Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a Reference List.
A "hanging indent" means that each subsequent line after the first line of your citation should be indented by 0.5 inches.
A print book means it's printed on paper. If you checked the book out of a library or bought it from a bookstore, it's print.
An eBook is a book you can read entirely online.
If a book has no author or editor, begin the citation with the book title, followed by the year of publication in round brackets.
If an author is also the publisher, put the word "Author" where you'd normally put the publisher name. This happens most often with corporate or group authors.
When a book has one to seven authors or editors, all authors' names are cited in the Reference List entry. When a book has eight or more authors or editors, list the first six authors followed by three spaced ellipse points (. . .) , and then the last author's name. Rules are different for in-text citations; please see the examples provided.
Capitalize the first letter of the first word of the title. If there is a colon (:) in the title, also capitalize the first letter of the first word after the colon.
Capitalize the first letter of proper names in titles, such as names of places or people. Example: Canada
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Examples: Toronto, ON ; Tokyo, Japan
Don't include the place of publication or a publisher for an electronic book (ebook). Instead follow the rules below:
If an ebook has a doi, use it. Otherwise Seneca Libraries recommends giving the name of the database you found the book from.
If an ebook from a website was originally published in print, give the author, year, title, edition (if given) and the url. If it was never published in print, treat it like a multi-page website.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Watson, J. (2012). Human caring science: A theory of nursing (2nd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Watson, 2012) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Watson, 2012, p. 70) |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved from Database Name database.
| Reference List Example |
Schildt, H. (2011). Java: The complete reference (8th ed.). Retrieved from Books 24x7 database. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Schildt, 2011) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Schildt, 2011, p. 101) |
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition) [Name of Electronic Book Provider or Device version if any, e.g. Google Books version, Kobo version]. Retrieved from URL
| Reference List Example |
OpenStax. (2013, March 6). Anatomy and physiology. Retrieved from https://opentextbc.ca/anatomyandphysiology/ |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Nightingale, 1860) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Nightingale, 1860, p. 157) |
| Number of Authors/Editors | First Time Paraphrased | Second and Subsequent Times Paraphrased | First Time Quoting | Second and Subsequent Times Quoting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two |
(Case & Daristotle, 2011) |
(Case & Daristotle, 2011) |
(Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57) | (Case & Daristotle, 2011, p. 57) |
| Three to Five | (Case, Daristotle, Hayek, Smith, & Raash, 2011) | (Case et al., 2011) | (Case, Daristotle, Hayekm, Smith, & Raash, 2011, p. 57) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) |
| Six or More |
(Case et al., 2011) |
(Case et al., 2011) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) | (Case et al., 2011, p. 57) |
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: Authors' names are separated by commas. Put a comma and an ampersand (&) before the name of the last author cited.
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Case, L. P., Daristotle, L., Hayek, M. G., & Raash, M. F. (2011). Canine and feline nutrition : A resource for companion animal professionals (3rd ed.). Maryland Heights, MO: Mosby. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text | See chart here |
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Retrieved from Database Name database.
| Reference List Example |
Simpson, M. T., Backman, K., & Corley, J. E. (2012). Hands-on ethical hacking and network defense. Retrieved from Safari Books Online database. |
| In-Text | See chart here |
Last Name of First Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given, & Last Name of Second Author, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition) [Name of Electronic Book Provider or Device version if any, e.g. Google Books version, Kobo version]. Retrieved from URL
| Reference List Example |
Allen, G. M., & Tozzer, A. M. (1910). Animal figures in the Maya codices. [Project Gutenberg version]. Retrieved from http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/19042 |
| In-Text | See chart here |
Note: All citations should be double spaced and have a hanging indent in a References List.
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of chapter, article, essay or short story. In Editor's First Initial. Second Initial if Given. Editor's Last Name (Ed.), Title of book (pp. first page number-last page number). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note:
If you have more than one editor list their name(s) after the first editor listed in the book, giving their initials and last name. Put an ampersand (&) before the last editor's name.
When you have one editor the short form (Ed.) is used after the editor's name. If you have more than one editor use (Eds.) instead.
