These are some questions that we are often asked about referencing:

• No year of publication
• No author
• Citing a website
• Secondary citation (citing a publication which you have seen cited in another publication)
• Adding a specific page number to the citation
• Citing an electronic journal article

Question: I can't find a year of publication for this reference. How do I cite it?

Answer: Normally you cite it as "no date", or some variation of that:

• APA 5th edition, p. 213 (p. 4 of our summary)
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.119
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p. 196
• MLA style manual, 3rd edition, p. 209-210
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition)

Question: This publication does not have an author. How do I cite it?

Answer (a): If there is no person responsible for the publication, sometimes an organisation can be regarded as the author:

• APA, 5th edition, p. 209-10 (p.2 of our summary)
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.47
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks 6th edition), p. 192
• MLA handbook, 6th edition, p. 250 [for citation in the text]
  MLA style manual, 3rd edition, p. 190 [for bibliography]
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition)

Answer (b): If there is no person or organisation responsible for the publication, it is usually just cited under the title:

• APA, 5th edition, p. 210-211 (p.2 of our summary) [for citation in the text]
  APA, 5th edition, p. 249 [for bibliography]
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.32
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p.197
• MLA handbook, 6th edition, p. 247-249 [for citation in the text]
  MLA style manual, 3rd edition, p. 183, 195-196 [for bibliography]
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition)

Question: How do I cite a website?

Answer: It depends what you mean by website. Is it an electronic journal article? Or an electronic book? Or a report in PDF format? Or an online conference paper? Or the homepage of an organisation? The style guides give guidance on citing electronic publications:

• APA: see the APA Style Guide to Electronic References
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.4 to 17.15
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p. 230-231
• MLA style manual, 3rd edition, p. 214-216
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition)

Question: Jones has cited a work by Smith. I haven't seen the work by Smith, but I would still like to cite it. Can I do that?

Answer: This type of "secondary citation" is discussed in some of the standard referencing manuals:

• APA, 5th edition, p. 247
 
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.274
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p. 198-199
 
• MLA handbook, 6th edition, p. 252

Question: Do I have to add a specific page number to my reference?

Answer: If you have directly quoted words from the source (which means that you quoted it in inverted commas, or in an indented paragraph), you will normally have to give the precise page number for that quotation. See the instructions in the style manuals:

• APA, 5th edition, p. 213 (p. 4 of our summary)
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 16.13 [general principles], section 16.109 [in-text citations]
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p. 194
• MLA handbook, 6th edition, p. 244-247
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition) gives guidance on citing "separately identified portions" of different publication types, e.g.
  • journal articles
  • books
  • conference papers

Question: How do I cite a journal article that I viewed online?

Answer: This is a vexed question. Most of the style manuals give specific instructions on how to cite an electronic journal article. However many authors and editors are adopting a much more pragmatic approach. If the journal is also published in printed form, they are citing the article as if they had seen it in printed form. This makes a shorter and simpler citation, but be aware that it is not the practice recommended by most style manuals.

If the journal is only published online, you have no option except to follow the instructions in the style manuals for citing electronic journal articles:

• APA: see the APA Style Guide to Electronic References pp. 7-9
• Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, section 17.180 to 17.181
• Harvard (AGPS/Snooks, 6th edition), p. 230
• MLA style manual, 3rd edition, p. 218-221
• Vancouver (NLM style guide, 2nd edition)