bibliography in thesis writing

How to Write a Thesis Bibliography: A Step-by-Step Guide

Writing a thesis bibliography can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with the process. however, with a step-by-step guide, you can navigate through this essential part of your thesis with ease. in this blog post, we will walk you through the process of writing a thesis bibliography, ensuring that your sources are appropriately cited..

What is a Thesis Bibliography?

A thesis bibliography is a list of all the sources you have cited or referenced in your thesis. It includes all the books, articles, research papers, websites, and any other resources you have used to support your research and arguments. The purpose of a bibliography is to give credit to the original authors and allow readers to locate the sources you have used.

Why is a Thesis Bibliography Important?

A thesis bibliography serves several important purposes:

• It demonstrates the depth of your research and shows the credibility of your thesis.
• It allows readers to verify your research and delve deeper into the sources you have used.
• It helps you avoid plagiarism by providing a clear list of the sources you have consulted.
• It showcases your academic integrity and commitment to acknowledging the work of others.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Thesis Bibliography

Now, let’s dive into the step-by-step process of writing a thesis bibliography:

Step 1: Understand the Citation Style Guidelines

Before you begin compiling your bibliography, familiarize yourself with the citation style required by your university or department. Common citation styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Each style has specific formatting guidelines for different types of sources, such as books, journal articles, and websites. Make sure to follow the guidelines consistently throughout your bibliography.

Step 2: Collect and Organize Your Sources

Gather all the sources you have referenced or cited in your thesis. Make a list of books, articles, webpages, and any other relevant sources. Organize them in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name or the title of the source.

Step 3: Format Your Bibliography Entries

When formatting each entry in your bibliography, keep the following in mind:

• Book: Include the author’s name, publication year, title, place of publication, and publisher.
• Journal Article: Include the author’s name, publication year, article title, journal name, volume number, issue number, and page range.
• Website: Include the author’s name (if available), publication or last updated date, title of the webpage, URL, and the date you accessed the website.

Step 4: Verify Your Information

Double-check all the information in your bibliography entries to ensure accuracy. Pay close attention to spelling, punctuation, and formatting. Use reliable sources or citation generators to confirm the correct citation format for each source.

Step 5: Apply Consistent Formatting

Make sure your bibliography entries adhere to the formatting guidelines specified by your citation style. Consistency in formatting is crucial for the professional presentation of your thesis.

Step 6: Proofread

Once you have completed your bibliography, take the time to proofread it. Look for any typographical errors, missing information, or incorrect formatting. A well-organized and error-free bibliography adds to the professionalism of your thesis.

Writing a thesis bibliography doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following this step-by-step guide, you can accurately list and cite all your sources, ensuring your thesis is well-supported and authoritative. Remember to always abide by the citation guidelines provided by your university or department, as they may have specific requirements. A meticulously crafted thesis bibliography adds credibility to your work and demonstrates your commitment to scholarly research.

For more assistance, feel free to consult your university’s writing center or reach out to your thesis advisor for guidance.

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How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

Do not try to “wow” your instructor with a long bibliography when your instructor requests only a works cited page. It is tempting, after doing a lot of work to research a paper, to try to include summaries on each source as you write your paper so that your instructor appreciates how much work you did. That is a trap you want to avoid. MLA style, the one that is most commonly followed in high schools and university writing courses, dictates that you include only the works you actually cited in your paper—not all those that you used.

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• If your assignment calls for a bibliography, list all the sources you consulted in your research.
• If your assignment calls for a works cited or references page, include only the sources you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or mention in your paper.
• If your works cited page includes a source that you did not cite in your paper, delete it.
• All in-text citations that you used at the end of quotations, summaries, and paraphrases to credit others for their ideas,words, and work must be accompanied by a cited reference in the bibliography or works cited. These references must include specific information about the source so that your readers can identify precisely where the information came from.The citation entries on a works cited page typically include the author’s name, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the name of the publisher (for books), where it was published (for books), and when it was published.

The good news is that you do not have to memorize all the many ways the works cited entries should be written. Numerous helpful style guides are available to show you the information that should be included, in what order it should appear, and how to format it. The format often differs according to the style guide you are using. The Modern Language Association (MLA) follows a particular style that is a bit different from APA (American Psychological Association) style, and both are somewhat different from the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Always ask your teacher which style you should use.

A bibliography usually appears at the end of a paper on its own separate page. All bibliography entries—books, periodicals, Web sites, and nontext sources such radio broadcasts—are listed together in alphabetical order. Books and articles are alphabetized by the author’s last name.

Most teachers suggest that you follow a standard style for listing different types of sources. If your teacher asks you to use a different form, however, follow his or her instructions. Take pride in your bibliography. It represents some of the most important work you’ve done for your research paper—and using proper form shows that you are a serious and careful researcher.

Bibliography Entry for a Book

A bibliography entry for a book begins with the author’s name, which is written in this order: last name, comma, first name, period. After the author’s name comes the title of the book. If you are handwriting your bibliography, underline each title. If you are working on a computer, put the book title in italicized type. Be sure to capitalize the words in the title correctly, exactly as they are written in the book itself. Following the title is the city where the book was published, followed by a colon, the name of the publisher, a comma, the date published, and a period. Here is an example:

Format : Author’s last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.

• A book with one author : Hartz, Paula.  Abortion: A Doctor’s Perspective, a Woman’s Dilemma . New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
• A book with two or more authors : Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon.  Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?  New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Bibliography Entry for a Periodical

A bibliography entry for a periodical differs slightly in form from a bibliography entry for a book. For a magazine article, start with the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name and a period. Next, write the title of the article in quotation marks, and include a period (or other closing punctuation) inside the closing quotation mark. The title of the magazine is next, underlined or in italic type, depending on whether you are handwriting or using a computer, followed by a period. The date and year, followed by a colon and the pages on which the article appeared, come last. Here is an example:

Format:  Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.

• Article in a monthly magazine : Crowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.P. Quinn.“Seven Deadly Half-Truths About Women.”  Psychology Today  March 1978: 94–106.
• Article in a weekly magazine : Schwartz, Felice N.“Management,Women, and the New Facts of Life.”  Newsweek  20 July 2006: 21–22.
• Signed newspaper article : Ferraro, Susan. “In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm.”  The Daily News  30 June 1998: 73.
• Unsigned newspaper article : “Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg.”  Chicago Tribune  21 June 2004: 12.

Bibliography Entry for a Web Site

For sources such as Web sites include the information a reader needs to find the source or to know where and when you found it. Always begin with the last name of the author, broadcaster, person you interviewed, and so on. Here is an example of a bibliography for a Web site:

Format : Author.“Document Title.” Publication or Web site title. Date of publication. Date of access.

Example : Dodman, Dr. Nicholas. “Dog-Human Communication.”  Pet Place . 10 November 2006.  23 January 2014 < http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dog-human-communication-2/page1.aspx >

After completing the bibliography you can breathe a huge sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back. You probably plan to turn in your work in printed or handwritten form, but you also may be making an oral presentation. However you plan to present your paper, do your best to show it in its best light. You’ve put a great deal of work and thought into this assignment, so you want your paper to look and sound its best. You’ve completed your research paper!

Back to  How To Write A Research Paper .

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Thesis Preparation: Bibliography & Referencing

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What is a bibliography

A bibliography, sometimes known as a “Reference List” is a list of all of the sources you have used (whether referenced or not) in the process of researching your work. In general, a bibliography should include:

• the authors' names
• the titles of the works
• the names of the publishers who published your sources and where they were published.
• the dates your sources were published
• the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

When preparing your thesis, be aware of rules around using copyright restricted material in your submission. The library can advise you on these matters and in relation specifically to publishing and necessary embargoes that should be considered when you prepare your final document.

What is EndNote Online?

EndNote Online  (formerly called EndNote Web) is available to all UL staff and students. It allows you to access your EndNote library from any PC with an Internet connection, to create bibliographies in Word and to share your library with group members.

Creating an EndNote Online account

When you first access EndNote Online you  MUST Register. Please follow the instruction in the box opposite to ensure you register for EndNote Online correctly. If you do not register correctly you will not  be able to access the Harvard UL referencing style.

Once you have created your account you will be able to use EndNote from anywhere once you have a PC with Internet access. 

EndNote Online Cite While You Write plug-in for Word

To download the Cite While You Write (CWYW) plug-in for Microsoft Word go to the  Downloads tab  in EndNote Online.

If you experience any difficulties installing the EndNote CWYW plug-in, you can download and install this  alternative version .