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Stockert, P. A. & Taylor, C. (2014). Sleep. In P. A. Potter, A. G. Perry, J. C. Ross-Kerr & M.J. Wood (Eds.), Canadian fundamentals of nursing (5th Cdn. ed., pp. 993-1016). Toronto, ON: Elsevier. Note: If there is no editor given you may leave out that part of the citation. For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) See chart here for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example (2 authors) (Stockert & Taylor, 2014) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) See chart here for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example (2 authors) (Stockert & Taylor, 2014, p. 998) |
Name of Corporate Author. (Year of Publication). Title of book: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
American Psychological Association. (2010). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (6th ed.). Washington, DC: Author. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. If the Corporate Author is also the publisher of the book, put the word "Author" where you'd normally put the Publisher Name. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Name of Corporate Author, Year) Example: (American Psychological Association, 2010) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Name of Corporate Author, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (American Psychological Association, 2010, p. 205 ) |
Name of Corporate/Group Author. (Year of Publication). Title of pamphlet or brochure: Subtitle if given [Brochure]. Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
Use the term [Brochure] for a pamphlet or brochure.
| Reference List Example |
Region of Waterloo Public Health. (n.d.). Eat well for less [Brochure]. Waterloo, ON: Author. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. Use the letters n.d. where you would normally put the date of publication when no date is provided. In this example the author is also the publisher of the brochure. In this case put the word Author where you'd normally put the publisher's name. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Name of Corporate/Group Author, Year) Example: (Region of Waterloo Public Health, n.d.) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Name of Corporate/Group Author, Year, p. Page Number) (Region of Waterloo Public Health, n.d., p. 15) |
If no author or creator is provided, start the citation with the title/name of the item you are citing instead. Follow the title/name of the item with the date of publication, and the continue with other citation details.
Remember: an author/creator may be an organization or corporation, for example Health Canada. If you don't have a person's name as the author, but do have the name of an organization or corporation, put that organization/corporation's name as the author.
Anonymous
If and only if an item is signed as being created by Anonymous, use "Anonymous" where you'd normally put the author's name.
In-Text
When you have no author, use a shortened version of the title where you'd normally put the author's name.
If you're citing something which is part of a bigger work, like an article from a magazine, newspaper, journal, encyclopedia, or chapter/short story from a book, put the shortened title in quotation marks in your in-text citation:
Example, paraphrase: ("A few words," 2014)
If you're citing an entire work, like a book, website, video, etc., italicize the shortened title in your in-text citation:
Example, paraphrase: (A few words, 2014)
Author of chapter/article’s Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication of Course Pack). Title of chapter or article from course pack. In First Initial. Last Name of Instructor Who Created Course Pack if Listed (Comp.),Title of coursepack often starts with the course code (pp. first page of reading-last page of reading). Toronto, ON: Seneca Polytechnic.
Note: Comp. stands for "Compiler". For course packs made by Seneca, we recommend using Toronto, ON as the place of publication.
| Reference List Example |
Morris, M. (2014). The lifeguard. In T. Hay (Comp.), SES 225: Stories of youth (pp.125-132). Toronto, ON: Seneca Polytechnic. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author of chapter/article's Last Name, Year) See chart here for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example: (Morris, 2014)
|
| In-Text Quote |
(Author of chapter/article's, Year, p. Page Number) See chart here for in-text rules for 2 or more authors. Example: (Morris, 2014, p. 125)
|
Author's Last Name, First Initial. Second Initial if Given. (Year of Publication). Title of laboratory manual: Subtitle if given (edition if given and is not first edition). Publication City, Province, State or Country: Publisher Name often shortened.
Note: Many laboratory manuals used at Seneca will have Seneca Polytechnic as the publisher and Toronto, ON for the city of publication. Check your manual for the specific publisher.
For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country.
| Reference List Example |
Wassenaar-Faber, M. (2015). BIO173 lab manual : Introduction to biological techniques part I. Toronto, ON: Seneca Polytechnic. Note: For cities in the US and Canada list the city name and the province or state code. For other countries, list the city name and the country. |
| In-Text Paraphrase |
(Author's Last Name, Year) Example: (Wassenaar-Faber, 2015) |
| In-Text Quote |
(Author's Last Name, Year, p. Page Number) Example: (Wassenaar-Faber, 2015, pg. 26) |
When you are citing two different sources that share the same author and year of publication, assign lowercase letters after the year of publication (a, b, c, etc.). Assign these letters according to which title comes first alphabetically. Use these letters in both in-text citations and the Reference list.
Example In-Text:
Paraphrasing content from first source by this author (Daristotle, 2015a). "Now I am quoting from the second source by the same author" (Daristotle, 2015b, p. 50).
Example Reference List entries:
Daristotle, J. (2015a). Name of book used as first source. Toronto, ON: Fancy Publisher.
Daristotle, J. (2015b). Title of book used as second source. Toronto, ON: Very Fancy Publisher.
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