Library guide on Harvard Referencing

Introduction 3
Choosing a reference style 3
What is referencing? 3
Why reference? 3
When to reference? (Plagiarism) 3
RMIT University definition of plagiarism 4
What constitutes plagiarism? 4
What is the penalty for plagiarism? 4
In-text references: examples 5
Reference List 6
Abbreviations 6
Authors: examples 7
Books: examples 8
Book 8
Book chapter 8
e-book from a database 9
e-book from the Internet 9
Encyclopaedia or dictionary 9
Secondary citation 10
No date 10
Journal articles: examples 10
Journal article 10
e-journal article from a database 11
e-journal article from the internet 11
In press article 12
Magazine article – no author 12
Newspaper articles 12
Newspaper article 12
Newspaper article from a database 12
Newspaper article from a website 12
Internet sources 13
Discussion list message 13
Newsgroup message 13
Blogs 13
Website documents 13
Course readings 14
Course readings from RMIT University Library reserve 14
Course readings from RMIT University Library e-reserve 14
Course readings from RMIT University Learning Hub 14
Reports 14
Government publications 14
Parliamentary debates 15
Australian Bureau of Statistics 15
Legislation and Legal cases 16
Legislation 16
Legal cases 16
Other sources 16
Conference paper 16
Thesis 16
Patent 17
Standard 17
CD-ROM 17
Film, video, TV and radio program 17
Media release 17
Personal communication 18
Bibliography 18
Introduction
The author-date system originated at Harvard University, and although they no longer
produce a standard guide to referencing, a version of the author-date system is still
commonly referred to as the Harvard style. Other author-date referencing styles include:
Chicago, APA and MLA.
The Harvard Style of referencing is widely accepted in scholarly circles. Each reference is
indicated in the text by the author and date of the publication cited, sometimes with added
information such as page numbers. The full details of these references are listed at the end of
the text in a Reference list.
There are many different styles or ways of using the Harvard or author-date system. This
document is meant only as a guide. It is important that you check with your School as to what
they require for referencing. You may be penalised for not conforming to your School’s
requirements.
Further details and examples may be found in the Style manual for authors, editors and
printers (2002). Electronic resources are not adequately addressed in the Style manual for
authors, editors and printers (2002) and so the principles of author-date citing have been
applied in developing those examples.
The information and examples are derived from the following source:

Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons,
Australia.

Choosing a reference style

The style (i.e. order in which the details of a reference are cited) may vary depending on the
requirements of your department, lecturer or supervisor. Some Schools produce their own
guidelines for citing references. Check with your School whether they have a preferred
Referencing Style.

What is referencing?
Referencing an information source used in an academic work means to employ a
standardised method of acknowledging that source. The full details of the source must be
given. All information used in your assignment, thesis, etc., whether published, or
unpublished, must be referenced.

Why reference?
When writing a piece of academic work (ie. essay, thesis, etc.) you are required to
acknowledge the sources of information that you have used:
¬ to prove that your work has a substantial, factual basis
¬ to show the research you've done to reach your conclusions
¬ to allow your readers to identify and retrieve the references for their own use
Information obtained from the Internet is covered by copyright law. For this reason it is
important to cite Internet references just as you would cite print references. Many style guide
producers have extended the system used for print resources and applied this to electronic
resources. A date of access is very useful as Internet resources change rapidly.

When to reference? (Plagiarism)

You must reference all sources used in a particular work whether you are:
¬ directly copying the words of another author (quoting), or
¬ putting their ideas into your own words (paraphrasing)
If you do not acknowledge these sources, then you are plagiarising their work. Plagiarism is
defined as the taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another. It is
a very serious academic offence, and may result in your work being failed automatically.
There is more information on this subject in Copyright, plagiarism and fair use
(http://www.rmit.edu.au/library/info-trek/copyright).