Cite it Right; an introduction to Referencing

Cite It Right 4th Edition

The Glucksman Library wrote a guide called Cite it Right: Guide to Harvard Referencing Style . To access the 4th edition of  Cite It Right go to  https://libguides.ul.ie/citeitright . A PDF version of the 4th edition can be accessed below:

• Cite It Right 4th Edition - Print optimised version This version of the Cite It Right 4th edition has been optimised for printing. For best results and to only use 13 sheets of paper: Print 2 pages per sheet; Print page border; Print on both sides of paper (i.e. double-sided); Flip on short edge.

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Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

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Harvard Guide to Using Sources 

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• Bibliography

If you are using Chicago style footnotes or endnotes, you should include a bibliography at the end of your paper that provides complete citation information for all of the sources you cite in your paper. Bibliography entries are formatted differently from notes. For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines. Here’s a link to a sample bibliography that shows layout and spacing . You can find a sample of note format here .

Complete note vs. shortened note

Here’s an example of a complete note and a shortened version of a note for a book:

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated , 27-35.

Note vs. Bibliography entry

The bibliography entry that corresponds with each note is very similar to the longer version of the note, except that the author’s last and first name are reversed in the bibliography entry. To see differences between note and bibliography entries for different types of sources, check this section of the Chicago Manual of Style .

For Liquidated , the bibliography entry would look like this:

Ho, Karen, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.

Citing a source with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, list their names in your note in the order they appear in the original source. In the bibliography, invert only the name of the first author and use “and” before the last named author.

1. Melissa Borja and Jacob Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 3 (2019): 80-81, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Shortened note:

1. Borja and Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics,” 80-81.

Bibliography:

Borja, Melissa, and Jacob Gibson. “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17. no. 3 (2019): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Citing a source with more than three authors

If you are citing a source with more than three authors, include all of them in the bibliography, but only include the first one in the note, followed by et al. ( et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others”).

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults,” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1271.

Short version of note:

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability,” 1271.

Nagurney, Justine M., Ling Han, Linda Leo‐Summers, Heather G. Allore, Thomas M. Gill, and Ula Hwang. “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults.” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1270–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14088 .

Citing a book consulted online

If you are citing a book you consulted online, you should include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database where you found the book.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35, https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Bibliography entry:

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Citing an e-book consulted outside of a database

If you are citing an e-book that you accessed outside of a database, you should indicate the format. If you read the book in a format without fixed page numbers (like Kindle, for example), you should not include the page numbers that you saw as you read. Instead, include chapter or section numbers, if possible.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), chap. 2, Kindle.

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Kindle.

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Home / Guides / Citation Guides / APA Format / How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

How to Cite a Thesis or Dissertation in APA

In this citation guide, you will learn how to reference and cite an undergraduate thesis, master’s thesis, or doctoral dissertation. This guide will also review the differences between a thesis or dissertation that is published and one that has remained unpublished. The guidelines below come from the 7th edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (2020a), pages 333 and 334. Please note that the association is not affiliated with this guide.

Alternatively, you can visit EasyBib.com for helpful citation tools to cite your thesis or dissertation .

Guide Overview

Citing an unpublished thesis or dissertation, citing a published dissertation or thesis from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database, citing a thesis or dissertation: reference overview, what you need.

Since unpublished theses can usually only be sourced in print form from a university library, the correct citation structure includes the university name where the publisher element usually goes.

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case [Unpublished degree type thesis or dissertation]. Name of institution.

Ames, J. H., & Doughty, L. H. (1911). The proposed plans for the Iowa State College athletic field including the design of a reinforced concrete grandstand and wall [Unpublished bachelor’s thesis]. Iowa State University.

In-text citation example:

• Parenthetical :  (Ames & Doughty, 1911)
• Narrative :  Ames & Doughty (1911)

If a thesis or dissertation has been published and is found on a database, then follow the structure below. It’s similar to the format for an unpublished dissertation/thesis, but with a few differences:

• The institution is presented in brackets after the title
• The archive or database name is included

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year published). Title in sentence case (Publication or Document No.) [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Database name.

Examples 1:

Knight, K. A. (2011). Media epidemics: Viral structures in literature and new media (Accession No. 2013420395) [Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Santa Barbara]. ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

Trotman, J.B. (2018). New insights into the biochemistry and cell biology of RNA recapping (Document No. osu1523896565730483) [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses & Dissertations Center.

In the example given above, the dissertation is presented with a Document Number (Document No.). Sometimes called a database number or publication number, this is the identifier that is used by the database’s indexing system. If the database you are using provides you with such a number, then include it directly after the work’s title in parentheses.

If you are interested in learning more about how to handle works that were accessed via academic research databases, see Section 9.3 of the Publication Manual.

In-text citation examples :

• Parenthetical citation : (Trotman, 2018)
• Narrative citation : Trotman (2018)

Author’s last name, F. M. (Year Published). Title in sentence case [Degree type thesis or dissertation, Name of institution]. Name of archive or collection. URL

Kim, O. (2019). Soviet tableau: cinema and history under late socialism [Doctoral dissertation, University of Pittsburgh]. Institutional Repository at the University of Pittsburgh. https://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/37669/7/Olga%20Kim%20Final%20ETD.pdf

Stiles, T. W. (2001). Doing science: Teachers’ authentic experiences at the Lone Star Dinosaur Field Institute [Master’s thesis, Texas A&M University]. OAKTrust. https://hdl.handle.net/1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2001-THESIS-S745

It is important to note that not every thesis or dissertation published online will be associated with a specific archive or collection. If the work is published on a private website, provide only the URL as the source element.

In-text citation examples:

• Parenthetical citation : (Kim, 2019)
• Narrative citation : Kim (2019)
• Parenthetical citation : (Stiles, 2001)
• Narrative citation : Stiles (2001)

We hope that the information provided here will serve as an effective guide for your research. If you’re looking for even more citation info, visit EasyBib.com for a comprehensive collection of educational materials covering multiple source types.

If you’re citing a variety of different sources, consider taking the EasyBib citation generator for a spin. It can help you cite easily and offers citation forms for several different kinds of sources.

To start things off, let’s take a look at the different types of literature that are classified under Chapter 10.6 of the Publication Manual :

• Undergraduate thesis
• Master’s thesis
• Doctoral dissertation

You will need to know which type you are citing. You’ll also need to know if it is published or unpublished .

When you decide to cite a dissertation or thesis, you’ll need to look for the following information to use in your citation:

• Author’s last name, and first and middle initials
• Year published
• Title of thesis or dissertation
• If it is unpublished
• Publication or document number (if applicable; for published work)
• Degree type (bachelor’s, master’s, doctoral)
• Thesis or dissertation
• Name of institution awarding degree
• DOI (https://doi.org/xxxxx) or URL (if applicable)

Since theses and dissertations are directly linked to educational degrees, it is necessary to list the name of the associated institution; i.e., the college, university, or school that is awarding the associated degree.

To get an idea of the proper form, take a look at the examples below. There are three outlined scenarios:

• Unpublished thesis or dissertation
• Published thesis or dissertation from a database
• Thesis or dissertation published online but not from a database

American Psychological Association. (2020a). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

American Psychological Association. (2020b). Style-Grammar-Guidelines. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/parenthetical-versus-narrative

Published August 10, 2012. Updated March 24, 2020.

Written and edited by Michele Kirschenbaum and Elise Barbeau. Michele Kirschenbaum is a school library media specialist and the in-house librarian at EasyBib.com. Elise Barbeau is the Citation Specialist at Chegg. She has worked in digital marketing, libraries, and publishing.

APA Formatting Guide

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To cite a published thesis in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, publication year, title of the thesis, institute name, archive name, and URL (uniform resource locator). The templates for an in-text citation and reference list entry of a thesis, along with examples, are given below:

In-text citation template and example:

Use the author surname and the publication year in the in-text citation.

Author Surname (Publication Year)

Cartmel (2007)

Parenthetical:

(Author Surname, Publication Year)

(Cartmel, 2007)

Reference list entry template and example:

The title of the thesis is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose the thesis and the institute awarding the degree inside brackets following the publication year. Then add the name of the database followed by the URL.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the thesis [Master’s thesis, Institute Name]. Name of the Database. URL

Cartmel, J. (2007). Outside school hours care and schools [Master’s thesis, Queensland University of Technology]. EPrints. http://eprints.qut.edu.au/17810/1/Jennifer_Cartmel_Thesis.pdf

To cite an unpublished dissertation in APA style, it is important that you know some basic information such as the author, year, title of the dissertation, and institute name. The templates for in-text citation and reference list entry of an online thesis, along with examples, are given below:

Author Surname (Year)

Averill (2009)

(Author Surname, Year)

(Averill, 2009)

The title of the dissertation is set in sentence case and italicized. Enclose “Unpublished doctoral dissertation” inside brackets following the year. Then add the name of the institution awarding the degree.

