thesis create bibliography

How to Write a Thesis Bibliography: A Step-by-Step Guide

Writing a thesis bibliography can be a daunting task, especially if you’re not familiar with the process. however, with a step-by-step guide, you can navigate through this essential part of your thesis with ease. in this blog post, we will walk you through the process of writing a thesis bibliography, ensuring that your sources are appropriately cited..

What is a Thesis Bibliography?

A thesis bibliography is a list of all the sources you have cited or referenced in your thesis. It includes all the books, articles, research papers, websites, and any other resources you have used to support your research and arguments. The purpose of a bibliography is to give credit to the original authors and allow readers to locate the sources you have used.

Why is a Thesis Bibliography Important?

A thesis bibliography serves several important purposes:

• It demonstrates the depth of your research and shows the credibility of your thesis.
• It allows readers to verify your research and delve deeper into the sources you have used.
• It helps you avoid plagiarism by providing a clear list of the sources you have consulted.
• It showcases your academic integrity and commitment to acknowledging the work of others.

Step-by-Step Guide to Writing a Thesis Bibliography

Now, let’s dive into the step-by-step process of writing a thesis bibliography:

Step 1: Understand the Citation Style Guidelines

Before you begin compiling your bibliography, familiarize yourself with the citation style required by your university or department. Common citation styles include APA, MLA, Chicago, and Harvard. Each style has specific formatting guidelines for different types of sources, such as books, journal articles, and websites. Make sure to follow the guidelines consistently throughout your bibliography.

Step 2: Collect and Organize Your Sources

Gather all the sources you have referenced or cited in your thesis. Make a list of books, articles, webpages, and any other relevant sources. Organize them in alphabetical order based on the author’s last name or the title of the source.

Step 3: Format Your Bibliography Entries

When formatting each entry in your bibliography, keep the following in mind:

• Book: Include the author’s name, publication year, title, place of publication, and publisher.
• Journal Article: Include the author’s name, publication year, article title, journal name, volume number, issue number, and page range.
• Website: Include the author’s name (if available), publication or last updated date, title of the webpage, URL, and the date you accessed the website.

Step 4: Verify Your Information

Double-check all the information in your bibliography entries to ensure accuracy. Pay close attention to spelling, punctuation, and formatting. Use reliable sources or citation generators to confirm the correct citation format for each source.

Step 5: Apply Consistent Formatting

Make sure your bibliography entries adhere to the formatting guidelines specified by your citation style. Consistency in formatting is crucial for the professional presentation of your thesis.

Step 6: Proofread

Once you have completed your bibliography, take the time to proofread it. Look for any typographical errors, missing information, or incorrect formatting. A well-organized and error-free bibliography adds to the professionalism of your thesis.

Writing a thesis bibliography doesn’t have to be overwhelming. By following this step-by-step guide, you can accurately list and cite all your sources, ensuring your thesis is well-supported and authoritative. Remember to always abide by the citation guidelines provided by your university or department, as they may have specific requirements. A meticulously crafted thesis bibliography adds credibility to your work and demonstrates your commitment to scholarly research.

For more assistance, feel free to consult your university’s writing center or reach out to your thesis advisor for guidance.

How helpful was this article?

• Plagiarism and grammar
• School access

The best papers start with EasyBib®

Powered by chegg.

Start a new citation or manage your existing projects.

Scan your paper for plagiarism and grammar errors.

Check your paper for grammar and plagiarism

Catch plagiarism and grammar mistakes with our paper checker

Wipe out writing errors with EasyBib® Plus

Double check for plagiarism mistakes and advanced grammar errors before you turn in your paper.

• expert check

Know you're citing correctly

No matter what citation style you're using (APA, MLA, Chicago, etc.) we'll help you create the right bibliography

Check for unintentional plagiarism

Scan your paper the way your teacher would to catch unintentional plagiarism. Then, easily add the right citation

Strengthen your writing

Give your paper an in-depth check. Receive feedback within 24 hours from writing experts on your paper's main idea, structure, conclusion, and more.

Find and fix grammar errors

Don't give up sweet paper points for small mistakes. Our algorithms flag grammar and writing issues and provide smart suggestions

Choose your online writing help

Easybib® guides & resources, mla format guide.

This is the total package when it comes to MLA format. Our easy to read guides come complete with examples and step-by-step instructions to format your full and in-text citations, paper, and works cited in MLA style. There’s even information on annotated bibliographies.

Works Cited | In-Text Citations | Bibliography | Annotated Bibliography | Website | Book | Journal | YouTube | View all MLA Citation Examples

APA Format Guide

Get the facts on citing and writing in APA format with our comprehensive guides. Formatting instructions, in-text citation and reference examples, and sample papers provide you with the tools you need to style your paper in APA.

Reference Page | In-Text Citations | Annotated Bibliography | Website | Books | Journal | YouTube | View all APA citation Examples

Chicago Format Guide

Looking to format your paper in Chicago style and not sure where to start? Our guide provides everything you need! Learn the basics and fundamentals to creating references and footnotes in Chicago format. With numerous examples and visuals, you’ll be citing in Chicago style in no time.

Footnotes | Website | Book | Journal

Harvard Referencing Guide

Learn the requirements to properly reference your paper in Harvard style. The guides we have provide the basics and fundamentals to give credit to the sources used in your work.

In-Text Citations | Books | Article | YouTube | View all Harvard Referencing Examples

Check Your Paper

Avoid common grammar mistakes and unintentional plagiarism with our essay checker. Receive personalized feedback to help identify citations that may be missing, and help improve your sentence structure, punctuation, and more to turn in an error-free paper.

Grammar Check | Plagiarism Checker | Spell Check

Learn From Our Innovative Blog

Our blog features current and innovative topics to keep you up to speed on citing and writing. Whether you’re an educator, student, or someone who lives and breathes citations (it’s not as uncommon as you might think!), our blog features new and exciting articles to discover and learn from.

Looking for Other Tools and Resources?

Our Writing Center is jam-packed with tons of exciting resources. Videos, infographics, research guides, and many other citation-related resources are found here. Check it out to find what you need to succeed!

• EasyBib® Plus
• Citation Guides
• Chicago Style Format
• Terms of Use
• Global Privacy Policy
• Cookie Notice
• DO NOT SELL MY INFO

APA Style 7th Edition: Citing Your Sources

• Basics of APA Formatting
• In Text Quick View
• Block Quotes
• Books & eBooks
• Thesis/Dissertation

Standard Format

Formatting rules, various examples.

• Audiovisual
• Conference Presentations
• Social Media
• Legal References
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Academic Integrity and Plagiarism
• Additional Resources
• Reference Page

Adapted from American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed).  https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000

Formatting:

• Italicize the title
• Identify whether source is doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis in parentheses after the title

See Ch. 10 pp. 313-352 of APA Manual for more examples and formatting rules

• << Previous: Articles
• Next: Websites >>
• Last Updated: Nov 1, 2023 3:17 PM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/APA7th

How to Write a Bibliography for a Research Paper

Do not try to “wow” your instructor with a long bibliography when your instructor requests only a works cited page. It is tempting, after doing a lot of work to research a paper, to try to include summaries on each source as you write your paper so that your instructor appreciates how much work you did. That is a trap you want to avoid. MLA style, the one that is most commonly followed in high schools and university writing courses, dictates that you include only the works you actually cited in your paper—not all those that you used.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code, assembling bibliographies and works cited.