RMIT University definition of plagiarism

RMIT has an assessment charter, which elaborates key responsibilities common to all staff
and students in relation to assessment and defines the University’s policy on plagiarism.
Plagiarism is defined (RMIT 2003a) as stealing somebody’s intellectual property (IP) by
presenting their work, thoughts or ideas as though they are your own. It is cheating. It is a
serious academic offence and can lead to expulsion from RMIT.
Plagiarism can take many forms - written, graphic and visual forms, and includes use of
electronic data and material used in oral presentations. Plagiarism may even occur
unintentionally, such as when the origin of the material used is not properly cited.

What constitutes plagiarism?

Under the charter, you may be accused of plagiarism if you do any of the following:
¬ Copy sentences or paragraphs word-for-word from any source, whether
published or unpublished (including, but not limited to books, journals, reports,
theses, websites, conference papers, course notes, etc.) without proper citation.
¬ Closely paraphrase sentences, paragraphs, ideas or themes without proper
citation.
¬ Piece together text from one or more sources and add only linking sentences
without proper citation.
¬ Copy or submit whole or parts of computer files without acknowledging their
source.
¬ Copy designs or works of art and submit them as your original work.
¬ Copy a whole or any part of another student’s work.
¬ Submit work as your own that someone else has done for you.
Enabling Plagiarism is the act of assisting or allowing another person to plagiarise your own
work (RMIT 2003a). It is also a serious academic offence. More detail on what constitutes
plagiarism is found in the January 2003 Policy: Plagiarism
(http://mams.rmit.edu.au/1oavdg0bdd1.pdf).

What is the penalty for plagiarism?

Plagiarism is not permitted in RMIT University. Any use of another person’s work or ideas
must be acknowledged. If you fail to do this, you may be charged with academic misconduct
and face a penalty under RMIT Regulations 6.1.1 – Student Discipline
(http://mams.rmit.edu.au/j4lb68xx36oj1.pdf.)
Penalties for plagiarism (RMIT 2003c) include:
¬ recording of a failure for the assignment or course
¬ cancellation of any or all results
¬ suspension from the program
¬ expulsion from the program
Acknowledgement: The information in this section on Plagiarism has been supplied from
the Written reports and essays: guidelines for referencing and presentation (RMIT Business
2006, p. 5).

In-text references: examples

In the text of your essay or thesis you should identify your source by giving, in parentheses,
the author's name and year of publication of the work to which reference has been made.
From the textual reference, the reader can turn to the alphabetical list of references for full
publication details.
There are two ways of referencing in-text:
1. Paraphrasing

2. Direct quotes
Paraphrasing
When paraphrasing, the ideas of the author(s) are expressed in your own words.
Paraphrasing is used to indicate to the reader:
your understanding of the content in the reference you are using
your ability to relevantly and appropriately use ideas and information to support an
argument or an opinion
Include the author’s name and date of publication by either:
adding the citation at the end of the sentence
using the author’s name as part of your sentence
Lack of variability in a product is an important measure of its quality (Shannon 2003).

Shannon (2003) describes the role of statistics in minimising product variability.

Direct quotes
When quoting, the exact words of the author(s) are used. Direct quotes should be kept to a
minimum. When using direct quotes include the author’s name, date of publication and page
number. If directly quoting from a work use single quotation marks around the text being
quoted.
Include the author’s name and date of publication by either:
adding the citation at the end of the sentence
using the author’s name as part of your sentence
Statistical thinking can be defined as a ‘set of thought processes and value systems that
focus on understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of the firm’
(Shannon 2003, p. 5).

Shannon defines statistical thinking as a ‘set of thought processes and value systems that
focus on understanding, managing and reducing variation in the output of the firm’ (2003,
p. 5).

Acknowledgement: The information in this section on In-text referencing has been supplied from the
Written reports and essays: guidelines for referencing and presentation (RMIT Business, 2007, p. 5).

