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What is a Bibliographic Citation? Examples & Best Practices

  • Posted on May 26, 2023

Whenever you dip your toes into the research world, one term you will likely encounter is “citation.” The term is familiar as every research work needs to contain a bibliography with a list of the sources consulted during the research process. You also have to ensure that the sources you include are appropriately cited. This is where bibliographic citation comes into the picture.

But what is a bibliographic citation? And how can you ensure that you follow the best practices when citing your sources? Read on to explore the definition, examples, and best practices of bibliographic citations.

What is a Bibliographic Citation?

A bibliographic citation is a reference to a book, article, web page, or other published item that provides the necessary information for readers to locate and retrieve that source. It includes the following information:

  • Author’s last name
  • Date of publication
  • Page numbers of your sources
  • Online sources

When writing a research paper, it is important to cite sources and paraphrase to avoid plagiarism . There are different source types that require other citation formats, such as journal articles, magazine articles, online articles, electronic sources, conference proceedings, and book reviews.

You should include the author’s last name and the publication year in parentheses for in-text citations. If you cite multiple sources, list them alphabetically by the author’s last name.

For reference entries, the format will vary depending on the source type. For example, a journal article citation should include the author’s last name and initials, the publication year, the article title, the journal title, the volume number, and the page numbers. 

An online source citation should include the author’s last name and initials, the publication date, the article title, the website name, the URL or HTML, and the date you accessed the source.

During citation, it is essential to provide detailed information for each source you cite to help readers locate the source. You should also ensure your research paper is accurate and credible for easy organizing.

When writing quoted information, knowing the difference between summarizing and paraphrasing is vital. If you use direct wording without changing them, it could lead to high plagiarism scores. 

What is an Annotated Bibliography?

An annotated bibliography is a collection of specific notes on a source. The bibliographies include two parts: the citation and the annotation. The citation provides basic information about the source, such as the author’s name(s), publication date, title of work, and publisher. 

At the same time, annotations are brief summaries or evaluations describing how valuable each information source was for your research project.

For an annotated bibliography, in-text citations should be included within parentheses after any direct quote or paraphrase from another author’s work (basic format). 

You can also create a reference list with all works cited at the end of the paper. It is essential to list the citations alphabetically by last name and first initial followed by year publication information enclosed in parentheses (Publication Manual).

  • Last Name, First Initial. (Year Published). Title of Book/Article/Journal/Magazine/Newspaper/etc., Publisher/City Where Published.
  • Doe JF Jr., Smith AB III. (2019) Marketing strategies for small businesses: A case study approach. Wiley & Sons Inc, New York City.

Bibliographies can be an incredibly helpful tool when conducting research or writing papers. They provide detailed information about sources used in your work, which can ensure you’re citing all relevant materials correctly.

What are Endnotes?

Endnotes citation provide additional information or clarification on a specific point within the text. You can place them at the end of a page, so readers can easily locate them without disrupting the writing’s continuity. 

Unlike in-text citations, which use parentheses and can be found directly after the quoted or paraphrased material, endnotes utilize superscript numbers that correspond with their respective entries in an organized reference list at the conclusion of your thesis. 

To properly format an endnote, include essential details such as the author’s name, publication date, title, and publisher, separated by commas.

3 Examples of Bibliographic Citations

There are different formats for bibliographic citations, depending on the source type. Here are three examples of bibliographic citations:

1. Book Citation

Here is an American Psychological Association (APA) style book citation:

  • Author Last Name, Author First Name. (Publication Year) Title. Publisher’s City: Publisher. Page numbers

In this citation, the author’s last name comes first, followed by their first name. The publication year is enclosed in parentheses, followed by the book’s title, the publisher’s city, the publisher, and the page numbers. 

For example, Smith, John. (2010) The Great Gatsby. New York: Scribner. 167-250.2. Journal article citation

It is essential to consider if the book has more than one writer, as this can change the formatting of the above citation. For instance, you have to write all the writers’ names in the same format, Last Name, First Name.

2. Journal Article Citation

Here is an APA-style journal article citation:

  • Author Last Name, Author First Name. (Publication Date—could be more than a year) “Article Title.”Publication Title, Vol. #. (Issue #), Page numbers

When citing a journal article, you should include the author’s last name and first name, the publication date, the article title, the publication title, the volume and issue numbers, and the page numbers. You can also input a doi if the publisher provides one.

For example, Johnson, Emily. (2018) “The Effects of Social Media on Mental Health.” Psychology Today, 35(4), 12-23.

3. Website Citation

Here is an American Psychological Association (APA-style) journal article citation:

  • Author. (Date of Internet Publication—could be more than a year) “Document Title.” Title of Publication. Retrieved on: Date from Full Web Address, starting with http://

A website citation should include the author’s name, date of internet publication, document title, title of publication, and the full web address. 

For example, Smith, Mark. (2020) “The Benefits of Meditation.” Healthline. Retrieved on August 15, 2021, from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/12-benefits-of-meditation . Note that the data retrieved should correspond with the precise date you visited the website for research.

You can also use different bibliographic citations to cite the same information. Be keen on the changes, as they can be slightly confusing. 

