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Referencing and citing sources in the Faculty of Veterinary Science

Correct use of citations and bibliographies is an important aspect of scientific writing and is not difficult if you follow these guidelines. The correct style is described on the following pages.

The most common flaws are:

Failure to cite source of information in body of text.

If a statement is made it must be supported by a reference, unless it is a well- accepted scientific fact.

Incorrect format for citations in text. (See below for correct form)

Copying all the details of the reference (ie. title, journal , as well as authors and year) into the body of the text is incorrect. Similarly, incomplete citations are incorrect, eg. "Smith and Jones found possums .. " as the year of publication must be included.

Note the different ways of citing multi-authored papers (>2). Only the first author is named (Bloggs et al., 1991). Not all journals follow this style, however this is the required form for your essays.

Inclusion/exclusion of references from the bibliography.

Be certain you understand the function of the bibliography. It is not a list of papers which you read in preparing the essay, or which you would recommend reading. It should be a complete and comprehensive list of all the articles/books which were cited in the essay, including those used in figures or diagrams. It should not include references which were not cited. The references should be listed alphabetically, then by year if there are multiple papers by the same author (see guidelines in the handbook). It is important to follow a consistent format.

Incorrect citations.

The bibliography should be prepared last, after the essay is complete, so references are not missed. The list should be carefully proof-read and cross-checked with the text. This may seem relatively trivial, but when the essay has many errors it detracts a great deal from the quality of the essay and the reader's confidence in your essay's accuracy.

Citation of References

When references are cited in the body of the assignment, there are two methods in common usage. You may use both to achieve some variation, thus:

      "Stone (1990) showed that ....", OR
      "Rats excreted 75% of the ingested toxin (Stone, 1990)."

When two authors are involved, cite both each time they appear, thus:

      "Brother and Trouble (1990) ...."

When three or more authors have shared the glory, mention only the first author at the first reference:

      "Harpo et al., (1977)" (et al. = and others)

Note: No initials appear in the text, except in the case of a personal communication, i.e. a form of reference to someone's unpublished work or opinion. For example:

      "Storage of semen is enhanced by ...(I.C.A. Martin, pers. comm.)..."

Personal communications are not included in the bibliography. If you intend to include personal communications, please be sure that you quote your communicator accurately.

The Bibliography

(list of references at the end of the essay)

All forms of reference described below are arranged alphabetically according to authors' names, eg:

      Allen, W.J. (1974)....
      Allen, W.J. (1976)....
      Allen, W.J., Baker, A.B. and Smith, D.N. (1973)...
      Allen, W.J., Carter, C.W. and Brown, J.L. (1971)

Where more than one paper is published in one year by an author or group of authors, they are listed chronologically thus:

      Heywood, L.H. and Wood, A.K.W. (1985a)....
      Heywood, L.H. and Wood, A.K.W. (1985b)....

The forms used for different types of references are given below.

Journal Referencing

Cite references thus:

      McKenzie, R.A., Green, P.E., Hartley, W.J. and Pollitt, C.C. (1978) Cryptosporidium in a red-bellied black
      snake (Pseudochio sorphyriacus) Aust. Vet. J. 54, 365-366.

Notes:

• All author's names and initials are given with punctuation
• The full paper title is given
• The name of the journal is abbreviated according to the international standard (see BIOSIS serial sources)
• The first and last page numbers of papers are given.

Book Referencing

Normal texts, i.e where the author(s) are responsible for all the content, eg:

      Blood, D.C. and Henderson, J.A. (1974) Veterinary Medicine 4th edn Bialliere Tindall, London.

Multi-author books, i.e. each author contributes a chapter or definable part, eg:

      Watson, A.D.J. (1977) Anti-microbial therapy, in Current Veterinary Therapy VI, ed. R.W. Kirk, Lea and
      Febiger, Philadelphia.

Report Referencing or Works without Identifiable Authors

These are usually attributable to that well-known and prolific writer, Anon., Thus:

      Anon. (1979-80) Annual Report. NSW Department of Agriculture

In the text, eg:

      "It was reported (Anon., 1979-80)..."

References to Quoted Papers

(Where a paper has not been read by the author but quoted by others. Not a desirable practice except where the original is unobtainable)

      Haughey, K.G. (1978) Birth trauma in stressed emus. J. Irreprod. Res. 7, 1-9. Cited by Dagg, F. (1979)
      Aspects of parturition. J. Part. Obst. 75, 193-197.

Internet Referencing

Material on the internet can be used as reference material for your essays and project reports. Such material takes many forms. It can appear as a publication in a refereed or unrefereed electronic journal, or as a general article. You should be aware of the nature of the publication being used, and its intellectual authority. All material on the internet is copyright. You should acknowledge the source of any information used in your essay, and internet publications must be listed in your bibliography. The bibliography should include at least the author name/s, journal details (if appropriate) and URL (internet address of the article).

Students need to be very wary of the quality of information as there is no checking or peer review of material posted on the net (if it is not part of a journal with editorial or peer review), and so it could be wrong or misleading.