Multiple works
If citing multiple works at one point in the text it is recommended that the authors’ names be
ordered alphabetically inside the parentheses, with a semicolon to separate them.
Other studies of globalization focus on its cultural and human implications (Bauman 1998;
Tomlinson 1999).
Electronic sources
Many electronic sources do not provide page numbers, unless they are in PDF format. If
quoting or paraphrasing from a website, that is NOT a PDF, then use as part of the in-text
reference either:
a section heading, (eg. United Nations 2007, article 1)
a paragraph number (eg. United Nations 2007, para.10)

Reference List

You must use a variety of sources in your written work e.g. books, journals and websites
etc. This indicates that you have researched widely.
The publication details of every item cited / used in your writing need to be included in the
reference list at the end of your paper. Any websites used must also be documented in
full. This enables the reader to locate the source if they wish.
Each reference list entry requires a specific format depending on the reference type i.e.
whether it is a book, book chapter, journal article, website, etc.
In general the order of elements contained within each reference should include: author –
date – title of work – title of larger work (if any) – publishing details – date of access (if
electronic).
Apart from the author and date, each element is separated from the others with a comma
and the citation finishes with a full stop.
The Reference List is arranged alphabetically by author, and thereafter chronologically,
starting with the earliest date.
In the Harvard Style sources that are not cited in the text but are relevant to the subject
may be listed separately as a bibliography.

What is the difference between a reference list and a bibliography?

A reference list details in alphabetical order by author family name all the works and
data sources you have cited in your written work.
A bibliography lists, in alphabetical order by author family name, all the works and data
sources you have used or accessed to create your written work.

Abbreviations
Acceptable abbreviations in the reference list for parts of books and other publications
include:
app.c.
a c ch.
c e ed. (eds.)edn.
e et al.n.d.
e n appendixcirca
a c c
chapter editor
n no.
n.p. n pp., pp.para.
p p rev.
pt. r s
suppl. (
(Editors) e
edition and othersn
a no dateno
v
vol. vols. p
place n
number p
page/sp
paragraph p
part
r
revised s
supplement volume (as in
V
Vol.4) volumes (as in 4 volumes)

Authors: examples
Whatever type of work you are referencing, the way you list the authors’ names depends on
the number of authors.

IIn-text citation Reference list

R
One author (
(Jones 1995) or
o Jones Jones, B 1995,
(1995) states…… Sleepers, wake!:
technology and the
future of work, 4th edn,
 Oxford University Press,
M
Melbourne.
Two or three authors (Stein & Reynolds Stein, B & Reynolds, JS
2
2000) o Stein and
or 2000, Mechanical and
Where there is more
Reynolds (2000) electrical equipment for
than one author, the in-
argue….. buildings, 9th edn, John
text citation in
Wiley & Sons, New
parentheses will use an
York.
ampersand (&) to join
them, whilst if the
reference is part of the
sentence you use the
word ‘ and .’
w
Four or more authors (
(Yarbro et al. 2000) or
o Yarbro, CH, Frogge, MH,
Yarbro et al. (2000) Goodman, M &
If there are four or more
have found…… Groenwald, SL 2000,
authors only include the
Cancer nursing, 5th
first author in your in-
edn, Jones and Bartlett,
text citation, adding the
Boston.
words ‘ et al. ’ meaning
‘and others.’ However
the Reference List
should include all
a
authors.
Multiple works at one (Bauman 1998; Bauman, Z 1998,
point in the textAuthors’
p Tomlinson 1999) Globalization and
names should be culture, Polity Press,
ordered alphabetically O
Oxford. Tomlinson, J
inside the parentheses, 1999, Globalization: the
with a semicolon to human consequences,
separate them. Routledge, London.

