It is essential to follow the style specified in your assignments and not to mix styles. When you reference, you use the standardized style to acknowledge the source of information used in your assignment. It is important (morally and legally) to acknowledge someone else's ideas or words that you have used.
Proper referencing enables the marker or reader of your paper to locate the source of the information. References also allow you to retrace your steps and find information you used for assignments and discover additional views or ideas discussed by the author. By referencing clearly and correctly, it shows that you have carried out research on the topic of the assignment and found relevant information.
The first indicates within your assignment from which sources the information you used when writing your assignment comes. The reference list shows full details of everything you have cited and appears in an alphabetical list on a separate page at the end of your assignment.
In text citations
- Three, four or five authors
- Six or seven authors
- Eight or more authors
- Groups as authors
- Similar information referred to by more than one author
- Same author and same date
- One work by one author, when the author is cited more than once in a paragraph
- Citing a secondary source
Consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.) [henceforth referred to as the APA Manual], especially Chapters 6 and 7. If a work has three (3), four (4), or five (5) authors, cite all authors the first time, and from then on, include only the first author's last name, followed by the words et al. If a work has six (6) or more authors, list only the first author's last name, followed by et al.
If there are eight (8) or more authors, list only the last name of the first author followed by 'et al.'. Part of the narrative' means that the reference is part of a sentence and not in parentheses. This is true regardless of the style (narrative or parenthetical) of the first citation.
If the first citation is part of the narrative, do not include the year in subsequent references that are in the narrative. Include the author and details of the source you actually read in your reference list.
Direct quotes
Short quote – less than 40 words
If the first citation is in parentheses, the year must be included in subsequent citations* within the paragraph. this applies regardless of whether they are in the narrative or parenthesis). However, if the information you wish to use is cited by another author, you must acknowledge the source you have read and show that it is a secondary source. This shows that you have not read the original source, but read about it in a secondary source.
Within the text citation, use the words "as cited in" to indicate that it is a secondary source.
Longer quote – 40 words or more
Quotations from online resources that do not provide page numbers
The reference list
- Books
- Book – one author
- Book – place of publication
- Book – editor
- Book – author & publisher are the same
- Chapter in an edited book
- Serial/journal articles
- Serial / journal article (print)
- Serial / journal article – more than one author (print)
- Serial / journal article (online from a database – e.g. EBSCO or Newztext)
- Serial / journal – more than one author (online– DOI)
- Serial / Journal article – 8 or more authors (online – no DOI)
- Internet sources
- Internet – no author, no date
- Internet – Organisation / Corporate author
The information is usually found on the title page and the back of a book's title page. For serials/magazines, you will find the information in the article plus the cover or inside of a printed serial. You may need to scroll to the bottom of the webpage to find a date and an author.
Capitalize only the first word of the title and subtitle, if any, and proper names. Include the edition number, if applicable, in parentheses after the title or subtitle (3rd ed.) or (Rev. ed.). Always include the 2-letter city and state code when posting within the US, and the city and state if posting outside the US (Fort Bragg, CA or Auckland, New Zealand or Benalla, Australia or Weybridge, England).
If there are two or more places in the source, use the first one listed. If the author and publisher are the same, use the word Author as the name of the publisher. Note: Always include the two-letter city and state code if published within the US, and the city and country if published outside the US.
The month, season, or other designation of the publication if there is no year or issue number. Otherwise, simply refer to the journal article against the print version (check with your lecturer if this is acceptable). They are alphanumeric codes that usually appear on the first page of an article.
No pickup date is required for content that is unlikely to be changed or updated. These are DOI resolver/locator sites: http://dx.doi.org/ and http://www.crossref.org/. Sometimes it is not clear who (author) wrote it or when (date) it was written.
Examples of various types of information sources
- Act (statute / legislation)
- Blog post
- Brochure / pamphlet
- Brochure / pamphlet (no author)
- Clickview
- Conference Paper
- Conference paper (online)
- Dictionary (print)
- Dictionary (online)
- Specific entry in an online dictionary (no author or editor)
- Specific entry in an online dictionary (editor)
- DVD / Video / Motion Picture (including Clickview & Youtube)
- e-book (including Safari and Google books)
- Figures (images, illustrations, photographs, maps, charts)
- Magazine
- Moodle
- Music recording (Whole album)
- Music recording (Song from album)
- Newspaper article
- Newspaper article (no author)
- Newspaper (online)
- Personal communication
- Podcast (audio or video)
- Software (including apps)
- Television series
- Television (single episode from a series)
- Thesis (print)
- Thesis (online)
- Wikis (including Wikipedia)
- Youtube see – DVD / Video / Motion picture
Retrieved from https://www.healthed.govt.nz/resource/ageing-well-how-be-best-you-can-be. When you use a figure for educational purposes (e.g. in essays, reports, presentations, Moodle) you must refer to the source of the figure. This means that you must cite and reference the publication details of where you found the figure, e.g.
This is the information that will allow your reader to find the book or journal article or website or database where you found the image. In the caption, include details that you consider to be important to the artwork, e.g. This is followed by the in-text citation which gives details of where the figure was published.
If you are using the image for educational purposes, you do not need to obtain copyright permission. The New Zealand Copyright Act (1994) allows free use of images for educational purposes, but they must be referenced. If you intend to sell or exhibit your work, you will need to obtain copyright permission for the figures used.
The heartfelt The People Who Live on the Hill provides an ideal vehicle for Midler to showcase her talents (Midler, 2010a, part 5). Personal communications are cited in the text only and are NOT included in the reference list. Note: If you can find the writer or director for your episode, use the series producer slot.
Wikipedia can be a good starting point for discovering background information on a topic, and the citations and links in any entry can be used to verify information and find original sources.
Retrieved December 8, 2014, from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle New Zealand House of Representatives, Health Committee. Retrieved from http://www.stuff.co.nz/technology/gadgets/6038621/Smartphone-could-replace-wallets Sadun, E., Grothaus, M., & Sande, S. Retrieved from http://www. rnzspca.org.nz/news/press-releases/360-your-dog-may-be-dying-from-the-heat Stefanie.
Two letter USA state codes
