Part 1 Basic rules

Why do we reference?

Most academic assignments require wide reading so that previous and current thinking about a particular topic can be identified. It is important to show your reader that you have sought out expert, reliable sources to help support and develop your thinking on your topic. The referencing in your assignment should:

• demonstrate good research practice
• show the range of ideas and approaches you have found and thought about
• acknowledge where those ideas came from
• tell your reader where they can locate the sources you have used

Referencing also helps you to avoid plagiarism. If you present someone else's ideas, and/or the way they express their ideas, as if they are your own work, you are committing plagiarism. Plagiarism can be unintentional due to poor referencing, but the consequences are always serious. Accurate referencing helps you to avoid this.

1. When to reference

Every time you include someone else's words, ideas or information in your assignment, an in-text reference must be provided. Insert an in-text reference whenever you:

• paraphrase someone else's ideas in your own words
• summarise someone else's ideas in your own words
• quote someone else's ideas in their exact words
• copy or adapt a diagram, table or any other visual material

 

2. How to reference

An in-text reference is provided each time you refer to ideas or information from another source, and includes the following details:

the author's family name (do not include given names) + the year of publication + page numbers when needed.

There are two main ways to present an in-text reference:

a) Integral referencing
The reference is in the body of your sentence, with the author's family name integrated into the sentence structure and the date given in brackets. This type of reference is often used when you want to give prominence to the author.

Lam (2010) argues that Hong Kong needs to further assimilate into the Pearl River Delta economy if its long term growth is to be assured.

b) Non-integral referencing

The reference is enclosed in the sentence in brackets. This type of reference is often used when you want to give prominence to the information.

The Hong Kong economy expanded by 2.3% in the third quarter of 2011 (Census and Statistics Department, 2012).

 

3. Including page numbers

Page numbers should be included when you:

• use a direct quote from a particular source
• copy tables or figures, or present specific information like data/statistics
Cheung (2012) notes that "universities in Hong Kong need to strengthen their academic credentials" if they are to compete in the world economy (p. 48).

There are many ways to cite a direct quotation. It is recommended that the page number should be placed after the quotation. See below for examples:

1. According to Palladino and Wade (2010), "a flexible mind is a healthy mind" (p. 147).
2. In 2010, Palladino and Wade noted that "a flexible mind is a healthy mind" (p. 147).
3. In fact, "a flexible mind is a healthy mind" (Palladino & Wade, 2010, p. 147).
4. "A flexible mind is a healthy mind," according to Palladino and Wade’s (2010, p. 147) longitudinal study.
5. Palladino and Wade’s (2010) results indicate that "a flexible mind is a healthy mind" (p. 147).
McAdoo, T. (2010, March 25). How to cite direct quotations. APA Style Blog. http://blog.apastyle.org/apastyle/2010/03/how-to-cite-direct-quotations.html

You can also include a page number when you take an idea from a particular page. However, it would not be appropriate academic style to include a page number in all or most of your in-text citations if you are only taking ideas from a source.

 

4. Use of "et al."

Where there are three or more authors, only the first author should be used followed by "et al." (which is Latin for et alia) meaning 'and others':

Wong et al. (2005) found that the majority ...

or as a non-integral reference:

Recent research (Wong et al., 2005) has found that the majority of ...

The following chart shows how to format in-text citations for APA 7th edition referencing style:

Number of authors	Integral citation	Non-integral citation
One author	Chan (2010) argues ...	(Chan, 2010)
Two authors	Chan and Leung (2010) suggest ...	(Chan & Leung, 2010)
Three or more authors	Tsui et al. (2010) found …	(Tsui et al., 2010)
Group author with abbreviation
First citation	The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA, 2008) states …	(The Hong Kong Housing Authority [HKHA], 2008)
Subsequent citations	HKHA (2008) further points out ...	(HKHA, 2008)
Group author without abbreviation	Animals Asia (2007) defines ...	(Animals Asia, 2007)
With page number for quotation	Chan (2010) argues that "..." (p. 15).	(Chan, 2010, p. 15)

 

5. Ellipsis and square brackets

Ellipsis refers to dots in the middle of a sentence. Their purpose is to let the reader know that some part of a quotation has been left out. If it is necessary to interrupt a quotation you are citing in order to clarify something, you should enclose your remarks in square brackets.

Original: "Students in the university should study outside class, in all credit bearing subjects, for at least 6 hours a week."

With text omitted and clarification: "Students in the university [The Hong Kong Polytechnic University] should study ... for at least 6 hours a week."