S
Several works by same (
(Heyland 2001) or
o Heyland, DK 2001, ‘In
first author and year Heyland (2001) search of the magic
r
reports….. nutraceutical: problems
Single author entries
with current
precede references with
approaches’, Journal of
multiple authors
(Heyland & Novak nutrition, vol. 131, no.
beginning with the same
2001) or
2 o Heyland and 9, p. 2591S.
name.
Novak (2001)
------ & Novak, F 2001,
A 2-em rule can be used reports…..
‘Immunonutrition in the
to replace the authors’
critically ill patient:
name(s) that are
more harm than
repeated.
good?’, JPEN: Journal of
parenteral and enteral
nutrition, vol. 25, no. 2,
p. S51.
p
S
Several works by same (
(Porter 2001a) (Porter Porter, ME 2001a,
author and year 2
2001b) o Porter
or 'Japan: what went
((2001a) states…. or
o wrong', Wall Street
If you are referring to
according to Porter Journal - Eastern
several works by the
(2001b) … Edition, vol. 237, no.
same author or group of
56, p. A22.
authors from the same
year, designate these a, ---- 2001b, 'Strategy
b, c, …. with the order of and the Internet',
the listing based on the Harvard Business
letter-by-letter Review, vol. 79, no. 3,
alphabetical order of the p. 62.
ttitle of the work.
No author given Style manual for Style manual for
authors, editors and authors, editors and
Where an item has no
printers (2002) or
o printers 2002, 6th edn,
named author it is cited
According to the Style John Wiley & Sons,
by its title.
manual for authors, Australia.
editors and printers
((2002) …
Editor/s (eds. Muller, Cloete & Muller, J, Cloete, N &
Badat 2001)or
B o edited by Badat, S (eds.) 2001,
Use the abbreviation ed.
Muller, Cloete and Challenges of
for editor or eds. for
Badat (2001) globalisation: South
multiple editors.
African debates with
Manuel Castells,
Maskew Miller
Longman, Pinelands,
Cape Town.
C

Books: examples

Book
Author’s surname, Initials Year, Title of book, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication.
Jones, B 1995, Sleepers, wake!: technology and the future of work, 4th edn, Oxford University
Press, Melbourne.

Book chapter
Author’s surname, Initials Year, ‘Title of chapter’, [in] Author of book (if different), Title of
book, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication, Page number(s).
Crawford, RJ 1998, 'Plastics available to the designer', in Plastics engineering, 3rd edn,
Heinemann-Butterworth, Oxford, pp. 6-18.or
H o Christians, CG 2000, ‘Ethics and politics in
qualitative research’, in Denzin NK & Lincoln YS Handbook of qualitative research, 2nd edn,
Sage, Thousand Oaks, CA, pp. 133-154.

e-book from a database

Note: Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) does not distinguish between
printed sources and those sourced electronically. The following is a suggested procedure for
referencing e-books.
If an e-book is retrieved electronically from a library database in page image format, eg. in an
Acrobat (PDF) file, cite it the same as the original printed book. Where alternative formats are
available, it is recommended to choose page image format.
If an e-book is retrieved from a library database where it has been reformatted, eg. as HTML
or plain text, or from a website, you should cite the source you have used, as images, charts,
page numbers, etc. may have been removed. Where the source is a library database give the
database name, or if it is from the internet give the URL.
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of book, Edition, Publisher, Place of
publication, viewed day month year, database name.
Kung, SY, Mak, MW & Lin, SH 2004, Biometric authentication: a machine learning approach,
Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ., viewed 5 August 2005, Safari Tech Books Online.

e-book from the Internet

Note: Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) does not distinguish between
printed sources and those sourced electronically. The following is a suggested procedure for
referencing e-books.
If an e-book is retrieved electronically from a library database in page image format, eg. in an
Acrobat (PDF) file, cite it the same as the original printed book. Where alternative formats are
available, it is recommended to choose page image format.
If an e-book is retrieved from a library database where it has been reformatted, eg. as HTML
or plain text, or from a website, you should cite the source you have used, as images, charts,
page numbers, etc. may have been removed. Where the source is a library database give the
database name, or if it is from the internet give the URL.
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, ‘Title of chapter’, [in] Author of book (if
different), Title of book, Edition, Publisher, Place of publication, viewed day month year,
<URL>.
Chen, C & Farruggia, S 2002, ‘Culture and adolescent development’, in Lonner, WJ, Dinnel,
DL, Hayes, SA & Sattler, DN (eds.), Online Readings in Psychology and Culture, Unit 11,
Chapter 2, Center for Cross-Cultural Research, Western Washington University, Bellingham,
Washington USA, viewed 15 September 2005,
<http://www.ac.wwu.edu/~culture/Chen_Farruggia.htm>.