Author Surname, F. M. (Publication Year). Title of the dissertation [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Name of the Institute.

Averill, R. (2009). Teacher–student relationships in diverse New Zealand year 10 mathematics classrooms: Teacher care [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Victoria University of Wellington.

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How to Write a Bibliography in APA Format

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Emily is a board-certified science editor who has worked with top digital publishing brands like Voices for Biodiversity, Study.com, GoodTherapy, Vox, and Verywell.

• APA Bibliography
• How to Create One
• Why You Need It

Sample Bibliography

An APA format bibliography lists all of the sources that might be used in a paper. A bibliography can be a great tool to help you keep track of information during the research and writing process. In some cases, your instructor may require you to include a bibliography as part of your assignment.

At a Glance

A well-written APA format bibliography can help you keep track of information and sources as you research and write your psychology paper. To create a bibliography, gather up all of the sources that you might use in your paper. Create an APA format reference for each source and then write a brief annotation. Your annotation should be a brief summary of what each reference is about. You can quickly refer to these annotations When writing your paper and determine which to include.

What Is an APA Format Bibliography?

An APA format bibliography is an alphabetical listing of all sources that might be used to write an academic paper, essay, article, or research paper—particularly work that is covering psychology or psychology-related topics. APA format is the official style of the American Psychological Association (APA). This format is used by many psychology professors, students, and researchers.

Even if it is not a required part of your assignment, writing a bibliography can help you keep track of your sources and make it much easier to create your final reference page in proper APA format.

Creating an APA Bibliography

A bibliography is similar in many ways to a reference section , but there are some important differences. While a reference section includes every source that was actually used in your paper, a bibliography may include sources that you considered using but may have dismissed because they were irrelevant or outdated.

Bibliographies can be a great way to keep track of information you might want to use in your paper and to organize the information that you find in different sources. The following are four steps you can follow to create your APA format bibliography.

Start on a New Page

Your working bibliography should be kept separate from the rest of your paper. Start it on a new page, with the title "Bibliography" centered at the top and in bold text. Some people use the title "References" instead, so it's best to check with your professor or instructor about which they prefer you to use.

Gather Your Sources

Compile all the sources you might possibly use in your paper. While you might not use all of these sources in your paper, having a complete list will make it easier later on when you prepare your reference section.

Gathering your sources can be particularly helpful when outlining and writing your paper.

By quickly glancing through your working bibliography, you will be able to get a better idea of which sources will be the most appropriate to support your thesis and main points.

Reference Each Source

Your references should be listed alphabetically by the author’s last name, and they should be double-spaced. The first line of each reference should be flush left, while each additional line of a single reference should be a few spaces to the right of the left margin, which is known as a hanging indent.

The format of each source is as follows for academic journals:

• Last name of first author (followed by their first initial)
• The year the source was published in parentheses
• The title of the source
• The journal that published the source (in italics)
• The volume number, if applicable (in italics)
• The issue number, if applicable
• Page numbers (in parentheses)
• The URL or "doi" in lowercase letters followed by a colon and the doi number, if applicable

The following examples are scholarly articles in academic journals, cited in APA format:

• Kulacaoglu, F., & Kose, S. (2018). Borderline personality disorder (BPD): In the midst of vulnerability, chaos, and awe.  Brain sciences ,  8 (11), 201. doi:10.3390/brainsci8110201
• Cattane, N., Rossi, R., & Lanfredi, M. (2017). Borderline personality disorder and childhood trauma: exploring the affected biological systems and mechanisms.  BMC Psychiatry,   18 (221). doi:10.1186/s12888-017-1383-2

Visit the American Psychological Association's website for more information on citing other types of sources including online media, audiovisual media, and more.

Create an Annotation for Each Source

Normally a bibliography contains only references' information, but in some cases you might decide to create an annotated bibliography. An annotation is a summary or evaluation of the source.

An annotation is a brief description of approximately 150 words describing the information in the source, your evaluation of its credibility, and how it pertains to your topic. Writing one of these for each piece of research will make your writing process faster and easier.

This step helpful in determining which sources to ultimately use in your paper. Your instructor may also require it as part of the assignment so they can assess your thought process and understanding of your topic.

Reasons to Write a Bibliography

One of the biggest reasons to create an APA format bibliography is simply to make the research and writing process easier.

If you do not have a comprehensive list of all of your references, you might find yourself scrambling to figure out where you found certain bits of information that you included in your paper.

A bibliography is also an important tool that your readers can use to access your sources.

While writing an annotated bibliography might not be required for your assignment, it can be a very useful step. The process of writing an annotation helps you learn more about your topic, develop a deeper understanding of the subject, and become better at evaluating various sources of information.

The following is an example of an APA format bibliography by the website EasyBib:

There are many online resources that demonstrate different formats of bibliographies, including the American Psychological Association website . Purdue University's Online Writing Lab also has examples of formatting an APA format bibliography.

Check out this video on their YouTube channel which provides detailed instructions on formatting an APA style bibliography in Microsoft Word.

You can check out the Purdue site for more information on writing an annotated APA bibliography as well.

What This Means For You

If you are taking a psychology class, you may be asked to create a bibliography as part of the research paper writing process. Even if your instructor does not expressly require a bibliography, creating one can be a helpful way to help structure your research and make the writing process more manageable.

For psychology majors , it can be helpful to save any bibliographies you have written throughout your studies so that you can refer back to them later when studying for exams or writing papers for other psychology courses.

American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association . 7th Edition. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2020.

Masic I. The importance of proper citation of references in biomedical articles.   Acta Inform Med . 2013;21(3):148–155. doi:10.5455/aim.2013.21.148-155

American Psychological Association. How do you format a bibliography in APA Style?

Cornell University Library. How to prepare an annotated bibliography: The annotated bibliography .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Writing your Dissertation / Thesis

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• Dissertations and theses
• Bibliographic research and literature review
• Citations and bibliography
• Copyright and plagiarism
• Ask a Librarian

Citation styles

A citation style provides a standardized system to format bibliographic references within the text and in the bibliography at the end of the essay. In particular, the style defines which elements to cite, in what order to cite them and with what punctuation.

There isn’t an official citation style used in Bocconi University. Since there are different citation styles, you will need to choose which one is right for you, taking into account the subject area and what you supervisor might suggest.

Some styles commonly used internationally are:

The APA style is an “author-date” citation system, with the author and date of the cited source appearing in the body of the text. You will need to add a bibliography at the end of the essay, with the full references alphabetically ordered by author’s name. It is mainly used in the social sciences.

The Chicago style uses two systems: "author-date" in the body of the text and bibliography at the end of the paper, or footnotes with bibliography.

To learn more about this style you can visit the official website with tutorials, webinars, examples and exercises accessible for free.

The Harvard style is an “author-date” citation, with the author and date of the cited source appearing in the body of the text. You must include a bibliography at the end of the text, with the full references alphabetically ordered by author’s name. It is used in the social sciences.

To learn more about this style you can visit the dedicated section of the Guides on citation styles prepared by Harvard Library staff.

The MLA style, developed by the Modern language Association, is an “author-page number” citation system appearing in the body of the text. You must include a bibliography at the end of the text, with the full references alphabetically ordered by author’s name. It is used in the social sciences and humanities.

The Oscola style, acronym for Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities, is a citation system using footnotes and bibliography. It is used in law studies.

To learn more about this style you can read:

Faculty of Law, University of Oxford (2012) (ed.). OSCOLA. Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (4. ed.)

OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide

The Bluebook style is a citation system used in the United States in a professional setting to cite legal sources.

To learn more about this style, we suggest you read the manual, in particular the Whitepages section, dedicated to academic citations and the Quick Style Guide where you will find examples of citations from non-US legal sources.

Here are some print books that you can find in the Library:

RefWorks is the bibliographic management tool (citation manager) supported by the Library. It helps you with keeping track of your sources as you search, with citing them correctly and creating a bibliography.

Further information on RefWorks .

Would you like to know more? The Library regularly organizes RefWorks workshops for students. Check the calendar on the yoU@B Student Diary (Library section) and sign up!

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How to Write a Bibliography (MLA, APA Examples)

Learn how to easily write a bibliography by following the format outlined in this article.

This resource will help your students properly cite different resources in the bibliography of a research paper, and how to format those citations, for books, encyclopedias, films, websites, and people.

What is a bibliography?

According to Infoplease.com, A bibliography is a list of the types of sources you used to get information for your report. It is included at the end of your report, on the last page (or last few pages).

What are the types of bibliography styles (MLA, APA, etc.)?