Sample text with in-text referencing and reference list

APA in-text referencing uses author's surname and year. Include a page number (or paragraph number for online sources) for direct quotations. The reference list is in alphabetical order.

Until recently, development in the textile and clothing industry has focused on "technological and cost aspects" (HKRITA, 2012, para. 5). According to Chen and Burns (2009), emphasis has been placed on keeping the price of the "final product low and increasing efficiency in production" (p. 255). Tukker et al. (2011) further point out that designers, manufacturers and retailers have paid less attention to other dimensions of the offering, e.g., ownership and related business models, as well as consumer wishes and values. Hence, the products are designed and produced according to regularly changing trends that enable quick profit (Lee & Chen, 2000), rather than radically rethinking the ways of designing and manufacturing the offering that is based on consumer needs and sustainability as proposed by Park and Tahara (2011).

1. What it does

The reference list provides full bibliographic details for all the sources referenced in your essay so that readers can easily locate the sources. Each different source referenced in your essay must have a matching entry in your reference list.

It is important to note that the reference list is not a bibliography. A bibliography lists everything you have read, while a reference list is deliberately limited to those sources for which you have provided in-text references. A bibliography is not needed unless specifically requested by your lecturer.

 

2. How it looks

The reference list is titled "References" in bold and centred, and must be:

• arranged alphabetically by author's family name (or title/sponsoring organisation where a source has no author).
• a single list where books, journal articles and electronic sources are listed together. Do not divide into separate lists.

The main elements required for all references are the author's name(s), year, title and publication information. The basic reference formats are shown in the following examples. These should be followed exactly, paying special attention to details of capitalisation, punctuation, use of italics and order of information.

 

3. Journal article format

First author's surname, Initials., Second author's surname, Initials., & Third author's surname, Initials. (Year of publication). 

Title of article. Name of journal, Volume number(Issue number), Page range of article.




 

4. Online journal article format

First author's surname, Initials., Second author's surname, Initials., & Third author's surname, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. 

Name of journal, Volume number(Issue number), Page range of article. URL/DOI




 

5. Book format

First author's surname, Initials., Second author's surname, Initials., & Third author's surname, Initials.
     (Year of publication). Title of book. Publisher.



 

6. Internet source format

Name of author(s)/organisation. (Year, month day of publication). Title of page. Name of website. URL

1. How do I cite one or two authors?

When there are one or two authors for a reference, include all their family names in the in-text reference, in the same order that they are listed in the original source. For example:

• According to Choi (2012), students in Asia are more studious than their North American counterparts.
• Asian students devoted on average 16 hours per week to out-of-class study compared to 10 hours for North American students (Choi, 2012).
• Wong and Morrison (2011) strongly support the use of technology in the classroom.
• Using devices like computers and tablets can help encourage active participation in the classroom (Wong & Morrison, 2011).

2. How do I cite when there are many authors?

If there are three or more authors, you should only use the first author's family name in the in-text reference followed by the abbreviation "et al.". For example:

• This is supported by Wilson et al. (2011) in their educational change study.

3. In the reference list what should I do when there are many authors?

If there are two authors:
List by their last names and initials. Use the ampersand "&" instead of "and".

Chow, R. K., & Ping, S. M. (2004). Mood management in university students. Journal of Asian Psychology, 45(3), 1034-1048.

If there are three to 20 authors:
List by their last names and initials; commas separate author's names, while the last author's name is preceded again by ampersand.

Luk, W. K., Chan, Y. K., Sing, A. N., Burton, H., Heart, L., & Burns, H. U. (2009). The Chinese student: A study.

Journal of East Asian Psychology, 32(5), 1190-1204.

If there are more than 20 authors:
Include the first 19 authors' names, then insert "..." and add the last author's name.

McDuff, C., Smith, J., Kensington, K., Jones, S., Coughlan, S., Bortolin, L., Witte, M., Scott, A., Newport, A., Jensen, K., Wutzler, J., van Staden,
I., McLean, J., Bergsma, G., Dowman, B., Petrie, K., Higgens, D., McCloud, R., Jessop, L., … Duncan, P. (2017). An introduction to quantitative analysis in finance. Houghton.

4. How do I cite when there is no author and/or no date?

When no person is mentioned, include the title of the source or the authoring/sponsoring organisation in place of the author.

For example:

• The centre aims to improve students' communication skills to enable them to attain excellent results in their academic and professional lives (English Language Centre, 2012).
• Oral presentations, like written assessment tasks, should contain an introduction, body, and conclusion ("Making the most of oral presentations," 2011).