Encyclopaedia or dictionary
Encyclopaedias and dictionaries should be cited in the in-text reference only, NOT in the
Reference List.
(Literacy in America: an encyclopedia 2001, p.25) states……

The Macquarie dictionary (1997) defines it as……

Secondary citation
While primary sources are essential, sometimes the source you wish to refer to may be
unavailable and you must refer to someone else's citation of that source. This is a secondary
source and in this case you must include both names in the in-text reference. The Reference
List example would include only the source you have seen.
IntextMacDonald (1993, cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003, p. 48) states …or
(MacDonald 1993, cited in Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill 2003, p. 48)

Reference ListSaunders, M, Lewis, P & Thornhill, A 2003, Research methods for business
students, 3rd edn, Pearson Educational, Essex, p. 48.

No date
Works that do not have a publication date may be cited using the expression n.d. (no date).
In-text(Brown n.d.)orBrown (n.d.)

Reference ListBrown, S n.d. B. B. Bernard, Sunshine Press, London.

Journal articles: examples

Note: Capitalise the first letter of the first word, and each of the major words of the journal
name. Do not use capital letters for words such as on, for, in, and. eg. The Australian Journal
of Language and Literacy

Journal article
Author(s) of article - surname and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Journal name,
volume number, issue number, page number(s).
Zivkovic, B & Fujii, I 2001, 'An analysis of isothermal phase change of phase change material
within rectangular and cylindrical containers', Solar Energy, vol. 70, no.1, pp. 51-61.

e-journal article from a database

Note: Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) does not distinguish between
journal articles from printed sources and articles sourced electronically. The following is a
suggested procedure for referencing electronic journal articles.
If a journal article is retrieved electronically from a library database in page image format, eg.
as an Acrobat (PDF) file, cite it the same as the original printed article. Where alternative
formats are available, it is recommended to choose page image format.
If a journal article is retrieved from a library database where it has been reformatted, eg. as
HTML or plain text, or from a website, you should cite the source you have used, as images,
charts, page numbers, etc may have been removed. Where the source is a library database
give the database name, not the URL.
Author(s) of article - surname and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Journal name,
volume number, issue number, page number(s), viewed day month year, database name.
Easthope, G 2004, 'Consuming health: the market for complementary and alternative
medicine', Australian Journal of Primary Health, vol. 10, no. 2, pp. 68-75, viewed 30 March
2005, Australian Public Affairs Full Text.

e-journal article from the internet

Note: Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) does not distinguish between
journal articles from printed sources and articles sourced electronically. The following is a
suggested procedure for referencing electronic journal articles.
If a journal article is retrieved from the internet where it is available only in HTML, and not
PDF, you should cite the source you used along with the viewed date and the URL.
As page numbers are not available for HTML format then if quoting or paraphrasing from the
internet use as part of the in-text reference either:
 a section heading, (eg. Courtney 2005, Diagnosis section)
 a paragraph number (eg. Courtney 2005, para.4)

Author(s) of article - surname and initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Journal name,
volume number, issue number, viewed day month year, URL.

Reference list example:

Courtney, AU, McCarter, DF & Pollart, SM 2005, ‘Childhood asthma: treatment update’,
American Family Physician, vol. 71, no. 10, viewed 1 May 2008,
http://www.aafp.org/afp/20050515/1959.html.

In-text citation example:It is stated that: “Asthma causes airway hyperresponsiveness,

airflow limitation, and persistent respiratory symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest
tightness, and shortness of breath” (Courtney 2005, Diagnosis section)orIt is stated that:
“Asthma causes airway hyperresponsiveness, airflow limitation, and persistent respiratory
symptoms such as wheezing, coughing, chest tightness, and shortness of breath” (Courtney
2005, para. 4)

In press article
Author(s) of article - surname and initials in press, ‘Title of article’, Journal name, viewed day
month year, database name (if applicable).
Mundermann, A, Wakeling, JM, Nigg, BM, Humble, RN & Stefanyshyn, DJ in press, 'Foot
orthoses affect frequency components of muscle activity in the lower extremity ', Gait and
posture, viewed 15 September 2005, ScienceDirect.