Best Practices for Bibliographic Citations

Incorporating bibliographic citations effectively is crucial in any research paper or article. Follow these best practices to ensure accuracy and consistency:

  • Choose the appropriate citation style based on your field (e.g., humanities, social sciences).
  • Use quotation marks for direct quotes and italics for titles of longer works.
  • Include parenthetical citations with relevant information, such as the author’s last name, publication date, and page number.
  • List all sources alphabetically by the author’s last name on a separate reference page.
  • Avoid unnecessary abbreviations and maintain consistent formatting throughout your work.

To better understand the citation rules, it is ideal to understand the different exemplary bibliographic citations such as American Psychological Association (APA 7th edition), Chicago, or Modern Language Association (MLA 8th edition). The styles have specific formatting requirements for different types of sources of information like articles and web pages.

For more guidance on citing different sources , refer to this comprehensive citation guide on how to use citations with various styles like APA, MLA style, and the Chicago Manual of Style:

Every research individual can ask, “What is a bibliographic citation?” Bibliographic citations are an essential part of any research paper or publication. They provide detailed information about the sources used in the work and allow readers to locate and verify the information cited. 

Annotated bibliographies and endnotes are also valuable tools for organizing and presenting sources. It is essential to follow best practices, including all necessary information, formatting correctly, and citing multiple sources properly, to ensure your work is credible and reliable. 

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Evaluating Bibliographic Citations

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Evaluating sources of information is an important step in any research activity. This section provides information on evaluating bibliographic citations, aspects of evaluation, reading evaluation, print vs. online sources, and evaluating Internet sources.

A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as a short summary of the text, usually known as the abstract. Depending on where you find your information, the bibliographic citation will vary.

Before you spend a lot of time reading a source, begin by looking at the following information in the citation to evaluate whether it's worth pursuing.

Consider the author, the title of the work, the summary, where it is (e.g., a book, an academic journal, a blog, a social media site), and the timeliness of the entry. You may also want to look at the keywords to see what other categories the work falls into. Evaluate this information to see if it is relevant and valid for your research.

Library Catalog

When searching for sources in a library catalog, the bibliographic citation will often include the author, the publisher, and the physical location of the source in the library (see image below). Using a library catalog is helpful if you are looking for print sources for your research.

This image shows a collection of books on the Purdue Library search engine, each with bibliographic information displayed under the book's title.

Example of bibliographic citations in a library catalog.

Once you find the bibliographic citation, take a look at the author and the publisher. Has this author published other works? Does the publisher list other publications on their website? If you are still uncertain about the credibility, locate the physical source and read bits of it to see if it contains information that’s relevant to your research.

Online Databases

When searching for information in online databases such as  EbscoHost  or  ProQuest , you will most likely find a bibliographic citation entry beneath the title of the source.

This image shows a set of academic research papers found via the ProQuest Research Library search engine, each accompanied by bibliographic information.

Examples of bibliographic citations in an online database.

If a summary or abstract is not available in the preview, often you can click on the source and view more details (see image below).

This image shows a specific research paper landing page found via the ProQuest Research Library search engine. This page displays more detailed information than the general search results page shown above.

Sample extended bibliographic citation and abstract.

Different websites contain different levels of bibliographic citations. Sometimes it’s possible to find complete author information, while other times you may simply have a username or an author’s initials.

Most websites list the available author information directly under the title of the article or at the bottom of the article.

This image shows the beginning of an online magazine-style article. The author's name is clearly displayed beneath the headline.

Sometimes a website does not list an author. If this is the case, it’s important to determine whether the website itself seems credible. If the website is associated with a print publication, or is from a well-known organization, it is probably credible. However, you should read the article to determine whether the information seems valid. On the next page you will find more strategies for determining whether a source is credible.

This image shows the beginning of an online magazine-style article. A generic attribution to the publication's staff is displayed beneath the headline.

Understanding the differences in bibliographic citations is an important step as you search for sources to include in your research.

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  • Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples

Published on 1 May 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 7 November 2022.

In Harvard style , the bibliography or reference list provides full references for the sources you used in your writing.

  • A reference list consists of entries corresponding to your in-text citations .
  • A bibliography sometimes also lists sources that you consulted for background research, but did not cite in your text.

The two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. If in doubt about which to include, check with your instructor or department.

The information you include in a reference varies depending on the type of source, but it usually includes the author, date, and title of the work, followed by details of where it was published. You can automatically generate accurate references using our free reference generator:

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Table of contents

Formatting a harvard style bibliography, harvard reference examples, referencing sources with multiple authors, referencing sources with missing information, frequently asked questions about harvard bibliographies.

Sources are alphabetised by author last name. The heading ‘Reference list’ or ‘Bibliography’ appears at the top.

Each new source appears on a new line, and when an entry for a single source extends onto a second line, a hanging indent is used:

Harvard bibliography

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Reference list or bibliography entries always start with the author’s last name and initial, the publication date and the title of the source. The other information required varies depending on the source type. Formats and examples for the most common source types are given below.

  • Entire book
  • Book chapter
  • Translated book
  • Edition of a book

Journal articles

  • Print journal
  • Online-only journal with DOI
  • Online-only journal without DOI
  • General web page
  • Online article or blog
  • Social media post

Newspapers and magazines

  • Newspaper article
  • Magazine article

When a source has up to three authors, list all of them in the order their names appear on the source. If there are four or more, give only the first name followed by ‘ et al. ’:

Sometimes a source won’t list all the information you need for your reference. Here’s what to do when you don’t know the publication date or author of a source.

