web link for online-only articles

See the examples in the other tabs in this box.

Examples for articles in print copies of journal articles or a print journal accessed online (e.g. on JSTOR)

Traditionally all articles were published in print format in issues which then formed part of a volume and this way of citing them (giving volume, issue and page numbers) has been retained even though most are now available online. There is no need to include the DOI or web address for articles with volume numbers and page numbers or an article reference number even if you accessed them online.

A single author:

Reference list:   Gulddal, J. (2020) 'That deep underground savage instinct: narratives of sacrifice and retribution in Agatha Christie's Appointment with Death',  Textual Practice,  34(11), pp. 1803-1821.

In-text citation: (Gulddal, 2020)

Two authors - include them both separated by 'and' or &:

Reference list:  Thomas, D. and Tian, L. (2021) 'Hits from the Bong: the impact of recreational marijuana dispensaries on property values',  Regional Science and Urban Economics,  87, article number 103655.

In-text citation: (Thomas and Tian, 2021)

Three authors - include them all, separate the first two with a comma and use 'and' or & before the third author:

Reference list:  Adeyeye, S.A.O., Ashaolu, T.J. and Idowu-Adebayo, F. (2022) 'Mycotoxins: food safety, consumer health and Africa's food security',  Polycyclic Aromatic Compounds , 42(8), pp. 5779–5795.

In-text citation: (Adeyeye, Ashaolu and Idowu-Adebayo, 2022)

Four or more authors - include them all in the full reference , but for the in-text citation just state the first author, followed by  et al .

Reference list: Moise, L., Gutiérrez, A.H., Khan, S., Tan, S., Ardito, M., Martin, W.D. & De Groot, A.S. (2020) 'New immunoinformatics tools for swine: designing epitope-driven vaccines, predicting vaccine efficacy, and making vaccines on demand',  Frontiers in Immunology,  11, article number 563362.

In-text citation:   (Moise  et al. , 2020)

Examples for online-only journals

If the journal is ONLY available online, you should include the DOI or the URL in the full reference. Online-only journal articles may not have page numbers or reference numbers, or pagination for each article will begin with '1'. The rules for in-text citations are the same as for print articles.

Article with a DOI:

Reference list:  Mair, A., Poirier, M. and Conway M.A. (2021) 'Age effects in autobiographical memory depend on the measure',  PLoS one,  16(10), article number e0259279. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259279

Article without a DOI:

Reference list: Farrell, L.G. (2013) 'Challenging assumptions about IT skills in higher education'. Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education , 6. Available at: http://www.aldinhe.ac.uk/ojs/index.php?journal=jldhe&page=article&op=view&path[]=173&path[]=138 (Accessed: 23 June 2021).

Examples for versions of articles found in repositories

Authors will often put versions of their articles into institutional repositories to comply with funding requirements to make the research Open Access. These may be pre-print versions (before peer review has taken place) or post-print versions, also known as author accepted manuscripts (the final version of the text, following peer review, to be published in the journal).

Pre-print example

Allen, R. J., Horowitz, L. W., Naik, V., Oshima, N., O'Connor, F., Turnock, S., Shim, S., Le Sager, P., Van Noije, T., Tsigaridis, K., Bauer, S. E., Sentman, L. T., John, J. G., Broderick, C., Deushi, M., Folberth, G., Fujimori, S. and Collins, B.  (2021) 'Significant climate benefits from near-term climate forcer mitigation in spite of aerosol reductions'. To be published in Environmental Research Letters  [Preprint]. Available at: http://centaur.reading.ac.uk/view/creators/90004988.html (Accessed: 24 June 2021).

For post-prints which are identical in content to the published version, you should cite the published version instead of citing the repository version.

• Chapter author(s)
• Chapter title in single quotation marks
• 'in' followed by book author(s)/editor(s)
• Book title (in italics)
• Publisher's name
• Chapter pagination

Include the page extent of the whole chapter when writing your full citation. Put just the pages you have referred to in the in-text citation.

Reference list: Singh, H., Khurana, L.K. and Singh, R. (2018) 'Pharmaceutical development', in Vohora, D. and Singh, G. (eds)  Pharmaceutical medicine and translational clinical research , London: Academic Press, pp.33-46.

In-text citation: (Singh, Khurana and Singh, 2018, p.35)

You can find many different types of information on the Internet. Check that the item you are referencing isn't a journal article, book chapter, or another type of publication which you should be citing in a different way.

• Author (person or company that created the webpage)
• Year of publication or last update (in round brackets). Scroll to the bottom of the page but if there is no date put (no date)
• Page title (in italics)
• Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Webpage created by a person

Reference list:  Bologna, C. (2018)  What happens to your mind and body when you feel homesick?  Available at: https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/what-happens-mindbody-homesick_us_5b201ebde4b09d7a3d77eee1 (Accessed: 24 June 2021).

In-text citation: (Bologna, 2018)

Webpage created by an organisation

Reference list: World Health Organization (2020) Salt reduction . Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/salt-reduction (Accessed: 24 June 2021).

In-text citation: (World Health Organization, 2020)

Further guidance on referencing websites

Have a look at this Study Advice video tutorial (note that the format of the examples may not match the guidance given above):

• Referencing websites (video) Watch this brief video tutorial for more on the topic.
• Referencing websites (transcript) Read along while watching the video tutorial.

A secondary reference is used when you are referring to a source which you have not read yourself, but have seen quoted or read about in another source.  Where possible, you should always try to read the original of anything you wish to refer to ; otherwise you are relying on the author who cited the reference to have interpreted it correctly and not taken it out of context. Use the reference list at the end of the source you are reading to find details of the reference and search for it using the search boxes below.

Find books using the Enterprise catalogue

Just type in the first author's surname and a few words from the title.

Find journal articles using Summon

Just type in the first author's surname and first part of the article title.

If you can't get hold of the original source you'll need to do a secondary reference and you should make clear that you are not using the original source. Only include the source you have used in your list of references following the guidance for citing that type of publication. 

Different Schools/Departments might have different preferred ways of doing this, so do check any advice you are given or ask your course tutor if you are not sure. Otherwise, this is general guidance.

If the author quotes another source:

F rance (2003, quoted in Weingart et al ., 2018, p. 24) provides evidence that hospitals use internal reporting procedures to identify...

If the author summarises another source

In-text citation: According to France (2003, cited in Weingart  et al. , 2018, p. 24) , hospitals use internal reporting procedures to identify...

In both examples only the full reference for the article by Weingart et al . would be included in the reference list.