Magazine article – no author

Note: if the magazine article does NOT have an author then provide details as an in-text
citation only, NOT in the Reference List. For example: Electronics Weekly (11 July 2007, p.4)
states……

Newspaper articles
Note: Capitalise the first letter of the first word, and each of the major words of the
newspaper name. Note: if the newspaper article does NOT have an author then provide
details as an in-text citation only, NOT in the Reference List. For example: The Australian (10
July 2002, p.1) states……

Newspaper article
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Newspaper name, day month,
page number(s).
Tobler, K & Kerin, J 2002, ‘Hormone alert for cancer’, The Australian, 10 July, p. 1.

Newspaper article from a database

Note: Style manual for authors, editors and printers (2002) does not distinguish between
articles from printed sources and articles sourced electronically. The following is a suggested
procedure for referencing electronic newspaper articles.
If a newspaper article is retrieved electronically from a library database in page image
format, eg. as an Acrobat (PDF) file, cite it the same as the original printed article. Where
alternative formats are available, it is recommended to choose page image format.
If a newspaper article is retrieved from a library database where it has been reformatted, eg.
as HTML or plain text, or from a website, you should cite the source you have used, as
images, charts, page numbers, etc may have been removed. Where the source is a library
database give the database name, not the URL.
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Newspaper name, day month,
viewed day month year, name of database.
Timmins, N 2005, ‘Delay raises doubt in public sector’, Financial Times, 20 July, viewed 21
July 2005, Factiva.

Newspaper article from a website

If a newspaper article is found via the newspaper’s website in HTML or plain text, include the
article’s URL at the end of the citation.
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, ‘Title of article’, Newspaper name, day month,
viewed day month year, <URL>.

Sparrow, J 2009, 'Risking blood on his hands’, The Age, 13 May, viewed 12 June 2009,
<http://www.theage.com.au/opinion/risking-blood-on-his-hands-20090512-b1xs.html>.

Internet sources

Discussion list message

Author <author’s email address> Year of posting, ‘Title of posting’, description of posting,
date and month of posting, name of list owner, viewed day month year, <URL>.
Shively, E <chminf-l@listserv.indiana.edu> 1997, ‘CA pre-1967 information’, list server, 1
July, Chemical Information Sources Discussion List, viewed 3 July 2003,
<http://listserv.indiana.edu/archives/chminf-l.html>.

Newsgroup message
Author <author’s email address> Year of posting, ‘Title of posting’, description of posting,
date and month of posting, name of newsgroup owner, viewed day month year, <URL>.
Milinkovich, M 2005, ‘Oracle PL/SQL in Eclipse’, newsgroup, 12 July, News.Eclipse.Technology,
15 September 2005,
<http://dev.eclipse.org/newslists/news.eclipse.technology/msg01045.html>,

Blogs
Author <author’s email address> Year of posting, ‘Title of posting’, description of posting,
date and month of posting, name of list owner, viewed day month year, <URL>.
Steffen, A 2005, ‘Bird flu can we out-collaborate a pandemic?’ blog, 15 August, World
Changing: another world is here, viewed 15 September 2005,
<http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/003310.html>.

Website documents
Many electronic sources do not provide page numbers, unless they are in PDF format. If
quoting or paraphrasing from a website, that is NOT a PDF, then use as part of the in-text
reference either:
 a section heading, (eg. Stone 2004, Usage and prognosis section)
 a paragraph number (eg. Stone 2004, para.11)
Author/editor. Year of document, Title of document, name of the sponsor of the source, date
of viewing, <URL>.
Reference list example:Stone, A 2004, Headaches due to wind cold, Al Stone Acupuncture
and Traditional Chinese Herbal Medicines, viewed 10 September 2006, <
http://beyondwellbeing.com/headaches/wind-cold.shtml >.

