Citation Style Guide

In-Text Citations

• Single author
  (Smith, 2023) or Smith (2023) argues that…
• Two authors
  (Smith & Jones, 2023)
• 3+ authors (first use)
  (Smith et al., 2023)
• Direct quote
  (Smith, 2023, p. 45) or (Smith, 2023, pp. 45–46)
  Page number required for all direct quotes.
• Multiple sources
  (Johnson, 2020; Smith, 2023)
  Alphabetical order, separated by semicolons.

Reference List

• Journal article
  Smith, J. A., & Jones, B. C. (2023). Title of the article. Journal of Research, 14(2), 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1234/jr.2023.14
• Book
  Smith, J. A. (2023). Title of the book (2nd ed.). Publisher. https://doi.org/10.xxxx
• Book chapter
  Smith, J. A. (2023). Chapter title. In B. C. Jones (Ed.), Book title (pp. 45–67). Publisher.
• Website
  Smith, J. A. (2023, April 1). Title of webpage. Site Name. https://www.example.com/page

Key Rules

• DOI format: Always use https://doi.org/… format.
• Et al.: Use for 3+ authors from first citation.
• Hanging indent: 0.5 inch (1.27 cm) for all reference entries.
• Alphabetical order: Reference list sorted by first author surname.
• No "Retrieved from": unless the URL changes over time.
• Running head: Not required for student papers (only professional manuscripts).

In-Text Citations

• Footnote (first reference)
  ¹ John Smith, Research Methods in History (Chicago: University Press, 2023), 45.
  Full citation in footnote on first use.
• Footnote (subsequent)
  ² Smith, Research Methods, 67.
  Shortened form for subsequent footnotes to the same work.
• Ibid.
  ³ Ibid., 70.
  Use when citing the same source as the immediately preceding note.
• Author-Date — single
  (Smith 2023, 45)
• Author-Date — two authors
  (Smith and Jones 2023)
• Author-Date — 3+
  (Smith et al. 2023)

Reference List

• Journal article
  Smith, John A., and Barbara C. Jones. "Article Title." Journal of Research 14, no. 2 (2023): 45–67. https://doi.org/10.1234/jr.2023.14
• Book
  Smith, John A. Title of the Book. 2nd ed. Chicago: University Press, 2023.
• Book chapter
  Smith, John A. "Chapter Title." In Book Title, edited by Barbara C. Jones, 45–67. Publisher, 2023.

Key Rules

• Book titles: Italicised.
• Article titles: In quotation marks.
• NB page numbers: Cited in footnotes, not bibliography.
• Bibliography vs. References: NB uses Bibliography; AD uses References.
• Publisher location: Include city for print books.

In-Text Citations

• Single reference
  As shown in [1], the algorithm…
• Multiple references
  Several studies [1], [3], [7] confirm…
• Range
  Prior work [1]–[5] establishes…
• Author in text
  Smith et al. [3] demonstrated…
  Numbers assigned in order of first appearance in the text.

Reference List

• Journal article
  [1] J. A. Smith and B. C. Jones, "Title of the article," IEEE Trans. Neural Netw. Learn. Syst., vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 45–67, Feb. 2023, doi: 10.1234/tnnls.2023.14.
• Conference paper
  [2] J. A. Smith, "Paper title," in Proc. IEEE Conf. Computer Vision, 2023, pp. 100–108.
• Book
  [3] J. A. Smith, Title of the Book, 2nd ed. Publisher, 2023.
• Website
  [4] J. A. Smith. (2023). Page Title. [Online]. Available: https://www.example.com

Key Rules

• Journal abbreviations: Use IEEE standard abbreviations (e.g., Trans. for Transactions).
• First name initials: Only initials, not full first names.
• Numbered list: References ordered by appearance, not alphabetically.
• Month abbreviations: Jan., Feb., Mar., Apr., May, Jun., Jul., Aug., Sep., Oct., Nov., Dec.
• DOI format: doi: 10.xxxx/… (no https://doi.org prefix).

In-Text Citations

• Single author
  (Smith 45)
• Two authors
  (Smith and Jones 45)
• 3+ authors
  (Smith et al. 45)
• No author
  ("Article Title" 45) or (Website Name 45)
• Author in text
  As Smith argues, "direct quote" (45).
  Page number always required in parenthetical citation.

Reference List

• Journal article
  Smith, John A., and Barbara C. Jones. "Article Title." Journal of Research, vol. 14, no. 2, 2023, pp. 45–67. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.1234/jr.2023.14.
• Book
  Smith, John A. Title of the Book. 2nd ed., Publisher, 2023.
• Website
  Smith, John A. "Webpage Title." Site Name, 1 Apr. 2023, www.example.com/page. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.