The 3 most common bibliography/citation styles are:

• MLA Style: The Modern Language Association works cited page style
• APA Style: The American Psychological Association style
• Chicago Style: The bibliography style defined by the Chicago Manual of Style

We’ll give examples of how to create bibliography entries in various styles further down in this article. 

What sources do you put in a bibliography?

An annotated bibliography should include a reference list of any sources you use in writing a research paper. Any printed sources from which you use a text citation, including books, websites, newspaper articles, journal articles, academic writing, online sources (such as PDFs), and magazines should be included in a reference list. In some cases, you may need or want to cite conversations or interviews, works of art, visual works such as movies, television shows, or documentaries - these (and many others) can also be included in a reference list.

How to get started writing your bibliography

You will find it easier to prepare your MLA, APA, or Chicago annotated bibliography if you keep track of each book, encyclopedia, journal article, webpage or online source you use as you are reading and taking notes. Start a preliminary, or draft, bibliography by listing on a separate sheet of paper all your sources. Note down the full title, author’s last name, place of publication, web address, publisher, and date of publication for each source.

Haven't started your paper yet and need an outline? These sample essay outlines include a research paper outline from an actual student paper.

How to write a bibliography step-by-step (with examples)

General Format: Author (last name first). Title of the book. Publisher, Date of publication.

MLA Style: Sibley, David Allen. What It’s Like to Be a Bird. From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing, What Birds Are Doing, and Why. Alfred A. Knopf, 2020.

APA Style: Sibley, D.A. (2020). What It’s Like to Be a Bird. From Flying to Nesting, Eating to Singing, What Birds Are Doing, and Why . Alfred A. Knopf.

Notes: Use periods, not commas, to separate the data in the entry. Use a hanging indent if the entry is longer than one line. For APA style, do not use the full author’s first name.

Websites or webpages:

  MLA Style: The SB Nation Family of Sites. Pension Plan Puppets: A Toronto Maple Leafs Blog, 2022, www.pensionplanpuppets.com. Accessed 15 Feb. 2022.

APA Style: American Heart Association. (2022, April 11). How to keep your dog’s heart healthy. https://www.heart.org/en/news/2022/04/11/how-to-keep-your-dogs-heart-healthy

Online news article from a newspaper site:

APA Style: Duehren, A. (2022, April 9). Janet Yellen faces challenge to keep pressure on Russia. Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/janet-yellen-faces-challenge-to-keep-pressure-on-russia-while-addressing-global-consequences-11650366000

Print journal articles:

MLA Style: Booch, Grady. "Patterns in Object-Oriented Design." IEEE Software Engineering, vol. 6, no. 6, 2006, pp. 31-50.

APA Style: Booch, G. (2006). Patterns in object-oriented design. IEEE Software Engineering, 6(6), 31–50.

Note: It is suggested that you include a DOI and a webpage address when referencing either a printed journal article, and electronic journal article, or an journal article that appears in both formats. 

MLA Style: Gamma, Eric, and Peter A. Coad. “Exceptions to the Unified Modeling Language in Python Patterns.” IEEE Software Engineering, vol. 2, no. 6, 8 Mar. 2006, pp. 190-194. O’Reilly Software Engineering Library, https://doi.org/10.1006/se.20061. Accessed 26 May 2009.

APA Style: Masters, H., Barron, J., & Chanda, L. (2017). Motivational interviewing techniques for adolescent populations in substance abuse counseling. NAADAC Notes, 7(8), 7–13. https://www.naadac.com/notes/adolescent-techniques

ML:A Style: @Grady_Booch. “That’s a bold leap over plain old battery power cars.” Twitter, 13 Mar. 2013, 12:06 p.m., https://twitter.com/Grady_Booch/status/1516379006727188483.

APA Style: Westborough Library [@WestboroughLib]. (2022, April 12). Calling all 3rd through 5th grade kids! Join us for the Epic Writing Showdown! Winner receives a prize! Space is limited so register, today. loom.ly/ypaTG9Q [Tweet; thumbnail link to article]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/WestboroughLib/status/1516373550415896588.

Print magazine articles:

General format: Author (last name first), "Article Title." Name of magazine. Volume number, (Date): page numbers.

MLA Style: Stiteler, Sharon. "Tracking Red-Breasted Grosbeak Migration." Minnesota Bird Journal, 7 Sept. 2019, pp. 7-11.

APA Style: Jordan, Jennifer, "Filming at the Top of the World." Museum of Science Magazine. Volume 47, No. 1, (Winter 1998): p. 11.

Print newspaper articles:

General format: Author (last name first), "Article Title." Name of newspaper, city, state of publication. (date): edition if available, section, page number(s).

MLA Style: Adelman, Martin. "Augustus Announces Departure from City Manager Post." New York Times, late ed., 15 February 2020, p. A1

APA Style: Adelman, M. (2020, February 15). Augustus announced departure from city manager post. New York Times, A1.

Encyclopedias:

General Format: Encyclopedia Title, Edition Date. Volume Number, "Article Title," page numbers.

MLA Style: “Gorillas.” The Encyclopedia Brittanica. 15th ed. 2010.

APA Style: Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. (1997.) Gorillas. In The Encyclopedia Brittanica (15th ed., pp. 50-51). Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc.

Personal interviews:

General format: Full name (last name first). Personal Interview. (Occupation.) Date of interview.

MLA Style: Smithfield, Joseph. Personal interview. 19 May 2014.

APA Style: APA does not require a formal citation for a personal interview. Published interviews from other sources should be cited accordingly.

Films and movies:

General format: Title, Director, Distributor, Year.

MLA Style: Fury. Directed by David Ayer, performances by Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Bernthal, Sony Pictures, 2014.

APA Style: Ayer, D. (Director). (2014). Fury [Film]. Sony Pictures.

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2021’s Complete Guide on How to Write a Bibliography?

A bibliography is a well-structured list of all the resources used in the article, thesis, project or other literature. 

In his PhD thesis, John has stated that “BRCA1 is a gene responsible for breast cancer” whereas Mcburthen has stated that the “BRCA gene is a candidate gene cause breast cancer as per WHO research.” 

Which statement do you believe? Mcburthen’s, right! The reason, he said, is what WHO has researched, meaning the information is trustworthy and correct. Authenticity is important in research and academic writing . By doing citations and enlisting a bibliography we can validate our work. 

Bibliography or reference is a key element of PhD writing, PhD thesis, research statement and research paper. It’s indeed a pivotal structural element of the thesis or research work. 

Ideally, a research work- thesis or research paper should have an abstract, introduction, review of literature, material & methods, results & discussion, conclusion and bibliography. 

Many bibliography styles exist in which APA and MLA are the two most popular. Although the structure of the bibliography is as important as other elements of the thesis. 

Put simply, a thesis or PhD thesis is a written draft, an assay or project written in order to gain the utmost academic honor, the PhD. The present article clearly stating the importance and structure of a bibliography, along with that I will also discuss how to write a bibliography in 2021, various formats, style, sample and examples. 

What is a bibliography page?

Bibliography, often known as references, is a structured portion of literature authenticating information and provides navigation to original articles or research.

Usually, it is attached or listed at the end of the article, or on the bottom of the writing. And therefore several last pages of a thesis are considered as bibliography pages.

It isn’t just “work cited.” it is all the relevant material drew upon to write the paper the reader holds. -Tippie College of Business. 

“Copying a book by hand” is the literal meaning of the Greek word “bibliography”, however, citation and bibliography are employed to avoid plagiarism.  

Biblio- “Book”; Graphy “To write”. 

Also known as “work-cited” or “referencing”, the bibliography’s importance is to avoid plagiarism and provide trustworthy/ correct information, We already have given the example above. 

Plagiarism is when someone copy- partially or fully another’s intellectual work such as a book, book chapter, research work, research title, research paper or thesis work. 

Of course, using other researcher’s work in our thesis makes our statement as well as research stronger and it’s required too. But we can use it in a way that strengthens our work and gives credit to the original researcher . 

The only way for that is to mention the original scientists (citing) and providing a navigation way to the work (bibliography). Before leading ahead, please read this information on the difference between a citation and referencing.

Format of bibliography

Noteworthy, the format varies among styles; the basic structure of the bibliography remains the same. 

A typical bibliography page should have information such as the name of the author or authors, the title of the article/book or literature, name of the Journal or publishing house, year and date or publishing, volume and section of the journal and page number. 

Here is the format: 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , Vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.  

Now let’s quickly move to the main part of this article “how to write a bibliography”.

How to write a bibliography? 

To enlist or write a bibliography page, one has to understand many things associated with it. Here we have discussed the important points to write a bibliography. 

