Bibliographies and citations

Citing sources of information

The primary purpose of listing sources of information is to help readers go directly to that source. Hence, if the reference lacks sufficient detail to locate the source, it fails to meet its purpose. Simply acknowledging that the information or art comes from another source is inadequate.

If you need to cite a source in documentation, follow the examples listed here. If there are only a small number of citations in the document, you can use documentary notes (footnote citations) instead.

Note

Doxical recommends the Harvard-style documentary note (footnote) and author-date methods of citation for technical and business documents. However, contributors to journals and other technical publications should always check with the publisher.

Refer to the following sections for details and examples for citing different types of documents.

Terminology

Citation. This is what appears in your text. It can cite another document directly or an entry in a bibliography by its author and date or it can point to a footnote or endnote.

Reference. The entry in the bibliography or references section that a citation refers to. Entries are ordered by author and date.

Documentary note. Instead of a bibliography, documents can be cited with a footnote. The footnote serves the same purpose as the bibliographic reference, but the format is slightly different.

Cross-reference. A reference to a part in the same document.

Citation methods

Citations in the text should appear either as a documentary note (see Documentary note guidelines) or, if the citation is to a reference in your bibliography (or “References” section), cite and reference by author-date (see Citing by author-date and Formatting references). If no author is available, cite the title of the document (see Citing titles and document details in text).

Do not mix citation methods in the same document. All citations must be either to footnotes or to a references section, but not both.

Where the citation is part of a titled or captioned figure or table, refer to Credits and permissions.

Citing by author-date

Note

Ensure that each citation is unique and precise.

Author and date

• If the citation is run into text, use Author (Year). If set off from the text, use (Author Year).

• Add an enumerator to make the reference unique, if required.

• For a single author, show the author’s last name without initials. For two authors, show last names separated with &. For three or more authors, separate first and second with a comma and the last with &. For four or more authors, show first author’s last name followed by et al.

• For multiple sources, order alphabetically and separate with semicolons.

• For company reports, provide the information necessary to make the reference unique, with an enumerator, if required. The author in the citation can be abbreviated if the reference is clear. For example, it’s okay to use (AER 2011c) to cite a reference to a publication of the Australian Energy Regulator if the acronym AER has been defined earlier in the text. The full name is, however, always shown in the reference. For examples, see Referencing company reports and unpublished reports.

• When a citation is repeated, do not use the abbreviations op. cit. (the work already cited) or loc. cit. (the passage already cited). Instead, repeat the citation (Author Date).

Details

• Separate details from author and date with a comma, as in (Author Date, Details) or Author (Date, Details). Separate additional details with commas, as in Marks (2008, fig. 6, p. 57).

• When specifying locations in a cited document, always use standard abbreviations, as listed in Bibliographic abbreviations. Take care to apply full stops correctly, as in et al., pp., and para.

• When run into text, spell out the detail without capitalization—for example, ...Ng & Federici (2010) list the probable sources in section 3.4 “Sources of Contamination”...or...Ng & Federici (2010, s. 3.4) list the probable sources...

Note

Only capitalize cross-references to parts of your own document.

One author

Grice (1980)

(Wozniak 1968)

Shi (1993b, p. 88)

Thomas (2009, fig. 6)

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Multiple authors

Jackson & Shi (1995)

Barton, Lien & Lunde (1974)

(Babcock et al. 2004c)

(Newman & Collins 2008, pp. 183–7)

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Multiple sources

...various authors (Cady 1980; Clark & Schmidt 1993; Emerson 1979)...

Formatting references

References to sources are provided in a bibliography or references section in the back matter.

Note

Always err on too much rather than too little information.

Order

• Order references alphabetically by the last name of the first author or company name, then by the last names of additional authors (in order of appearance), then by date (n.d. first then earliest to latest for the same authors), and then by enumerator (a, b, c, etc.).

• Order company names by their full name and titles of anonymous works in the same way. That is, “Andrews, B 2009” before “An anthology of Western Samoa, no author” before “Australian Geological Society 2003...(AGS)”.

• Ignore special characters and URL prefixes, such as @, #, http:// and www. Order websites by their domain name. For example, @doxical is ordered as “doxical” and www.wikipedia.com is ordered as “wikipedia”.

• Ignore definite articles at the beginning of a title and order by the word following—for example, the anonymous work titled “The top-10 reasons why...” is ordered by “top-10...”.