• Author, initials.
• Year (in round brackets)
• Title of document.
• Date (if avaialble)
• Collection name
• Document number.
• Name of archive
• Location of archive

In-text citation: ( Author , Year)

Reference list: Becket, S. (1974) Letter from Samuel Beckett to Vera Beckett. 1 January 1974. Letters from Samuel Beckett to Vera Beckett series BC MS 5411 B, University of Reading Special Collections, Reading .

In-text citation: (Beckett, 1974)

Cite the item you have seen - if you have seen an artwork in a book or catalogue, reference that book or catalogue (use our Images examples .) If you have seen the painting or exhibition, cite that as follows; 

Exhibitions

• Title of exhibition (in italics)
• [Exhibition]
• Location. Date(s) of exhibition

If it's an online exhibition, use [Online exhibition] and add;

In-text citation: ( Title of exhibition , Year)

Example: 

Reference list:  Yayoi Kusama: Infinity mirror rooms  (2021) [Exhibition]. Tate Modern, London. 18 May 2021-12 June 2022.

Reference list: Vida Americana: Mexican muralists remake American art, 1925 - 1945 (2020) [Online exhibition] Whitney Museum of American Art. 17 February 2020 - 31 January 2021. Available at: https://whitney.org/exhibitions/vida-americana (Accessed: 23 January 2021).

In-text citation: ( Yayoi Kusama: Infinity mirror rooms , 2021)

In-text citation: ( Vida Americana: Mexican muralists remake American art, 1925 - 1945 , 2020)

Works of art (paintings, drawings, sculptures, installations.)

• Title of artwork (in italics)
• Medium (e.g. Sculpture, Mixed-media, Video installation, Oil on canvas, etc) in square brackets
• (Viewed: date)

OR if you accessed it online, use the URL as the location

• Available at: URL
• (Accessed: date)

In-text citation: ( Artist , Year)

Reference list: Bacon, F. (1943-4)  Three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion  [Oil and pastel on board]. Tate Britain, London (Viewed: 30 August 2022).

In-text citation: (Bacon ,  1943-4)

OR if accessed online;

Reference list:  Bacon, F. (1943-4)  Three studies for figures at the base of a crucifixion  [Oil and pastel on board]. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bacon-three-studies-for-figures-at-the-base-of-a-crucifixion-n06171 (Accessed: 1 July 2021). 

• Publishing organisation  
• Year of publication/last updated (in round brackets)  
• Title of report  (in italics)  
•  Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date)

Reference list:  Bureau van Dijk (2020)  Tesco plc company report . Available at: http://fame.bvdep.com (Accessed: 27 May 2021). 

In-text citation: (Bureau van Dijk, 2020)

• Author of paper
• Year of publication (in round brackets)
• Title of paper (in single quotation marks)
• Title of conference proceedings: subtitle (in italics)
• Location and date of conference
• Place of publication: Publisher
• Page references for the paper

Reference list:  Jones, L. (2018) 'Polymer blends based on compact disc scrap',  Proceedings of the Annual Technical Conference - Society of Plastics Engineers.  San Francisco, May 6-9. Brookfield, CT: Society of Plastics Engineers. pp.236-254.

In-text citation:  (Jones, 2018)

• Film from streaming service

You should include the following elements:

• Title of film (in italics)
• Year of distribution (in round brackets)
• Directed by
• [Feature film]
• Place of distribution: Distributor

In-text citation: ( Title of film , Year)

Reference list:  Fahrenheit 9/11  (2004) Directed by M. Moore. [Feature film]. Santa Monica, CA: Lions Gate Films.

In-text citation:  ( Fahrenheit 9/11 , 2004)

For examples of how to cite Films in different formats, please see the examples in the Cite them right e-book in the Harvard Referencing chapter, under "Audiovisual recordings...";

• Available at: DOI or Name of service or URL

Reference list:  Fatherhood  (2021) Directed by P. Weitz. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 28 June 2021).

In-text citation: ( Fatherhood , 2021)

For examples of how to cite Films in different formats like Blu-ray, DVD, Video Cassette, broadcast and TV series, please see the examples in the Cite them right e-book in the Harvard Referencing chapter, under "Audiovisual recordings...";

See our section on YouTube videos:

• Citing YouTube videos

Figures such as graphs, charts and diagrams that you have used from other sources should be referenced in the same way that you would any other material.

Each one should have a caption below it labelled as 'Figure', sequentially numbered, and given a title. When you refer to it in your writing, use the figure number. Give a full citation in the reference list for the source of the image. See the following example:

Example of referring to a figure in a sentence:

The prebiotics can induce direct or indirect effect on the gut-associated epithelial and immune cells (Figure 3).

Full details for reference list:

Pujari, R. and Banerjee, G. (2021) 'Impact of prebiotics on immune response: from the bench to the clinic'.  Immunology and Cell Biology , 99(3), pp. 255-273.

• Name of issuing body
• Place of publication (if in print)
• Publisher (if in print)
• Series (in round brackets) - if applicable

If accessed online:

DOI  or  Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Print publication:

Reference list: Environment Agency (2020)  The flood and coastal erosion risk management strategy action plan 2021.  Bristol: Environment Agency.

In-text citation:  (Environment Agency, 2020)

Publication accessed online:

Reference list: Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (2016)  Vitamin D and health.  Available at: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/537616/SACN_Vitamin_D_and_Health_report.pdf (Accessed: 25 August 2021).

In-text citation:  (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, 2016)

• Image from a book
• Image from an internet collection / social media
• Image you created yourself
• Image used purely for decoration

Images and photographs that you have seen in books, articles and other published material should be cited in the same way you would cite the source of the image. Add the page number and figure / illustration number if there is one from the source item to your in-text citation (use the same terminology they do to number their illustrations, eg. illus., fig., diagram, table, plate etc.) 

• Year of publication
• Page number and illustration / figure / plate number from the source book or article if they use one.)

You may wish to use the title / subject matter of the image in your sentence or caption for the image;

Reference list: Glaser, M. and Ilić, M. (2017) The design of dissent . Beverly, MA: Rockport Publishers.

In-text citation: The We Are Bullet Proof poster by Jon Key created a narrative of strength during Black Lives Matter (Glaser and Ilić, 2017, p. 261)

Any image or photograph from a social media site, online image collection or website can be referenced in this way.

• Photographer (if available)
• (Year of publication) in round brackets
• Title of photograph or collection  in italics
• Available at: DOI or URL 

Reference list:  stanitsa_dance (2021)  Cossack dance ensemble . Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/COI_slphWJ_/ (Accessed: 13 June 2021).

In-text citation:  (stanitsa_dance, 2021)

If the image is one you have created yourself, give it a figure number and title in the caption and add (Source: the author) to show that it is your own work. The image below shows how you would do this;

You do not need to include it in the reference list.

