What is citing and referencing?When you use ideas or information from sources such as books, journals, webpages, film or other materials in your writing you need to show in your document where the information came from. For further information see the explanation in Cite Them Right Online
Citing and referencing your work correctly is essential. If you acknowledge the work of others you are acting with academic responsibility and conduct and taking steps to avoid plagiarising someone else's work. You are also allowing your reader to trace your line of research.
Take a look at our Evaluating Information page for further guidance around using these tools and referencing them in your work.
At the University of Southampton schools or departments recommend which style you should use in your work. Check the information here to find which style you should use.
These are referencing styles that are used by schools and departments at the University of Southampton (to the best of our knowledge). Students in joint honours programmes should check the requirements with their schools. If you have any doubt you should check with us by emailing your question to libenqs@soton.ac.uk
| School or department | Style(s) used |
| Acoustical Engineering (Institute of Sound and Vibration) |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Academic Centre for International Students (ACIS) | Harvard |
| Archaeology | Harvard |
| Art (Winchester School of Art) | Harvard |
| Biological Sciences | Harvard |
| Business (Southampton Business School) | Harvard |
| Chemistry |
ACS - American Chemical Society / RSC - Royal Society of Chemistry Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Economics |
Harvard |
| Education (Southampton Education School) |
Harvard for most programmes. Use Cite Them Right Online for Harvard guidance APA for Education and Psychology students. Use APA Style and Grammar Guidelines - for APA. |
| Electronics and Computer Science |
ACM - Association for Computing Machinery / Harvard / IEEE / IEEE Computer Society Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Energy |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Engineering |
Harvard / IEEE Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| English |
MHRA – Modern Humanities Research Association / MLA - Modern Language Association Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Film |
Undergraduates should refer to the information on referencing given in your Handbook. PGT/PGR should refer to the advice of your module lead or supervisor. Styles that we are aware of which have been used in Film: Harvard, Chicago, MHRA and Audiovisual Citation Guidelines - compiled by the British Universities Film & Video Council. |
| Geography |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Health Sciences (nursing, midwifery, allied health professionals) | Harvard |
| History | MHRA – Modern Humanities Research Association |
| Humanities | Check advice for individual departments |
| Languages, Cultures and Linguistics |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Law (Southampton Law School) |
OSCOLA: Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities / Harvard (sometimes used if your primary course is not Law, or if your work does not feature cases and legislation) Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Mathematical Sciences |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Medicine | Vancouver / Harvard
Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Music |
Check with your student handbook about which style to use and any specific guidelines. Chicago is widely used |
| Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton | Harvard |
| Optoelectronics (Zepler Institute for Photonics and Nanoelectronics, incorporating the Optoelectronics Research Centre) | Harvard |
| Philosophy |
Harvard |
| Physics and Astronomy |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
| Politics and International Relations | Harvard |
| Psychology | APA - American Psychological Association |
| Social Statistics and Demography | Harvard |
| Sociology, Social Policy and Criminology | Harvard |
| Sound and Vibration (Institute of Sound and Vibration Research) |
Harvard Check with your module lead about which style to use and any specific guidelines. |
Already know which style to use for your school or discipline? Click on the tab below to go to the style guide.
The way you cite and reference varies depending on the style you use; the resources in this section will help you to cite and reference correctly.
Be consistent when you are formatting your reference list, and refer closely to the style guide for instructions on how to apply the referencing style that you are using.
Your school or department will recommend which citing and referencing style you should use in your work. If you are not sure which referencing style to use check the information in the Find your style ... section above.
The Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) is a major professional body and publisher in information technology.
Style Guide
The ACM gives examples of both in-text citations and of the most common reference types formatted for ACM journals. References should appear alphabetically, using the author's last name, and are then numbered consecutively.
Information for authors
If you are an author preparing an article for one of the ACM journals please refer to their guidance for authors which includes advice and document templates.
The American Chemical Society (ACS) is a major professional body and publisher in Chemistry.
Style Guide
The ACS Style Guide. Chapter 14: References, by Janet S. Dodd, Leah Solla, and Paula M. Bérardon. 3rd ed. 2006
A print copy of the full ACS Style Guide is available from the library.
APA is an author-date referencing style developed by the American Psychological Association (APA).
The School of Psychology uses the 7th Edition of the Publication Manual of the APA.
Copies of the print version of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition. (APA 7th Edition style guide) are available from the library.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association by
The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Seventh Edition is the official source for APA Style. With millions of copies sold worldwide in multiple languages, it is the style manual of choice for writers, researchers, editors, students, and educators in the social and behavioral sciences, natural sciences, nursing, communications, education, business, engineering, and other fields. Known for its authoritative, easy-to-use reference and citation system, the Publication Manual also offers guidance on choosing the headings, tables, figures, language, and tone that will result in powerful, concise, and elegant scholarly communication. It guides users through the scholarly writing process--from the ethics of authorship to reporting research through publication. The seventh edition is an indispensable resource for students and professionals to achieve excellence in writing and make an impact with their work. The seventh edition has been thoroughly revised and updated to reflect best practices in scholarly writing and publishing. All formats are in full color, with a new tabbed spiral version Improved ease of navigation, with many additional numbered sections to help users quickly locate answers to their questions Resources for students on writing and formatting annotated bibliographies, response papers, and other paper types as well as guidelines on citing course materials Dedicated chapter for new users of APA Style covering paper elements and format, including sample papers for both professional authors and student writers New chapter on journal article reporting standards that includes updates to reporting standards for quantitative research and the first-ever qualitative and mixed methods reporting standards in APA Style New chapter on bias-free language guidelines for writing about people with respect and inclusivity in areas including age, disability, gender, participation in research, race and ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, and intersectionality More than 100 new reference examples covering periodicals, books, audiovisual media, social media, webpages and websites, and legal resources More than 40 new sample tables and figures Expanded guidance on ethical writing and publishing practices, including how to ensure the appropriate level of citation, avoid plagiarism and self-plagiarism, and navigate the publication process Guidelines that support accessibility for all users, including simplified reference, in-text citation, and heading formats as well as additional font options
Further information on APA 7th Edition
The APA Style website includes useful quick answers for referencing and formatting using the APA 7th Edition
The APA Style Blog is the official companion to the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, 7th Edition.
If you have a question about the style that is not answered by the resources above you can contact the APA Style Experts by:
Additionally there is this resource which is widely used for APA:
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using APA:
The Chicago Manual of Style includes provisions for referencing in two ways - using footnotes/endnotes and author-date citation.
Style Guide
Print copies of the Chicago Manual of Style is available from the library.
Further information on Chicago Style
From the Chicago Manual of Style online
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using Chicago Style.
Harvard is a generic term for any style which contains author-date references. There may be variations in how the full references are formatted between different Academic Units within the University, and also at other Universities. We recommend that you use the advice and examples given in Cite Them Right Online or in the latest print version.
Style Guide
Cite Them Right Online is an essential referencing resource. This site will help you to reference just about any source, and understand how to avoid plagiarism. Click on the image to go to the website.
Print copies of Cite Them Right are also available from the library.
Southampton Business School
All new students of the Southampton Business School should use Cite Them Right (see information above).
Health Sciences
All new Health Science students should use Cite Them Right (see information above).
School of Ocean and Earth Science
All new undergraduate students of the School of Ocean and Earth Science should use Cite Them Right (see information above). Students should include all named authors of multiple authored works in their reference list.
IEEE - Is a numbered style from the IEEE. The IEEE Computer Society has it's own guidance which is similar to that of IEEE but differs in some respects.
Style Guides
IEEE - the IEEE Editorial Style Manual contains general writing guidelines for IEEE Transactions, Journals, and Letters and includes. You can download a copy of the manual from the following webpage. The manual advises that for guidance not included in the manual you should look at the Chicago Manual of Style.
Further information on IEEE
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using IEEE
Victoria University, Melbourne Australia have produced is this resource for IEEE
This quick reference tool for IEEE and several other referencing styles has been produced by librarians in Norway but is in English. It provides examples of how to format citations and references for a variety of different types of material.
If you have been advised to use the IEEE Computer Society style please check with your tutor or supervisor. The IEEE Computer Society have adopted the IEEE style (see above) for their publications and the style manual is no longer available from their website.
The MHRA style of references usually uses footnotes.
Style Guide
The full style guide is available online. See section 10 for guidance on footnotes and endnotes and section 11 on references.
Print copies of the MHRA Style Guide are available from the library.
Further information
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using MHRA.
The MLA style is widely used in the fields of modern literature and linguistics, and uses Harvard-style references in the text of the document, but without the year of publication.
Style Guide
Print copies of the MLA Style are available from the library.
Further information
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using MLA.
OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style widely used in law, both in universities and by journal and book publishers in the UK and beyond.
Style Guide
A print copy of the OSCOLA guide is available from the library.
Further information
Quick reference guide
Cite Them Right Online gives you examples of citations and references produced in a number of different styles including some examples using OSCOLA
The Royal Society of Chemistry is a major professional body and publisher in Chemistry and uses a system based on Vancouver style referencing.
Style Guide
Vancouver is a numeric style of referencing widely used in medicine.
Please check with your module lead about which referencing style to use and any specific guidelines.
This information was updated on 15 December 2023.
For the Faculty of Medicine, if using the Vancouver referencing style, use Cite Them Right Online for guidance. Further details about the Vancouver style can be viewed in the Cite Them Right Online Vancouver guide.
Using referencing software like EndNote Online to manage your references can help you to organise them and cite them consistently in the documents that you write. The software will take care of all the intricacies of formatting the citations and references in the style you are using.
Image of book and quotation marks by shutterstock_374848786. Image edited and used by permission.
Cite Them Right Online is an essential referencing resource. This site will help you to reference just about any source, and understand how to avoid plagiarism.
How to Use Sources by University of Greenwich
Using sources in your writing by University of Hull
'Why should I use references in my writing?' From Palgrave Macmillan
'How to use Cite them right online' from Palgrave Macmillan
Referencing and avoiding plagiarism - This Panopto recording of a Library Skills for Success workshop covers the basics of referencing; what it is, why you should do it and which style you should be using with examples.
How to Reference - This Panopto recording of a Library Skills for Success workshop covers how to reference, why you should do it, and which style you should be using with examples.
How to avoid Plagiarism - A Panopto recording of a short film which tells you about what plagiarism is, why it's an important issue for students and what steps you can take to avoid it.