Authors

• Author’s initials follow the author’s first name, separated by a comma. Initials do not have full stops or spaces.

• Separate multiple authors with commas except the last, which is preceded by an ampersand (&).

• When a work or author is repeated, do not use the abbreviations id. (the same author) or ibid. (the same work). Instead, repeat the details.

• If no author is available, cite and reference by the document title (see Citing titles and document details in text). Do not cite the author as anon. but include “no author” in the reference details (see Undated or anonymous works).

• If a company report, the company that produced the report is the author. Show contributors in the details, if relevant. Spell out company names even when abbreviated in the citation.

Year of publication

• The year of publication follows the authors without comma.

• If there are multiple references for the same author or authors in the same year, add an alphabetical enumerator to the year of publication without space. If the enumerator follows text (instead of a numerical year), enclose with square brackets.

Title

• Titles of articles, chapters, and unpublished reports are sentence-style, enclosed with double quotation marks.

• Published titles of books, journals, and newspapers are italic (see Italic or quotation marks?) in sentence-style.

Details of publication

• Separate details with commas and end each reference with a period.

• Always use standard abbreviations, as listed in Bibliographic abbreviations.

• Include the work’s LCCN (Library of Congress Catalog Card Number), ISBN (International Standard Book Number), or other international catalogue reference, if known.

Formatting documentary notes

The format of documentary notes (footnote citations) differs slightly from references. In a documentary note, the date is part of the details of publication and the authors’ initials are placed before their names. The guidelines for formatting documentary notes are otherwise the same as bibliographic references.

Undated or anonymous works

If no date is available, use the abbreviation n.d. in both the citation and the reference. If the author is unknown or unavailable, cite and reference by its title (see Citing titles and document details in text).

If an enumerator is required (multiple undated references for the same author), enclose with square brackets.

No date, as a reference

[cite as] AMC (n.d.)

[reference] AMC Consultants Pty Ltd n.d., “Optimizing development schedules in underground mines”, …

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No date, as a documentary note  

[cite as AMC¹]

[documentary note] 1. AMC Consultants Pty Ltd, “Optimizing development schedules in underground mines”, n.d., ...

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No author, as a documentary note

[cite as] ...the whitepaper “Gas Transportation Options”¹ presents...

[documentary note] 1. “Gas Transportation Options”, no author, June 2010, ...

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No author, no date

[cite as] ...the whitepaper “Gas Transportation Options” (n.d.) presents...

[reference] “Gas Transportation Options” n.d., no author, available <...>, …

Italic or quotation marks?

In general text, indicate when a document is published (in print or electronically) by italicizing the title. The titles of unpublished works (such as internal reports and letters), including reports that have been circulated to persons outside your organization (but are not otherwise available to the public), are enclosed with double quotation marks.

Only the title that appears on the front cover of the publication is italicized. Enclose all other titles, headings, and text cited from within the document with double quotation marks—for example, the title of an article is in quotation marks, but the title of the journal that contains it is in italic.

If citing a page on a website, the page heading or title is enclosed in double quotation marks.

Reference the whole and then cite the specific

The reference in the bibliography is usually to the entire document, not a specific page, chapter, or appendix. This additional detail can be provided when citing in text. In this way, a single reference can be used many times in the text. For example, you might cite a specific figure in a referenced source as (Williamson 2003, fig. 8, p. 12) and then go on to cite an appendix in the same source as (Williamson 2003, app. B).

When repeating a citation in the text, do not use the abbreviations op. cit. (the work already cited) or loc. cit. (the passage already cited). Instead repeat the citation (author-date).

Citing titles and document details in text

In general, avoid citing titles directly in your text. Instead, use a descriptive label (it’s more helpful to the reader) and cite the source in a reference or documentary note. Do not include document details in the text: that’s what the reference or documentary note is for. If a section or chapter heading is quoted, enclose the exact heading text sentence-style with double quotation marks.

Cite with a descriptive label

...refer to the services contract⁸ for…

...refer to section 3.4 “Obligations of contractor” in the Ventia services contract⁸ for...

...the contractor’s obligations are listed in the services contract (Ventia 2021, s. 3.4)...

Avoid

…refer to section 3.4 “Obligations of contractor” in TUA-SP-23810A Ventia Services Contract No. 23810, 19 December 2021 for…

Referencing books, printed articles, and conference papers

Note

Show all titles and headings in sentence-case, regardless of how they appear in the source.