If you have reproduced an image in your work and it is purely decorative you should still acknowledge the creator and source but there is no need to include a full reference.

Underneath the image add the caption:

'Image: [creator] via [website image captured from]'.

For example:    Image: Steve Buissine via Piaxabay

If it is a picture you have taken use this format:

'Image by author'.

• General guidance
• Command papers
• Law reports
• Official records published in Hansard
• Papers (House of Commons/House of Lords)
• Statutes (Acts of Parliament)
• Statutory Instruments

Students studying Law

If you are studying Law, you will be expected to use the OSCOLA system of referencing . You will have advice on this from your School, and can find support on the Law guide:

• Referencing guidance for Law students

Students studying other subjects

If you are not studying Law, but need to refer to legal or Parliamentary documents, the examples in this box give acceptable citation formats for commonly used materials in the Harvard style. We have concentrated on key UK legislative sources here. For guidance on citing other materials, and those from other jurisdictions, see the Cite Them Right guide:

For Bills from the House of Commons and House of Lords you should include the following elements:

• Publication year (in round brackets)
• Parliament: House of Commons or Lords
• Place of publication
• If viewed online replace 5 & 6 with Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Reference list:

Agriculture Bill  (2019) Parliament: House of Commons, Bill no. 2292. London: The Stationery Office.

Agriculture Bill  (2019) Parliament: House of Commons, Bill no. 2292. Available at: https://bills.parliament.uk/bills/2292 (Accessed: 12 July 2022).

In-text citation:

Mr Gove introduced the Agriculture Bill (2019)...

For Command Papers (including Green and White papers) you should include the following elements:

• Title of report of consultation paper (in italics)
• Command Paper number (in round brackets) preceeded by Cmnd:
• If accessed online replace 5 & 6 with DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Papers accessed online

Department for Work and Pensions (2021) Shaping Future Support: the Health and Disability Green Paper  (Cmnd. 470). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/shaping-future-support-the-health-and-disability-green-paper (Accessed: 30 July 2021).

(Department for Work and Pensions, 2021)

Papers accessed in print

Department of Social Security (2000) The Pension Credit: Consultation Paper  (Cmnd. 4900). London: HMSO.

(Department of Social Security, 2000)

Law reports (cases) before 2002

Include the following elements:

• Name of case (in single quotation marks)
• Title of law report (in italics)
• Page numbers

'Bibby Cheshire v. Golden Wonder Ltd' (1972) Weekly Law Reports , 1, pp. 1487-1492.

('Bibby Cheshire v. Golden Wonder Ltd', 1972)

Law reports (cases) from 2002

From 2002 cases have been given a neutral citation. This means that it isn't necessary to include details of the printed law report series in which it was published. When using this type of citation you must give details of the publication in which the case was reported or the database/website you used.

• Name of the parties involved in the case (in single quotation marks)
• Court and case number
• Name of database or website (in italics)
• DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

'Rees v. Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis' (2021) Court of Appeal (Civil Division), case 49.  BAILII . Available at: https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWCA/Civ/2021/49.html (Accessed: 30 July 2021).

('Rees v. Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis', 2021)

Hansard is the official record of the business of the Houses of the UK Parliament. This includes databases, speeches, answers and statements. References to Hansard follow a similar pattern to journal articles. Include the following:

• Name of speaker/author
• Subject of debate or speech (in single quotation marks)
• Hansard: Name of House of Parliament (in italics)
• Debates/written statement/Westminster Hall or petitions (in italics)
• Day and month
• Volume number, column number or page number

Bonnar, S. (2021) ' Ethics and human rights: climate change ', Hansard: House of Commons debates , 14 July, 699, c. 355. Available at: https://hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2021-07-14/debates/FED21B9A-F4C2-4437-8CFD-3A08E5929C48/EthicsAndHumanRightsClimateChange (Accessed: 30 July 2021).

Steve Bonnar MP (2021) asked if the UK Government would create a climate justice fund.

To cite papers from the House of Parliament or House of Lords include the following elements:

• Parliament, House of...
• Title (in italics) including the Session dates if appropriate.
• Session dates and Paper number (in round brackets) preceeded by HC or HL as appropriate. Note that to distinguish House of Lords papers from the House of Commons paper with the same number the Paper number is enclosed in an extra set of round brackets e.g. (HL 2002-2003, (254))
• Place of publication:

Parliament, House of Commons (2004) The English national stadium project at Wembley, Session 2003-2004. (HC 2003-2004, 254). London: The Stationery Office.

(Parliament, House of Commons, 2004) 

When referencing Acts of Parliament you should use the short title of the Act and year it was enacted. It is not necessary to include the year in brackets as it would duplicate the year in the title. Include the following elements:

• Title of Act - including year and chapter (in italics)
• Country/Jurisdiction (only required if referencing legislation from more than one country)

Food Safety Act 1990, c. 16 . Available at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1990/16/contents (Accessed: 20 July 2021).

As stipulated in the Food Safety Act 1990...

When citing Statutory Instruments (SIs) include the following information:

• Name/Title and year  (in italics)
• SI year and number (in round brackets)

Children (Performances and Activities) (Wales) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1757). Available at:  https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2015/1757/contents/made (Accessed: 23 July 2021).

Referring to the  Children (Performances and Activities) (Wales) Regulations 2015...

• Lines within plays
• Line of a poem within an anthology

These examples use Harvard style. If you are studying in English Literature , you will have separate guidance from your department on using MHRA style for referencing. See the link below for more information:

• English Literature citing references guidance Guidance on using the MHRA style for students studying English literature.

To cite a novel use the same format as for an authored book

• Citing an authored book
• Title  (in italics)
• Edition information 

Reference list: Shakespeare, W. (2008) Twelth night or what you will. Edited by K. Elam. London: Cengage.

In-text citation: (Shakespeare, 2008, 1.3: 13).

• Author of the poem
• Title of poem in single quotation marks
• 'in' followed by book author(s)/editor(s)/compiler(s) 
• Book title  (in italics)
• Poem pagination

Include the page extent of the whole poem when writing your full citation. Put just the pages you have referred to in the in-text citation.

Reference list: Orr, J. (2002) 'The dying African', in Basker, J. (ed.) Amazing grace: an anthology of poems about slavery, 1660-1810 . New Haven: Yale University Press, pp. 533-535.