When no year of publication is given, use the abbreviation "n.d." which stands for 'no date' in place of a year, or give an approximate date preceded by "ca." which stands for 'circa'.

However, be cautious about using sources without dates. A source with no date might not be reliable.

5. How do I cite information from one author (Author 1) which I have found in a book or journal article by another author (Author 2)?

Sometimes you will need to refer to authors whose work you encounter secondhand (i.e., mentioned in other people's work) rather than firsthand. You should mention both authors (Author 1 and Author 2) in your in-text reference, but would only list the actual item you read (Author 2) in your reference list.

For example, if you read an idea by Choy (Author 1, published in 2005) in a source by Martins (Author 2, published in 2010) you would need to mention both authors in your in-text reference. For example:

• One scholar (Choy, 2005, as cited in Martins, 2010) argues that ...
• Choy (2005, as cited in Martins, 2010) believes that ...

If the year of the original source is unknown, omit it from the in-text citation. However, in the reference list you should only list Martins (Author 2, the source you read) and not Choy (whose idea you read about in Martins).

6. How do I cite multiple sources by the same author published in the same year?

If an author has published more than one item in the same year, place a lower case letter of the alphabet next to the dates in your in-text referencing to distinguish between these separate publications. For example:

• Preston argues that a man paints with his brain, not his hands (2011a) and reiterates this elsewhere (2011b).

You must also include these lower case letters in your reference list entries as well. The order in which you attach the letters is determined by the alphabetical order of the titles of these sources.

7. What if there are two authors with the same family name?

Occasionally you will need to reference two different authors who share the same family name. To avoid ambiguity, include the author's fIrst initial after their family name in the in-text references. For example:

• Urban deprivation in Hong Kong has been seen to increase in the first decade of this century (E. Chan, 2010). Whether this will affect the language skills of fresh graduates in Hong Kong is still disputed (C. Chan, 2010).

8. How do I present exact quotations?

Short quotations of fewer than 40 words should be enclosed in double quotation marks ("...") and be accompanied by an in-text reference including a page number (where possible).

For example:

• Research indicates that "students in Hong Kong devote on average 5 hours a week to their English studies from the age of four" (Leung, 2010, p. 31).

Longer quotations of more than 40 words should be presented without quotation marks and indented (using Tab key) at the left. For example:

According to Obama (2006), America:

should be more modest in our belief that we can impose democracy on a country through military force. In the past, it has been movements for freedom from within tyrannical regimes that have led to flourishing democracies; movements that continue today. This does not mean abandoning our values and ideals; wherever we can, it’s in our interest to help foster democracy through the diplomatic and economic resources at our disposal. (para. 45)

9. Where exactly do I put the full stop when quoting and/or citing?

Full stops must always be placed at the very end of a sentence, after the quotation and/or in-text reference. For example:

• According to Mooney (2011), "exam pressure in Hong Kong has lessened slightly in the past decade" (p. 88).
• Research indicates that students in Hong Kong have had four mobile devices before their 18th birthday (Samson, 2012).

10. Can I cite two or more sources at the same time?

Yes. Use a semi-colon to separate the sources in the in-text reference, and list the items alphabetically according to their authors' family names. For example:

• Social networking has had a major impact on young people (Chan & Erickson, 2012; Lam & Mok, 2008).

If referencing multiple sources by the same author, present the items in chronological order (oldest to most recent) and separate them with commas. For example:

• Burns (2006, 2009, 2012) argues that there should be more universities in Hong Kong.

11. Can I paste the URL of a webpage into my essay as an in-text citation?

No. Follow the author-date in-text referencing conventions for all sources. If you are unsure how to reference a website because there is no author or date information, follow the guidelines provided for referencing sources without authors or dates.

12. How do I cite e-mail messages?

E-mail messages from individuals should be cited as personal communications. Because they do not provide recoverable data, personal communications are not included in the reference list. Cite personal communications in text only. Give the initials as well as the surname of the communicator, and provide as exact a date as possible. For example:

• E. Cartman (personal communication, June 28, 2015) reveals that ...
• ... (S. Marsh, personal communication, May 5, 2015).

13. How do I reference a speech?

You do not reference the speech itself. Instead, you should find an authoritative source for the text. Then you simply reference the book, video documentary, website, or other source for the quotation. The reference format you need will depend on the type of document you have used. For example, if you want to cite Martin Luther King’s speech, your reference would be as follows:

• Smith, J. (Ed.). (2009). Well said! Great speeches in American history. E & K Publishing.

