Documenting Information

Bibliographies - an introduction

Books | Chapter | Article | E-journal | WWW document

Books

Franklin, John Hope. George Washington Williams: A Biography. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1985.

This is typical of a book citation from a bibliography or reference list in the Chicago style.

1. Author: Franklin, John Hope.
2. Title: George Washington Williams: A Biography.
3. City: Chicago:
4. Publisher: University of Chicago Press,
5. Date: 1985.

But some other styles do not cite the elements in the same order, e.g. the APA style:

Jordan, R. R. (1996). Academic writing course, Harlow, U.K: Longman.

1. Author: Jordan, R. R.
2. Date: (1996).
3. Title: Academic writing course,
4. City: Harlow, U.K:
5. Publisher: Longman.

Not only is the order of the elements different, there are also different conventions about punctuation, brackets and how the author's name should be written.
Each style has its own rules - it is important that you apply these rules, whatever the style.

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Chapter

Daniels, P. J. (1992). Australia's foreign debt. In S. Hopkins (Ed.), Macroeconomics, Pymble, NSW: Harper.

Another common citation is a chapter from a book - note that the chapter's author and title come before the book's editor and title.
In this case, the chapter and book titles use a different font style - but not all styles do this.

1. Author: Daniels, P. J.
2. Date: (1992).
3. Title: Australia's foreign debt.
4. Book - Author: In S. Hopkins (Ed.),
5. Book - Title: Macroeconomics,
6. City: Pymble, NSW:
7. Publisher: Harper.

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Article

Arnett, J. (1995). Adolescents' self-socialization via media. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 24, 519-533.

Journal articles are an essential part of academic research - you will learn to identify article citations in order to search and locate journals in reading lists and bibliographies.

1. Author: Arnett, J.
2. Date: (1995).
3. Title: Adolescents' self-socialization via media.
4. Journal - Title: Journal of Youth and Adolescence,
5. Journal - Volume: 24,
6. Journal - Page(s): 519-533.

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E-journal

Cahill, J. (2003). Patients therapy for depression [Electronic version]. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 42(2), 133-143. Retrieved July 29, 2003, from http://www.bps.org.uk/publications/jCP_1.cfm

E-Journal articles are becoming more ubiquitous and have significant value for research at Honours and postgraduate level. They too follow prescribed citation rules according to the citation style you are using.

1. Author: Cahill, J.
2. Date: (2003).
3. Title: Patients therapy for depression [Electronic version].
4. Journal - Title: British Journal of Clinical Psychology,
5. Journal - Volume/issue: 42(2),
6. Journal - Page(s): 133-143.
7. Date retrieved: Retrieved July 29, 2003,
8. URL: from http://www.bps.org.uk/publications/jCP_1.cfm

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WWW document

Falzari, L. M. & Menary, R. C. (2003). Chamomile for oil and dried flowers. Retrieved August 12, 2003, from http://www.rirdc.gov.au/home.html

Research reports and other valuable documents are available from reputable (e.g. government funded) bodies on the internet.

1. Author: Falzari, L. M. & Menary, R. C.
2. Date: (2003).
3. Title: Chamomile for oil and dried flowers.
4. Date retrieved: Retrieved August 12, 2003,
5. URL: from http://www.rirdc.gov.au/home.html

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