In-text citation: (Orr, 2002, p. 533)

• Name of author or issuing body
• Title of map (in italics)
• Sheet number or tile (if applicable)
• Scale (if available)
• Series or section in Digimap if appropriate (in round brackets)

Available at DOI  or URL (Accessed: date)

Reference list: Ordnance Survey (2012)  Reading & Windsor: Henley-on-Thames & Bracknell , sheet   175, 1:50 000. Southampton: Ordnance Survey (Landranger series).

In-text citation: (Ordnance Survey, 2012)

Reference list:  Dower, J. (1832)  A map shewing the parliamentary representation of England & Wales, according as the same are settled by the Reform Act passed 7th June 1832,  1 inch to 35 miles. London: J. Gardner.

In-text citation: (Dower, 1832)

Reference list:  Ordnance Survey (2020)  Whiteknights , Reading,  1:10 000. (Digimap Ordnance Survey) Available at http://edina.ac.uk/digimap/ (Accessed: 20 June 2021).

In-text citation:  (Ordnance Survey, 2020)

If you have any queries about citing maps, contact your Academic Liaison Librarian

• Organisation / author.
• Title of report (in italics)
• Available at: URL (if you have to login with a username and password to access the report, then use the homepage of the database or a permalink) (Accessed: date)

Reference list: Mintel (2019)  Sports and energy drinks - UK.   Available at: http://www.academic.mintel.com (Accessed: 5th July 2021).

In-text citation: (Mintel, 2019)

• Articles with an author (byline)
• Articles without an author
• Author’(s) surname and initials
• Title of article (in single quotation marks)
• Title of newspaper (in italics - capitalize first word of each word in title except for linking words such as and, of, the, for)
• Edition if required (in round brackets)
• Section and Page reference if available

If accessed online: DOI or  Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Printed article:

Reference list: Graham, K. (2020) 'The biggest tree and the smallest axe',  The Guardian , 31 August, pp.21-22.

In-text citation: (Graham, 2020)

Online article:

Reference list: Pinkstone, J. (2021) 'Mountains set the pace of evolution, not climate change, say scientists', The Daily Telegraph , 2 September. Available at: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2021/09/02/mountains-set-pace-evolution-not-climate-change-say-scientists/ (Accessed: 3 September 2021).

In-text citation: (Pinkstone, 2021)

• Title of newspaper  (in italics - capitalize first word of each word in title except for linking words such as and, of, the, for)
• Page reference if available

Note: if you are using the online version of a newspaper, which often varies from the print edition, you would omit page reference and instead include Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Reference list: The Daily Telegraph (2021) 'Walking on wooden floors could help to generate power', 2 September, p. 12.

In-text citation: ( The Daily Telegraph , 2021, p. 12)

Reference list: The Guardian  (2021) 'We cannot allow inequality to increase within the education system', 2 September. Available at: https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/editorials/inequality-education-exams-schools-private-b1900252.html (Accessed: 4 September 2021).

In-text citation: ( The Guardian , 2021)

• Inventor(s)
• Authorising organisation e.g. UK Intellectual Property Office, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
• Patent number
• If online - Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Online patent

Reference list: Cox, A. and Lee, J. (2021) Water remediation system.  UK Intellectual Property Office Patent no. GB2591282A. Available at: https://worldwide.espacenet.com/ (Accessed: 2 September 2021).

In-text citation: (Cox and Lee, 2021)

Printed patent

Reference list: Kruger, L.H. (1989)  Degradation of granular starch.  US Patent no.: US4838944.

In-text citation: (Kruger, 1989)

If you have obtained information which is not publically accessible you should cite it as a personal communication. This can include conversations taking place in person, by phone or by online means (such as Zoom, Teams, Skype). It can also be written communications such as letters, email, text messages, WhatsApp messages, SnapChat messages etc.

Include the following information:

• Sender / speaker / author
• Year of communication (in round brackets)
• Medium of communication.
• Receiver of communication.
• Day / month of communication.

Reference list: Chen , B. (2022) Conversation with Lucy Atkins, 30 July

In-text citation: (Chen, 2022)

Reference list: Garcia, C. (2022) WhatsApp message to Anna Jaworska, 12 July

In-text citation: (Garcia, 2022)

• Radio programme online
• Title of programme (in italics)
• Year of broadcast (in round brackets)
• Radio station
• Date of transmission (DD Month) and time

In-text citation: ( Programme title , Year)

Reference list: Kermode and Mayo's Film Review  (2021) BBC Radio 5 Live, 25 June, 14:30.

In-text citation:   Presenters and Wittertainees say hello to Jason Isaacs ( Kermode and Mayo's Film Review , 2021)

• Year of original broadcast (in round brackets)
• Day and month of original transmission (if available)
• Available at: DOI or URL (Accessed: date)

Bibliography:  Elvenquest  (2011) BBC Radio 4, 7 November. Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016vn8f (Accessed: 2 July 2021).

In-text citation: ( Elvenquest, 2011)

• Title (not in italics)
• Translator and edition, if required (in round brackets)
• publisher (if in print)

Reference list: The Holy Bible: new international version (1981) London: Hodder and Stoughton,

In-text citation:  (The Holy Bible, 1981, John 14: 27)

Reference list: The Qur'an: a new translation (2015) (Translated by M. A. S. Abdel Haleem.) Oxford: Oxford University Press

In-text citation: (The Qur'an, 2015, 20: 26)  

Reference list: The Torah: the five books of Moses (1962) Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society of America.

In-text citation: (The Torah,1962, Devarim 4: 2)

• General guidance: posts
• General guidance: pages

There are many different forms of social media.  Here is some general guidance for citing specific social media posts.

Author of post  

Year posted (in round brackets)  

Title or description of post (in single quotation marks) 

[Name of platform]  

Day/month posted  

Available at: URL (Accessed: date) 

Reference list: Financial Times (2021) ‘The London luxury property market was slowed down by the pandemic, but it is likely to bounce back soon’. [Facebook] 2 July. Available at: https://www.facebook.com/financialtimes/posts/10159435194305750 (Accessed: 6 July 2021). 

In-text citation: (Financial Times, 2021) 

There are many different forms of social media.  Here is some general guidance for citing a social media page, rather than an individual post.

Author (if available; if not use title)  

Year site was last updated (in round brackets)  

Title of site (in italics)  

Reference list: University of Reading Library (2022) [Facebook]. Available at:  https://www.facebook.com/universityofreadinglibrary (Accessed: 20 July 2022). 

In text: (University of Reading Library, 2022) 

• Year tweet posted (in round brackets)
• Title or description of Tweet
• Day/month tweet posted

Reference list: Harvard Business Review (2021) ‘In this large-scale study of military performance measures, negative words — like selfish, passive, and scattered — were much more frequently applied to women’. [Twitter] 4 July.  Available at: https://twitter.com/HarvardBiz/status/1411692276888317952 (Accessed: 6 July 2021). 