The in-text citation would include the surname of the author or editor of the source document and the year of publication. For example, your sentence might look like this:

• Dr. King declared, “I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed” (Smith, 2009).

Another example is if you want to cite Barack Obama’s speech from a website, your reference would be as follows:

• The White House Office of the Press Secretary. (2009, March 4). Remarks by the President on procurement.
  https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-procurement-3409

The in-text citation would include the author of the website and year of publication. For example, your sentence might look like this:

• President Obama announced that in Iraq too much money has been paid for services that were never performed … (The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2009).

14. How do I cite images such as photographs from websites?

All images including graphs, charts, maps, drawings and photographs are referred to as figures. You need to label the image as a figure (in bold) and place a title or caption (in italics)  (i.e., a brief explanation of the figure) directly above the image. You also need to give citation information (Note.) below the image providing details such as creator and platform with embedded links.  For example:

• Figure 1
  Online studying from home
  
  Note. Photo by Nick Morrison on Unsplash

The in-text citation would be like this:

• Figure 1 shows that ...

Your reference would be as follows:

• Morrison, N. (2017). Working from home [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/FHnnjk1Yj7Y 

15. How do I cite ChatGPT or other GenAI models?

When you have used ChatGPT or other GenAI tools in your text, you need to provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response. For example:

• When prompted with “Is the left brain right brain divide real or a metaphor?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that although the two brain hemispheres are somewhat specialized, “the notation that people can be characterized as ‘left-brained’ or ‘right-brained’ is considered to be an oversimplification and a popular myth” (OpenAI, 2023).

Your reference would be as follows:

Note: If you ask a GenAI tool to provide a list of references or readings, the list it provides may not be real.