Select a style to write

A definite style should have been selected to structurize the bibliography. Commonly used styles are 

• APA- American Psychological Association
• MLA- Modern Language Association  
• Chicago style citation 
• Turabian citation style 

Usually, universities decide which style to use in PhD writing or thesis. APA and MLA are the most popular and common citation and referencing styles among all. 

Understand the format of the bibliography 

It is also important that PhD candidates understand the structure or format of the bibliography. We have explained it above, the typical structure consists of the name of the author or authors, the title of the article/book or literature, name of the Journal or publishing house, year and date or publishing, volume and section of the journal and page number. 

Other information such as version, location and names of other contributors are also mentioned in the format. Now let us understand each element stepwise. 

Author’s name: 

The author’s name or list of author’s names are listed, usually, at the beginning of the bibliography, to give credit to them. The second name, along with the initial of the first name is the common format. 

Two authors are separated by the “&” sign or more than two or three authors are employed with “et al.,”. Here is an example of how you can write it, 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T 
• Chauhan T & Suthar J 
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., 

Use of year and date:

Research updates every year, meaning, new research in the same field or area has been done every day. Therefore, it is important to mention the date and year of research publication. 

Stating this in the bibliography helps readers to find the material (original document) from the archive and justify your work. Again, the format may vary. Here is an example of how you can do it. 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018)
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018)
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018)

Note that as per some formats, the year can be mentioned after the journal name. 

The title of the article

Mentioning the title of the research is also crucial. Use the original, intact and unchanged title of the original researcher. Breaking or mistaking in the title misleads the readers. Many ways to mention the title, here is an example. 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”

Importance of noting publishing house or journal: 

Noting publishing house or Journal name provides navigation as well as elevates credit of work. The quality of the work or research is decided by which journal it is published. 

The Thumb rule for indicating Journal’s name is to write it in italic/ full or some initials. Here is the example, 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology

 Or you can write, T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clin Biotech and Micr. 

Note that the first initial of the journal name must be capitalized. 

Volume and number of article:

The volume and number of the article clearly navigating the literature. Meaning, using it you can find the article in a journal. See this example,

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1. 

In this Journal in the second volume, the first article is  “Genetic status of eunuchs”. 

Why page number? 

At the end of the bibliography, the page numbers are mentioned which again provides proper navigation. 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.  

Examples of Bibliography: 

APA style: 

Chauhan, T., & Patel, R. (2020). Genetic status of eunuch -an in-depth review. Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , 2(5), 472-484.

MLA style: 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.

Chicago style: 

Chauhan, T., Suthar, J., and Patel, R.K. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology 2, no.1 ( June 2010): 472-484.

IEEE style: 

T. Chauhan, J. Suthar, and R. K. Patel, “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clin Bio and Micro., vol 2, pp. 472-484, June 2010. 

Bottom line: 

This article explains how to write a bibliography in terms of PhD thesis or research article. However, the format may vary a bit for different literature that we also have mentioned. 

Importantly the bibliography provides information such as the clear navigation to original research, source of information, credit to the original researchers and importance of work. 

As we noted, at the end of the page or article, a bibliography is attached. Note that the bibliography is attached in accordance with the citation provided in the article. 

Conclusively, you can write a bibliography by using these elements: 

Name of author or authors who contributed to the work cited.  

Journal name in which the article has been published or accepted.  

The title of the article is the title of the original work. 

Date and year of publication in which the work has been published.  

Section, volume and number of articles to navigate the content thoroughly. 

Location or place where the research was conducted or published 

Page number to correctly navigate the article.  

If you like this article, we have written many articles on related topics on this blog, you can read it elsewhere by searching it. Do share the article and comment below and let us know what you think.  

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

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Guide to Writing Your Thesis in LaTeX

The bibliography and list of references.

The Graduate School requires a Bibliography which includes all the literature cited for the complete thesis or dissertation. Quoting from the Graduate School’s Guidelines for the Format of Theses and Dissertations :

“Every thesis in Standard Format must contain a Bibliography which lists all the sources used or consulted in writing the entire thesis and is placed at the very end of the work. The complete citations are arranged alphabetically by last name of the author. Individual citations are not numbered. No abbreviations in titles of published works will be accepted. The full title of a book, journal, website, proceedings, or any other published work must be italicized or underlined. Citations must follow standards set by the style manual that the student is using. The bibliography for URI theses is not broken into categories.”

The List of References is not required by the Graduate School, but is the style commonly used in Engineering, Mathematics, and many of the Sciences. It consists of a numbered list of the sources used or consulted in writing the thesis in the order that they are referenced in the text. There can be either one List of References for the entire thesis, or a List of References at the end of each chapter.

Both the Bibliography and the List of References will be generated by the urithesis LaTeX class. All you need to do is add information about your sources to the references.bib file, which is a database containing all of the necessary information about the references, then cite the reference in your thesis using the \cite{} command.

Generating the Bibliography and References

The bibliography and list of references are generated by running BibTeX. To generate the bibliography, load the file thesisbib.tex into your editor, then run BibTeX on it.

If each chapter has its own list of references, you will need to run BibTeX on each chapter to update its list of references. If there is one list of references for the whole thesis (because you used the oneref option, you will only need to run BibTeX on the top level file thesis.tex .

How to Add a Bibliography Entry

When we want to refer to a source in the thesis, we place an entry for that source in the file references.bib , then cite the source in the thesis with the \cite{LABEL} command. The syntax for an entry in the references.bib file is of the form:

ENTRYTYPE is the type of bibliographic entry such as Book , Article , or TechReport , that this entry describes. At the end of this page is a list of all possible entry types .

LABEL is a unique string that is used to refer to this entry in the body of the thesis when using the \cite{LABEL} command.

The FIELDNAMEn entries are the fields that describe this entry, (ie. author, title, pages, year, etc.). Each entry type has certain required fields and optional fields. See the list of all entry types for a description of the available fields.

As an example, suppose we have a paper from a conference proceedings that we want to cite. First we make an entry in the our references.bib file of the form:

We then cite this source in the text of our thesis with the command \cite{re:toolan:as03} . This will generate a Bibliography entry that looks something like:

and a List of References entry that looks something like:

Types of List of References

The Graduate School requires that the bibliography is always at the end of the thesis and sorted alphabetically by author, therefore there is no options that affect it. The list of references is optional, therefore there are a few different ways that it can created.

By default a separate list of references appears at the end of each chapter, and are sorted by the order that they are cited in that chapter. The option oneref (see options ) will create a single list of references for the whole thesis, which due to the requirements of the Graduate School, will appear after the last chapter and before any appendices.

The option aparefs will cite references using the APA style, which is the last name of the author and year of publication, such as (Toolan, 2006), instead of the default IEEE style, which is a number, such as [1]. This option will also sort the references alphabetically by author, instead of in order of citation. The options oneref and aparefs can be used together to create a single list of references using the APA style.

Supported Bibliography Entry Types

The following is a list of all the entry types that can be used. Click on the desired type to see a detailed description of how to use that type.

• Article – An article from a journal or magazine
• Book – A book with an explicit publisher
• InBook – A part of a book, such as a chapter or selected page(s)
• InCollection – A part of a book having its own title
• Booklet – Printed and bound works that are not formally published
• Manual – Technical documentation
• InProceedings – An article in a conference proceedings
• Proceedings – The entire proceedings of a conference
• MastersThesis – A Master’s thesis
• PhDThesis – A Ph.D. dissertation
• TechReport – A report published by a school or other institution
• Unpublished – A document that has not been formally published
• Electronic – An internet reference like a web page
• Patent – A patent or patent application
• Periodical – A magazine or journal
• Standard – Formally published standard
• Misc – For use when nothing else fits

Articles that have not yet been published can be handled as a misc type with a note. Sometimes it is desirable to put extra information into the month field such as the day, or additional months. This is accomplished by using the BIBTEX concatenation operator “#“:

Example .bib using this type:

Books may have authors, editors or both. Example .bib using this type:

Inbook is used to reference a part of a book, such as a chapter or selected page(s). The type field can be used to override the word chapter (for which IEEE uses the abbreviation “ch.”) when the book uses parts, sections, etc., instead of chapters

Incollection is used to reference part of a book having its own title. Like book , incollection supports the series, chapter and pages fields. Also, the type field can be used to override the word chapter.

Booklet is used for printed and bound works that are not formally published. A primary difference between booklet and unpublished is that the former is/was distributed by some means. Booklet is rarely used in bibliographies.

Technical documentation is handled by the manual entry type.

References of papers in conference proceedings are handled by the inproceedings or conference entry type. These two types are functionally identical and can be used interchangeably. Example .bib using this type:

It is rare to need to reference an entire conference proceedings, but, if necessary, the proceedings entry type can be used to do so.

