Changes to Referencing at Coventry University Group: Which Style Should I Use?

Law Students

If you are studying Law, nothing is changing in regards to referencing. You should continue to use OSCOLA referencing, which is a style specific to the legal field.

PhD Students

If you are a PhD student, we would encourage you to talk to your supervisor about which style of referencing would be most appropriate in your discipline. This will allow you to familiarise yourself with a style that you can use for publication.

As a fall-back option, you can choose to use APA 7th edition.

If you started writing your thesis before September 2020 using the Coventry University Guide to Referencing in Harvard Style, you may continue to do so. Please be reassured that, while taught students will largely have phased out the use of Harvard by August 2023, we are aware that part time PhD students may need access to the guidance beyond that date. We will not take down the guidance until we are sure no one is in need of it.

Coventry University London

Students studying at Coventry University London must use the APA 7th edition referencing style.

For the avoidance of doubt, this applies only to students studying at Coventry University London. Students studying at CU London (in Dagenham or Greenwich) should follow the guidance for Law or All Other Courses.

All other courses

For all other students, the style you should use depends on when you started your current course.

Course started on 1st September 2020 or later

You must use the APA 7th edition style of referencing. 

Course started before 1st September 2020

You can choose whether you want to continue to use the Coventry University Guide to Referencing in Harvard Style, or switch to APA 7th edition.

For more information about why you might want to consider switching, see Why is Referencing Changing? 

Note that while you can choose to make the switch to APA at any time, you must use a single consistent style of referencing within each assignment. 

Add+vantage modules

For Add+vantage modules, you should use the same referencing style that you use for the rest of your course.

This means that students taking an Add+vantage module taught by Coventry Law School may continue to use APA or Harvard, and Law students may continue to use OSCOLA on their Add+vantage modules.