Some online sources, as well as historical documents, may lack a clear publication date. In these cases, you can replace the date in the reference list entry with the words ‘no date’. With online sources, you still include an access date at the end:

When a source doesn’t list an author, you can often list a corporate source as an author instead, as with ‘Scribbr’ in the above example. When that’s not possible, begin the entry with the title instead of the author:

Though the terms are sometimes used interchangeably, there is a difference in meaning:

  • A reference list only includes sources cited in the text – every entry corresponds to an in-text citation .
  • A bibliography also includes other sources which were consulted during the research but not cited.

In Harvard referencing, up to three author names are included in an in-text citation or reference list entry. When there are four or more authors, include only the first, followed by ‘ et al. ’

In Harvard style referencing , to distinguish between two sources by the same author that were published in the same year, you add a different letter after the year for each source:

  • (Smith, 2019a)
  • (Smith, 2019b)

Add ‘a’ to the first one you cite, ‘b’ to the second, and so on. Do the same in your bibliography or reference list .

To create a hanging indent for your bibliography or reference list :

  • Highlight all the entries
  • Click on the arrow in the bottom-right corner of the ‘Paragraph’ tab in the top menu.
  • In the pop-up window, under ‘Special’ in the ‘Indentation’ section, use the drop-down menu to select ‘Hanging’.
  • Then close the window with ‘OK’.

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 Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, November 07). Harvard Style Bibliography | Format & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 15 February 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/harvard-bibliography/

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bibliography

Definition of bibliography

Examples of bibliography in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bibliography.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

probably from New Latin bibliographia , from Greek, the copying of books, from bibli- + -graphia -graphy

1689, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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“Bibliography.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bibliography. Accessed 16 Feb. 2024.

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If you are using Chicago style footnotes or endnotes, you should include a bibliography at the end of your paper that provides complete citation information for all of the sources you cite in your paper. Bibliography entries are formatted differently from notes. For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines. Here’s a link to a sample bibliography that shows layout and spacing . You can find a sample of note format here .

Complete note vs. shortened note

Here’s an example of a complete note and a shortened version of a note for a book:

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated , 27-35.

Note vs. Bibliography entry

The bibliography entry that corresponds with each note is very similar to the longer version of the note, except that the author’s last and first name are reversed in the bibliography entry. To see differences between note and bibliography entries for different types of sources, check this section of the Chicago Manual of Style .

For Liquidated , the bibliography entry would look like this:

Ho, Karen, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009.

Citing a source with two or three authors

If you are citing a source with two or three authors, list their names in your note in the order they appear in the original source. In the bibliography, invert only the name of the first author and use “and” before the last named author.

1. Melissa Borja and Jacob Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees,” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17, no. 3 (2019): 80-81, https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Shortened note:

1. Borja and Gibson, “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics,” 80-81.

Bibliography:

Borja, Melissa, and Jacob Gibson. “Internationalism with Evangelical Characteristics: The Case of Evangelical Responses to Southeast Asian Refugees.” The Review of Faith & International Affairs 17. no. 3 (2019): 80–93. https://doi.org/10.1080/15570274.2019.1643983 .

Citing a source with more than three authors

If you are citing a source with more than three authors, include all of them in the bibliography, but only include the first one in the note, followed by et al. ( et al. is the shortened form of the Latin et alia , which means “and others”).

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults,” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1271.

Short version of note:

1. Justine M. Nagurney, et al., “Risk Factors for Disability,” 1271.

Nagurney, Justine M., Ling Han, Linda Leo‐Summers, Heather G. Allore, Thomas M. Gill, and Ula Hwang. “Risk Factors for Disability After Emergency Department Discharge in Older Adults.” Academic Emergency Medicine 27, no. 12 (2020): 1270–78. https://doi.org/10.1111/acem.14088 .

Citing a book consulted online

If you are citing a book you consulted online, you should include a URL, DOI, or the name of the database where you found the book.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), 27-35, https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Bibliography entry:

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. https://doi-org.ezp-prod1.hul.harvard.edu/10.1215/9780822391371 .

Citing an e-book consulted outside of a database

If you are citing an e-book that you accessed outside of a database, you should indicate the format. If you read the book in a format without fixed page numbers (like Kindle, for example), you should not include the page numbers that you saw as you read. Instead, include chapter or section numbers, if possible.

1. Karen Ho, Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street (Durham: Duke University Press, 2009), chap. 2, Kindle.

Ho, Karen. Liquidated: An Ethnography of Wall Street . Durham: Duke University Press, 2009. Kindle.

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Citing Sources - References vs Bibliography

References and Bibliographies - What's the difference?

When you write academic papers, you will need to include a list of sources you used to write the paper. There are two main ways to list your sources, with a reference list or a bibliography.

References include sources that have been directly cited in your paper. For each source, you will have at least one in-text citation in the body of your paper. The citation styles that use reference lists include APA citations, AMA citations, and MLA citations.

