Reference styles

Reference styles are standardised rules for presenting information about the sources used in a text. Typically, a style will describe how to organise information about author(s), publication year, title and page numbers.

There are many different ways to organise the references of a text. Some reference styles follow the author-year format, while others are based on footnotes and/or numerical references. Your choice of style will normally depend on your discipline, and should be discussed with your supervisor. Different academic journals use different reference styles. If you are planning to publish in a journal, the instructions for authors will normally include information about reference style.

Some of the most commonly used reference styles in academic writing are:

• American Psychological Association (APA 7th) – author-year, commonly used in psychology, economics, educational sciences and health sciences | See the guide at Kildekompasset or at NTNU Oppgaveskriving.
• The Chicago styles (17th) See the licensed Quick guide:
  • Chicago 17 A – footnote system, commonly used in the humanities | See the guide at NTNU Oppgaveskriving
  • Chicago 17 B – author-date, commonly used in the social sciences and by many publishers, see for example Taylor & Francis author-date guide | See the guide at NTNU Oppaveskriving
• Harvard – author-year, a general reference system used in many disciplines and by many publishers, see for example Sage’s Harvard reference guide | See the guide at NTNU Oppgaveskrivng
• Modern Language Association (MLA) – author-page number, widely used in linguistics and literature. See the official MLA Style Center | See the guide at Simon Fraser University
• Vancouver – numbered system, commonly used in medicine, health sciences and natural sciences | See the guide at NTNU Oppgaveskriving
• IEEE (Institue of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) - used in, e.g., engineering and computer science | See the guide at Kildekompasset

If there is no preferred style in your discipline, you may pick a style and use it consistently.