Part 2 Referencing guide

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Type of source	In-text references	Reference list
Books	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title. Publisher.
	Example: Wong (2009) points out that ...	Wong, B. K. (2009). Fostering creativity. Blackwell.
Chapters in an edited book	Cite the author of the chapter in the text of your paper, not the author of the book, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of chapter. In Initials. Surname of editor (Ed.), Title of book (pp. Page range of chapter). Publisher.
	Example: Carter et al.(1998) argue that ... (use et al. when citing 3 or more authors)	Carter, R., Hughes, R., & McCarthy, M. (1998). Telling tails: Grammar, the spoken language and materials development. In B. Tomlinson (Ed.), Materials development in language teaching (pp. 67-86). CUP.
Books with different editions	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title (Edition number). Publisher.
	Example: Wong (2009) states that extensive reading is crucial ...	Wong, B. K. (2009). Fostering creativity (3rd ed.). Blackwell.
Books with no date	Surname of author (n.d.)	Surname of author, Initials. (n.d.). Title. Publisher.
	Example: Wong (n.d.) states that students need to read more widely and ...	Wong, B. K. (n.d.). Fostering creativity. Blackwell.
ebooks	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title. Publisher. URL
	Example: Tsang (2004) ascertains ...	Tsang, S. (2004). A modern history of Hong Kong. I. B. Tauris. http://books.google.com.hk/books
Journal articles (with author)	Surname of author, year of publication, (page number for direct quotations)	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), Page range of article.
	Examples: Poon, et al. (2003) argue that students should refer to sources properly ...	Poon, L. S., Lee, J. C., Chan, A. B., Jones, J. E., & Smith, J. F. (2003). Re-evaluating the effects of computer games on young people. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 12(3), 88-100.
	Lam (2005) stresses that "..." (p. 91).	Lam, L. S. (2005). Referencing. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 14(2), 19-26.
Journal articles (no author)	"Title of article (first few words), " year of publication	Title of article. (Year of publication). Name of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), Page range of article.
	Example: Many organisations already use this method ("Organisational change," 2010). (non-integral citation recommended)	Organisational change in the 21st century. (2010). Perspectives in Management, 12(3), 28-29.
URLs and DOIs	Surname of author, year of publication	If the article has a DOI, use it in your reference. If there is no DOI, include the journal home page URL in your reference. Present both DOIs and URLs as hyperlinks (i.e. beginning with http:// or https://). Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume number(Issue number), Page range of article (if given). URL/DOI
	Example: Anderson-Clark et al. (2008) believe that students should ...	Anderson-Clark, T., Green, R., & Henley, T. (2008). The relationship between first names and teacher expectations for achievement motivation. Journal of Language & Social Psychology, 27, 94-99. https://doi.org/10.1177/0261927X07309514
Electronic journals	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of article. Name of Journal, Volume number(Issue number). URL
	Example: ... and this has been formulated by Halonen et al. (2010) who ...	Halonen, S. J., Simpson, R. R., Jolly, D. G., Au, P. R., Bagot, F. P., & Chui, J. J. (2010). Computer games and personal development. Family Forum, 12(3). http://www.ff.comgamperdev.org
Internet sources (electronic only sources)	Name of author/organisation, year of publication, (paragraph number for direct quotations)	Surname of author, Initials/ Name of organisation. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Name of website. URL (When the author/organisation and the website name are the same, omit the website name.)
	Examples: The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA, 2019) foresees that"..."(para. 2).	The Hong Kong Housing Authority. (2019, June 3). HOS secondary market. https://www.housingauthority.gov.hk/en/home-ownership/hos-secondary-market/index
	Martinez (2020) suggests that ...	Martinez, C. O. (2020, May 25). Four ways to reimagine a better city. Greenpeace International. https://www.greenpeace.org/international/story/43455/reimagine-a-better-city-economics-covid-pandemic/
Online government/ company reports	Name of department/company, year of publication	Name of department/company. (Year of publication). Title of article (Number of document - if given). URL
	Examples: The Equal Opportunities Commission (2019) has reported that ...	Equal Opportunities Commission. (2019). Equal Opportunities Commission annual report 2018/2019. https://www.eoc.org.hk/EOC/Upload/AnnualReport/201819/EOC_annual%20report_2018-19.pdf
	The Coca-Cola Company (2015) announced ...	The Coca-Cola Company. (2015). 2014 Annual report. http://www.coca-colacompany.com/investors/annual-other-reports.pdf
DVDs or films	For a film or DVD, use the surname of the director and year of release.	For a film the suggested elements should include: Surname of producer, Initials. (Producer), & Surname of director, Initials. (Director). (Year of release). Title of film [Film]. Studio or distributor.
	Examples: Law (2010) captured the imagination of ...	Law, A. (Director). (2010). Echoes of the rainbow [Film]. Mei Ah Entertainment.
	If there is no director, it is suggested that a non-integral reference should be used with the first few words of the title with year of release.	Full title of DVD or video. (Year of release). [Format of document]. Film studio or maker. (Other relevant details).
	... ("Great films from the 80s," 2005).	Great films from the 80s: A selection of clips from Warner Brothers top films from the 1980s. (2005). [DVD]. Warner Brothers.
YouTube videos or other streaming videos	It is suggested that a non-integral reference should be used for YouTube sources.	Screen name of contributor. (Year, Month Day of publication). Video title, Series title (if relevant) [Video]. YouTube. URL
	Examples: ... celebrated its 70th anniversary in 2007 (HongKongPolyU, 2011).	HongKongPolyU. (2011, November 17). PolyU milestones [Video]. YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XsfWmFyrNg
	Cutts (2017) satirises the media …	Cutts, S. (2017). Are you lost in the world like me? [Video]. Vimeo. https://vimeo.com/209248444
Newspaper articles (with author)	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Name of newspaper, p. Page number(s).