Bibliographies, on the other hand, contain all the sources that you have used for your paper, whether they are directly cited or not. In a bibliography, you should include all of the materials you consulted in preparing your paper. Chicago citations and Oxford citations are two citation styles that use bibliographies.

Both reference lists and bibliographies appear at the end of a written work and are usually organized alphabetically. A paper can have both a reference list and a bibliography.

For more information on how to cite your sources, check out the De Paul Library's Citation Guide .

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Bibliography: Definition and Examples

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A bibliography is a list of works (such as books and articles) written on a particular subject or by a particular author. Adjective : bibliographic.

Also known as a list of works cited , a bibliography may appear at the end of a book, report , online presentation, or research paper . Students are taught that a bibliography, along with correctly formatted in-text citations, is crucial to properly citing one's research and to avoiding accusations of plagiarism . In formal research, all sources used, whether quoted directly or synopsized, should be included in the bibliography.

An annotated bibliography includes a brief descriptive and evaluative paragraph (the annotation ) for each item in the list. These annotations often give more context about why a certain source may be useful or related to the topic at hand.

  • Etymology:  From the Greek, "writing about books" ( biblio , "book", graph , "to write")
  • Pronunciation:  bib-lee-OG-rah-fee

Examples and Observations

"Basic bibliographic information includes title, author or editor, publisher, and the year the current edition was published or copyrighted . Home librarians often like to keep track of when and where they acquired a book, the price, and a personal annotation, which would include their opinions of the book or of the person who gave it to them" (Patricia Jean Wagner, The Bloomsbury Review Booklover's Guide . Owaissa Communications, 1996)

Conventions for Documenting Sources

"It is standard practice in scholarly writing to include at the end of books or chapters and at the end of articles a list of the sources that the writer consulted or cited. Those lists, or bibliographies, often include sources that you will also want to consult. . . . "Established conventions for documenting sources vary from one academic discipline to another. The Modern Language Association (MLA) style of documentation is preferred in literature and languages. For papers in the social sciences the American Psychological Association (APA) style is preferred, whereas papers in history, philosophy, economics, political science, and business disciplines are formatted in the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) system. The Council of Biology Editors (CBE) recommends varying documentation styles for different natural sciences." (Robert DiYanni and Pat C. Hoy II, The Scribner Handbook for Writers , 3rd ed. Allyn and Bacon, 2001)

APA vs MLA Styles

There are several different styles of citations and bibliographies that you might encounter: MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and more. As described above, each of those styles is often associated with a particular segment of academia and research. Of these, the most widely used are APA and MLA styles. They both include similar information, but arranged and formatted differently.

"In an entry for a book in an APA-style works-cited list, the date (in parentheses) immediately follows the name of the author (whose first name is written only as an initial), just the first word of the title is capitalized, and the publisher's full name is generally provided.

APA Anderson, I. (2007). This is our music: Free jazz, the sixties, and American culture . Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

By contrast, in an MLA-style entry, the author's name appears as given in the work (normally in full), every important word of the title is capitalized, some words in the publisher's name are abbreviated, the publication date follows the publisher's name, and the medium of publication is recorded. . . . In both styles, the first line of the entry is flush with the left margin, and the second and subsequent lines are indented.

MLA Anderson, Iain. This Is Our Music: Free Jazz, the Sixties, and American Culture . Philadelphia: U of Pennsylvania P, 2007. Print. The Arts and Intellectual Life in Mod. Amer.

( MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers , 7th ed. The Modern Language Association of America, 2009)

Finding Bibliographic Information for Online Sources

"For Web sources, some bibliographic information may not be available, but spend time looking for it before assuming that it doesn't exist. When information isn't available on the home page, you may have to drill into the site, following links to interior pages. Look especially for the author's name, the date of publication (or latest update), and the name of any sponsoring organization. Do not omit such information unless it is genuinely unavailable. . . . "Online articles and books sometimes include a DOI (digital object identifier). APA uses the DOI, when available, in place of a URL in reference list entries." (Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, A Writer's Reference With Strategies for Online Learners , 7th ed. Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011)

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  • bibliography

a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer.

a list of source materials that are used or consulted in the preparation of a work or that are referred to in the text.

a branch of library science dealing with the history, physical description, comparison, and classification of books and other works.

Origin of bibliography

Other words from bibliography.

  • bib·li·o·graph·ic [bib-lee- uh - graf -ik], /ˌbɪb li əˈgræf ɪk/, bib·li·o·graph·i·cal, adjective
  • bib·li·o·graph·i·cal·ly, adverb
  • min·i·bib·li·og·ra·phy, noun, plural min·i·bib·li·og·ra·phies.

Words Nearby bibliography

  • bibliograph
  • bibliographer
  • bibliographic control
  • bibliographic utility
  • biblioklept
  • bibliolatry
  • bibliomancy
  • bibliomania

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bibliography in a sentence

He’s toyed with Collatz for about fifty years and become keeper of the knowledge, compiling annotated bibliographies and editing a book on the subject, “The Ultimate Challenge.”

Some readers might prefer more background science for each question — for a book that aims to crush pseudoscience, a bibliography or at least footnotes would have been useful.

Kalb makes the disclaimer in his preface that “memoirs, by definition, are not works of history — no footnotes, no bibliography .”