In-text citation example:It is stated that: “this formula is about 85% targeting the
symptoms of headache and stuffy nose, while only 15% directly addresses the cold or
allergies” (Stone 2004, Usage and prognosis section)orIt is stated that: “this formula is about
85% targeting the symptoms of headache and stuffy nose, while only 15% directly addresses
the cold or allergies” (Stone 2004, para. 11)

Course readings

Course readings from RMIT University Library reserve

Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of work, course notes from (number),
Publisher, Place of publication, viewed day month year, RMIT University Library.
Dixon, C 2002, Mechanical design 2: project resource material, course readings
fromMIET1068, RMIT University, Melbourne, viewed 22 July 2005, RMIT University Library.

Course readings from RMIT University Library e-reserve

Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of work, course notes from (number),
Publisher, Place of publication, viewed day month year, RMIT University Library <URL>.
Holland, J 2004, Lecture notes 3: bulldozers and land clearing, course readings from
CIVE1057, RMIT University, Melbourne, viewed 22 July 2005, RMIT University Library
<http://eresources.lib.rmit.edu.au/ereserve/notes02/cive1057/31259006935782.pdf>.

Course readings from RMIT University Learning Hub

Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of work, course notes from (number),
Publisher, Place of publication, viewed day month year, RMIT University Learning Hub.
Smith, H 2005, Metadata, course readings from ISYS6655, RMIT University, Melbourne,
viewed 8 July 2005, RMIT University Learning Hub.

Reports

Government publications
These may include departmental reports, reports of commissions of inquiry, committees of
review and committees of parliament.
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, Title of report, Report series code and
number, Sponsoring body or body issuing report series, Publisher, Place of publication.
Kogan, P, Moses, I & El-Khawas, EH 1994, Staffing higher education : meeting new challenges
: report of the IMHE project on policies for academic staffing in higher education, Higher
education policy series, no. 27, Jessica Kingsley Publishers, London.

OR

Australia, Parliament 1976, Department of Foreign Affairs annual report 1975, Parl. Paper
142, Canberra.

Many government publications are available on the Internet. The following document
appeared as a Parliamentary paper, but is also available from the relevant authority's
website. The way you access a document may affect your citation.
Australia, Parliament 2003, Fraud control arrangements in the Australian Customs Service,
Parl. Paper 32, Canberra.

AND

Australian National Audit Office 2003, Fraud control arrangements in the Australian Customs
Service, viewed August 4 2003, <http://www.anao.gov.au/WebSite.nsf/
Publications/2F8FE1D39613A8B8CA256CF300709A62>.

Parliamentary debates
For parliamentary debates and the official records of what has been said in parliament.
Australia, Senate 2000, Debates, Vol S25, p. 65.

Australian Bureau of Statistics

Author’s name, Year of publication, Title of report, cat. no., Publisher, Place of publication.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2005, Australian social trends 2005, cat. no. 4102.0, ABS,
Canberra.

OR
Author’s name, Year of publication, Title of report, cat. no., Publisher, Place of publication,
viewed day month year, URL.
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2004, Mental Health In Australia: A Snapshot, cat. no.
4824.0.55.001, ABS, Canberra, viewed 18 August 2005, <http://www.abs.gov.au/>.

Legislation and Legal cases

Legislation
When referring to Commonwealth Acts, Ordinances and Regulations, the title must be
reproduced exactly, without changing the capitalisation or spelling. The words Act and Bill are
generally written with a capital letter.
An Act or Ordinance may be cited by the short title, which is usually drafted into modern
legislation. The first reference must always include the short title in italics. Subsequent
references may refer to it by an undated, descriptive title in roman type.
Legislation is usually numbered as well as dated. The number follows the date.
For Australian State legislation, the State must be included in roman type.
Acts of Parliaments of the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Canada and the United States, use
roman type.
Bills currently before Parliament are presented in roman type, not italics.
♣ Interstate Road Transport Act 1985 (Cwlth)