Master’s (or minor) theses can be handled with the mastersthesis entry type. The optional type field can be used to override the words “Master’s thesis” if a different designation is desired:

The phdthesis entry type is used for Ph.D. dissertations (major theses). Like mastersthesis , the type field can be used to override the default designation. Example .bib using this type:

Techreport is used for technical reports. The optional type field can be used to override the default designation “Tech. Rep.” Example .bib using this type:

The unpublished entry type is used for documents that have not been formally published. IEEE typically just uses “unpublished” for the required note field.

The electronic entry type is for internet references. IEEE formats electronic references differently by not using italics or quotes and separating fields with periods rather than commas. Also, the date is enclosed within parentheses and is placed closer to the title. This is probably done to emphasize that electronic references may not remain valid on the rapidly changing internet. Note also the liberal use of the howpublished field to describe the form or category of the entries. The organization and address fields may also be used. Example .bib using this type:

The nationality field provides a means to handle patents from different countries

The nationality should be capitalized. The assignee and address (of the assignee) fields are not used, however, they are provided. The type field provides a way to override the “patent” description with other patent related descriptions such as “patent application” or “patent request”:

The periodical entry type is used for journals and magazines.

The standard entry type is used for formally published standards. Alternatively, the misc entry type, along with its howpublished field, can be used to create references of standards.

Misc is the most flexible type and can be used when none of the other entry types are applicable. The howpublished field can be used to describe what exactly (or in what form) the reference is (or appears as). Possible applications include technical-report-like entries that lack an institution, white papers and data sheets.

Additional Comments

Because we are effectively creating multiple bibliographies, (one for the actual bibliography, and one for each list of references), the two LATEX commands \bibliographystyle{} and \bibliography{} are not used. They have been redefined to do nothing, and the equivalent of these commands are done automatically when necessary.

When there is a reference that should be included in the bibliography, but does not need to be explicitly referenced in the thesis, use the \nocite{} command. This command works like the \cite{} command, except it does not put the citation in the list of references, only in the bibliography. The \nocite{} command must appear after the first \newchapter{} command, or it will be ignored.

When using the option aparefs , and a citation does not have an author, (such as often occurs with a web page), the key field can be used to specify what to use in the citation instead of the author’s name.

About the Bibliography Format

The bibliography format used by the urithesis class is based on the IEEE format. See the article “How to Use the IEEEtran BIBTEX Style” by Michael Shell for more details.

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How to write a bibliography.

The bibliography is the list of all the sources used and recommended for further reading by the author at the end of a dissertation . The section must provide enough information on the source that it can check independently. Each citation must contain the following information: Author’s name, the title of the source, name of the publisher and the year of the publication, page number where the information appears.

The bibliography section comes after the main body of the dissertation. The format of the part depends on the style adopted for the thesis. In general, there are various standards like the Harvard, MLA, APA, etc.,

The APA style and the absence of bibliography section:

The APA style of academic writing is the guideline adopted by American Psychological Association published in their manual for presenting journals. There is no bibliography in APA style. Instead, the obligation is to provide a reference list. The difference between the reference and the bibliography is that former contains the list of only the sources cited in the paper while the latter is the author’s reference to the sources cited and also a recommendation list for further reading on the topic. Works in the social sciences field usually adopt this style.

Bibliography in MLA format:

The Modern Language Association of America (MLA) presented their style guide for academic writing in Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing . If you are using the MLA format, then you should keep track of all the papers, books, films, internet articles, and any other source that you consulted while writing the paper. The basic tenant for writing the bibliography in this format is like most other, one has to keep track of the author, title, publisher, published year, and the page number where the information cited is taken. The format, however, also requires information on the place of publication to be presented next to the title of the work, before the publisher’s name. The list must be presented in the alphabetical order in the bibliography section. Each list follows the following order: The name of the author, presented with the last name going first, a comma, their first name. This is followed by a full stop. The title of the work referenced follows it, underlined and followed by a period. The name of the city where the source was published and a colon follows it. The publisher’s name, a comma, and the year of the publication followed by a full stop follow the city of publication in the given order.

This style is generally adopted by the researchers in the Arts and Humanities field.

An example of a single entry in the bibliography section written in MLA style: Shakespeare, William. The Merchant of Venice . Oxford: Oxford Publishers, 1987.

Articles, movies, and other sources:.

When citing sources from an article, the rule changes to properly suit the citation of the article and in turn help readers check the source independently. If the article has an author, it comes first in the same order as mentioned for the books, i.e., last name followed by the first name separated by a comma. It is followed the name of the article before the title of the magazine or the newspaper in which it was published. The year of the publication follows it, followed by a colon and the page number from where it is referenced. There is no need to mention the place of the publication. In case of movies, the title of movie is referenced first, followed by the name of the director, the year of its release, the medium of the cinema, and the name of the studio which produced the movie.

Annotated Bibliography:

An annotated bibliography is quite like any bibliography except it contains a comment on the source by the author. It is added to provide better guidance for the readers who are interested in further reading on the topic. Most dissertations don’t require annotated bibliography.

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(Note: All examples are provided as a scale of reference. It may or may not be from an actual source)

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Writing a Postgraduate or Doctoral Thesis: A Step-by-Step Approach

• First Online: 01 October 2023

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A key characteristic looked after by postgraduate or doctoral students is how they communicate and defend their knowledge. Many candidates believe that there is insufficient instruction on constructing strong arguments. The thesis writing procedure must be meticulously followed to achieve outstanding results. It should be well organized, simple to read, and provide detailed explanations of the core research concepts. Each section in a thesis should be carefully written to make sure that it transitions logically from one to the next in a smooth way and is free of any unclear, cluttered, or redundant elements that make it difficult for the reader to understand what is being tried to convey. In this regard, students must acquire the information and skills to successfully create a strong and effective thesis. A step-by-step description of the thesis/dissertation writing process is provided in this chapter.

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Carter S, Guerin C, Aitchison C (2020) Doctoral writing: practices, processes and pleasures. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-1808-9

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• What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format

Published on March 9, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 23, 2022.

An annotated bibliography is a list of source references that includes a short descriptive text (an annotation) for each source. It may be assigned as part of the research process for a paper , or as an individual assignment to gather and read relevant sources on a topic.

Scribbr’s free Citation Generator allows you to easily create and manage your annotated bibliography in APA or MLA style. To generate a perfectly formatted annotated bibliography, select the source type, fill out the relevant fields, and add your annotation.

An example of an annotated source is shown below:

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Table of contents

Annotated bibliography format: apa, mla, chicago, how to write an annotated bibliography, descriptive annotation example, evaluative annotation example, reflective annotation example, finding sources for your annotated bibliography, frequently asked questions about annotated bibliographies.

Make sure your annotated bibliography is formatted according to the guidelines of the style guide you’re working with. Three common styles are covered below:

In APA Style , both the reference entry and the annotation should be double-spaced and left-aligned.

The reference entry itself should have a hanging indent . The annotation follows on the next line, and the whole annotation should be indented to match the hanging indent. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

In an MLA style annotated bibliography , the Works Cited entry and the annotation are both double-spaced and left-aligned.

The Works Cited entry has a hanging indent. The annotation itself is indented 1 inch (twice as far as the hanging indent). If there are two or more paragraphs in the annotation, the first line of each paragraph is indented an additional half-inch, but not if there is only one paragraph.

Chicago style

In a  Chicago style annotated bibliography , the bibliography entry itself should be single-spaced and feature a hanging indent.

The annotation should be indented, double-spaced, and left-aligned. The first line of any additional paragraphs should be indented an additional time.

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For each source, start by writing (or generating ) a full reference entry that gives the author, title, date, and other information. The annotated bibliography format varies based on the citation style you’re using.

The annotations themselves are usually between 50 and 200 words in length, typically formatted as a single paragraph. This can vary depending on the word count of the assignment, the relative length and importance of different sources, and the number of sources you include.

Consider the instructions you’ve been given or consult your instructor to determine what kind of annotations they’re looking for:

• Descriptive annotations : When the assignment is just about gathering and summarizing information, focus on the key arguments and methods of each source.
• Evaluative annotations : When the assignment is about evaluating the sources , you should also assess the validity and effectiveness of these arguments and methods.
• Reflective annotations : When the assignment is part of a larger research process, you need to consider the relevance and usefulness of the sources to your own research.

These specific terms won’t necessarily be used. The important thing is to understand the purpose of your assignment and pick the approach that matches it best. Interactive examples of the different styles of annotation are shown below.

A descriptive annotation summarizes the approach and arguments of a source in an objective way, without attempting to assess their validity.

In this way, it resembles an abstract , but you should never just copy text from a source’s abstract, as this would be considered plagiarism . You’ll naturally cover similar ground, but you should also consider whether the abstract omits any important points from the full text.

