This section is about how to reference sources which do not fit into any of the other categories. You must include an in-text citation and an entry in your list of references for all sources you use in your work.
If you need to reference a source which is not included in this guide, see the Further Information box on this page.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
The format for a dissertation or thesis reference depends on whether it is published or unpublished. If it is published, it will be available in a database like EThoS or ProQuest. If it is unpublished, it will probably only be available from the awarding university.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
You must include an in-text citation. See the in-text citation section for more information about how to do this.
If you have searched this LibGuide and cannot find an example of your type of source, first check Chapter 10 of the APA Publication Manual. The full manual has over 100 different types of sources, and we have only reproduced the most commonly used ones in this LibGuide.
The APA Publication Manual does not cover absolutely everything. If you cannot find an example of the source type you have used in Chapter 10, you will need to put your own referencing format together.
Try to keep the formatting as close to APA as possible, and include the information you think would be needed for the reader to find the source. The following guidelines will help you to build a reference.
In-text citations are formatted in the same way for most sources, so follow the usual style. See the in-text citation section for more information.
Remember that the author and date in your in-text citation should match up with the author and date in your list of references entry.
Almost all references start with an author. This is the creator of the work, and might be a person/people or an organisation. Depending on the source, it could be a writer, artist, director, presenter etc.
For more information about how to format authors' names, see the Types of Author section.
The second element of most references is the date it was published, updated or completed. The date should be in brackets, followed by a full stop.
For a source which is published once or only updated infrequently, just give the year. If your source is published very regularly, give the full date in the order: year, month day. If your source does not have a date, use n.d. instead.
Next, give the title of the source in italics. If your source does not have an obvious title, describe it in [square brackets] and do not use italics.
If you are not providing a source type (see next section) there should be a full stop after the title.
This is an optional component. If your source has a title in italics, and you think it would be helpful to explain what the source is, give it a label in square brackets, e.g. [Internal document] or [Board game instructions], followed by a full stop.
This is an optional component. If your source has been published, produced, or made available by an organisation or company, and you have not listed that organisation as the author, list it here, followed by a full stop.
This is an optional component. If your source is available online, provide the web address. This makes it much easier for the reader to find your source.
If your source has a DOI, give this instead of the web address from your internet browser. See the DOIs and Web Addresses section for more information.
*Important: This is only for students who have been given permission by their lecturer to use generative AI tools (eg: Chat GPT, QuillBot, Chimp Rewriter, DALL-E etc.) in their assignments. If you have this permission, please see below for the referencing format.
If you are writing a book manuscript, check with the publisher. If you are writing a journal article, check the target journal's guidance. Most publishers and journals do not recognise artificial intelligence as an author.
If permitted to use AI, you must:
1) Cite and reference any information generated by AI.
2) Follow all instructions given its use in the assignment brief.
In your text, provide the prompt you used, then integrate the response in to your writing and cite it as normal.
Format
Example
Format
Example
If you have questions not answered in this guide:
If you would like a hard copy of this quick guide, please ask at the Welcome Desk in Lanchester Library.