• If your assignment calls for a bibliography, list all the sources you consulted in your research.
• If your assignment calls for a works cited or references page, include only the sources you quote, summarize, paraphrase, or mention in your paper.
• If your works cited page includes a source that you did not cite in your paper, delete it.
• All in-text citations that you used at the end of quotations, summaries, and paraphrases to credit others for their ideas,words, and work must be accompanied by a cited reference in the bibliography or works cited. These references must include specific information about the source so that your readers can identify precisely where the information came from.The citation entries on a works cited page typically include the author’s name, the name of the article, the name of the publication, the name of the publisher (for books), where it was published (for books), and when it was published.

The good news is that you do not have to memorize all the many ways the works cited entries should be written. Numerous helpful style guides are available to show you the information that should be included, in what order it should appear, and how to format it. The format often differs according to the style guide you are using. The Modern Language Association (MLA) follows a particular style that is a bit different from APA (American Psychological Association) style, and both are somewhat different from the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Always ask your teacher which style you should use.

A bibliography usually appears at the end of a paper on its own separate page. All bibliography entries—books, periodicals, Web sites, and nontext sources such radio broadcasts—are listed together in alphabetical order. Books and articles are alphabetized by the author’s last name.

Most teachers suggest that you follow a standard style for listing different types of sources. If your teacher asks you to use a different form, however, follow his or her instructions. Take pride in your bibliography. It represents some of the most important work you’ve done for your research paper—and using proper form shows that you are a serious and careful researcher.

Bibliography Entry for a Book

A bibliography entry for a book begins with the author’s name, which is written in this order: last name, comma, first name, period. After the author’s name comes the title of the book. If you are handwriting your bibliography, underline each title. If you are working on a computer, put the book title in italicized type. Be sure to capitalize the words in the title correctly, exactly as they are written in the book itself. Following the title is the city where the book was published, followed by a colon, the name of the publisher, a comma, the date published, and a period. Here is an example:

Format : Author’s last name, first name. Book Title. Place of publication: publisher, date of publication.

• A book with one author : Hartz, Paula.  Abortion: A Doctor’s Perspective, a Woman’s Dilemma . New York: Donald I. Fine, Inc., 1992.
• A book with two or more authors : Landis, Jean M. and Rita J. Simon.  Intelligence: Nature or Nurture?  New York: HarperCollins, 1998.

Bibliography Entry for a Periodical

A bibliography entry for a periodical differs slightly in form from a bibliography entry for a book. For a magazine article, start with the author’s last name first, followed by a comma, then the first name and a period. Next, write the title of the article in quotation marks, and include a period (or other closing punctuation) inside the closing quotation mark. The title of the magazine is next, underlined or in italic type, depending on whether you are handwriting or using a computer, followed by a period. The date and year, followed by a colon and the pages on which the article appeared, come last. Here is an example:

Format:  Author’s last name, first name. “Title of the Article.” Magazine. Month and year of publication: page numbers.

• Article in a monthly magazine : Crowley, J.E.,T.E. Levitan and R.P. Quinn.“Seven Deadly Half-Truths About Women.”  Psychology Today  March 1978: 94–106.
• Article in a weekly magazine : Schwartz, Felice N.“Management,Women, and the New Facts of Life.”  Newsweek  20 July 2006: 21–22.
• Signed newspaper article : Ferraro, Susan. “In-law and Order: Finding Relative Calm.”  The Daily News  30 June 1998: 73.
• Unsigned newspaper article : “Beanie Babies May Be a Rotten Nest Egg.”  Chicago Tribune  21 June 2004: 12.

Bibliography Entry for a Web Site

For sources such as Web sites include the information a reader needs to find the source or to know where and when you found it. Always begin with the last name of the author, broadcaster, person you interviewed, and so on. Here is an example of a bibliography for a Web site:

Format : Author.“Document Title.” Publication or Web site title. Date of publication. Date of access.

Example : Dodman, Dr. Nicholas. “Dog-Human Communication.”  Pet Place . 10 November 2006.  23 January 2014 < http://www.petplace.com/dogs/dog-human-communication-2/page1.aspx >

After completing the bibliography you can breathe a huge sigh of relief and pat yourself on the back. You probably plan to turn in your work in printed or handwritten form, but you also may be making an oral presentation. However you plan to present your paper, do your best to show it in its best light. You’ve put a great deal of work and thought into this assignment, so you want your paper to look and sound its best. You’ve completed your research paper!

Back to  How To Write A Research Paper .

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

Thesis Preparation: Bibliography & Referencing

• Books about writing a thesis
• Literature Review
• Bibliography & Referencing
• Writing your thesis
• Your thesis in UL's Research Repository
• Research Services Guide This link opens in a new window

What is a bibliography

A bibliography, sometimes known as a “Reference List” is a list of all of the sources you have used (whether referenced or not) in the process of researching your work. In general, a bibliography should include:

• the authors' names
• the titles of the works
• the names of the publishers who published your sources and where they were published.
• the dates your sources were published
• the page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes)

When preparing your thesis, be aware of rules around using copyright restricted material in your submission. The library can advise you on these matters and in relation specifically to publishing and necessary embargoes that should be considered when you prepare your final document.

What is EndNote Online?

EndNote Online  (formerly called EndNote Web) is available to all UL staff and students. It allows you to access your EndNote library from any PC with an Internet connection, to create bibliographies in Word and to share your library with group members.

Creating an EndNote Online account

When you first access EndNote Online you  MUST Register. Please follow the instruction in the box opposite to ensure you register for EndNote Online correctly. If you do not register correctly you will not  be able to access the Harvard UL referencing style.

Once you have created your account you will be able to use EndNote from anywhere once you have a PC with Internet access. 

EndNote Online Cite While You Write plug-in for Word

To download the Cite While You Write (CWYW) plug-in for Microsoft Word go to the  Downloads tab  in EndNote Online.

If you experience any difficulties installing the EndNote CWYW plug-in, you can download and install this  alternative version .

Cite it Right; an introduction to Referencing

Cite It Right 4th Edition

The Glucksman Library wrote a guide called Cite it Right: Guide to Harvard Referencing Style . To access the 4th edition of  Cite It Right go to  https://libguides.ul.ie/citeitright . A PDF version of the 4th edition can be accessed below:

• Cite It Right 4th Edition - Print optimised version This version of the Cite It Right 4th edition has been optimised for printing. For best results and to only use 13 sheets of paper: Print 2 pages per sheet; Print page border; Print on both sides of paper (i.e. double-sided); Flip on short edge.