The interactive example shown below describes an article about the relationship between business regulations and CO 2 emissions.

Rieger, A. (2019). Doing business and increasing emissions? An exploratory analysis of the impact of business regulation on CO 2 emissions. Human Ecology Review , 25 (1), 69–86. https://www.jstor.org/stable/26964340

An evaluative annotation also describes the content of a source, but it goes on to evaluate elements like the validity of the source’s arguments and the appropriateness of its methods .

For example, the following annotation describes, and evaluates the effectiveness of, a book about the history of Western philosophy.

Kenny, A. (2010). A new history of Western philosophy: In four parts . Oxford University Press.

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A reflective annotation is similar to an evaluative one, but it focuses on the source’s usefulness or relevance to your own research.

Reflective annotations are often required when the point is to gather sources for a future research project, or to assess how they were used in a project you already completed.

The annotation below assesses the usefulness of a particular article for the author’s own research in the field of media studies.

Manovich, Lev. (2009). The practice of everyday (media) life: From mass consumption to mass cultural production? Critical Inquiry , 35 (2), 319–331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/596645

Manovich’s article assesses the shift from a consumption-based media culture (in which media content is produced by a small number of professionals and consumed by a mass audience) to a production-based media culture (in which this mass audience is just as active in producing content as in consuming it). He is skeptical of some of the claims made about this cultural shift; specifically, he argues that the shift towards user-made content must be regarded as more reliant upon commercial media production than it is typically acknowledged to be. However, he regards web 2.0 as an exciting ongoing development for art and media production, citing its innovation and unpredictability.

The article is outdated in certain ways (it dates from 2009, before the launch of Instagram, to give just one example). Nevertheless, its critical engagement with the possibilities opened up for media production by the growth of social media is valuable in a general sense, and its conceptualization of these changes frequently applies just as well to more current social media platforms as it does to Myspace. Conceptually, I intend to draw on this article in my own analysis of the social dynamics of Twitter and Instagram.

Before you can write your annotations, you’ll need to find sources . If the annotated bibliography is part of the research process for a paper, your sources will be those you consult and cite as you prepare the paper. Otherwise, your assignment and your choice of topic will guide you in what kind of sources to look for.

Make sure that you’ve clearly defined your topic , and then consider what keywords are relevant to it, including variants of the terms. Use these keywords to search databases (e.g., Google Scholar ), using Boolean operators to refine your search.

Sources can include journal articles, books, and other source types , depending on the scope of the assignment. Read the abstracts or blurbs of the sources you find to see whether they’re relevant, and try exploring their bibliographies to discover more. If a particular source keeps showing up, it’s probably important.

Once you’ve selected an appropriate range of sources, read through them, taking notes that you can use to build up your annotations. You may even prefer to write your annotations as you go, while each source is fresh in your mind.

An annotated bibliography is an assignment where you collect sources on a specific topic and write an annotation for each source. An annotation is a short text that describes and sometimes evaluates the source.

Any credible sources on your topic can be included in an annotated bibliography . The exact sources you cover will vary depending on the assignment, but you should usually focus on collecting journal articles and scholarly books . When in doubt, utilize the CRAAP test !

Each annotation in an annotated bibliography is usually between 50 and 200 words long. Longer annotations may be divided into paragraphs .

The content of the annotation varies according to your assignment. An annotation can be descriptive, meaning it just describes the source objectively; evaluative, meaning it assesses its usefulness; or reflective, meaning it explains how the source will be used in your own research .

A source annotation in an annotated bibliography fulfills a similar purpose to an abstract : they’re both intended to summarize the approach and key points of a source.

However, an annotation may also evaluate the source , discussing the validity and effectiveness of its arguments. Even if your annotation is purely descriptive , you may have a different perspective on the source from the author and highlight different key points.

You should never just copy text from the abstract for your annotation, as doing so constitutes plagiarism .

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Caulfield, J. (2022, August 23). What Is an Annotated Bibliography? | Examples & Format. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/annotated-bibliography/

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How to Write a Bibliography for a Thesis

Andrew aarons.

When you are writing your thesis, you will probably have moments where you feel inspired, but those moments are unlikely to come up writing the bibliography. Bibliographies can often be as boring as they are dry, but they give you and your reader a bird’s-eye view of the research you’ve conducted and are a great way to impress someone without writing a single word of your own.

Explore this article

• Choosing a Citation Style
• Sticking to your Citation Style
• Picking Sources
• Proofreading

1 Choosing a Citation Style

There are a lot of citation styles out there, and it isn’t easy to choose one, especially since the differences between them can seem so slight. First, check and see if your professor or supervisor has explicitly requested that you use a specific style. If so, make sure that you honor that request. If not, see if your department has a preferred style -- it can’t hurt to follow it, and might hurt not to. If your professor doesn’t assign a specific style, and your department does not have any requirements, then it never hurts to use the most popular, such as Harvard, MLA, Chicago or APA style.

2 Sticking to your Citation Style

The citation style you choose won’t be as important as your ability to use it: consistency is key. For example, do not use the Chicago style to cite books and then switch to AP style for multimedia. Being consistent doesn’t mean that you have to use the same style throughout your academic career, but you must use it throughout your thesis. A bibliography serves to clarify your research sources, and inconsistency can make finding and identifying the information you used more confusing, which essentially defeats the purpose.

3 Picking Sources

It is very important to use a range of sources in your bibliography. If every article you cite is from the same journal, it may appear that you did not put a lot of time into researching. It is also important to use a range of primary and secondary sources in your bibliography so that you have a good combination of original and critical material. Just make sure that you don’t “pad” your bibliography with sources that look good but that aren't used for a purpose -- it will be more obvious to the reader than you might think. Most importantly, Wikipedia is never considered a legitimate source in academic writing, so make sure not to cite Wikipedia in your bibliography.

4 Proofreading

You should start your thesis well before it's due and give yourself enough time to revise many different drafts with the help of professors and classmates, but sometimes the bibliography is a last-minute addition. Even if you finish your bibliography hours before the thesis is due, it should look clean and professional. While the bibliography may be the last part of the thesis that you write, keep in mind that it may be the first part of your thesis that your professor or committee reads. They will want to check that you’ve properly researched your paper, and when they do, they won’t be impressed by glaring spelling errors or misplaced commas. Don’t lose marks on your thesis by assuming you typed everything correctly the first time. Keep your copy clean all the way through, including -- and perhaps especially -- in your bibliography.

• 1 Using English for Academic Purposes: Writing a List of References
• 2 Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Works Cited Page Basic Format
• 3 Purdue Online Writing Lab: APA Reference List Basic Rules

About the Author

Living in Canada, Andrew Aarons has been writing professionally since 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Ottawa, where he served as a writer and editor for the university newspaper. Aarons is also a certified computer-support technician.

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Provides an introduction to writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines, a list of links to Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Disciplines (WAC/WID) programs, and a selected bibliography for further reading.

Writing is integral to nursing for a number of different reasons. Patient care, issues of nursing liability, and the learning of different nursing skills are all reliant upon writing as a tool and source of communication. Writing occurs in the forms of nurses' notes, clinical studies, and scholarly research.

Much has been written about the role the writing plays in the development of student nurses into professionals. This bibliography is intended to be a starting place for persons interested in using writing in their courses or as a resource for those who are already using writing in their courses but are looking for new ways to implement its use. (This resource was originally written by Created by Julia Romberger, 2000.) If you are looking for resources that will help you with writing in nursing, please visit the OWL's Writing in Nursing material.

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Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

John Bean"s intent in this work is to present a "nuts and bolts guide" to assist teachers in all the disciplines to design and integrate writing assignments into their classrooms. The book discuss the theoretical foundations for such practices, gives detailed advice on constructing a variety of different assignments, and attempts to provide options for using writing to promote thinking. The book does not presume previous familiarity with either composition or pedagogical theory and is written in a direct and accessible style.

Bean, John. Drenk, Dean, and F.D. Lee. "Microtheme Strategies for Developing Cognitive Skills." Teaching Writing in all the Disciplines . 27 - 38.

In this chapter, the strategy of using micro-themes or short essays within either large or small classroom contexts is explored. The authors give examples of several different genres of micro-themes including: the summary, argumentation and thesis support, inductive reasoning from data,and quandary posing. The chapter concludes with an examination of the pedagogical validity of the use of micro-themes and suggestions for implementing their use.

Boyd, Laurel "Involvement? Write a letter: One Curriculum Strategy" Nurse Educator . 10.6 (Nov/Dec 1985) 26 - 8.