♣ Interstate Road Transport Act

♣ Air Navigation Act 1920 (No. 50) (Cwlth)

♣ Firearms Act 1936 (NSW)

♣ Badgers Act 1974 (UK)

Legal cases
To fully cite legal authorities’ list name of case; (date) or volume number, or both;
abbreviated name of report series; and beginning page.
Greutner v. Everard (1960) 103 CLR 177

Other sources

Conference paper
Author’s surname, Initials Year of publication, ‘Title of paper’, [in] Editor (if applicable), Title
of published proceeding which may include place held and date(s), Publisher, Place of
publication, page number(s).
Kovacs, GL 1994, ‘Simulation-scheduling system using hybrid software technology’, in
Computer Integrated Manufacturing and Automation Technology: Proceedings of the 4th
International conference, Troy, New York, October 10-12, 1994, IEEE Computer Society Press,
Los Alamitos, California, pp.351-356.

Thesis
Author’s surname, Initials Year of preparation of thesis, ‘Title of thesis’, Award, Institution
under whose auspices the study was taken.
Garland, CP 1986, ‘Structure and removal of non-cellulosic components of eucalypt woods’,
MApplSci thesis, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Patent
Name(s) of inventor. Name(s) of assignees, Patent title, Patent number Date of patent
(including day and month).
Wilmott, JM & Znaiden, AP Avon Products Inc., Cosmetic preparation incorporating stabilized
ascorbic acid, U.S. patent 4,983,382 Jan. 8 1991.

Standard
Corporate body issuing standard Year of publication, Title of standard, Number of standard
including identifier of issuing country or body, Publisher of standard, Place of publication.
International Organization for Standardization 1982, Steels - classification - part 1:
classification of steels into unalloyed and alloy steels based on chemical composition, ISO
4948-1:1982, International Organization for Standardization, Geneva.

CD-ROM
Author/editor’s name, Initials Year, Title, Edition, CD-ROM, Publisher, Place of publication.
Young, B & Heath, J 2000, Wheater's functional histology : a text and colour atlas, 4th edn,
CD-ROM, Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh.

Film, video, TV and radio program

Title of program Date of recording, format, publisher, place of recording, date viewed.
What are we going to do with the money? 1997, television program, SBS Television, Sydney,
8 August.

Or

Swiss ball: exercises for performance and function 1999, video recording, Galaxy Leisure
Corporation, 3 February.

Note: the in-text reference would be to the title of the program, also in italics.

Media release
Name of person who delivered media release Year released, Title, media release, Name of
organisation/professional body represented, Place released, day month.
Watersmith, C 2000, BHP enters new era, media release, BHP Limited, Melbourne, 1 March.

Or

Smith, A (Minister for Justice and Customs) 1999, Coastwatch initiative bears fruit, media
release, Parliament House, Canberra, 21 July.

Personal communication
Information gained through personal communication, either – face-to-face interview or
conversation, telephone call, facsimile, letter, email, etc. – should be provided as an in-text
citation. Details of personal communications do not need to be included in the Reference
List.
The information, including day, month and year, is provided in the text, or parenthically.
Details of the organisation that the person represents may also be included. Note that
initials precede the family name.
♣ When interviewed on 24 April 1999, Ms S Savieri confirmed…..

♣ Ms S Savieri confirmed this by facsimile on 24 April 1999.

♣ It has been confirmed that an outbreak occurred in Shepparton (S Savieri 1999, pers.
 comm., 24 April).

♣ Ms S Savieri (Australian Institute of Criminology) confirmed this by email on 24 April 1999.

♣ It has been confirmed that an outbreak occurred in Shepparton (S Savieri [Australian

Institute of Criminology] 1999, pers. comm., 24 April).

Bibliography
RMIT Business 2007, Written reports and essays: guidelines for referencing and presentation
in RMIT Business, RMIT University, Melbourne.
Style manual for authors, editors and printers 2002, 6th edn, John Wiley & Sons, Australia.