Academic Writing and Referencing

• << Previous: Copyright
• Next: Writing your thesis >>
• Last Updated: Jan 18, 2024 10:56 AM
• URL: https://libguides.ul.ie/theses

• Free Tools for Students
• APA Citation Generator

Free APA Citation Generator

Generate citations in APA format quickly and automatically, with MyBib!

🤔 What is an APA Citation Generator?

An APA citation generator is a software tool that will automatically format academic citations in the American Psychological Association (APA) style.

It will usually request vital details about a source -- like the authors, title, and publish date -- and will output these details with the correct punctuation and layout required by the official APA style guide.

Formatted citations created by a generator can be copied into the bibliography of an academic paper as a way to give credit to the sources referenced in the main body of the paper.

👩‍🎓 Who uses an APA Citation Generator?

College-level and post-graduate students are most likely to use an APA citation generator, because APA style is the most favored style at these learning levels. Before college, in middle and high school, MLA style is more likely to be used. In other parts of the world styles such as Harvard (UK and Australia) and DIN 1505 (Europe) are used more often.

🙌 Why should I use a Citation Generator?

Like almost every other citation style, APA style can be cryptic and hard to understand when formatting citations. Citations can take an unreasonable amount of time to format manually, and it is easy to accidentally include errors. By using a citation generator to do this work you will:

• Save a considerable amount of time
• Ensure that your citations are consistent and formatted correctly
• Be rewarded with a higher grade

In academia, bibliographies are graded on their accuracy against the official APA rulebook, so it is important for students to ensure their citations are formatted correctly. Special attention should also be given to ensure the entire document (including main body) is structured according to the APA guidelines. Our complete APA format guide has everything you need know to make sure you get it right (including examples and diagrams).

⚙️ How do I use MyBib's APA Citation Generator?

Our APA generator was built with a focus on simplicity and speed. To generate a formatted reference list or bibliography just follow these steps:

• Start by searching for the source you want to cite in the search box at the top of the page.
• MyBib will automatically locate all the required information. If any is missing you can add it yourself.
• Your citation will be generated correctly with the information provided and added to your bibliography.
• Repeat for each citation, then download the formatted list and append it to the end of your paper.

MyBib supports the following for APA style:

Daniel is a qualified librarian, former teacher, and citation expert. He has been contributing to MyBib since 2018.

• Future Students
• Parents and Families

College of Engineering

• Research and Facilities
• Departments

Guide to Writing Your Thesis in LaTeX

The bibliography and list of references.

The Graduate School requires a Bibliography which includes all the literature cited for the complete thesis or dissertation. Quoting from the Graduate School’s Guidelines for the Format of Theses and Dissertations :

“Every thesis in Standard Format must contain a Bibliography which lists all the sources used or consulted in writing the entire thesis and is placed at the very end of the work. The complete citations are arranged alphabetically by last name of the author. Individual citations are not numbered. No abbreviations in titles of published works will be accepted. The full title of a book, journal, website, proceedings, or any other published work must be italicized or underlined. Citations must follow standards set by the style manual that the student is using. The bibliography for URI theses is not broken into categories.”

The List of References is not required by the Graduate School, but is the style commonly used in Engineering, Mathematics, and many of the Sciences. It consists of a numbered list of the sources used or consulted in writing the thesis in the order that they are referenced in the text. There can be either one List of References for the entire thesis, or a List of References at the end of each chapter.

Both the Bibliography and the List of References will be generated by the urithesis LaTeX class. All you need to do is add information about your sources to the references.bib file, which is a database containing all of the necessary information about the references, then cite the reference in your thesis using the \cite{} command.

Generating the Bibliography and References

The bibliography and list of references are generated by running BibTeX. To generate the bibliography, load the file thesisbib.tex into your editor, then run BibTeX on it.

If each chapter has its own list of references, you will need to run BibTeX on each chapter to update its list of references. If there is one list of references for the whole thesis (because you used the oneref option, you will only need to run BibTeX on the top level file thesis.tex .

How to Add a Bibliography Entry

When we want to refer to a source in the thesis, we place an entry for that source in the file references.bib , then cite the source in the thesis with the \cite{LABEL} command. The syntax for an entry in the references.bib file is of the form:

ENTRYTYPE is the type of bibliographic entry such as Book , Article , or TechReport , that this entry describes. At the end of this page is a list of all possible entry types .

LABEL is a unique string that is used to refer to this entry in the body of the thesis when using the \cite{LABEL} command.

The FIELDNAMEn entries are the fields that describe this entry, (ie. author, title, pages, year, etc.). Each entry type has certain required fields and optional fields. See the list of all entry types for a description of the available fields.

As an example, suppose we have a paper from a conference proceedings that we want to cite. First we make an entry in the our references.bib file of the form:

We then cite this source in the text of our thesis with the command \cite{re:toolan:as03} . This will generate a Bibliography entry that looks something like:

and a List of References entry that looks something like:

Types of List of References

The Graduate School requires that the bibliography is always at the end of the thesis and sorted alphabetically by author, therefore there is no options that affect it. The list of references is optional, therefore there are a few different ways that it can created.

By default a separate list of references appears at the end of each chapter, and are sorted by the order that they are cited in that chapter. The option oneref (see options ) will create a single list of references for the whole thesis, which due to the requirements of the Graduate School, will appear after the last chapter and before any appendices.

The option aparefs will cite references using the APA style, which is the last name of the author and year of publication, such as (Toolan, 2006), instead of the default IEEE style, which is a number, such as [1]. This option will also sort the references alphabetically by author, instead of in order of citation. The options oneref and aparefs can be used together to create a single list of references using the APA style.

Supported Bibliography Entry Types

The following is a list of all the entry types that can be used. Click on the desired type to see a detailed description of how to use that type.

• Article – An article from a journal or magazine
• Book – A book with an explicit publisher
• InBook – A part of a book, such as a chapter or selected page(s)
• InCollection – A part of a book having its own title
• Booklet – Printed and bound works that are not formally published
• Manual – Technical documentation
• InProceedings – An article in a conference proceedings
• Proceedings – The entire proceedings of a conference
• MastersThesis – A Master’s thesis
• PhDThesis – A Ph.D. dissertation
• TechReport – A report published by a school or other institution
• Unpublished – A document that has not been formally published
• Electronic – An internet reference like a web page
• Patent – A patent or patent application
• Periodical – A magazine or journal
• Standard – Formally published standard
• Misc – For use when nothing else fits

Articles that have not yet been published can be handled as a misc type with a note. Sometimes it is desirable to put extra information into the month field such as the day, or additional months. This is accomplished by using the BIBTEX concatenation operator “#“:

Example .bib using this type:

Books may have authors, editors or both. Example .bib using this type:

Inbook is used to reference a part of a book, such as a chapter or selected page(s). The type field can be used to override the word chapter (for which IEEE uses the abbreviation “ch.”) when the book uses parts, sections, etc., instead of chapters

Incollection is used to reference part of a book having its own title. Like book , incollection supports the series, chapter and pages fields. Also, the type field can be used to override the word chapter.

