Citation Assistance Resource Guide: Basic Examples & Reference Formatting

Reference List

The Reference List is a complete list of all the sources you have used in your research paper, and will appear on a separate page at the end of your paper. Use the guidelines below to help you create your References page in the correct format. Take a look at the PDF below for an example of how a finished References page should look. 

General Formatting for References

Basics to keep in mind:

1. Always list the author's names in a citation by last name followed by their capitalized initials. 
2. The End References List is organized alphabetically by author's last name. 
3. Multiple sources with the same author will be organized alphabetically, and then chronologically by publication date. 
4. Only the first word and any proper nouns in a title are capitalized. 
5. Titles are not italicized or underlined

Citing sources with 2-5 authors:

Name each author, separating each name with a comma 

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC, Author DD, Author EE.

Citing sources with more than 5 authors:

List the first author, followed by "et al."

Author AA et al.

Citing sources with no author:

Start the citation with the publication's title

Citing sources with a corporate author: 

List the corporation's abbreviation in brackets, followed by the full name of the company. List citations alphabetically by the corporation's full name, not the acronym. In-text citations should use the acronym. 

[ALSG] Advanced Life Support Group. 2001. Acute medical emergencies: the practical approach. London (England): BMJ Books.

End Reference Examples

E-Book

Format: 

Author AA. Year. Book Title. Edition. Place of Publication: Publisher. URL

Example:

Tate RL. 2021. Soil microbiology. 3rd ed. Wiley Blackwell. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brish-ebooks/detail.action?docID=6370537 

Book Chapter

Format: 

Author(s). Year. Chapter title. In: Editor(s), editor. Book title. Publisher. Page numbers for that chapter.

Example: 

Shaheb MR, Sarker A, Shearer SA. 2022. Precision agriculture for sustainable soil and crop management. In: Aide M & Braden I, editors.  Soil science: Emerging technologies, global perspectives and applications. InTech Open. p. 49-72. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/brish-ebooks/detail.action?docID=31281471 

Journal Article 

Format: 

Author AA, Author BB, Author CC. Date. Article title: article subtitle. Journal Title (abbreviated). Volume(issue): page numbers. URL

Example:

Picariello E, DeNicola F. 2024. Recovery of soil microbial community functions in beech and turkey oak forests after coppicing interventions. Microb Ecol. 87(1): 86. https://doi-org.hagcc.idm.oclc.org/10.1007/s00248-024-02402-2 

Newspaper Article

Format:

Author AA. Date published. Title of article. Title of Newspaper. [date updated, if applicable]. Location. URL

Example:

Browning S. 2024 September 1. Sarah Browning: Helping trees after a drought. The Lincoln Journal Star. p. 3. https://journalstar.com/lifestyles/home-and-garden/sarah-browning-helping-trees-after-a-drought/article_aeec1356-6554-11ef-8591-9390641e9551.html

Encyclopedia

Format:

Author AA, Author BB. Date. Title of entry. Title of encyclopedia; [revision date]. URL

Example:

Pelzcar RM, Pelzcar MJ. c2024. Microbiology. Britannica Academic; [revised 2020 December 4]. https://academic-eb-com.hagcc.idm.oclc.org/levels/collegiate/article/microbiology/110586

Thesis/Dissertation

Format: 

Author AA. Date. Title [content designator]. Publisher. URL 

Example:

Chaparro JM. 2015. Manipulating the soil microbiome to increase plant health and productivity [dissertation]. Colorado State University. http://hdl.handle.net/10217/166921

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