Your reference list and bibliography

Most online articles will have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and you should use this in your reference. The DOI is a permanent identifier provided by publishers so that the article can always be found. If the article has a DOI you will not usually be required to add a date of access.

If there is no DOI then you should use the URL. Some lecturers will ask you to reference an online journal article as a print article, so always check your coursework guidance.

To find the DOI, when you read an article online, check the article details as you will usually find it at the start of the article. For more help, contact your librarian.

If you read the article in a full-text database service, such as Factiva or EBSCO, and do not have a DOI or direct URL to the article you should use the database URL.

Author
Title of journal article
Title of journal (this should be in italics)
Year of publication
Volume number
(Issue number)
Page numbers of the article
URL or DOI

Errami M, Garner H. A tale of two citations. Nature. 2008;451(7177): 397-399. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7177/full/451397a.html.

or

Wang F, Maidment G, Missenden J, Tozer R. The novel use of phase change materials in refrigeration plant. Part 1: Experimental investigation. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2007;27(17-18): 2893-2901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2005.06.011.

or

Read B. Anti-cheating crusader vexes some professors. Chronicle of Higher Education. 2008;54(25). http://global.factiva.com

Author of the chapter
Title of chapter followed by, In:
Editor (always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Series title and number (if part of a series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication
Page numbers (use ‘p.' before single and multiple page numbers)

Partridge H, Hallam G. Evidence-based practice and information literacy. In: Lipu S, Williamson K, Lloyd A. (eds.) Exploring methods in information literacy research. Wagga Wagga, Australia: Centre for Information Studies; 2007. p. 149-170.

Example of a chapter in an edited book which is not a first edition:

Goepel JR. Responses to cellular injury. In: Underwood JCE, Cross SS. (eds.) General and systematic pathology. 5th ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2009. p.101-122.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Series title and number (if part of series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication
URL

Simons NE, Menzies B, Matthews M. A Short Course in Soil and Rock Slope Engineering. London: Thomas Telford Publishing; 2001. http://www.myilibrary.com?ID=93941.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Organisation
Report number: (this should be followed by the actual number in figures)
Year of publication

Leatherwood S. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the western North
Atlantic. U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Report number: 63, 2001.

Author/Editor (use the corporate author if no individual author or editor is named)
Title (this should be in italics)
URL
[Date of access]

European Space Agency. Rosetta: rendezvous with a comet. http://rosetta.esa.int/ [Accessed 15th June 2015].

Country
Name of Act: Name of sovereign (this should be in italics)
Chapter number (this should be in italics)
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

Great Britain. Climate Change Act 2008: Elizabeth II. Chapter 27. London: The Stationery Office; 2008.

Author or organisation
Title (this should be in italics)
Year of publication
URL
[Date of access]

Chevron Corporation. Annual Report. 2006. http://www.chevron.com/documents/pdf/annualreport/Chevron2006AnnualReport_full.pdf [Accessed 12th May 2012].

Author or organisation
Title (this should be in italics)
Place of publication (where available)
Publisher
Year of publication

Chevron Corporation. Annual Report. San Ramon, CA: Chevron Corporation, 2006.

Author 
Title of blog post (if applicable)
Title (this should be in italics)
Weblog
URL
[Date of access]

Goldacre B. Trivial Disputes. Bad Science. Weblog. http://www.badscience.net/2008/02/trivial-disputes-2/ [Accessed 19th June 2008].

Please note that the date of publication of the e-book version may differ from the print publication date. Ensure you use the correct date depending on the version of the book you have read and are citing in your work.

Author/editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
[E-reader version]
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (where available)
Publisher
(Year of publication)

Powrie W. Soil mechanics: concepts and applications. [Kindle version] 2^nd ed. London: Taylor and Francis; 2007.

Feynman RP, Davies P. The character of physical law. [Sony Reader eBook version]. ePenguin; 2007.

In-text citation: (Feynman & Davies, 2007)

Author of the chapter
Title of chapter followed by, In:
Editor (always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Series title and number (if part of a series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication
Page numbers (use ‘p.' before single and multiple page numbers)

Partridge H, Hallam G. Evidence-based practice and information literacy. In: Lipu S, Williamson K, Lloyd A. (eds.) Exploring methods in information literacy research. Wagga Wagga, Australia: Centre for Information Studies; 2007. p. 149-170.

Example of a chapter in an edited book which is not a first edition:

Goepel JR. Responses to cellular injury. In: Underwood JCE, Cross SS. (eds.) General and systematic pathology. 5^th ed. Edinburgh: Elsevier; 2009. p.101-122.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
[Title in original language] (this should be in italics)
Series title and number (if part of a series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication

García Sánchez JJ. Toponymical atlas of Spain. [Atlas toponímico de España] Madrid: Arco/Libros; 2007.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Series title and number (if part of series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication
URL

Simons NE, Menzies B, Matthews M. A short course in soil and rock slope engineering. London: Thomas Telford Publishing; 2001. http://www.myilibrary.com?ID=93941.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Trans followed by the name of the translator
Series title and number (if part of a series)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication (if there is more than one place listed, use the first named)
Publisher
Year of publication

Aristotle. Physics. Trans Graham DW. Oxford: Clarendon; 1999.