Booklet is used for printed and bound works that are not formally published. A primary difference between booklet and unpublished is that the former is/was distributed by some means. Booklet is rarely used in bibliographies.

Technical documentation is handled by the manual entry type.

References of papers in conference proceedings are handled by the inproceedings or conference entry type. These two types are functionally identical and can be used interchangeably. Example .bib using this type:

It is rare to need to reference an entire conference proceedings, but, if necessary, the proceedings entry type can be used to do so.

Master’s (or minor) theses can be handled with the mastersthesis entry type. The optional type field can be used to override the words “Master’s thesis” if a different designation is desired:

The phdthesis entry type is used for Ph.D. dissertations (major theses). Like mastersthesis , the type field can be used to override the default designation. Example .bib using this type:

Techreport is used for technical reports. The optional type field can be used to override the default designation “Tech. Rep.” Example .bib using this type:

The unpublished entry type is used for documents that have not been formally published. IEEE typically just uses “unpublished” for the required note field.

The electronic entry type is for internet references. IEEE formats electronic references differently by not using italics or quotes and separating fields with periods rather than commas. Also, the date is enclosed within parentheses and is placed closer to the title. This is probably done to emphasize that electronic references may not remain valid on the rapidly changing internet. Note also the liberal use of the howpublished field to describe the form or category of the entries. The organization and address fields may also be used. Example .bib using this type:

The nationality field provides a means to handle patents from different countries

The nationality should be capitalized. The assignee and address (of the assignee) fields are not used, however, they are provided. The type field provides a way to override the “patent” description with other patent related descriptions such as “patent application” or “patent request”:

The periodical entry type is used for journals and magazines.

The standard entry type is used for formally published standards. Alternatively, the misc entry type, along with its howpublished field, can be used to create references of standards.

Misc is the most flexible type and can be used when none of the other entry types are applicable. The howpublished field can be used to describe what exactly (or in what form) the reference is (or appears as). Possible applications include technical-report-like entries that lack an institution, white papers and data sheets.

Additional Comments

Because we are effectively creating multiple bibliographies, (one for the actual bibliography, and one for each list of references), the two LATEX commands \bibliographystyle{} and \bibliography{} are not used. They have been redefined to do nothing, and the equivalent of these commands are done automatically when necessary.

When there is a reference that should be included in the bibliography, but does not need to be explicitly referenced in the thesis, use the \nocite{} command. This command works like the \cite{} command, except it does not put the citation in the list of references, only in the bibliography. The \nocite{} command must appear after the first \newchapter{} command, or it will be ignored.

When using the option aparefs , and a citation does not have an author, (such as often occurs with a web page), the key field can be used to specify what to use in the citation instead of the author’s name.

About the Bibliography Format

The bibliography format used by the urithesis class is based on the IEEE format. See the article “How to Use the IEEEtran BIBTEX Style” by Michael Shell for more details.

The Quintessence of Basic and Clinical Research and Scientific Publishing pp 657–665 Cite as

How to Create a Bibliography

• Rohan Reddy 4 ,
• Samuel Sorkhi 4 ,
• Saager Chawla 4 &
• Mahadevan Raj Rajasekaran 5  
• First Online: 01 October 2023

608 Accesses

This chapter describes the fundamental principles and practices of referencing sources in scientific writing and publishing. Understanding plagiarism and improper referencing of the source material is paramount to producing original work that contains an authentic voice. Citing references helps authors to avoid plagiarism, give credit to the original author, and allow potential readers to refer to the legitimate sources and learn more information. Furthermore, quality references serve as an invaluable resource that can enlighten future research in a field. This chapter outlines fundamental aspects of referencing as well as how these sources are formatted as per recommended citation styles. Appropriate referencing is an important tool that can be utilized to develop the credibility of the author and the arguments presented. Additionally, online software can be useful in helping the author organize their sources and promote proper collaboration in scientific writing.

• Referencing
• Harvard and Vancouver styles
• Referencing software
• Scientific writing

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution .

Buying options

• Available as PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Durable hardcover edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

AWELU (2022) The functions of references. Lund University. https://www.awelu.lu.se/referencing/the-functions-of-references/ . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Masic I (2013) The importance of proper citation of references in biomedical articles. Acta Inform Med 21(3):148–155

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Neville C (2012) Referencing: principles, practice and problems. RGUHS J Pharm Sci 2(2):1–8

Google Scholar  

Horkoff T (2015) Writing for success 1st Canadian edition: BCcampus. Chapter 7. Sources: choosing the right ones. https://opentextbc.ca/writingforsuccess/chapter/chapter-7-sources-choosing-the-right-ones/ . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

A guide to database and catalog searching: bibliographic elements. Northwestern State University. https://libguides.nsula.edu/howtosearch/bibelements . Updated 5 Aug 2021; Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Research process: step 7: citing and keeping track of sources. University of Rio Grande. https://libguides.rio.edu/c.php?g=620382&p=4320145 . Updated 12 Dec 2022; Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Pears R, Shields G (2022) Cite them right. Bloomsbury Publishing

Harvard system (1999) Bournemouth University. http://ibse.hk/Harvard_System.pdf . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Gitanjali B (2004) Reference styles and common problems with referencing: Medknow. https://www.jpgmonline.com/documents/author/24/11_Gitanjali_3.pdf . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Williams K, Spiro J, Swarbrick N (2008) How to reference Harvard referencing for Westminster Institute students. Westminster Institute of Education Oxford Brookes University

Harvard: reference list and bibliography: University of Birmingham. 2022. https://intranet.birmingham.ac.uk/as/libraryservices/library/referencing/icite/harvard/referencelist.aspx . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Limited SN (2017) Responsible referencing. Nat Methods 14(3):209

Article   Google Scholar  

Hensley MK (2011) Citation management software: features and futures. Ref User Serv Q 50(3):204–208

Ramesh A, Rajasekaran MR (2014) Zotero: open-source bibliography management software. RGUHS J Pharm Sci 4:3–6

Shapland M (2000) Evaluation of reference management software on NT (comparing Papyrus with Procite, Reference Manager, Endnote, Citation, GetARef, Biblioscape, Library Master, Bibliographica, Scribe, Refs). University of Bristol

EndNote 20. Clarivate. 2022. https://endnote.com/product-details . Accessed 28 Dec 2022

Angélil-Carter S (2014) Stolen language? Plagiarism in writing. Routledge

Book   Google Scholar  

Howard RM (1995) Plagiarisms, authorships, and the academic death penalty. Coll Engl 57(7):788–806

Barrett R, Malcolm J (2006) Embedding plagiarism education in the assessment process. Int J Educ Integr 2(1):38–45

Introna L, Hayes N, Blair L, Wood E (2003) Cultural attitudes towards plagiarism. University of Lancaster, Lancaster, pp 1–57

Neville C (2016) The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. McGraw-Hill Education (UK), London, p 43

Campion EW, Anderson KR, Drazen JM (2001) Internet-only publication. N Engl J Med 345(5):365

Li X, Crane N (1996) Electronic styles: a handbook for citing electronic information. Information Today, Inc.

