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Is it a book, a chapter in a book, or a journal article?
What if you have a list of readings for your course and there are no automatic links to the online full text of any of the items?
What if there is a useful item in the reference list in an article or book you have been reading and you want to follow up?
First you need to know what type of reference you are looking for as this can help you decide where to search and how to search for the item.
References in your list may look slightly different because there are different referencing styles eg, APA, Vancouver, Harvard, but the information they include is very similar.
This is an example of a printed book, and how it might appear on a reading or reference list.
Schwartz SH. Visual perception: a clinical orientation. 5th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill Education; 2017.
Mouse over over the reference to see the components of a book reference.
| How do I quickly recognise this is a print-format book? Look for: |
- place of publication and publisher |
Editions.
Some books are updated and appear in subsequent editions. The newer edition is usually more up to date and therefore the most appropriate to read. Sometimes lecturers may advise you to look at a specific older edition.
Some books are compiled by an editor or editors rather than written by an author. Edited books usually contain chapters written by different authors. This is an example of a book chapter in an edited book, and how it might appear on a reading or reference list.
Cowart, D., & Burt, R. (2013). Confronting death: Who chooses, who controls? In B. Steinbock, A. J. London, & J. D. Arras (Eds.), Ethical issues in modern medicine: Contemporary readings in bioethics (8th ed., pp. 348-353). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Mouse over the reference to see the components of a book chapter reference.
| How do I quickly recognise this is a book chapter? Look for: |
| - the word 'In' after the first title |
This is an example of a journal article and how it might appear on a reading or reference list.
Rodgers A, Corbett T, Bramley D, Riddell T, Wills M, Lin RB, et al. Do u smoke after txt? Results of a randomised trial of smoking cessation using mobile phone text messaging. Tob Control. 2005;14(4):255-61.
Run your mouse over the reference to see the components of a journal article reference.
| How do I quickly recognise this is a journal article? Look for: |
| - an article title and a journal name - some styles abbreviate the journal name |
| - volume and page numbers. An issue number may be within ( ) after the volume number |
What is a doi?
 | A Digital Object identifier (DOI) is a unique alphanumeric string of characters assigned by an agency to an electronic journal article, book or book chapter. Including a DOI in a reference makes it easy and simple to locate online material. If the item has a DOI include it in your reference. |
This is an example of a journal article with a DOI and how it might appear on a reading list:
Vargas-Bermúdez, A., Cardenal, F., & Porta-Sales, J. (2015). Opioids for the management of dyspnea in cancer patients: Evidence of the last 15 years—a systematic review. Journal of Pain and Palliative Care Pharmacotherapy, 29(4), 341-352. doi:10.3109/15360288.2015.1082005
Mouse over the reference to see the components of a journal article reference.
Sometimes the doi might look like eg http://dx.doi.org/10.3109/15360288.2015.1082005.
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