Author/Editor (use the corporate author if no individual author or editor is named)
CD-ROM title (this should be in italics)
[CD-ROM]
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Britannica 2003. [CD-ROM] Chicago: Encyclopaedia Britannica; 2003.

Government department
Title (this should be in italics)
Paper number
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

Department of Health. Choosing Health: making healthier choices easier. CM6374. London: The Stationery Office; 2004.

Author (use the corporate author or research group if no individual author or editor is named)
Title of program (this should be in italics)
(Version number)
[Format type] (computer program, software or code)
Place of publication (if available)
Name of publisher/distributor (if available)
URL (if online)
Year of publication

TechSmith. Snagit. (Version 9.1) [Software] TechSmith Corporation. http://www.techsmith.com/screen-capture.asp. 2008.

Author
Title of conference paper followed by, In:
Editor/Organisation (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication
Page numbers (use ‘p' before single and multiple page numbers)

Wittke M. Design, construction, supervision and long-term behaviour of tunnels in swelling rock. In: Van Cotthem A, Charlier R, Thimus J-F, Tshibangu J-P. (eds.) Eurock 2006: Multiphysics coupling and long term behaviour in rock mechanics: Proceedings of the International Symposium of the International Society for Rock Mechanics, EUROCK 2006, 9-12 May 2006, Liège, Belgium. London: Taylor & Francis; 2006.p. 211-216.

Editor/Organisation (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

Edge BL. Coastal engineering 2000: conference proceedings, July 16-21, 2000, Sydney Convention & Exhibition Centre, Sydney, Australia. Reston, VA: ASCE; 2001.

Sender
Subject of discussion post
Title of discussion list or forum (this should be in italics)
Date of discussion post (day month year)
URL of discussion list or forum
[Date of access]

Kells R. Statistical advice and short courses at Imperial College London. TEACHING-STATISTICS List. 7th May 2009. https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?A0=teaching-statistics [Accessed 19th June 2009].

When writing a reference for a multi-media item, you would usually use the title of the TV programme or video recording, or title of the film (whether on DVD or video) as the author. If the title is used as the author, this should be written in italics. You should also include the type of format in the reference, such as Video, DVD, CD, CD-ROM and so on.

Title (this should be in italics)
[DVD]
Place of production or origin (if available)
Name of production company/maker
Year of production

Life on Campus. [DVD] London: Imperial College London. 2006.

Author (use the company name if no individual author or editor is named)
Title (this should be in italics)
Version number
Place of publication
Publisher
Date of publication

Hirst Magnetic Instruments Ltd. GM07/GM08 Gaussmeter Operating Manual. Version 2.0. Falmouth: Hirst Magnetic Instruments Ltd; no date.

Title of film (this should be in italics)
[Film]
Directed by: Director's name
Place of production
Name of production company
Year of production

An Inconvenient Truth. [Film] Directed by: Davis Guggenheim. USA: Lawrence Bender Productions; 2006.

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.

In-text citation:

Table illustrating checklist of information for common sources (1: p.22).

Pears R, Shields G. Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. 3rd ed. Durham, Pear Tree Books; 2008.

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.

In-text citation:

‘Geological map of the easternmost region of São Nicolau' (1:p.532).

Ramalho R, Helffrich G, Schmidt DN, Vance D. Tracers of uplift and subsidence in the Cape Verde archipelago. Journal of the Geological Society 2010;167(3): 519-538. doi:10.1144/0016-76492009-056 [Accessed 14th June 2010]

Name of person interviewed [For anonymous interviewees use Interviewee A, Interviewee B, etc in place of a name. This allows you to distinguish between multiple interviewees.]
Interviewed by: Name of interviewer
Date of interview

Day A. Interviewed by: Jones L. 4th June 2009.

Most online articles will have a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) and you should use this in your reference. The DOI is a permanent identifier provided by publishers so that the article can always be found. If the article has a DOI you will not usually be required to add a date of access.

If there is no DOI then you should use the URL. Some lecturers will ask you to reference an online journal article as a print article, so always check your coursework guidance.

To find the DOI, when you read an article online, check the article details as you will usually find it at the start of the article. For more help, contact your librarian.

If you read the article in a full-text database service, such as Factiva or EBSCO, and do not have a DOI or direct URL to the article you should use the database URL.