APA (2005) Concise rules of APA style. APA, Washington, DC

Snyder PJ, Peterson A (2002) The referencing of internet web sites in medical and scientific publications. Brain Cogn 50(2):335–337

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Barroga EF (2014) Reference accuracy: authors’, reviewers’, editors’, and publishers’ contributions. J Korean Med Sci 29(12):1587–1589

Standardization IOf (1997) Information and documentation—bibliographic references—part 2: electronic documents or parts thereof, ISO 690-2: 1997. ISO

Download references

Conflict of Interest

None declared.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Urology, University of California at San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA

Rohan Reddy, Samuel Sorkhi & Saager Chawla

Department of Urology, University of California and VA San Diego Healthcare System, San Diego, CA, USA

Mahadevan Raj Rajasekaran

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mahadevan Raj Rajasekaran .

Editor information

Editors and affiliations.

Retired Senior Expert Pharmacologist at the Office of Cardiology, Hematology, Endocrinology, and Nephrology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Gowraganahalli Jagadeesh

Professor & Director, Research Training and Publications, The Office of Research and Development, Periyar Maniammai Institute of Science & Technology (Deemed to be University), Vallam, Tamil Nadu, India

Pitchai Balakumar

Division Cardiology & Nephrology, Office of Cardiology, Hematology, Endocrinology and Nephrology, Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, US Food and Drug Administration, Silver Spring, MD, USA

Fortunato Senatore

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Cite this chapter.

Reddy, R., Sorkhi, S., Chawla, S., Rajasekaran, M.R. (2023). How to Create a Bibliography. In: Jagadeesh, G., Balakumar, P., Senatore, F. (eds) The Quintessence of Basic and Clinical Research and Scientific Publishing. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1284-1_39

Download citation

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-1284-1_39

Published : 01 October 2023

Publisher Name : Springer, Singapore

Print ISBN : 978-981-99-1283-4

Online ISBN : 978-981-99-1284-1

eBook Packages : Biomedical and Life Sciences Biomedical and Life Sciences (R0)

Share this chapter

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

• Publish with us

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

How to Write a Bibliography for a Thesis

Andrew aarons.

When you are writing your thesis, you will probably have moments where you feel inspired, but those moments are unlikely to come up writing the bibliography. Bibliographies can often be as boring as they are dry, but they give you and your reader a bird’s-eye view of the research you’ve conducted and are a great way to impress someone without writing a single word of your own.

Explore this article

• Choosing a Citation Style
• Sticking to your Citation Style
• Picking Sources
• Proofreading

1 Choosing a Citation Style

There are a lot of citation styles out there, and it isn’t easy to choose one, especially since the differences between them can seem so slight. First, check and see if your professor or supervisor has explicitly requested that you use a specific style. If so, make sure that you honor that request. If not, see if your department has a preferred style -- it can’t hurt to follow it, and might hurt not to. If your professor doesn’t assign a specific style, and your department does not have any requirements, then it never hurts to use the most popular, such as Harvard, MLA, Chicago or APA style.

2 Sticking to your Citation Style

The citation style you choose won’t be as important as your ability to use it: consistency is key. For example, do not use the Chicago style to cite books and then switch to AP style for multimedia. Being consistent doesn’t mean that you have to use the same style throughout your academic career, but you must use it throughout your thesis. A bibliography serves to clarify your research sources, and inconsistency can make finding and identifying the information you used more confusing, which essentially defeats the purpose.

3 Picking Sources

It is very important to use a range of sources in your bibliography. If every article you cite is from the same journal, it may appear that you did not put a lot of time into researching. It is also important to use a range of primary and secondary sources in your bibliography so that you have a good combination of original and critical material. Just make sure that you don’t “pad” your bibliography with sources that look good but that aren't used for a purpose -- it will be more obvious to the reader than you might think. Most importantly, Wikipedia is never considered a legitimate source in academic writing, so make sure not to cite Wikipedia in your bibliography.

4 Proofreading

You should start your thesis well before it's due and give yourself enough time to revise many different drafts with the help of professors and classmates, but sometimes the bibliography is a last-minute addition. Even if you finish your bibliography hours before the thesis is due, it should look clean and professional. While the bibliography may be the last part of the thesis that you write, keep in mind that it may be the first part of your thesis that your professor or committee reads. They will want to check that you’ve properly researched your paper, and when they do, they won’t be impressed by glaring spelling errors or misplaced commas. Don’t lose marks on your thesis by assuming you typed everything correctly the first time. Keep your copy clean all the way through, including -- and perhaps especially -- in your bibliography.

• 1 Using English for Academic Purposes: Writing a List of References
• 2 Purdue Online Writing Lab: MLA Works Cited Page Basic Format
• 3 Purdue Online Writing Lab: APA Reference List Basic Rules

About the Author

Living in Canada, Andrew Aarons has been writing professionally since 2003. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in English literature from the University of Ottawa, where he served as a writer and editor for the university newspaper. Aarons is also a certified computer-support technician.

Related Articles

How to Write a Thesis for a DBQ

How to Write a Bibliography Using the Chicago Manual...

How to Analyze Journal Articles

How to Make a Good Thesis Title

Why Is Being Well-Versed in APA Style Important?

How to Write a Short Research Paper

How to Summarize an Essay or Article

How to Write a Critical Response Essay

How to Write a Good High School English Essay

Is Quoting Your Own Dissertation Plagiarism?

Proper Salutations for a Thank You Note

AP Style Degrees

How Do I Check My Paper for Plagiarism?

How to Do an In-Text Citation for Art in MLA

How to Make Note Cards

How to Write a Proposal for a Research Paper in Chicago...

Do You Underline Song Titles in Essay Papers?

How to Cite in an Outline Using APA Format

Challenges Facing Essay Writing

How to Check an Essay

Regardless of how old we are, we never stop learning. Classroom is the educational resource for people of all ages. Whether you’re studying times tables or applying to college, Classroom has the answers.

• Accessibility
• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Policy
• Manage Preferences

© 2020 Leaf Group Ltd. / Leaf Group Media, All Rights Reserved. Based on the Word Net lexical database for the English Language. See disclaimer .

2021’s Complete Guide on How to Write a Bibliography?

A bibliography is a well-structured list of all the resources used in the article, thesis, project or other literature. 

In his PhD thesis, John has stated that “BRCA1 is a gene responsible for breast cancer” whereas Mcburthen has stated that the “BRCA gene is a candidate gene cause breast cancer as per WHO research.” 

Which statement do you believe? Mcburthen’s, right! The reason, he said, is what WHO has researched, meaning the information is trustworthy and correct. Authenticity is important in research and academic writing . By doing citations and enlisting a bibliography we can validate our work. 

