Citations help others find the information you used in your research paper.
Citing your sources accurately helps establish the credibility of your research.
Citations connect your work to the work of other scholars.
Citations are one way to honor and acknowledge the work of others who have made your own research possible.
A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and combat plagiarism.
Citing one author
A recent study investigated the effectiveness of using Google Scholar to find medical research (Henderson, 2005). or Henderson (2005) has investigated the effectiveness of Google Scholar in finding medical research.
Citing two or three authors
If the work has two or three authors, include all names in your citation.
Recent research indicates that the number of duplicate papers being published is increasing (Errami & Garner, 2008). Evidence shows that providing virtual laboratory exercises as well as practical laboratory experience enhances the learning process (Barros, Read & Verdejo, 2008).
Citing four or more authors
If the work has four or more authors/editors the abbreviation ‘et al.’ should be used after the first author’s name. It is also acceptable to use ‘et al.’ after the first author if the work has three authors.
Social acceptance of carbon capture and storage is necessary for the introduction of technologies (van Alphen et al., 2007).
Citing works by the same author written in the same year
If you cite a new work which has the same author and was written in the same year as an earlier citation, you must use a lower case letter after the date to differentiate between the works.
Communication of science in the media has increasingly come under focus, particularly where reporting of facts and research is inaccurate (Goldacre, 2008a; Goldacre, 2008b).
Citing from chapters written by different authors - Edited book
Some books may contain chapters written by different authors. When citing work from such a book, the author who wrote the chapter should be cited, not the editor of the book.
Secondary referencing
Secondary references are when an author refers to another author’s work and the primary source is not available. When citing such work the author of the primary source and the author of the work it was cited in should be used.
According to Colluzzi and Pappagallo (2005) as cited by Holding et al. (2008) most patients given opiates do not become addicted to such drugs.
Citing a direct quotation
If a direct quote from a book, article, etc., is used you must:
• Use single quotation marks (double quotation marks are usually used for quoting direct speech).
• State the page number
Simons, Menzies and Matthews (2001) state that the principle of effective stress is ‘imperfectly known and understood by many practising engineers’ (p.4).
Citing an image/illustration/table/diagram/photograph/figure/picture
You should provide an in-text citation for any images, illustrations, photographs, diagrams, tables or figures that you reproduce in your work, and provide a full reference as with any other type of work. They should be treated as direct quotes in that the author(s) should be acknowledged and page numbers shown; both in your text where the diagram is discussed or introduced, and in the caption you write for it.
In-text citation: Table illustrating checklist of information for common sources (Pears & Shields, 2016:p.21). or ‘Geological map of the easternmost region of São Nicolau’ (Ramalho et al., 2010:p.532)
Citing from works with no obvious author OR Organization as author
If you need to cite a piece of work which does not have an obvious author, you should use what is called a ‘corporate’ author.
For example, many online publications will not have individually named authors, and in many cases the author will be an organisation or company. A national strategy is creating a framework to drive improvements in dementia services (Department of Health, 2009).
If you are unable to find either a named or corporate author, you should use ‘Anon’ as the author name.
Citing from multimedia works
If you need to cite a multimedia work, you would usually use the title of the TV programme (including online broadcasts) or video recording, or title of the film (whether on DVD or video) as the author.
If a video is posted on YouTube or other video-streaming service then you should reference the person that uploaded the video (note this might be a username). Therefore, your citation should use the title that you identify as the author.
Citing from an interview or personal communication
Always use the surname of the interviewee/practitioner as the author.
Acknowledging ICL Harvard guide
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