In-text citation: (Harvard Business Review, 2021) 

When citing an Instagram Post, please use the guidance below.  When citing a photograph or image specifically, please see our citing an image from social media guidance .

• Author (Instagram account/poster)
• Year posted (in round brackets)
• Title of post in single quotation marks
• [Instagram]
• Day/month of posted message

Reference list:  University of Reading (2022) 'Say hello to Reading's Climate Stripes bus!' [Instagram] 27 July. Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/CghAmV4Mre-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link (Accessed: 2 August 2022). 

In-text citation: (University of Reading, 2022)

Table taken directly from another source

Tables should be sequentially numbered in your work with the title above the table - as in the following example in the Harvard referencing style. When referring to the table in your writing use the table number. 

A citation should be included at the end of the table title and a full citation added to your reference list for the source. 

Example of referring to a table in a sentence:

The macronutrient content of the diets used in the study is shown in Table 2. 

Mitchell, N.S. and Ard, J.D. (2021) 'Weight loss, lifestyle, and dietary factors in cardiovascular diseases in African Americans and Hispanics', in Ferdinand, K.C., Taylor, H.A. and Rodriguez, C.J. (eds)  Cardiovascular disease in racial and ethnic minority populations . Cham: Humana Press, pp. 167-182.

Table you have compiled yourself from multiple sources

If you are taking information from multiple sources and compiling your own table you still need to acknowledge those sources. 

Once again your table will need to be numbered in sequence with other tables in your work and have a title. For example:

Table 1: Turnover of Tesco PLC 2017-2021

You can then add a, b, c etc next to the statistics in the table (or the columns depending on how your data is arranged, see the example linked below) and then add a matching lettered list of citations for the sources at the bottom of the table:

Sources: a Tesco PLC (2017); b Tesco PLC (2018) etc

 Then in your reference list the end of your work, you would add the full reference for each source. For example:

Tesco PLC (2017)  Annual report and financial statement . Available at:  https://www.tescoplc.com/investors/reports-results-and-presentations/reports-archive/  (Accessed: 10 November 2022).

Tesco PLC (2018) Annual report and financial statement . Available at:  https://www.tescoplc.com/investors/reports-results-and-presentations/reports-archive/  (Accessed: 10 November 2022).

 See the following example where a & b has been added to the columns, as everything in that column has come from the same source:

• Example of citing multiple sources used in a table

The other option is to arrange it with the brief citations in the table. See Table 1 in the following example. The full references would go into your reference list at the end of the work in the same way as Method 1.

• How to cite sources in a table (Method 2) This example is in the APA referencing style but the same approach would work with Harvard.

It is strongly recommended that you use published sources such as books and journal articles in your assignments instead of materials posted by academics on Blackboard. Always check with the academic who has set the assignment whether you are allowed to include citations for their materials in your work.

PowerPoint presentations

• Author or lecturer
• Title of presentation (in single quotation marks)
• [Presentation slides]
• Module code: module title (in italics)
• Institution name
• Available at: https://bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: date)

Reference list: Hartl, F. (2022) 'Advanced electrochemical and electroanalytical methods' [Presentation slides]. CH4AN1: Advanced analytical techniques for the molecular sciences . University of Reading. Available at: https://bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: 6 July 2022).

In-text citation: (Hartl, 2022)

Recorded lecture

• Year (in round brackets)
• Title of lecture (in single quotation marks)
• Medium [in square brackets]
• Institution

Reference list: Bull, S. (2021) 'Anatomy of taste' [Recorded lecture]. FB3QSF: Advanced food quality and sensory . University of Reading. 21 February. Available at: https://bb.reading.ac.uk (Accessed: 1 July 2021).

In-text citation: (Bull, 2021)

• Name of authorising organisation
• Number and title of standard (in italics)
• Available at: URL (if online)
• Accessed: date (if online)

Print standard:

Reference list: British Standards Institution (2020)  BS ISO 21543:2020: Milk and milk products - guidelines for the application of near infrared spectroscopy.  London: British Standards Institution.

In-text citation: (British Standards Institution, 2020)

Online standard

Reference list: British Standards Institution (2020)  BS ISO 21543:2020: Milk and milk products - guidelines for the application of near infrared spectroscopy. Available at: https://bsol.bsigroup.com (Accessed: 6 July 2021).

In-text citation:  (British Standards Institution, 2020)

• Name of author
• Year of submission (in round brackets)
• Title of thesis (in Italics)
• Degree statement (eg PhD thesis, MSc thesis, MA thesis)
• Name of the University or degree awarding body
• If accessed online: DOI or Available at: URL (Accessed: date)

Print thesis

Reference list: Lalani, B. (201 7)  Economics and adoption of conservation agriculture in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.  PhD thesis. Reading University.

In-text citation: (Lalani, 2017)

Online thesis

Reference list:  Alarifi, S.N.M. (2017)  In vitro studies on gum acacia and its potential as a prebiotic in an elderly population.  PhD thesis. University of Reading. Available at: https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/76135/ (Accessed: 11 July 2022).

In-text citation:  (Alarifi, 2017)

• Author (name or person/organisation posting the video)
• Year video posted (in round brackets)
• Title of film or programme (in italics)
• Date uploaded (if available)

If you need to refer to a specific point in a video, use the format minutes:seconds in your in-text citation to note the time code e.g. (TEDx Talks, 2018, 2:34).

Reference list:  TEDx Talks (2018)  The Power of an entrepreneurial mindset: Bill Roche.  20 March. Available at:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihs4VFZWwn4  (Accessed: 5 July 2021).

In-text citation:  (TEDx Talks, 2018)

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Harvard Citation Style: All Examples

• Introduction
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In-text citations

Two or more works cited at one point in the text

If two or more works by different authors or authoring bodies are cited at one point in the text, use a semi-colon to separate them:

(Larsen 2000; Malinowski 1999)

The authors should be listed in alphabetical order.

Two or three authors or authoring bodies

When citing a work by two or three authors or authoring bodies, cite the names in the order in which they appear on the title page:

(Malinowski, Miller & Gupta 1995) 

In-Text & Reference List Examples

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Apa quick citation guide.

• In-text Citation
• Citing Generative AI
• Citing Web Pages and Social Media
• Citing Articles
• Citing Books
• Citing Business Reports
• Other Formats
• APA Style Quiz

Using In-text Citation

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. For every in-text citation in your paper, there must be a corresponding entry in your reference list.

APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication, for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14). For sources such as websites and e-books that have no page numbers , use a paragraph number, for example: (Field, 2005, para. 1). More information on direct quotation of sources without pagination is given on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page.