Books

The following paragraphs list the order and punctuation for each element in the reference to a book.

[reference] Authors Year, Title: subtitle, additional information about the work, edition number, date, facts of publication.

[documentary note] n. Authors, Title: subtitle, additional information about the work, edition number, date, facts of publication.

Books

[cite as] Press et al. (1992)
[reference] Press, WH, Teukolsky, SA, Vetterling, WT & Flannery, BP 1992, Numerical recipes in Fortran: the art of scientific computing, 2nd edn, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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[cite as] …numerical method³…

[documentary note] 3. WH Press, SA Teukolsky, WT Vetterling & BP Flannery, Numerical recipes in Fortran: the art of scientific computing, 2nd edn, 1992, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

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[cite as] Li & Crane (1996)
[reference] Li, X & Crane, NB 1996, A handbook for citing technical information, rev. ed. Medford, NJ, Information Today.

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[cite as] Gradshteyn & Ryzhiz (1965)
[reference] Gradshteyn, IS & Ryzhik, IM 1965, Table of integrals, series and products, 5th edn, Academic Press, New York.

Printed articles

The following paragraphs list the order and punctuation for each element in the reference to a printed article.

[reference] Authors Year, “Title of article”, Title of periodical, volume and issue number, date, page numbers.

[documentary note] n. Authors, “Title of article”, Title of periodical, volume and issue number, date, page numbers.

Printed magazine and journal articles

[cite as] Tolwinski (1996)

[reference] Tolwinski, B 1996, “Application of dynamic programming to long-term scheduling of electrical power”, Energy Monthly, May 1996, pp. 266–9.

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[cite as] …described by Tolwinski²…

[documentary note] 2. B Tolwinski, “Application of dynamic programming to long-term scheduling of electrical power”, Energy Monthly, May 1996, pp. 266–9.

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[cite as] Earle, Berry & Williams (2004)

[reference] Earle, R, Berry, RC & Williams, FC 2004, “Optimizing long-term benefits in a short-term energy market”, Journal of the Society for Engineers, 43, May 2004, pp. 146–156.

Conference papers

Cite the proceedings, not the event. The format of published papers is the same as printed articles: the title on the published volume is the “title of periodical”, the title of the paper is the “title of article”, and the date is the date of the event.

Conference papers

[cite as] …techniques for maximizing recovery (Joseph & Klan 2012)…

[reference] Joseph, JM & Klan, KK 2012, "Maximizing recovery in advance undercut panel caves", Proceedings of the Fifteenth Panel Caving Conference, CIM Technical Series 183, Kamloops BC, December 2012, pp. 230–242.

Referencing company reports and unpublished reports

Company reports

In general, the company that produced the report is the author. Details of editors and contributors can be shown in other reference information, if relevant.

Note

If it adds value to the report, the name of the main contributor can be referred to in text. But always cite the company as author—for example, “...in his latest assessment, Tanaka (PWC 2003b) asserts...” In this example, Tanaka’s name adds weight to the authority of the report. But, in most cases, the company name is used throughout.

Provide the full company name in the reference, even if the citation is abbreviated. The abbreviation can, however, be used in the document details.

If the document is available electronically, provide the URL as a detail (see Referencing electronic documents). Otherwise, provide sufficient information for the reader to locate the source.

If the source is a government body or a recognized institute, only limited information needs to be provided about its location (city and country should suffice). If the source is a private company, include the company’s web <URL> or street address.

Indicate if the availability of the document is restricted in any way by adding “confidential report” or “restricted availability” or “private communication” or “available on request to <someone@domain.com>” or similar. If the document is not available to the reader, no location details are required.

The following paragraphs list the order and punctuation for each element in the reference to a company report.

[reference] Company name Year[enumerator, if required], “Title: subtitle”, version number or reference information such as contributors’ names, date or document no. (if required), available (such as company address).

[documentary note] n. Company name, “Title: subtitle”, version number or reference information such as contributors’ names, date or document no. (if required), available (such as company address).

Company reports and publications

[cite as] Green Energy Ltd (2010)

[reference] Green Energy Ltd 2010, Smart meters: planning for the future, pamphlet, available Green Energy Ltd, 88 George Street, Sydney, Australia.

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[documentary note] 2. Green Energy Ltd, Smart meters: planning for the future, pamphlet, April 2010, available Green Energy Ltd, 88 George Street, Sydney, Australia.