Otlet began modestly in the 1890s, creating a bibliography of sociological literature.

Lop off the endnotes and bibliography , and The Measure of Manhattan is barely 300 pages.

Tyler does not provide us with a bibliography , although his extensive notes include many books on Israel and its neighbors.

For full bibliography (to 1904) see Ulysse Chevalier, Rpertoire des sources hist.

Punctuation has been normalized for the stage directions and the play listings in the bibliography .

Within six months, if you're not sandbagged or jailed on fake libel suits, you'll have a unique bibliography of swindles.

There is a very inadequate bibliography in the Introduction.

His ample bibliography leaves no point necessary for elucidation untouched.

British Dictionary definitions for bibliography

/ ( ˌbɪblɪˈɒɡrəfɪ ) /

a list of books or other material on a subject

a list of sources used in the preparation of a book, thesis, etc

a list of the works of a particular author or publisher

the study of the history, classification, etc, of literary material

a work on this subject

Derived forms of bibliography

  • bibliographer , noun
  • bibliographic ( ˌbɪblɪəʊˈɡræfɪk ) or bibliographical , adjective
  • bibliographically , adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for bibliography

A list of the written sources of information on a subject. Bibliographies generally appear as a list at the end of a book or article. They may show what works the author used in writing the article or book, or they may list works that a reader might find useful.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

  • Key Differences

Know the Differences & Comparisons

Difference Between Reference and Bibliography

reference vs bibliography

Reference and Bibliography is an important part of any project under study because it helps in acknowledging other’s work and also help the readers in finding the original sources of information. It not only prevents plagiarism but also indicates that the writer has done good research on the subject by using a variety of sources to gain information.

Read out the article to know the differences between reference and bibliography.

Content: Reference Vs Bibliography

Comparison chart, definition of reference.

Reference can be understood as the act of giving credit to or mentioning the name of, someone or something. In research methodology, it denotes the items which you have reviewed and referred to, in the text, in your research work. It is nothing but a way to acknowledge or indirectly showing gratitude, towards the sources from where the information is gathered.

While using references, one thing is to be noted that you go for reliable sources only, because it increases credence and also supports your arguments. It may include, books, research papers, or articles from magazines, journals, newspapers, etc., interview transcripts, internet sources such as websites, blogs, videos watched, and so forth.

These are used to inform the reader about the sources of direct quotations, tables, statistics, photos etc. that are included in the research work.

Definition of Bibliography

At the end of the research report, bibliography is added, which contains a list of books, magazines, journals, websites or other publications which are in some way relevant to the topic under study, that has been consulted by the researcher during the research. In finer terms, it comprises of all the references cited in the form of footnotes and other important works that the author has studied.

The bibliography is helpful to the reader in gaining information regarding the literature available on the topic and what influenced the author. For better presentation and convenient reading, the bibliography can be grouped into two parts, wherein the first part lists out the names of books and pamphlets consulted, and the other contains the names of magazines and newspapers considered.

Types of Bibliography

  • Bibliography of works cited : It contains the name of those books whose content has been cited in the text of the research report.
  • Selected Bibliography : As it is evident from the name itself, selected bibliography covers only those works which the author assumes that are of major interest to the reader.
  • Annotated Bibliography : In this type of bibliography, a small description of the items covered is given by the author to ensure readability and also improve the usefulness of the book.

Key Differences Between Reference and Bibliography

The difference between reference and bibliography can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:

  • Reference implies referring to someone or something, that means it provides the list of sources, whose text is used in the assignment or research work. Conversely, bibliography represents the list of all the sources, from which the research has gained some information about the topic, irrespective of the work cited or not.
  • References are based on primary sources, whereas bibliography is created on the basis of primary and secondary sources.
  • References used in the assignment can be arranged alphabetically or numerically. On the contrary, list of sources used in the bibliography is arranged numerically.
  • The bibliography is used to list out everything you go through to obtain the information relating to the assignment, no matter if you specifically cite it in your assignment or not. Now coming to references, it only takes into account those sources which have been cited in the assignment.
  • The main objective of adding a reference at the end of the document is to improve credence or support an idea or argument. As against, the bibliography is not used for supporting an argument.
  • While reference is used in thesis and dissertation. On the other hand, bibliography is used in case of journal paper and research work.

To sum up, references and bibliography are almost same, but there are only subtle differences between the two, which lies in the items which are included in them. The primary use of references is to get recognition and authentication of the research work, whereas bibliography is appended with the aim of giving the reader the information on the sources relating to the topic.

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footnote vs endnote

manjitha says

October 5, 2019 at 9:56 am

It was so helpful to study easily. Easy to understand. Gud job

November 5, 2019 at 6:41 am

Thanks for the work.

Amirjan Samim says

November 11, 2019 at 11:22 pm

All of the descriptions and information about the “reference and bibliography” and the difference between them are useful for the readers. Since both terms are closely related, this is why both terms are sometimes confusing for some people. Thanks for the helpful explanations you have given about the two terms mentioned above.