Example paragraph with in-text citation

A few researchers in the linguistics field have developed training programs designed to improve native speakers' ability to understand accented speech (Derwing et al., 2002; Thomas, 2004). Their training techniques are based on the research described above indicating that comprehension improves with exposure to non-native speech.   Derwing et al. (2002) conducted their training with students preparing to be social workers, but note that other professionals who work with non-native speakers could benefit from a similar program.

Derwing, T. M., Rossiter, M. J., & Munro, M. J. (2002). Teaching native speakers to listen to foreign-accented speech.  Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 23 (4), 245-259.

Thomas, H. K. (2004).  Training strategies for improving listeners' comprehension of foreign-accented speech  (Doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder.

Citing Web Pages In Text

Cite web pages in text as you would any other source, using the author and date if known. Keep in mind that the author may be an organization rather than a person. For sources with no author, use the title in place of an author.

For sources with no date use n.d. (for no date) in place of the year: (Smith, n.d.). For more information on citations for sources with no date or other missing information see the page on missing reference information on the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines web page. 

Below are examples of using in-text citation with web pages.

Web page with author:

In-text citation

Heavy social media use can be linked to depression and other mental disorders in teens (Asmelash, 2019).

Reference entry

Asmelash, L. (2019, August 14). Social media use may harm teens' mental health by disrupting positive activities, study says . CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2019/08/13/health/social-media-mental-health-trnd/index.html

Web page with organizational author:

More than 300 million people worldwide are affected by depression (World Health Organization, 2018).

World Health Organization. (2018, March 22).  Depression . https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/depression

Web page with no date:

Establishing regular routines, such as exercise, can help survivors of disasters recover from trauma (American Psychological Association [APA], n.d.).

American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Recovering emotionally from disaste r. http://www.apa.org/helpcenter/recovering-disasters.aspx

General Guidelines

In-text references should immediately follow the title, word, or phrase to which they are directly relevant, rather than appearing at the end of long clauses or sentences. In-text references should always precede punctuation marks. Below are examples of using in-text citation.

Author's name in parentheses:

One study found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic (Gass & Varonis, 1984).

Author's name part of narrative:

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that the most important element in comprehending non-native speech is familiarity with the topic.

Group as author: First citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2015) Subsequent citation: (APA, 2015)

Multiple works: (separate each work with semi-colons)

Research shows that listening to a particular accent improves comprehension of accented speech in general (Gass & Varonis, 1984; Krech Thomas, 2004).

Direct quote: (include page number and place quotation marks around the direct quote)

One study found that “the listener's familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 85).

Gass and Varonis (1984) found that “the listener’s familiarity with the topic of discourse greatly facilitates the interpretation of the entire message” (p. 85).

Note:  For direct quotations of more than 40 words , display the quote as an indented block of text without quotation marks and include the authors’ names, year, and page number in parentheses at the end of the quote. For example:

This suggests that familiarity with nonnative speech in general, although it is clearly not as important a variable as topic familiarity, may indeed have some effect. That is, prior experience with nonnative speech, such as that gained by listening to the reading, facilitates comprehension. (Gass & Varonis, 1984, p. 77)

Works by Multiple Authors

APA style has specific rules for citing works by multiple authors. Use the following guidelines to determine how to correctly cite works by multiple authors in text. For more information on citing works by multiple authors see the APA Style and Grammar Guidelines page on in-text citation .

Note: When using multiple authors' names as part of your narrative, rather than in parentheses, always spell out the word and. For multiple authors' names within a parenthetic citation, use &.

One author: (Field, 2005)

Two authors: (Gass & Varonis, 1984)

Three or more authors:   (Tremblay et al., 2010)

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / Harvard Referencing / Harvard Referencing Style Examples

Harvard Referencing Style Examples

What is harvard referencing style.

Citing the work of others helps to make your work more impactful. It could be direct quotes , paraphrases of someone else’s ideas, statistical figures, or summaries of main points. There are different methods for crediting resources; Harvard referencing style (or Harvard style for short) is one such method.  

Harvard style follows the author-date system and includes two types of citations:

• in-text citations  
• references  

In-text citations

In-text citations  are included within the text of the main document. They are placed next to the information you are referencing, so the reader is clear on what information came from another source.

In-text citation example:

(Bloom, 2005) or Bloom (2005) wrote…

Every in-text citation has a corresponding reference in a reference list. A reference includes additional details about each source referenced. This enables the reader to refer to the original source, should they need to.  

The reference list is a detailed list of all the works consulted while writing. It is placed at the end of the document.  

Reference example for the above in-text citation:

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Bloom, H. (2005) Novelists and novels . Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers.

Below are Harvard referencing examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for the different kinds of sources that you might use.  

In-text citation structure and example:  

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Ozeki, 2013)  

Reference structure and example:  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Ozeki, R. (2013) A tale for the time being . New York: Penguin Books.  

Book with two or three authors

For books with two or three authors, the names of all the authors are given in both the in-text citation and the reference entry.  

(1 st Author Surname and 2 nd Author Surname, Publication Year)  

(Lodge and Wood, 2000)

1 st Author Surname, Initials. and 2 nd Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Lodge, D. and Wood, N. (2000) Modern criticism and theory: a reader. 2nd edn. Harlow: Longman.  

Book with four or more authors

If the number of authors is four or more, only the first author’s name is used followed by ‘et al.’ , italicised, which is Latin for ‘and others’.

(1 st Author Surname et al., Publication Year)

(Akmajian et al. , 2014)

Reference structure and example:

1 st Author Surname, Initials. e t al. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Place of Publication: Publisher.

Akmajian, A. et al. (2014) Linguistics: an introduction to language and communication . 6th edn. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.

Book with translator  

For books with a translator, only the author’s name is included in the in-text reference.   The translator is given in the reference list entry, along with the language from which it was translated. This comes right after the title.

(Dostoevsky, 1993)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) Title of the text in italics. Translated from the Language by Translator Initials. Surname. Place of Publication: Publisher.  

Dostoevsky, F. (1993) Crime and punishment . Translated from the Russian by R. Pevear and L. Volokhonsky. London: Vintage.  

Journal articles

Journal articles are highly credible sources of information. The example below was authored by more than three individuals, so the term ‘ et al. ’ is used in lieu of listing all authors.

In-text citation structure and example:

(Lomolino et al., 2020)

Journal reference list entries often have extra information, such as article title, volume, issue number, page numbers, or a specific date.

With journals, the volume number follows the title. If there are any specific parts of the issue, numbered or organized according to months, these details are mentioned alongside in brackets.  