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[cite as] AEMO (2010c)

[reference] Australian Energy Market Operator Ltd 2010c, “Single industry spokesperson protocol”, ver. 2.1, doc. no. 288301, available AEMO <http://www.aemo.com.au>.

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[documentary note] 3. Australian Energy Regulator Ltd, “Stakeholder engagement policy and procedure”, rev. September 2009, available AER, Canberra, Australia.

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[documentary note] 1. GW Andersch, “Review of publically available data on gold mining in Vietnam”, confidential unpublished report, n.d.

Unpublished presentations

For presentations with no published volume, the conference (or meeting) name is a publication detail (no italic) and the title of the presentation is the title (double quotation marks, normal text, sentence-style).

Presentations

Joseph, JM 2012, "Maximizing recovery in advance undercut panel caves", unpublished paper presented at CIM Kamloops Branch Industry Night, 12 December 2012, PDF available on request to <josephjm@minimeco.com>.

Referencing electronic documents

When referencing an electronic report, such as a PDF, use the title of the document (not the file name) in the reference or documentary note. Provide the file name as a detail. Enclose URLs and file names in angle brackets < >.

If the document is untitled (a spreadsheet or data file, for example), then provide a descriptive label (see Files cited as a data source) and omit the bibliographic reference altogether.

References to electronic information have the same intent and format as printed material. That is, they follow the same general order of information such as author, date and title, but that information is followed by information such as the commercial supplier (if from an information service), the medium of availability (such as CD-ROM) or the internet address, and the date accessed, if relevant.

The important thing is to give enough information so that the reader can find the source. Use lower case for email or other log-in names or follow the protocol of the email service provider.

Availability and date viewed

When referencing documents available on a website, always provide the full URL, enclosed by angle brackets < >, and date viewed. These references can be complex and lengthy. In such cases, you can also provide a navigation path, which helps the reader to locate the page from the site home page without typing in a long URL. Enclose the navigation path in parentheses after the URL and separate elements with colons. But the URL must still be provided, regardless. Unfortunately, both methods are unreliable—they can change as the site is redeveloped.

See examples below for the formats of citing CD-ROMs, programs, discussion lists, downloadable files, emails, and web pages.

CD-ROMs and computer programs

[cite as] ABS (2009)

[reference] Australian Bureau of Statistics 2009, “2008 Data Resource”, CD-ROM, Oracle database tables, ABS, Canberra.

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[cite as] (Western Power 2010b)

[reference] Western Power Ltd 2010b, “Budget 2010–11”, CD-ROM, <as_2010-11_budj.xls>, Microsoft Excel worksheet, restricted availability.

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[cite as] 2010–11 budget²

[documentary note] 2. Western Power Ltd, “Budget 2010–11”, CD-ROM, <as_2010-11_budj.xls>, Microsoft Excel worksheet, restricted availability.

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[where the CD-ROM is provided as an appendix to a report, cite the appendix as a detail]

[cite as] AMC (2009, app. B, CD-ROM)]

[reference] AMC Consultants Pty Ltd 2009, “Sierra Verde Mine Resource Model”, 18 September 2009, AMC, Level 19, 114 William St, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.

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[cite as] …measured in kilometre-tonnes (MICL 2007)…

[reference] Mineral Industries Computing Limited 2007, NPV Scheduler ver. 3.2, help topic: “Haulage analysis: Optimizing production schedules”, available <http://www.datamine.co.uk/library/NPVS/Index.html>, viewed September 2012.

Note

The availability and internet address of online materials is notoriously unreliable. Always state the date the material was last accessed in the form “available <URL>, viewed date”.

Internet sites

[cite as] (AEMO 2013f)

[reference] Australian Energy Market Operator Ltd 2013f, Single Industry Spokesperson Protocol, ver. 8, doc. no. 288301, 27 pp., available <http://aemo.com.au/public/450133.pdf>, viewed 5 February 2010.

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[documentary note] 3. Australian Energy Market Operator Ltd, “Declared wholesale gas market guides & forms”, available <http://www.aemo.com.au/vicwholesalegas/vicguidesforms.html> (Home:Gas:Victorian Wholesale Market:Guides and Forms), viewed 5 January 2012.

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Discussion lists, blogs

[cite as] (@doxical 2007)]

[reference, order as “doxical”] @doxical 2007, “Choosing the right word”, online microblog posting, posted 11 August 2007, available <http://doxical.com>, free online registration, viewed 12 August 2007.