The assignment idea outlined and utilized by Professor Boyd incorporates basic principles of both WAC and Cultural Studies and suggests several real-world forums in which students can participate. This assignment engages them in relevant audience and social issues as well as giving added import to writing assignments.

Brown, Hazel and Jeanne Sorrell. "Use of Clinical Journals to Enhance Critical Thinking" Nurse Educator . 18.5 (Sept/Oct. 1993) 16-19.

Critical thinking skills can be enhanced by giving students structured writing assignments. Suggestions are given for different assignment focuses (objective writing, summary writing, argument writing) that specifically target certain skills. Additionally, pitfalls to be avoided in grading and assignment design are listed.

Cameron, Brenda L. and Agnes M Mitchell. "Reflective Peer Journals: Developing Authentic Nurses" Journal of Advanced Nursing . 18.2 (Feb 1993) 290-97.

Drawing from literature in the composition and nursing fields, Cameron and Mitchell propose a theoretical framework for the use of journals in nursing courses. The problems of the log format are discussed using the peer journal format, which is endorsed by the authors. Guidelines for peer journals are developed based on the theory the article explores.

Fulwiler, Toby, ed. The Journal Book . Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1987.

This book was pivotal in the movement to introduce journal writing to a variety of classroom settings. The introduction of the book provides guidelines for the use of journals in the classroom. The third section of the book focuses on the use of journals in the quantitative and qualitative classrooms. The articles are written by a variety of teachers who successfully used journals in their various disciplinary classrooms from elementary through the collegiate level.

Heinrich, Kathleen T. "Intimate Dialogue: Journal Writing by Students"" Nurse Educator . 17.6 (Nov/Dec 1992) 17-21.

Professor Heinrich gives a critical examination of the uses and potential misuse of journaling within a nursing course. Specific recommendations for journal assignments are given based upon experiences with various course sizes and learning styles. The author draws the theoretical and pedagogical basis for these suggestions from literature in the fields of composition studies, nursing, and education.

Hurtig, Wendy Olive Younge, Danin Bodnar and Marilyn Berg. "Interactive Journal: A Clinical Teaching Tool" Nurse Educator . 14.6 (Nov/Dec 1989) 17, 31, 35.

This article looks at journal writing from another perspective, that of a valuable tool for opening up communication between students and faculty. It discusses the use of journaling within a specific context (psychiatric clinical experience) and how it operated for the participants.

McCarthy, Donna O. and Barbara J. Bowers. "Implementation of Writing to Learn in a Program of Nursing" Nurse Educator . 19.3 (May/June 1994) 32-5.

In this article, the issue of introducing Writing to Learn into a nursing curriculum is addressed. The authors draw upon both composition and nursing pedagogy to suggest strategies and assignments. The article ends with a discussion of faculty experience with implementing these strategies.

Implementation of WID, WAC, and Writing to Learn in Nursing Curricula

Allen, David G., Barbara Bowers and Nancy Diekelmann. "Writing to Learn: A Reconceptualization of Thinking and Writing in the Nursing Curriculum" Journal of Nursing Education . v. 28.1 (Jan 1989) 6-11.

This piece gives a clear demonstration of the differences between learning to write and Writing to Learn. The authors explore the ways that Writing to Learn can be integrated into a nursing curricula and discuss the benefits to instructors and students.

Lashley, Mary and Rosemary Wittstadt. "Writing Across the Curriculum: An Integrated Curricular Approach to Developing Critical Thinking Through Writing." Journal of Nursing Eduction . 32. 9 (Nov 1993) 422-4.

Lashley and Wittstadt explain how one school implemented WAC throughout a nursing curriculum. They describe the steps of reviewing the literature, selecting types of assignments, surveying faculty on existing writing requirements, and making recommendations, which they include, for creating writing requirements in courses that build upon previous course experiences.

Megel, Mary. "Nursing Scholars, Writing Dimensions and Productivity" Research in Higher Education . 27.3 (1987) 226 - 43.

The study builds on initial research in composition studies by specifically examining the difficulties of nursing scholars at the doctoral level. After conducting observations and collecting the data presented in the article, the author comes to a position relevant to proponents of WAC. Scholarly productivity was related directly to the amount of writing engaged in each week. Additionally, the author recommends that faculty develop strategies for fostering better writing skills and positive attitudes toward writing.

Pinkava, Barbara and Carol Haviland. "Teaching Writing and Thinking Skills" Nursing Outlook . 32.5 (Sept/Oct 1984) 270-72.

The authors discuss the successful experience of implementing Writing to Learn pedagogy into a nursing program through coordination between nursing faculty and writing center staff both within and without the classroom.

Poirrier, Gail. Writing to Learn: Curricular Strategies for Nursing and other Disciplines . New York: NLN Press, 1997.

This collection of essays covers a wide range of topics including a basic introduction to the principles of WAC and the theoretical basis for using Writing to Learn in a nursing curriculum, a variety of assignments, projects, and classroom experiences with them, and useful discussions on designing curriculum that incorporates Writing to Learn pedagogy.

Sorrell, Jeanne. "The Composing Process of Nursing Students in Writing Nurses" Notes" Journal of Nursing Education . 30.4 (April 1991) 162-7.

This study of the composition process of 62 nursing students in lab and the hospital is valuable for locating the difficulties students have in making the transition from one environment to the next. The article stresses that these difficulties must be examined carefully and taken into consideration by teachers and strategies developed to ease the transition.

Sorrell, Jeanne M. and James Metcalf. "Nurses as Writers" Nursing Connections . 11.2 (Summer 1998) 24-32.

This article provides a well-grounded practical argument for the use of Writing in the Disciplines within a nursing curriculum. It outlines a course, Nurses as Writers, specifically designed to teach the various types of writing required in the nursing profession, and discusses the experiences of students and their reactions to the class.

Rationale for the WAC, WID, and Writing to Learn: An Annotated Bibliography for Nursing Curricula

Content for this bibliography was chosen for its relevancy to the following:

• the concerns of nursing programs
• application of nursing education pedagogy
• application of composition studies theory.

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Thesis Writing

Bibliography.

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A list of all of the sources

A bibliography is a list of works written by various scholars on a particular research topic. It is called bibliographic. In thesis, a bibliography may appear at the end of a thesis book, or online presentation, or research paper. An annotated bibliography includes a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph for each item in the list. This brief study guide aims to help aspiring scholars and readers to understand why you should include references to the information sources that you use to support your thesis research work writing. It explains the main principles of accurately referencing such sources in your research work.

It is called Reference

When writing a research or any other form of academic writing, your own thoughts and ideas inevitably build on those of other writers, researchers or professors, researchers. It is essential that you should acknowledge your obligation to the sources of data, research and ideas on which you have drawn by including references to, and full details of, these sources in your work. to distinguish your own ideas and findings from those you have drawn from the work of others; to follow up in more detail the ideas or facts that you have referred to.

Before your Research Thesis

Whenever you read or research material for your writing, we make sure that your studies includes in your notes, or on any photocopied material, the full publication details of each relevant text that you read. These details should include: surname(s) and initial(s) of the author(s); the date of publication; the title of the text; if it is a paper, the title of the journal and volume number; if it is a chapter of an edited book, the book's title and editor(s) the publisher and place of publication; the first and last page numbers if it is a journal article or a chapter in an edited book. For particularly important points, or for parts of texts that you might wish to quote word for word, also include in your notes the specific page reference.

When to use references

Your source should be acknowledged every time the point that you make, or the data or other information that you use, is substantially that of another writer and not your own. As a very rough guide, while the introduction and the conclusions to your writing might be largely based on your own ideas, within the main body of your report, essay or thesis work, you would expect to be drawing on, and thus referencing your obligation to, the work of others in each main section or paragraph. The ways in which your sources use references in their own work, and for further guidance, it is better to consult us for the guidance and it could mean to Avoid Plagiarism.

There are many different referencing conventions in common use. Each university has a different styles and preferred format. Every journal or book editor has a set of 'house rules'. Our aim is to explain the general principles by giving details of the two most commonly used formats, the 'author, date' system and footnotes or endnotes. Once you have got thoroughly the principles common to all referencing systems you should be able to apply the specific rules set by your own department.

It includes all literature cited for the complete thesis

When writing a research or any other form of academic writing, your own thoughts and ideas inevitably build on those of other writers, researchers or professors, researchers. It is essential that you should acknowledge your obligation to the sources.

Referencing styles

There are many different referencing conventions in common use. Each university has a different styles and preferred format. Every journal or book editor has a set of ‘house rules’. . Our aim is to explain the general principles by giving details.

About Our Best Bibliography arrangers

We can help you prevent any issues on plagiarism, too, because it can be used in creating accurate citations that will help you in referring to the sources of ideas, quotations or studies that came from your sources.

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