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Journal Name , Volume(Issue), Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Lomolino, M. et al. (2013) ‘Of mice and mammoths: generality and antiquity of the island rule’, Journal of Biogeography , 40(8), pp. 1427-1439. Available at: https://www.jstor/org/stable/23463664 (Accessed: 10 September 2020).

Newspaper or magazine

(Ingle, 2020)

Author Surname, Initials. (Publication Year) ‘Article title’, Newspaper/Magazine Name , Day Month Published, Page(s). Available at: URL or DOI (Accessed: date).  

Ingle, S. (2020) ‘Geraint Thomas insists he has nothing to prove at road world championships’, The Guardian, 24 September. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/sprot/2020/sep/24/geraint-thomas-insists-he-has-nothing-to-prove-at-road-world-championships-cycling (Accessed: 11 October 2020).

  For online articles, you should always include the URL and date of access.

Social media and other online sources

(Author/Poster Name, Publication Year)

(Cramer, 2020)

References for social media posts have a similar format to online articles. However, sometimes they don’t have a true ‘title’. For example, for Twitter posts, the full text of the tweet is used as the title, unless the tweet is overly long.

Author/Poster Surname, Initial(s). [@Handle] (Publication year) Content of Post [Social Media Site] Day Month Published. Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).

Cramer, K. [@SenKevinCramer] (2020) Supreme Court vacancies are an important issue to the people I serve [Twitter] 24 September. Available at: https://twitter.com/SenKevinCramer/status/1308915548244398081 (Accessed: 25 September 2020).

The format for citing social media is different than the format for citing regular websites and web pages. This guide on how to cite a website in Harvard style provides details on how to cite web content that is not posted on social media.

(Image Creator or Photographer Surname, Publication Year)

(Pinneo, 2020)

Print reference structure:  

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image [Photograph]. Place of Publication: Publisher (if available).

Online reference structure and example:

If the image is on the Internet, then the place of publication and the publisher name are replaced by the image URL and access date.

Author, Initial(s). (Year) Title of the Image .   Available at: URL (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pinneo, B.J. (2020) Dusty dreams . Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/photo-of-the-day/2020/09/dusty-dreams/ (Accessed: 23 September 2020).

In-text reference structure and example:  

(Film Title , Year Released )

( Pride & Prejudice , 2005)

For films, the title of the film is used in place of the author name.  

Title of the Film (Year Released) Directed by Director Initial. Surname. Available at: Name of Streaming Service (Accessed: Day Month Year).  

Pride & Prejudice (2005) Directed by J. Wright. UK: Universal Pictures. Available at: Netflix (Accessed: 29 September 2020).

Published October 29, 2020.

Harvard Formatting Guide

Harvard Formatting

• et al Usage
• Direct Quotes
• In-text Citations
• Multiple Authors
• Page Numbers
• Writing an Outline
• View Harvard Guide

Reference Examples

• View all Harvard Examples

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Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

MLA Sample Works Cited Page

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note: We have chosen to include the date of access for the online sources below. The latest MLA guidelines specify that this is optional, but strongly recommended for sources whose date of publication is unavailable.

Note also: The citation for  An Inconvenient Truth  below assumes the film has been cited by its title in the text. If it had been cited by the name of its director, the citation would need to begin with Guggenheim's surname. MLA guidelines specify that both styles are acceptable (see, e.g., this  "Ask the MLA" page ).

Works Cited

Dean, Cornelia. "Executive on a Mission: Saving the Planet." The New York Times , 22 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/2007/05/22/science/earth/22ander.html?_r=0. Accessed 29 May 2019.

Ebert, Roger. Review of  An Inconvenient Truth , directed by Davis Guggenheim.  Ebert Digital LLC , 1 June 2006, www.rogerebert.com/reviews/an-inconvenient-truth-2006. Accessed 15 June 2019.

Gowdy, John. "Avoiding Self-Organized Extinction: Toward a Co-Evolutionary Economics of Sustainability." International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology, vol. 14, no. 1, 2007, pp. 27-36.

Harris, Rob, and Andrew C. Revkin. “Clinton on Climate Change.”  The New York Times , 17 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate-change.html. Accessed 29 July 2016.

An Inconvenient Truth . Directed by Davis Guggenheim, Paramount, 2006.

Leroux, Marcel. Global Warming: Myth or Reality?: The Erring Ways of Climatology . Springer, 2005.

Milken, Michael, et al. "On Global Warming and Financial Imbalances." New Perspectives Quarterly , vol. 23, no. 4, 2006, p. 63.

Nordhaus, William D. "After Kyoto: Alternative Mechanisms to Control Global Warming." American Economic Review , vol. 96, no. 2, 2006, pp. 31-34.

---. "Global Warming Economics." Science, vol. 294, no. 5545, 9 Nov. 2001, pp. 1283-84, DOI: 10.1126/science.1065007.

Regas, Diane. “Three Key Energy Policies That Can Help Us Turn the Corner on Climate.” Environmental Defense Fund , 1 June 2016, www.edf.org/blog/2016/06/01/3-key-energy-policies-can-help-us-turn-corner-climate. Accessed 19 July 2016.

Revkin, Andrew C. “Clinton on Climate Change.” The New York Times , 17 May 2007, www.nytimes.com/video/world/americas/1194817109438/clinton-on-climate-change.html. Accessed 29 July 2016.

Shulte, Bret. "Putting a Price on Pollution." US News & World Report , vol. 142, no. 17, 14 May 2007, p. 37. Ebsco, Access no: 24984616.

Uzawa, Hirofumi. Economic Theory and Global Warming . Cambridge UP, 2003.

How To Do In-Text Citations with Multiple Authors in APA Format

APA (or American Psychological Association) Style   was introduced in 1929 to establish a consistent style guide for scientific writing. It sought to make scientific works easier to read and understand. However, the style guidelines have expanded to include many disciplines, such as the humanities and health care.

The APA’s Publication Manual does not cover the general writing style rules in other editorial style guides, such as the MLA Handbook . APA Style seeks to create uniformity of common writing styles relevant to behavior and social sciences primarily.

Consistent formatting allows the reader to engage with the presented ideas rather than be distracted by the author’s personal formatting preferences. It also helps readers quickly review the document for references and sources to aid their research. Using APA Style keeps authors transparent by providing rules about citing their sources and giving credit for others’ ideas.