Chiranjit Singha says

January 20, 2020 at 8:01 pm

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February 10, 2020 at 2:19 pm

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May 6, 2020 at 8:07 pm

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June 27, 2020 at 9:40 am

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Ishaka Ibrahim says

March 2, 2021 at 2:07 pm

Very interesting and educative write up but would like to see reference/source of the work.

hassan sakaba says

March 25, 2021 at 5:23 pm

April 8, 2021 at 3:29 pm

Very helpful However I had a doubt regarding the placement of bibliography. Usually references are placed after the main body and conclusion. But where is bibliography placed?

Aladuge says

August 28, 2021 at 1:39 pm

This is a wonderful piece. Thanks for a job well done

Darlington mwape says

September 8, 2022 at 2:17 pm

Thanks for this wonderful piece of information but iam going with S. N says

I had a doubt regarding the placement of bibliography. Usually references are placed after the main body and conclusion. But where is bibliography placed?

OMVITI NOBERT says

January 13, 2023 at 4:41 pm

The comparisons are very good. Thank you. Be blessed more in wisdom.

March 25, 2023 at 4:32 am

So for my podcast, which is mainly audio essays, which should I use?

Pias Hebal Karmakar says

June 9, 2023 at 2:50 pm

I am much more pleased with this work. I helped me a lot in my study. Thanks.

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  • Citing sources

How to Cite Sources | Citation Generator & Quick Guide

Citing your sources is essential in  academic writing . Whenever you quote or paraphrase a source (such as a book, article, or webpage), you have to include a  citation crediting the original author.

Failing to properly cite your sources counts as plagiarism , since you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

The most commonly used citation styles are APA and MLA. The free Scribbr Citation Generator is the quickest way to cite sources in these styles. Simply enter the URL, DOI, or title, and we’ll generate an accurate, correctly formatted citation.

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Table of contents

When do you need to cite sources, which citation style should you use, in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies.

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Citation examples and full guides, frequently asked questions about citing sources.

Citations are required in all types of academic texts. They are needed for several reasons:

  • To avoid plagiarism by indicating when you’re taking information from another source
  • To give proper credit to the author of that source
  • To allow the reader to consult your sources for themselves

A citation is needed whenever you integrate a source into your writing. This usually means quoting or paraphrasing:

  • To quote a source , copy a short piece of text word for word and put it inside quotation marks .
  • To paraphrase a source , put the text into your own words. It’s important that the paraphrase is not too close to the original wording. You can use the paraphrasing tool if you don’t want to do this manually.

Citations are needed whether you quote or paraphrase, and whatever type of source you use. As well as citing scholarly sources like books and journal articles, don’t forget to include citations for any other sources you use for ideas, examples, or evidence. That includes websites, YouTube videos , and lectures .

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Usually, your institution (or the journal you’re submitting to) will require you to follow a specific citation style, so check your guidelines or ask your instructor.

In some cases, you may have to choose a citation style for yourself. Make sure to pick one style and use it consistently:

  • APA Style is widely used in the social sciences and beyond.
  • MLA style is common in the humanities.
  • Chicago notes and bibliography , common in the humanities
  • Chicago author-date , used in the (social) sciences
  • There are many other citation styles for different disciplines.

If in doubt, check with your instructor or read other papers from your field of study to see what style they follow.

In most styles, your citations consist of:

  • Brief in-text citations at the relevant points in the text
  • A reference list or bibliography containing full information on all the sources you’ve cited

In-text citations most commonly take the form of parenthetical citations featuring the last name of the source’s author and its year of publication (aka author-date citations).

An alternative to this type of in-text citation is the system used in numerical citation styles , where a number is inserted into the text, corresponding to an entry in a numbered reference list.

There are also note citation styles , where you place your citations in either footnotes or endnotes . Since they’re not embedded in the text itself, these citations can provide more detail and sometimes aren’t accompanied by a full reference list or bibliography.

A reference list (aka “Bibliography” or “Works Cited,” depending on the style) is where you provide full information on each of the sources you’ve cited in the text. It appears at the end of your paper, usually with a hanging indent applied to each entry.

The information included in reference entries is broadly similar, whatever citation style you’re using. For each source, you’ll typically include the:

  • Author name
  • Publication date
  • Container (e.g., the book an essay was published in, the journal an article appeared in)
  • Location (e.g., a URL or DOI , or sometimes a physical location)

The exact information included varies depending on the source type and the citation style. The order in which the information appears, and how you format it (e.g., capitalization, use of italics) also varies.

Most commonly, the entries in your reference list are alphabetized by author name. This allows the reader to easily find the relevant entry based on the author name in your in-text citation.

APA-reference-list

In numerical citation styles, the entries in your reference list are numbered, usually based on the order in which you cite them. The reader finds the right entry based on the number that appears in the text.

Vancouver reference list example

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Because each style has many small differences regarding things like italicization, capitalization , and punctuation , it can be difficult to get every detail right. Using a citation generator can save you a lot of time and effort.

Scribbr offers citation generators for both APA and MLA style. Both are quick, easy to use, and 100% free, with no ads and no registration required.

Just input a URL or DOI or add the source details manually, and the generator will automatically produce an in-text citation and reference entry in the correct format. You can save your reference list as you go and download it when you’re done, and even add annotations for an annotated bibliography .