Bibliography or reference is a key element of PhD writing, PhD thesis, research statement and research paper. It’s indeed a pivotal structural element of the thesis or research work. 

Ideally, a research work- thesis or research paper should have an abstract, introduction, review of literature, material & methods, results & discussion, conclusion and bibliography. 

Many bibliography styles exist in which APA and MLA are the two most popular. Although the structure of the bibliography is as important as other elements of the thesis. 

Put simply, a thesis or PhD thesis is a written draft, an assay or project written in order to gain the utmost academic honor, the PhD. The present article clearly stating the importance and structure of a bibliography, along with that I will also discuss how to write a bibliography in 2021, various formats, style, sample and examples. 

What is a bibliography page?

Bibliography, often known as references, is a structured portion of literature authenticating information and provides navigation to original articles or research.

Usually, it is attached or listed at the end of the article, or on the bottom of the writing. And therefore several last pages of a thesis are considered as bibliography pages.

It isn’t just “work cited.” it is all the relevant material drew upon to write the paper the reader holds. -Tippie College of Business. 

“Copying a book by hand” is the literal meaning of the Greek word “bibliography”, however, citation and bibliography are employed to avoid plagiarism.  

Biblio- “Book”; Graphy “To write”. 

Also known as “work-cited” or “referencing”, the bibliography’s importance is to avoid plagiarism and provide trustworthy/ correct information, We already have given the example above. 

Plagiarism is when someone copy- partially or fully another’s intellectual work such as a book, book chapter, research work, research title, research paper or thesis work. 

Of course, using other researcher’s work in our thesis makes our statement as well as research stronger and it’s required too. But we can use it in a way that strengthens our work and gives credit to the original researcher . 

The only way for that is to mention the original scientists (citing) and providing a navigation way to the work (bibliography). Before leading ahead, please read this information on the difference between a citation and referencing.

Format of bibliography

Noteworthy, the format varies among styles; the basic structure of the bibliography remains the same. 

A typical bibliography page should have information such as the name of the author or authors, the title of the article/book or literature, name of the Journal or publishing house, year and date or publishing, volume and section of the journal and page number. 

Here is the format: 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , Vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.  

Now let’s quickly move to the main part of this article “how to write a bibliography”.

How to write a bibliography? 

To enlist or write a bibliography page, one has to understand many things associated with it. Here we have discussed the important points to write a bibliography. 

Select a style to write

A definite style should have been selected to structurize the bibliography. Commonly used styles are 

• APA- American Psychological Association
• MLA- Modern Language Association  
• Chicago style citation 
• Turabian citation style 

Usually, universities decide which style to use in PhD writing or thesis. APA and MLA are the most popular and common citation and referencing styles among all. 

Understand the format of the bibliography 

It is also important that PhD candidates understand the structure or format of the bibliography. We have explained it above, the typical structure consists of the name of the author or authors, the title of the article/book or literature, name of the Journal or publishing house, year and date or publishing, volume and section of the journal and page number. 

Other information such as version, location and names of other contributors are also mentioned in the format. Now let us understand each element stepwise. 

Author’s name: 

The author’s name or list of author’s names are listed, usually, at the beginning of the bibliography, to give credit to them. The second name, along with the initial of the first name is the common format. 

Two authors are separated by the “&” sign or more than two or three authors are employed with “et al.,”. Here is an example of how you can write it, 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T 
• Chauhan T & Suthar J 
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., 

Use of year and date:

Research updates every year, meaning, new research in the same field or area has been done every day. Therefore, it is important to mention the date and year of research publication. 

Stating this in the bibliography helps readers to find the material (original document) from the archive and justify your work. Again, the format may vary. Here is an example of how you can do it. 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018)
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018)
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018)

Note that as per some formats, the year can be mentioned after the journal name. 

The title of the article

Mentioning the title of the research is also crucial. Use the original, intact and unchanged title of the original researcher. Breaking or mistaking in the title misleads the readers. Many ways to mention the title, here is an example. 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.”

Importance of noting publishing house or journal: 

Noting publishing house or Journal name provides navigation as well as elevates credit of work. The quality of the work or research is decided by which journal it is published. 

The Thumb rule for indicating Journal’s name is to write it in italic/ full or some initials. Here is the example, 

• T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology
• Chauhan T & Suthar J (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology
• Chauhan T & Suthar J et al., (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology

 Or you can write, T Chauhan or Chauhan T (2018). “Genetic Status of Eunuchs- An in-depth review.” Clin Biotech and Micr. 

Note that the first initial of the journal name must be capitalized. 

Volume and number of article:

The volume and number of the article clearly navigating the literature. Meaning, using it you can find the article in a journal. See this example,

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1. 

In this Journal in the second volume, the first article is  “Genetic status of eunuchs”. 

Why page number? 

At the end of the bibliography, the page numbers are mentioned which again provides proper navigation. 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.  

Examples of Bibliography: 

APA style: 

Chauhan, T., & Patel, R. (2020). Genetic status of eunuch -an in-depth review. Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , 2(5), 472-484.

MLA style: 

Chauhan, Tushar and Patel R. Kumar. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology , vol. 2, no.1 (2010): 472-484.

Chicago style: 

Chauhan, T., Suthar, J., and Patel, R.K. “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clinical Biotechnology and Microbiology 2, no.1 ( June 2010): 472-484.

IEEE style: 

T. Chauhan, J. Suthar, and R. K. Patel, “Genetic Status of Eunuch -An In-depth Review. “ Clin Bio and Micro., vol 2, pp. 472-484, June 2010. 

Bottom line: 

This article explains how to write a bibliography in terms of PhD thesis or research article. However, the format may vary a bit for different literature that we also have mentioned. 

Importantly the bibliography provides information such as the clear navigation to original research, source of information, credit to the original researchers and importance of work. 

As we noted, at the end of the page or article, a bibliography is attached. Note that the bibliography is attached in accordance with the citation provided in the article. 

Conclusively, you can write a bibliography by using these elements: 

Name of author or authors who contributed to the work cited.  

Journal name in which the article has been published or accepted.  

The title of the article is the title of the original work. 

Date and year of publication in which the work has been published.  

Section, volume and number of articles to navigate the content thoroughly. 

Location or place where the research was conducted or published 

Page number to correctly navigate the article.  

If you like this article, we have written many articles on related topics on this blog, you can read it elsewhere by searching it. Do share the article and comment below and let us know what you think.  

Dr. Tushar Chauhan is a Scientist, Blogger and Scientific-writer. He has completed PhD in Genetics. Dr. Chauhan is a PhD coach and tutor.

Share this:

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Linkedin
• Share via Email

About The Author

Dr Tushar Chauhan

Related posts.

What is PhD?- History, Definition, Origin, Requirement, Fees, Duration and Process

How to write a PhD thesis?

Leave a comment cancel reply.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment.

Notify me of follow-up comments by email.