How to do in-text citations in APA

• Understanding “et. al.” usage in APA

Citing multiple authors in APA

• In-text citations for various author types in APA

Best practices and common mistakes

APA Style allows writers to credit and cite other works appropriately and avoid plagiarism through in-text citations. APA Style uses the author–date citation system, which requires notations to be included within the document to reference ideas, paraphrases and quotations from other bodies of work. Each in-text citation within the paper (or chart, footnote or figure) briefly identifies the cited work and guides the reader to a longer list of cited sources at the end of the document, called the reference list.

In-text citations can be written within a paper parenthetically or narratively. Both include the same information: the author’s last name and the publication date.

• Parenthetical citation : Great falls can be caused by sitting on tall walls (Dumpty, 1797).
• Narrative citation : Dumpty (1797) claims that great falls can be caused by sitting on tall walls.
• Reference list entry: Dumpty, Humpty (1797). Humpty Dumpty Sat on a Wall. Nursery Rhymes, 100.

APA Style requires citations to conform to a set of guidelines , which includes proper spelling of author names, consistency between the in-text citation information and its reference list entry and rules about crediting all facts and figures mentioned – especially those which are not common knowledge.

Understanding “et al.” usage in APA

Et al. is an abbreviation used to indicate multiple people. It’s the abbreviated version of “et alia,” a neutral plural version of “and others.” Most commonly, et al. indicates more than one contributor, such as multiple authors or editors, in a work.

In APA Style citations, et al. is used to indicate a cited work with three or more authors and serves as a way to condense the in-text citation to avoid confusion and unnecessary length. An APA in-text citation with three or more authors will include only the first author’s name plus “et al.” in every citation.

Citing multiple authors in APA Style is similar to MLA Style . For one or two authors, list the last name(s) followed by the year of publication. 

• One author: (Beyonce, 1997)
• Contributors: Daryl Hall and John Oates

To cite three or more authors using APA Style, use only the first author’s last name listed, plus “et al.” 

• Contributors: Earth, Wind and Fire

When two separate sources have the same abbreviated et al. form , spell out as many last names as needed to distinguish the sources from each other. It may include two last names followed by et al.

Similarly, when the first authors of separate sources share the same last name but have different initials, use their first initials in the in-text citations.

• Beyonce Knowles & Solange Knowles

In-text citation for various author types in APA

You may face a challenging situation where you must cite a group author , such as an institution or university, rather than a list of authors’ names. In this instance, you’ll list the group or organization.

• Group author: (Furman University, 2020)

If the group also has an abbreviation to its name, you may note the first and subsequent citations differently to be as concise as possible.

• Group author with abbreviation – 1st citation: (American Psychological Association [APA], 2024)
• Group author with abbreviation – 2nd citation : (APA, 2024)

The most common mistake when citing sources is forgetting to cite a source. One way to ensure you include all required sources is to document and manage your sources as you use their ideas within the document. This may mean you create the citations as you conduct your research, create your outline or type the final paper.

Some applications exist to help you manage and document citations, including EasyBib , Mendeley , EndNote and Zotero . Depending on your writing style, these applications can help you create citations, save your research sources, annotate documents and format references. 

Regarding best practices for in-text citations in APA Style, it’s good practice to proofread your citations and reference list together. When citing multiple authors, ensure all spellings are accurate and consistent throughout the document and reference list. Refer to the APA Style Publication Manual and other guideline reference documents to confirm your citing within the latest citation guidelines.

Giving credit to other authors who have shaped your research and ideas is incredibly important. You can do so without risking plagiarism accusations through in-text citations that are marked and referenced. Not only does it provide you with an honest and accurate reputation, but it also helps your readers gain more valuable knowledge from other sources.

Citing sources should not discourage you from sharing your knowledge within academic writing. Sooner or later, you’ll become a pro at in-text citations in APA style! The more you write, the more familiar you’ll become with the guidelines; you’ll no longer need to reference the style guides for help.

The perspectives and thoughts shared in the Furman Blog belong solely to the author and may not align with the official stance or policies of Furman University. All referenced sources were accurate as of the date of publication.

How To Do In-Text Citations in MLA Format: A Quick Guide for Students

How to become a therapist, a brand strategy and creative thinking reflection | go further podcast.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI)

• Potential Uses of Generative AI
• Concerns with Generative AI
• Citation and Copyright
• Additional Resources

Citing Generative AI

When conducting research on a generative AI tool like ChatGPT, it may be useful to include prompts and outputs in your written report or presentation. In this case, ChatGPT or other generative AI tools should be cited clearly. For example, the APA Style caption below provides information on the "author", OpenAI, and describes the prompt that was used to generate the image. Other style guides, such as Chicago Style may differ on whether these images have an author listed, though the AI tool still needs to be described. Please see the individual style guides for the most recent guidelines for citing AI works.

Example 1

This image was generated using DALL-E 3 (OpenAI, 2024) with the prompt "Generate an image of a wooden study carrel in a beautiful academic library with a laptop on the table surface."

Example 2 

Prompt: How might ChatGPT reproduce biases in the information it provides to a user? Give me a couple succinct examples.

ChatGPT Output: Sure, here are a couple of succinct examples:

Reflecting Training Data Bias: If ChatGPT is trained on text data containing gender stereotypes (e.g., "nurses are usually female" or "engineers are usually male"), it might generate responses that perpetuate these stereotypes when asked about professions.

Echoing User Biases: If a user asks ChatGPT a biased question (e.g., "Why are certain ethnicities more prone to crime?"), ChatGPT might inadvertently reinforce the bias in its response by providing information that appears to validate the assumption rather than challenging it. (OpenAI, 2024)

References (in APA Style )

OpenAI. (2024).  ChatGPT  (May 3 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat

OpenAI. (2024). DALL-E (Version 3) [artificial intelligence system]. https://openai.com/index/dall-e-3 

See the following resources for more recommendations on how to cite generative AI outputs:

APA 7th Edition - Citations: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Justice Institute British Columbia

Citation and Attribution with AI Tools in APA, Chicago and MLA Styles, Brown University Library

How to Cite Generative AI, Marshall University Libraries

Copyright Concerns

According to the U.S. Copyright Office, works that contain "no human authorship" cannot be copyrighted. However, works that partially contain AI-generated elements, such as human authored elements combined with AI-produced images, can be. The individual images cannot be copyrighted (but you will still want to cite them in academic works for transparency and to follow style guidelines!). 

The Committee on Publication Ethics states that an AI cannot have authorship, as it cannot take responsibility for the work. Therefore, generative AI's should not be listed as co-authors for a paper, even if it utilized to some degree for assistance.

For updated information on AI and U.S. copyright law, please visit the U.S. Copyright Office website,  copyright.gov/ai .

Committee on Publication Ethics. (2023, February 13).  Authorship and AI Tools . https://publicationethics.org/cope-position-statements/ai-author

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