Once you’ve prepared your citations, you might still be unsure if they’re correct and if you’ve used them appropriately in your text. This is where Scribbr’s other citation tools and services may come in handy:

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Plagiarism means passing off someone else’s words or ideas as your own. It’s a serious offense in academia. Universities use plagiarism checking software to scan your paper and identify any similarities to other texts.

When you’re dealing with a lot of sources, it’s easy to make mistakes that could constitute accidental plagiarism. For example, you might forget to add a citation after a quote, or paraphrase a source in a way that’s too close to the original text.

Using a plagiarism checker yourself before you submit your work can help you spot these mistakes before they get you in trouble. Based on the results, you can add any missing citations and rephrase your text where necessary.

Try out the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker for free, or check out our detailed comparison of the best plagiarism checkers available online.

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Scribbr’s Citation Checker is a unique AI-powered tool that automatically detects stylistic errors and inconsistencies in your in-text citations. It also suggests a correction for every mistake.

Currently available for APA Style, this is the fastest and easiest way to make sure you’ve formatted your citations correctly. You can try out the tool for free below.

If you need extra help with your reference list, we also offer a more in-depth Citation Editing Service.

Our experts cross-check your in-text citations and reference entries, make sure you’ve included the correct information for each source, and improve the formatting of your reference page.

If you want to handle your citations yourself, Scribbr’s free Knowledge Base provides clear, accurate guidance on every aspect of citation. You can see citation examples for a variety of common source types below:

And you can check out our comprehensive guides to the most popular citation styles:

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.

“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .

Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.

Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

APA format is widely used by professionals, researchers, and students in the social and behavioral sciences, including fields like education, psychology, and business.

Be sure to check the guidelines of your university or the journal you want to be published in to double-check which style you should be using.

MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

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  • Parenthetical Citation | APA, MLA & Chicago Examples
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bibliographical reference meaning

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Definition of bibliographical adjective from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

bibliographical

  • bibliographical references

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bibliographical reference meaning

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bibliographical reference

Meanings of bibliographical and reference.

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(Definition of bibliographical and reference from the Cambridge English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

  • Examples of bibliographical reference

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  • Definition of bibliographical
  • Definition of reference
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Citing and referencing: Abbreviations used in referencing

  • In-text citations
  • Reference list
  • Books and book chapters
  • Journals/Periodicals
  • Newspapers/Magazines
  • Government and other reports
  • Legal sources
  • Websites and social media
  • Audio, music and visual media
  • Conferences
  • Dictionaries/Encyclopedias/Guides
  • Theses/Dissertations
  • University course materials
  • Company and Industry reports
  • Patents and Standards
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  • In-Text Citations: Further Information
  • Reference List: Standard Abbreviations
  • Data Sheets (inc. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS))
  • Figures & Tables (inc. Images)
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  • Reports & Technical Reports
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  • Reference list guidelines
  • Journal articles
  • Government and industry publications
  • Websites, newspaper and social media
  • Conference papers, theses and university material
  • Video and audio
  • Images, graphs, tables, data sets
  • Personal communications
  • In-text Citations
  • Journals / Periodicals
  • Encyclopedias and Dictionaries
  • Interviews and lectures
  • Music Scores / Recordings
  • Film / Video Recording
  • Television / Radio Broadcast
  • Online Communication / Social Media
  • Live Performances
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Astrophysics > Cosmology and Nongalactic Astrophysics

Title: lisa definition study report.

Abstract: The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is the first scientific endeavour to detect and study gravitational waves from space. LISA will survey the sky for Gravitational Waves in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz frequency band which will enable the study of a vast number of objects ranging from Galactic binaries and stellar mass black holes in the Milky Way, to distant massive black-hole mergers and the expansion of the Universe. This definition study report, or Red Book, presents a summary of the very large body of work that has been undertaken on the LISA mission over the LISA definition phase.

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COMMENTS

  1. What is a Bibliographic Citation? Examples & Best Practices

    A bibliographic citation is a reference to a book, article, web page, or other published item that provides the necessary information for readers to locate and retrieve that source. It includes the following information: Author's last name Date of publication Page numbers of your sources Online sources

  2. Evaluating Bibliographic Citations

    A bibliographic citation provides relevant information about the author and publication as well as a short summary of the text, usually known as the abstract. Depending on where you find your information, the bibliographic citation will vary.

  3. Bibliography

    Bibliography (from Ancient Greek: βιβλίον, romanized : biblion, lit. 'book' and -γραφία, -graphía, 'writing'), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology [1] (from Ancient Greek: -λογία, romanized : -logía ).

  4. How to Write a Bibliography, With Examples

    A bibliography is a list of all the sources you consulted while writing your paper. Every book, article, and even video you used to gather information for your paper needs to be cited in your bibliography so your instructor (and any others reading your work) can trace the facts, statistics, and insights back to their original sources.

  5. Harvard Style Bibliography

    In Harvard style, the bibliography or reference list provides full references for the sources you used in your writing. A reference list consists of entries corresponding to your in-text citations. A bibliography sometimes also lists sources that you consulted for background research, but did not cite in your text.