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Files

[cite as] …Instinctive Learning System (ILS)²…

[as a documentary note] 2. doxical.com, Instinctive Learning System, 32 pp., available <http://doxical.com/ils/instinctive_learning.pdf>, viewed 18 September 2008.

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Emails

[cite as] “Someone (2006)”]

[reference] Someone, J <jack@uvexpress.com> 2006, “Contract W10-2450”, 5 March 2006, email to Nancy Someoneesle <nancy@doxical.com>.

[documentary note] 4. J Someone <jack@uvexpress.com>, “Contract W10-2450”, 5 March 2006, email, private communication, attach. <W10-2450.pdf>.

Important

Never disclose email addresses without the owner’s permission.

Files cited as a data source

Where a file is cited as a data source, it should be cited in the text as a descriptive label (e.g. 2018 Mining Inventory) with the details, including the file name, placed in a footnote. Do not provide the file name in text. If there are several files, place the file names and their descriptions in a table. If neither of these is possible (and only as a last resort), quote the file name in text and enclose with double quotation marks.

It is always good practice, particularly in reviews and audits, to include a “Sources of Information” section early in your document. Rather than describing your data sources throughout the report, place all the sources in a single table for ease of reference.

Later in the text, refer to the file by its description (the “2010 production schedule”, for example) rather than the file name. If necessary, you can reference the original footnote.

If the data files are included with the document as a CD-ROM appendix (see Referencing electronic documents), summarize and describe the files in text, as above, but reference the appendix instead.

Examples

Descriptive label

[cite as] The 2011 resource model was supplied in Datamine format.³

[footnote] 3. Andigenous Mining, “adj_FQ2011_final.dm”, Datamine block model, 20 May 2011.

[later in document] AMC considers that the 2011 resource model (see note 3) is representative of...

Multiple files

The data files supplied by Androgenous Resources are listed in Section 1.3 “Sources of information”.

The 2010 production schedule (see Table 3) indicates...

Note

Suggested column headings for table include Label, File name, Date, Format, and Description. Use the label when discussed later in the text and cross-reference the table.

Citing acts, ordinances, bills, and regulations

The following paragraphs list the order and punctuation for each element in the citation of an act of parliament or regulation. Only acts and ordinances, including the year, are shown in italic. Regulations and bills (effectively, an unpublished act) are shown in normal type. The parentheses, jurisdiction, and section or rule reference are in normal type. The citation must include at least the title, year, and jurisdiction.

Title of act Year (Jurisdiction) s. Section(...)(...)(...) [as required]

Title of regulation Year (Jurisdiction) r. Rule(...)(...)(...) [as required]

The abbreviation for Commonwealth is Cth. Treat Australian and overseas jurisdictions in the same manner but follow the local convention for abbreviating section and paragraph references.

When run into text, spell out the detail without capitalization—for example, “... part B, section 3(b)(ii) of the Environment Effects Act 1978 sets out...” or “...the Environment Effects Act 1978 pt B, s. 3(b)(ii) sets out...”

If details contain parentheses, avoid setting off from the text. If unavoidable (for consistency, for example), enclose the set-off with parentheses, abbreviate the detail, and change the inside parentheses to brackets—for example, “Mandatory reporting (s. 5[c][iv])” but prefer “Mandatory reporting: section 5(c)(iv)”.

Note

Only capitalize cross-references to parts of your own document.

Acts and regulations

Natural Gas Transportation Act 2009 (Cth)

Natural Gas Transportation Act 2009 (Cth) s. 9(1)(b)(iii)

Mine Rehabilitation Act 2003 (NSW) ss. 9–11

Territorial Land Act 1958 (Nevada)

Mineral Exploration Regulations 1973 (Tas.) r. 4(3)

Citing case law

The following paragraph lists the order and punctuation for each element in the citation of case law. Only the name of the case is shown in italic. The citation must include the case, year, case report, and first page number. The court and referenced page are optional. The court is sometimes included to demonstrate the level of judgement.

Applicant v. Respondent (Year) Volume number Case report First page number at Page (Court).

Case law

McMahon v. Westmin Limited (2012) 138 CLR 551 (SC).

Devine v. The Queen (2002) VR 551 at 572.

The conventions for case law are extensive and use specific abbreviations for court reports and courts. Refer to Laying Down the Law (Morris et al. 1992) for a complete list of the formats and abbreviations.