Author
Title of journal article
Title of journal (this should be in italics)
Year of publication
Volume number
(Issue number)
Page numbers of the article
URL or DOI

Errami M, Garner H. A tale of two citations. Nature. 2008;451(7177): 397-399. http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v451/n7177/full/451397a.html.

or

Wang F, Maidment G, Missenden J, Tozer R. The novel use of phase change materials in refrigeration plant. Part 1: Experimental investigation. Applied Thermal Engineering. 2007;27(17-18): 2893-2901. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2005.06.011.

or

Read B. Anti-cheating crusader vexes some professors. Chronicle of Higher Education. 2008;54(25). http://global.factiva.com

Author
Title of journal article
Title of journal (this should be in italics)
Year of publication
Volume number
(Issue number)
Page numbers of the article

Chhibber PK, Majumdar SK. Foreign ownership and profitability: Property rights, control, and the performance of firms in Indian industry. Journal of Law & Economics 1999; 42(1): 209-238.

Name of lecturer/presenter
Title of lecture/presentation (this should be in italics)
[Lecture/Presentation]
Title of module/degree course (if appropriate)
Name of institution or location
Date of lecture/presentation

Wagner G. Structural and functional studies of protein interactions in gene expression. [Lecture] Imperial College London.12th December 2006.

Author (usually the organisation responsible for publishing the map)
Title (this should be in italics)
Scale
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

British Geological Survey. South London, 270. 1: 50 000. London: BGS; 1998.

Author (use the corporate author or research group if no individual author or editor is named)
Report title (this should be in italics)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication
Publisher
URL
[Date of access]
Year of publication (include month if available and if not part of the title)

Mintel. Small Green Cars and Alternative Fuels - UK - December 2009. http://oxygen.mintel.com/ [Accessed 5th January 2010]. 2009.

Datamonitor. Energy Industry Profile: Global. http://web.ebscohost.com/ [Accessed 5th January 2010]. March 2009.

Author (use the corporate author or research group if no individual author or editor is named)
Report title (this should be in italics)
Edition (if not the first edition)
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication (include month if available and if not part of the title)

Mintel. Home Utility Suppliers - UK - September 2009. London: Mintel International Group; 2009.

Author (if the article has no author, use the name of the newspaper)
Title of article
Title of newspaper (this should be in italics)
Day, month and year of publication
Page numbers of the article (if available, use ‘p.' before a single and multiple page numbers)
URL
[Date of access]

Pagnamenta R. Energy adviser puts forward powerful case for hydrogen. The Times. May 24 2008. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/natural_resources/article3994594.ece [Accessed 2nd July 2008].

Author (if the article has no author, use the name of the newspaper)
Title of article
Title of newspaper (this should be in italics)
Day, month and year of publication
Page numbers of the article (use ‘p' before single and multiple page numbers)

Macalister T. Green energy is the modern gold rush. The Guardian. Wednesday July 2 2008:p.27.

Author
Title (this should be in italics)
Patent number
(Patent)
Year of publication

Landini L, Chielini E. Water soluble and biodegradable self airproof tight closing bag. CN101045489 (Patent) 2007.

Name of practitioner
Occupation
Personal communication
Date when the information was provided

Law J. Engineering consultant. Personal communication. 26th March 2004.

Title (this should be in italics)
Podcast
URL
[Date of access]

Nature Podcast. Podcast. http://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/index.html [Accessed 17th July 2008].

Title of programme/broadcast (this should be in italics)
Title of episode (if part of a series)
Name of broadcaster
Date of broadcast

Today. BBC Radio 4. 5th January 2010.

Or

In Our Time. Genetics. BBC Radio 4. 13th December 2001.

Author/Editor (if it is an editor always put (ed.) after the name)
Title (this should be in italics)
Organisation
Report number: (this should be followed by the actual number in figures)
Year of publication

Leatherwood S. Whales, dolphins, and porpoises of the western North
Atlantic. U.S. Dept. of Commerce. Report number: 63, 2001.

Name of Standard Body/Institution
Standard number
Title (this should be in italics)
Place of publication
Publisher
Year of publication

British Standards Institution. BS 5950-8:2003. Structural use of steelwork in building: code of practice for fire resistant design. London: BSI; 2003.

Title of episode (if part of a series)
Title of programme/broadcast (this should be in italics)
Name of broadcaster
Date of broadcast

Question Time. BBC One. 26th November 2009.

or

Blink. Doctor Who. BBC One. 9th June 2007.

Author
Title (this should be in italics)
Type of thesis
Academic institution
Year of publication

Leckenby RJ. Dynamic characterisation and fluid flow modelling of fractured reservoirs. PhD thesis. Imperial College London; 2005.

Author/Editor (use the corporate author if no individual author or editor is named)
Title (this should be in italics)
URL
[Date of access]

European Space Agency. Rosetta: rendezvous with a comet. http://rosetta.esa.int/ [Accessed 15th June 2015].