  6. Bibliography Definition & Meaning

    : a list of works written by an author or printed by a publishing house compiled a complete bibliography of John Donne 3 : the works or a list of the works referred to in a text or consulted by the author in its production The book's bibliography contains over 400 items. bibliographic ˌbi-blē-ə-ˈgra-fik adjective or less commonly bibliographical

  7. PDF What are bibliographies and references

    What is a bibliography? The term bibliography is the term used for a list of sources (e.g. books, articles, websites) used to write an assignment (e.g. an essay). It usually includes all the sources consulted even if they not directly cited (referred to) in the assignment. How does a 'List of References' differ from a 'Bibliography'?

  8. Bibliography

    For bibliography entries, you list the sources alphabetically by last name, so you will list the last name of the author or creator first in each entry. You should single-space within a bibliography entry and double-space between them. When an entry goes longer than one line, use a hanging indent of .5 inches for subsequent lines.

  9. Bibliographic Information

    A bibliography is a list of works on a subject or by an author that were used or consulted to write a research paper, book or article. It can also be referred to as a list of works cited. It is usually found at the end of a book, article or research paper. Gathering Information

  10. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL

    mainly UK uk / ˌbɪb.li.əˈɡræf.ɪ.k ə l / us / ˌbɪb.li.əˈɡræf.ɪ.k ə l / (also mainly US bibliographic) Add to word list relating to a bibliography (= a list of the books, etc. that have been used when writing a particular book or article, or a list of the books from a particular writer or publisher or on a particular subject):

  11. Citation Styles Guide

    A citation style is a set of guidelines on how to cite sources in your academic writing. You always need a citation whenever you quote, paraphrase, or summarize a source to avoid plagiarism. How you present these citations depends on the style you follow. Scribbr's citation generator can help!

  12. How to Write a Bibliography in APA and MLA styles With Examples

    Even though different journals may use a slightly different format for the bibliography, they all contain the same basic information. The most basic information that each reference should have is the author's name, the title, the date, and the source. Different types of sources have different formatting in the bibliography.

  13. References vs Bibliography

    There are two main ways to list your sources, with a reference list or a bibliography. References include sources that have been directly cited in your paper. For each source, you will have at least one in-text citation in the body of your paper. The citation styles that use reference lists include APA citations, AMA citations, and MLA citations.

  14. Bibliography: Definition and Examples

    A bibliography is a list of works (such as books and articles) written on a particular subject or by a particular author. Adjective: bibliographic. Also known as a list of works cited, a bibliography may appear at the end of a book, report, online presentation, or research paper.

  15. Citations, References and Bibliography in Research Papers [Beginner's

    A bibliography in research paper is a list of sources that appears at the end of a research paper or an article, and contains information that may or may not be directly mentioned in the research paper.

  16. BIBLIOGRAPHY Definition & Usage Examples

    a complete or selective list of works compiled upon some common principle, as authorship, subject, place of publication, or printer. a list of source materials that are used or consulted in the preparation of a work or that are referred to in the text.

  17. Difference Between Reference and Bibliography (with Comparison Chart

    Reference implies referring to someone or something, that means it provides the list of sources, whose text is used in the assignment or research work. Conversely, bibliography represents the list of all the sources, from which the research has gained some information about the topic, irrespective of the work cited or not.

  18. How to Cite Sources

    Reference lists and bibliographies. A reference list (aka "Bibliography" or "Works Cited," depending on the style) is where you provide full information on each of the sources you've cited in the text. It appears at the end of your paper, usually with a hanging indent applied to each entry.

  19. bibliographical adjective

    /ˌbɪbliəˈɡræfɪkl/ (also bibliographic /ˌbɪbliəˈɡræfɪk/ /ˌbɪbliəˈɡræfɪk/ ) connected with a list of books about a particular subject or by a particular author, or to the list of books that have been used by somebody writing an article, etc. bibliographical references Want to learn more?

  20. BIBLIOGRAPHICAL definition

    mainly UK uk / ˌbɪb.li.əˈɡræf.ɪ.k ə l / us / ˌbɪb.li.əˈɡræf.ɪ.k ə l / (also mainly US bibliographic) Add to word list relating to a bibliography (= a list of the books, etc. that have been used when writing a particular book or article, or a list of the books from a particular writer or publisher or on a particular subject):

  21. bibliographical reference collocation

    Examples of bibliographical reference in a sentence, how to use it. 18 examples: The outcome of that may well be a bibliographical reference; it could be an abstract or it could be…

  22. Bibliographic reference

    TheFreeDictionary bibliographic reference Also found in: Acronyms . bibliographic reference A standard entry in a published work which refers the reader to an original source of information referenced or cited by an author in the main body of the text.

  23. Citing and referencing: Abbreviations used in referencing

    et al. This means 'and others'. It is used in in-text citations where there are 3 or more authors. NOTE: full stop after 'al.' not after 'et'. Example. 3 to 5 authors. (Alberto, Jacobi & Keating, 1993) for the first citation and (Alberto et al., 1993) in subsequent citations. 6 or more authors.

  24. [2402.07571] LISA Definition Study Report

    The Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA) is the first scientific endeavour to detect and study gravitational waves from space. LISA will survey the sky for Gravitational Waves in the 0.1 mHz to 1 Hz frequency band which will enable the study of a vast number of objects ranging from Galactic binaries and stellar mass black holes in the Milky Way, to distant massive black-hole mergers and ...