Notify me of new posts by email.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

Writing in Nursing Bibliography

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Provides an introduction to writing across the curriculum and writing in the disciplines, a list of links to Writing Across the Curriculum/Writing in the Disciplines (WAC/WID) programs, and a selected bibliography for further reading.

Writing is integral to nursing for a number of different reasons. Patient care, issues of nursing liability, and the learning of different nursing skills are all reliant upon writing as a tool and source of communication. Writing occurs in the forms of nurses' notes, clinical studies, and scholarly research.

Much has been written about the role the writing plays in the development of student nurses into professionals. This bibliography is intended to be a starting place for persons interested in using writing in their courses or as a resource for those who are already using writing in their courses but are looking for new ways to implement its use. (This resource was originally written by Created by Julia Romberger, 2000.) If you are looking for resources that will help you with writing in nursing, please visit the OWL's Writing in Nursing material.

Writing in the Nursing Classroom: Experiences, Strategies, and Assignments

Bean, John C. Engaging Ideas: The Professor's Guide to Integrating Writing, Critical Thinking, and Active Learning in the Classroom . San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1996.

John Bean"s intent in this work is to present a "nuts and bolts guide" to assist teachers in all the disciplines to design and integrate writing assignments into their classrooms. The book discuss the theoretical foundations for such practices, gives detailed advice on constructing a variety of different assignments, and attempts to provide options for using writing to promote thinking. The book does not presume previous familiarity with either composition or pedagogical theory and is written in a direct and accessible style.

Bean, John. Drenk, Dean, and F.D. Lee. "Microtheme Strategies for Developing Cognitive Skills." Teaching Writing in all the Disciplines . 27 - 38.

In this chapter, the strategy of using micro-themes or short essays within either large or small classroom contexts is explored. The authors give examples of several different genres of micro-themes including: the summary, argumentation and thesis support, inductive reasoning from data,and quandary posing. The chapter concludes with an examination of the pedagogical validity of the use of micro-themes and suggestions for implementing their use.

Boyd, Laurel "Involvement? Write a letter: One Curriculum Strategy" Nurse Educator . 10.6 (Nov/Dec 1985) 26 - 8.

The assignment idea outlined and utilized by Professor Boyd incorporates basic principles of both WAC and Cultural Studies and suggests several real-world forums in which students can participate. This assignment engages them in relevant audience and social issues as well as giving added import to writing assignments.

Brown, Hazel and Jeanne Sorrell. "Use of Clinical Journals to Enhance Critical Thinking" Nurse Educator . 18.5 (Sept/Oct. 1993) 16-19.

Critical thinking skills can be enhanced by giving students structured writing assignments. Suggestions are given for different assignment focuses (objective writing, summary writing, argument writing) that specifically target certain skills. Additionally, pitfalls to be avoided in grading and assignment design are listed.

Cameron, Brenda L. and Agnes M Mitchell. "Reflective Peer Journals: Developing Authentic Nurses" Journal of Advanced Nursing . 18.2 (Feb 1993) 290-97.

Drawing from literature in the composition and nursing fields, Cameron and Mitchell propose a theoretical framework for the use of journals in nursing courses. The problems of the log format are discussed using the peer journal format, which is endorsed by the authors. Guidelines for peer journals are developed based on the theory the article explores.

Fulwiler, Toby, ed. The Journal Book . Portsmouth, NH: Boynton/Cook, 1987.

This book was pivotal in the movement to introduce journal writing to a variety of classroom settings. The introduction of the book provides guidelines for the use of journals in the classroom. The third section of the book focuses on the use of journals in the quantitative and qualitative classrooms. The articles are written by a variety of teachers who successfully used journals in their various disciplinary classrooms from elementary through the collegiate level.

Heinrich, Kathleen T. "Intimate Dialogue: Journal Writing by Students"" Nurse Educator . 17.6 (Nov/Dec 1992) 17-21.

Professor Heinrich gives a critical examination of the uses and potential misuse of journaling within a nursing course. Specific recommendations for journal assignments are given based upon experiences with various course sizes and learning styles. The author draws the theoretical and pedagogical basis for these suggestions from literature in the fields of composition studies, nursing, and education.

Hurtig, Wendy Olive Younge, Danin Bodnar and Marilyn Berg. "Interactive Journal: A Clinical Teaching Tool" Nurse Educator . 14.6 (Nov/Dec 1989) 17, 31, 35.

This article looks at journal writing from another perspective, that of a valuable tool for opening up communication between students and faculty. It discusses the use of journaling within a specific context (psychiatric clinical experience) and how it operated for the participants.

McCarthy, Donna O. and Barbara J. Bowers. "Implementation of Writing to Learn in a Program of Nursing" Nurse Educator . 19.3 (May/June 1994) 32-5.

In this article, the issue of introducing Writing to Learn into a nursing curriculum is addressed. The authors draw upon both composition and nursing pedagogy to suggest strategies and assignments. The article ends with a discussion of faculty experience with implementing these strategies.

Implementation of WID, WAC, and Writing to Learn in Nursing Curricula

Allen, David G., Barbara Bowers and Nancy Diekelmann. "Writing to Learn: A Reconceptualization of Thinking and Writing in the Nursing Curriculum" Journal of Nursing Education . v. 28.1 (Jan 1989) 6-11.

This piece gives a clear demonstration of the differences between learning to write and Writing to Learn. The authors explore the ways that Writing to Learn can be integrated into a nursing curricula and discuss the benefits to instructors and students.

Lashley, Mary and Rosemary Wittstadt. "Writing Across the Curriculum: An Integrated Curricular Approach to Developing Critical Thinking Through Writing." Journal of Nursing Eduction . 32. 9 (Nov 1993) 422-4.

Lashley and Wittstadt explain how one school implemented WAC throughout a nursing curriculum. They describe the steps of reviewing the literature, selecting types of assignments, surveying faculty on existing writing requirements, and making recommendations, which they include, for creating writing requirements in courses that build upon previous course experiences.

Megel, Mary. "Nursing Scholars, Writing Dimensions and Productivity" Research in Higher Education . 27.3 (1987) 226 - 43.

The study builds on initial research in composition studies by specifically examining the difficulties of nursing scholars at the doctoral level. After conducting observations and collecting the data presented in the article, the author comes to a position relevant to proponents of WAC. Scholarly productivity was related directly to the amount of writing engaged in each week. Additionally, the author recommends that faculty develop strategies for fostering better writing skills and positive attitudes toward writing.

Pinkava, Barbara and Carol Haviland. "Teaching Writing and Thinking Skills" Nursing Outlook . 32.5 (Sept/Oct 1984) 270-72.

The authors discuss the successful experience of implementing Writing to Learn pedagogy into a nursing program through coordination between nursing faculty and writing center staff both within and without the classroom.

Poirrier, Gail. Writing to Learn: Curricular Strategies for Nursing and other Disciplines . New York: NLN Press, 1997.

This collection of essays covers a wide range of topics including a basic introduction to the principles of WAC and the theoretical basis for using Writing to Learn in a nursing curriculum, a variety of assignments, projects, and classroom experiences with them, and useful discussions on designing curriculum that incorporates Writing to Learn pedagogy.

Sorrell, Jeanne. "The Composing Process of Nursing Students in Writing Nurses" Notes" Journal of Nursing Education . 30.4 (April 1991) 162-7.

This study of the composition process of 62 nursing students in lab and the hospital is valuable for locating the difficulties students have in making the transition from one environment to the next. The article stresses that these difficulties must be examined carefully and taken into consideration by teachers and strategies developed to ease the transition.

Sorrell, Jeanne M. and James Metcalf. "Nurses as Writers" Nursing Connections . 11.2 (Summer 1998) 24-32.

This article provides a well-grounded practical argument for the use of Writing in the Disciplines within a nursing curriculum. It outlines a course, Nurses as Writers, specifically designed to teach the various types of writing required in the nursing profession, and discusses the experiences of students and their reactions to the class.

Rationale for the WAC, WID, and Writing to Learn: An Annotated Bibliography for Nursing Curricula

Content for this bibliography was chosen for its relevancy to the following:

• the concerns of nursing programs
• application of nursing education pedagogy
• application of composition studies theory.

Dr.Jeffrey (PhD)

Finished Papers

• Plagiarism report. .99
• High priority status .90
• Full text of sources +15%
• 1-Page summary .99
• Initial draft +20%
• Premium writer +.91

Estelle Gallagher

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

• Knowledge Base
• Citing sources
• How to Cite a Website | MLA, APA & Chicago Examples

How to Cite a Website | MLA, APA & Chicago Examples

Published on March 5, 2021 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on January 17, 2024.

To cite a page from a website, you need a short in-text citation and a corresponding reference stating the author’s name, the date of publication, the title of the page, the website name, and the URL.

This information is presented differently in different citation styles. APA , MLA , and Chicago are the most commonly used styles.

Use the interactive example generator below to explore APA and MLA website citations.

Note that the format is slightly different for citing YouTube and other online video platforms, or for citing an image .

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Table of contents

Citing a website in mla style, citing a website in apa style, citing a website in chicago style, frequently asked questions about citations.

An MLA Works Cited entry for a webpage lists the author’s name , the title of the page (in quotation marks), the name of the site (in italics), the date of publication, and the URL.

The in-text citation usually just lists the author’s name. For a long page, you may specify a (shortened) section heading to locate the specific passage. Don’t use paragraph numbers unless they’re specifically numbered on the page.

The same format is used for blog posts and online articles from newspapers and magazines.

You can also use our free MLA Citation Generator to generate your website citations.

Generate accurate MLA citations with Scribbr

Citing a whole website.

When you cite an entire website rather than a specific page, include the author if one can be identified for the whole site (e.g. for a single-authored blog). Otherwise, just start with the site name.

List the copyright date displayed on the site; if there isn’t one, provide an access date after the URL.

Webpages with no author or date

When no author is listed, cite the organization as author only if it differs from the website name.

If the organization name is also the website name, start the Works Cited entry with the title instead, and use a shortened version of the title in the in-text citation.

When no publication date is listed, leave it out and include an access date at the end instead.

Here's why students love Scribbr's proofreading services

Discover proofreading & editing

An APA reference for a webpage lists the author’s last name and initials, the full date of publication, the title of the page (in italics), the website name (in plain text), and the URL.

The in-text citation lists the author’s last name and the year. If it’s a long page, you may include a locator to identify the quote or paraphrase (e.g. a paragraph number and/or section title).

Note that a general reference to an entire website doesn’t require a citation in APA Style; just include the URL in parentheses after you mention the site.

You can also use our free APA Citation Generator to create your webpage citations. Search for a URL to retrieve the details.

Generate accurate APA citations with Scribbr

Blog posts and online articles.

Blog posts follow a slightly different format: the title of the post is not italicized, and the name of the blog is.

The same format is used for online newspaper and magazine articles—but not for articles from news sites like Reuters and BBC News (see the previous example).

When a page has no author specified, list the name of the organization that created it instead (and omit it later if it’s the same as the website name).

When it doesn’t list a date of publication, use “n.d.” in place of the date. You can also include an access date if the page seems likely to change over time.

In Chicago notes and bibliography style, footnotes are used to cite sources. They refer to a bibliography at the end that lists all your sources in full.

A Chicago bibliography entry for a website lists the author’s name, the page title (in quotation marks), the website name, the publication date, and the URL.

Chicago also has an alternative author-date citation style . Examples of website citations in this style can be found here .

For blog posts and online articles from newspapers, the name of the publication is italicized. For a blog post, you should also add the word “blog” in parentheses, unless it’s already part of the blog’s name.

When a web source doesn’t list an author , you can usually begin your bibliography entry and short note with the name of the organization responsible. Don’t repeat it later if it’s also the name of the website. A full note should begin with the title instead.

When no publication or revision date is shown, include an access date instead in your bibliography entry.

The main elements included in website citations across APA , MLA , and Chicago style are the author, the date of publication, the page title, the website name, and the URL. The information is presented differently in each style.

In APA , MLA , and Chicago style citations for sources that don’t list a specific author (e.g. many websites ), you can usually list the organization responsible for the source as the author.

If the organization is the same as the website or publisher, you shouldn’t repeat it twice in your reference:

• In APA and Chicago, omit the website or publisher name later in the reference.
• In MLA, omit the author element at the start of the reference, and cite the source title instead.

If there’s no appropriate organization to list as author, you will usually have to begin the citation and reference entry with the title of the source instead.

When you want to cite a specific passage in a source without page numbers (e.g. an e-book or website ), all the main citation styles recommend using an alternate locator in your in-text citation . You might use a heading or chapter number, e.g. (Smith, 2016, ch. 1)

In APA Style , you can count the paragraph numbers in a text to identify a location by paragraph number. MLA and Chicago recommend that you only use paragraph numbers if they’re explicitly marked in the text.

For audiovisual sources (e.g. videos ), all styles recommend using a timestamp to show a specific point in the video when relevant.

Check if your university or course guidelines specify which citation style to use. If the choice is left up to you, consider which style is most commonly used in your field.

• APA Style is the most popular citation style, widely used in the social and behavioral sciences.
• MLA style is the second most popular, used mainly in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography style is also popular in the humanities, especially history.
• Chicago author-date style tends to be used in the sciences.

Other more specialized styles exist for certain fields, such as Bluebook and OSCOLA for law.

The most important thing is to choose one style and use it consistently throughout your text.

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the “Cite this Scribbr article” button to automatically add the citation to our free Citation Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2024, January 17). How to Cite a Website | MLA, APA & Chicago Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved April 2, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/cite-a-website/

Is this article helpful?

Jack Caulfield

Other students also liked, how to cite an image | photographs, figures, diagrams, how to cite a lecture | apa, mla & chicago examples, how to cite a youtube video | mla, apa & chicago, what is your plagiarism score.