Key Rules

• Page numbers: Required in every parenthetical citation.
• Works Cited vs. Bibliography: MLA uses Works Cited (only sources cited).
• Containers: MLA 9 uses "container" logic — journal is the container for an article.
• "Accessed" date: Required for online sources.
• No comma: between author and page number: (Smith 45) not (Smith, 45).

In-Text Citations

• Superscript
  As previously reported,¹ the incidence…
• Parenthetical
  As previously reported (1), the incidence…
• Multiple
  Several studies¹⁻³ have confirmed…
  Numbers in order of first appearance. Same number reused for repeat citations.

Reference List

• Journal article
  1. Smith JA, Jones BC. Article title. J Res. 2023;14(2):45-67. doi: 10.1234/jr.2023.14
• Book
  2. Smith JA. Title of the Book. 2nd ed. Publisher; 2023.
• Book chapter
  3. Smith JA. Chapter title. In: Jones BC, editor. Book Title. Publisher; 2023. p. 45-67.
• Website
  4. Smith JA. Title of webpage [Internet]. Site Name; 2023 [cited 2026 Apr 8]. Available from: https://www.example.com

Key Rules

• Author names: Surname first, then initials without punctuation (Smith JA).
• Journal abbreviations: Use NLM (PubMed) abbreviations.
• 6 or fewer authors: List all; 7+: list first 6 then "et al."
• Volume(Issue): 14(2) — no space between volume and issue.
• Page range: Abbreviated form: 45-67 (not pp. 45–67).

In-Text Citations

• Single author
  (Smith 2023) or Smith (2023)
• Two authors
  (Smith and Jones 2023)
  Harvard uses "and" — not "&" like APA.
• 3+ authors
  (Smith, Jones and Brown 2023) then (Smith et al. 2023)
  Spell out all three on first use; et al. thereafter.
• Direct quote
  (Smith 2023, p. 45)
  Page number with "p." (single) or "pp." (range).

Reference List

• Journal article
  Smith, J.A. and Jones, B.C. (2023) 'Article title', Journal of Research, 14(2), pp. 45–67. doi: 10.1234/jr.2023.14.
• Book
  Smith, J.A. (2023) Title of the Book. 2nd edn. London: Publisher.
• Website
  Smith, J.A. (2023) Title of webpage. Available at: https://www.example.com (Accessed: 8 April 2026).

Key Rules

• "and" not "&": Harvard uses "and" in both text and reference list.
• Single quotes: Article and chapter titles in single quotes (not italics).
• Book titles: Italicised.
• Date of access: Required for all online sources.
• Edition: "2nd edn." (not "2nd ed." as in APA).

Use APA 7 for all new manuscripts — it is the current standard. APA 6 is required only when a journal explicitly specifies it.

In-Text Citations

• Single author
  (Smith, 2015)
• Two authors
  (Smith & Jones, 2015)
• 3–5 authors (first use)
  (Smith, Jones, Brown, Davis, & Miller, 2015)
• 3–5 authors (subsequent)
  (Smith et al., 2015)
• 6+ authors
  (Smith et al., 2015) — from first use

Reference List

• Difference summary
  APA 6 requires publisher city, "doi: 10.xxxx" format (no https), and lists all authors up to 5 on first use. APA 7 abbreviates to et al. from first use.

Key Rules

• Authors (3+): APA 6 = all listed first use; APA 7 = et al. from first use.
• DOI format: APA 6 = doi: 10.xxxx; APA 7 = https://doi.org/10.xxxx.
• Publisher location: APA 6 required; APA 7 omits.
• Running head: APA 6 = all manuscripts; APA 7 = only submission manuscripts.
• URLs: APA 6 = "Retrieved from https://…"; APA 7 = bare URL.

Turabian is essentially a student-friendly adaptation of the Chicago Manual of Style.

In-Text Citations

• Notes-Bibliography (humanities)
  Follow Chicago footnote format (see Chicago 17 above).
• Author-Date (sciences)
  (Smith 2023, 45)

Reference List

• Quick reference
  Use Chicago 17 citation format for all source types — Turabian is a student-friendly adaptation with simplified manuscript-preparation rules.

Key Rules

• Title page: Turabian = simplified format specified; Chicago = publisher/journal specific.
• Running head: Not required in Turabian; may be required in Chicago.
• Margins: 1 inch (2.54 cm) all sides.
• Line spacing: Double throughout.
• Footnotes: Single-spaced, one line space between footnotes.
• Bibliography: Hanging indent 0.5 in; alphabetical by surname.
• Page numbers: Top right or bottom centre; Roman numerals for front matter.