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24 Referencing Books

Learning Objectives

In this chapter, we will demonstrate how to reference books in several formats.

  • Books in paper format
  • eBooks in electronic format
  • Open access books
  • Edition information
  • Chapter in a book
  • Dictionaries and encyclopedias

Referencing books

Books are one of the most common academic sources for your assignment. Follow the specific punctuation in the following examples including:

  • Author expressed as Lastname, initial with no full stops after the initials
  • Publishing date expressed as four-digit year only, with no day, month or parenthesis
  • Title is in italics with capitals minimised. No capital after a colon.
  • Publisher name omits unnecessary words such as “publishing company”, “publishers” or “Pty Ltd”.
  • Publisher location is the location of the head office of the publishing house.
  • Date accessed ( if found online)
  • URL or database location (if found online)

Books in paper format

Reference list format:

Author, Publishing year, Title, Publisher, Publisher location.

Example:

Wright, A 2018, Tracker: stories of Tracker Tilmouth, Giramondo, Artarmon, NSW.

 

Locate the publisher information and location on the copyright page, located on the back of the title page in the book. Where two publishing locations exist, use the first one listed and provide additional information (ie NSW) if there is any ambiguity about the place name.

In-text citation: (Wright 2018) or Wright (2018)

eBooks in electronic format

Reference list format:

Author, Publishing year, Title, Publisher , Publisher location, viewed date, database name/URL.

Example:

Datta, S, Sandeep R & Kutzewski, T 2021, Unlocking strategic innovation competitive success in a disruptive environment, Routledge, Oxon, UK, viewed 15 June 2021, eBook Central database.

Include a viewed date and a database name or URL whenever you reference an electronic resource. Note that the date is expressed as “viewed” and date follows Australian conventions of day, month and year.

In-text citation: (Datta, Sandeep & Kutzewski 2021) or Datta, Sandeep and Kutzewski (2021)

Open Access Books

Reference list format:

Author, Publishing year, Title, Publisher , Publisher location, viewed date, database name/URL.

Example:

Morris, J & Zwart, J 2020, Business writing style guide, Oregon State University, viewed 15 June 2021, <https://open.umn.edu/opentextbooks/textbooks/business-writing-style-guide>.

​If the electronic book is freely available online, include the full URL instead of the database name. Enclose the URL in angled brackets < > and remove the hyperlink and underline from the text.

In-text citation: (Morris & Zwart 2020) or Morris and Zwart 2020

Recording edition information

Reference list format:

Author, YEAR, Title, Edition, Publisher, Publisher location, viewed date, database name/URL.

Example:

Mautz, S 2021, Leading from the middle: a playbook for managers to influence up down and across the organisation, 2nd edn, John Wiley, Hoboken, NJ, viewed 15 June 2021, eBook Central database. 

Only include the edition if it is not the first edition. Use the exact format 13th edn with the numbers and letters in normal type ( no superscript).

Intext citation: (Mautz 2021) or Mautz (2021).

 

Consider this textbook used in your writing

 

Referencing a chapter in a book

Chapter in a book, wholly by the same author

Reference list format:

Author, YEAR, ‘Chapter title’, in Book title, Publisher, Publisher location, viewed date, database name or URL, page numbers.

Example:

Krishnakumar A & Tee, MJY 2021, ‘Map the trip’ in Restartup: a founder’s guide to crisis navigation, John Wiley, West Sussex, UK, viewed 15 June 2021, eBook Central database, pp. 53-72.

You should only use this format if you wish to emphasise a specific chapter in a book, and if you have only used that one chapter in your writing. The preferred format is to reference the entire book in your reference list, and use page numbers in the in-text citation to direct your reader. 

In-text citation:

(Krishnakumar & Tee 2021) or Krishnakumar and Tee (2021).

Chapter in an edited book as a collection of readings ( where every chapter has a different author).

This chapter: Critical Discourse Analysis by Norman Fairclough

In this book: The Routledge Handbook of Discourse Analysis edited by James Gee and Michael Handford

Reference list format:

Chapter author, YEAR, Chapter title, in Editors, Book title, Publisher, Publisher location, Viewed date, Database name/URL, page numbers.

Example:

Fairclough, N 2013, ‘Critical discourse analysis’, in J. Gee & M. Handford (eds), The Routledge handbook of discourse analysis, Routledge, London, viewed 15 June 2021, Taylor & Francis database, pp. 9-20.

It is quite common for a book to be a collection that has been compiled as an edited book. Every chapter may have a different author, or authors.

In these cases, you are required to give the primary credit to the author of the chapter in your in-text citation and then reference the details of the book and editors in your reference list.

In-text citation: only cite the chapter author (Fairclough 2013).

Dictionaries and Encyclopedias

When referencing an entry from a dictionary or an encyclopedia with no author there is no requirement to include the source in the reference list. In these cases, only cite the title and year of the source in-text.

…provides human nourishment( Encyclopedia of global industries 2007).

OR

The Encyclopedia of global industries (2007) defines agriculture...

 

For an authored dictionary/encyclopedia, treat the source as an authored book.

Kurian, TK 2013, The AMA dictionary of business and management, Amacom, New York, viewed 15 June 2021, Proquest eBook Central database

…provided human nourishment from agriculture (Kurian 2013).

OR

Kurian (2013) defines agriculture…..

 

Chapter Review

  • Rules for referencing books apply to all physical and electronic books
  • Reference the entire book and use page numbers to direct your reader if necessary
  • Find the publisher and date details for a physical book on the reverse side of the title page
  • Include the location/database for electronic books
  • Follow the rules outlined in the Harvard Western SydU style guide

 

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