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Citing, Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism: How? Understanding References

Introduction

You may find it helpful to look at examples of references from your subject area.  Remember, the differences in order, format and punctuation are to do with the reference style, however, there are generally common elements that you need to have.

Understanding references: books

A book reference will look similar to this:

Greed, C. (1996) Introducing Town Planning. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman

​Where:

  • Author/s = Greed
  • Year of publication = 1996
  • Book title = Introducing Town Planning
  • Edition = 2nd
  • Place of publication = Harlow
  • Publisher = Longman

Understanding references: book chapter

A chapter in an edited book will look similar to this:

Campbell, S and Fainstein, S (2003) Introduction: The Structure and Debates of Planning Theory. In: Campbell, S and Fainstein, S (Eds). Readings in Planning Theory. 2nd ed. Oxford: Blackwell, pp.1-16

Where

  • Author/s = Campbell and Fainstein
  • Year of publication = 2003
  • Chapter title = Introduction: The Structure and Debates of Planning Theory
  • Book title = Readings in Planning Theory
  • Editor/s = Campbell and Fainstein
  • ​Edition = 2nd
  • Place of publication = Oxford
  • Publisher = Blackwell
  • Page range = 1-16

Understanding references: journal articles

A journal article will look similar to this:

Nilsson, K. L. (2007) 'Managing Complex Spatial Planning Processes', Planning Theory & Practice, 8(4), pp. 431-447.

Where

  • Author/s = Nilsson
  • Year of publication = 2007
  • Article title = Managing Complex Spatial Planning Processes
  • Journal title = Planning Theory and Practice
  • Volume/Issue = 8/4
  • Page numbers = 431-447

More examples

See: