What is Referencing?

Reference list entry

Note: The in-text citations and the reference list entries must perfectly correspond with each
other. For every in-text citation there must be a reference list entry, and for every reference list
entry there must be an in-text citation.

Reference list entry provides the full information about the source of words, ideas or other
information that you have used in your text in a special section after the text entitled
References. The full information includes the authors (or authors) surname, first name(s) or
initials, the year of publication, the title of the source, and the publication details.
The details that should be included in the reference list entry depend on the type of the source
and are presented on the next page, together with the punctuation and formatting
requirements for the elements of the entry.
The reference list should be arranged ascending alphabetically based on each references lead
author surname:
Agarwal, R., Echambadi, R., Franco, A. M. and Sarkar, M. B. (2004) Knowledge transfer
through inheritance: Spin-out generation, development, and survival, Academy of
Management Journal 47(4): 501-522.
Bamford, C., Dean, T. and McDougall, P. (2000) An examination of the impact of initial
founding conditions and decisions upon the performance of new bank start-ups, Journal of
Business Venturing 15(5/6): 253-277.
Fuller, A., Beck, V. and Unwin, L. (2005) Gendered Nature of Apprenticeship: Employers and
Young Peoples Perspectives, Education and Training 47(4/5) 298-311.
If the reference list includes several entries by the same author(s), these should be presented in
the chronological order of publication date:
Baum, J. A. C., and Oliver, C. (1991) Institutional linkages and organizational mortality,
Administrative Science Quarterly 36(2): 187-218.
Baum, J. A. C. and Oliver, C. (1992) Institutional embeddedness and the dynamics of
organizational populations, American Sociological Review 57(4): 540559.
If you are citing more than one source from the same author(s) published in the same year you
can sub-divide these by appending the year of publication given in the citation and reference
with an alphabetic character, e.g. (2004a) and (2004b).
Note that, although for sources with three or more authors, your in-text citation replaces the
names of the authors after the lead author with et al., e.g. (Agarwal et al. 2004). Your
reference list entry for the source must include the names of all authors, regardless of how many
there are.
Do not group reference list entries into sections by type of publication (e.g. books, journal
articles, unpublished documents).

2014, VERSION 1, SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF LEICESTER.

Book
Format

Authors surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Title (Edition [if not the first]). Place
of publication: Publisher.

Example

Cleves, M. A., Gould, W. W. and Gutierrez, R. G. (2004) An Introduction to Survival

Analysis Using Stata. College Station, TX: Stata Press.

Chapter in an edited book

Format

Chapter authors surname, Initials. (Year of publication) Chapter title (Chapter No.
[if applicable], page range in Initials. Surname [of the editor(s) of publication]
(ed(s).) Title of the book. Place of publication: Publisher.

Example

Freeman, J. (1986) Entrepreneurs as organizational products: Semiconductor firms

and venture capital firms, pp. 33-58 in G. Libecap (ed.) Advances in the Study of
Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Economic Growth. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.

Article in a journal
Format

Authors name, Initials. (Year of publication) Article title, Journal title volume
number(issue number): first page of the article-last page of the article.

Example

Cho, T. and Shen, W. (2007) Changes in executive compensation following an

environmental shift: The role of top management team turnover, Strategic
Management Journal 28(3): 747-754.

Newspaper article
Format

Authors name, Initials. [or Newspaper title, if the article is unsigned] (Year of
publication). Title of article. Title of newspaper, Day and month: Page number.

Example

Independent (1992) Picking up the bills. Independent, 4 June 28.

Report from a corporate author (e.g. government department,

company)
Format

Name of issuing body (Year of publication) Title of publication. Place of publication:

Publisher. Report number (if available).

Example

UNESCO (1993) General information programme and UNISIST. Paris: UNESCO. PGI93/WS/22.

Unpublished work (e.g. dissertation, working paper)

Format

Authors surname, initials (Year of publication) Title of work. Type of work. Name
of institution from which the work is available.

Examples

Carroll, G. R., and Teo, A. (1998) How regulation and globalization affected
organizational legitimation and competition among commercial banks in
Singapore, 18401994. OBIR Working Paper. Institute of Management, Innovation
and Organization, Haas School of Business.
Han, J. (1998) The evolution of the Japanese banking industry: an ecological
analysis, 18731945. Unpublished PhD dissertation, Stanford University.

Material from the Internet

The format of a reference list entry for materials obtained from Internet will depend on the type
of material (e.g. an e-book, an article in an electronic journal, a report from a corporate author)
and should follow the format requirements outlined above for the printed equivalent of the
Internet material, with the addition of the two pieces of information unique to the Internet
materials: (1) the URL address and (2) the date on which you accessed the webpage.
Format

Authors [or editors] surname, initials [or: electronic newspaper or electronic

magazine title or name of issuing organisation] (Year of publication) [if this can be
ascertained; or n.d. if it cannot be ascertained] Title (Edition [if not the first]).
Place of publication: Publisher [if this can be ascertained]. Available at: URL address;
accessed date.

Example

National Centre for Social Research (2006) Qualitative research. London: National
Centre for Social Research. Available at:
http://www.natcen.ac.uk/natcen/pages/hw_qualitative.htm; accessed 14 August
2006.