	Example: Van der Kamp (2012) believes that ...	Van der Kamp, J. (2012, April 1). Just leasing more land won't open up the property market. Sunday Morning Post, p. 15.
Newspaper articles (no author)	If no author is designated, cite the first few words of the title, and the year.	Title of article. (Year, Month Day of publication). Name of newspaper, p. Page number(s).
	Example: There should be more car free streets ("Put pedestrians first," 2012). (non-integral citation recommended)	Put pedestrians first, not cars. (2012, April 1). Sunday Morning Post, p. 14.
Online newspaper articles	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Name of newspaper. URL
	Example: Cross (2013) opines that ...	Cross, G. (2013, December 24). News of a children's commission will bring good cheer to Hong Kong. South China Morning Post. http://www.scmp.com/comment/insight-opinion/article/1389081/news-childrens-commission-will-bring-good-cheer-hong-kong
Magazine articles	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month of publication). Title of article. Name of magazine, Volume number(Issue number), Page number(s).
	Example: Pringle (2011) illustrates that ...	Pringle, H. (2011, April). Lofty ambitions of the Inca. National Geographic Magazine, 219(4), 34.
Online magazine articles	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Name of magazine. URL
	Example: Toobin (2013) comments that ...	Toobin, J. (2013, December 24). Same-sex marriage, the legal deluge. The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/comment/2013/12/same-sex-marriage-the-legal-deluge.html
Articles from online news websites	Surname of author, year of publication Example: Silva (2022) speculates that …	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Name of              website. URL Silva, M. (2022, May 23). Why is climate 'doomism' going viral – and who's fighting it? BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-trending-61495035
Translated work	Surname of author, year of publication, (page number for direct quotations)	When quoting from a foreign language work in the main body of the text, the quote should be provided in English.
	Examples: Freud (1914) stated that ...	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title. (Initials. Surname of translator, Trans.). Publisher.
	Freud (1914) stated,"..." (p. 109).	Freud, S. (1914). The psychopathology of everyday life. (A. A. Brill, Trans.). T. Fisher Unwin.
Chinese sources	Surname of author, year of publication, (page number for direct quotations)	Do a romanisation of the author's name and title of book/article. If readers cannot read Chinese, add a translation of the book/article's title in square brackets. If there is no official translation, list the item at the end of the reference list alphabetically.
	Examples: Xiao (2008) shows that ...	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title [Translation of book/article's title]. Publisher.
	According to Xiao (2008),"..."(p. 37).	Xiao, L. (2008). Zhongguo su miao yi shu [The art of Chinese drawing]. Mei Shu Chu Ban She.
Foreign sources	Surname of author, year of publication	When quoting from a foreign language work in the main body of the text, the quote should be provided in English.
	Example: Kundera (1984) derides ...	Surname of author, Initials. (Year of publication). Title [Translation of book/article's title]. Publisher. Kundera, M. (1984). L'Insoutenable légèreté de l'être [The unbearable lightness of being]. Gallimard.
Lecture notes	Surname of author, year of lecture	You are advised not to cite university lecture notes - to do so is often deemed unacceptable. You ought to locate, read and cite the sources and references provided in the Reading List or References in the lecture notes. However, the following guidelines may assist you should you need to cite lecture notes: Surname of lecturer/author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of lecture). [Lecture notes on the topic]. Department, Name of institution.
	Example: Jenkins (2010) implies that ...	Jenkins, J. (2010, October 12). [Lecture notes on developments in computer-assisted learning]. Department of Applied Physics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Online dissertations and theses	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year). Title of doctoral dissertation or master’s thesis [Doctoral dissertation/Master’s thesis, Name of institution]. URL
	Example: Yuen (2009) points out that ...	Yuen, W. L. (2009). An investigation of the politeness phenomena in hotel service encounters [Doctoral dissertation, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University].                             https://theses.lib.polyu.edu.hk/bitstream/200/5346/1/b23429835.pdf
Laws	When citing the Basic Law, use name of the law, article number and year of publication.	Basic Law Art Article number, The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (Year of publication).
	Example: The Basic Law Art 27 (1997) affirms that …	Basic Law Art 27, The Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (1997).
	When citing Hong Kong legislation, use name of the ordinance and year of edition.	Name of ordinance, Cap Chapter number s Section number, Laws of Hong Kong (Year of edition).
	Example: As stipulated by the Employment Ordinance (2007),…	Employment Ordinance, Cap 57 s 14, Laws of Hong Kong (2007).
Conference papers available online	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month of publication). Title of paper. Paper presented at title of conference, Location of conference. URL
	Example: Abdoli and Kahani (2009) discuss …	Abdoli, F., & Kahani, M. (2009, October). Ontology-based distributed intrusion detection system. Paper presented at the 14th International CSI Computer Conference, Tehran, Iran. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.ezproxy.lb.polyu.edu.hk/xpls/icp.jsp?arnumber=5349604
Blog posts	Surname of author, year of publication	Surname of author, Initials. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of post. Name of website. URL
	Example: Gates (2020) recommends that ...	Gates, B. (2020, May 18). A wonderful, mind-bending novel. GatesNotes. https://www.gatesnotes.com/Books/Cloud-Atlas
Social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, online forum post)	Surname of author/ Name of group/ Username, year of publication	If the contents of the page can change over time, provide a retrieval date. Surname of author, Initials./ Name of group. (Year, Month, Day of publication). Content of post (up to the first 20 words) [Description of audiovisuals]. Name of website. URL
	Examples: Paintings show that ancient Athenians … (British Museum, 2020).	British Museum. (2020, May 30). Athenians love to eat well, so you won’t go hungry during your holiday – there is something to suit every taste [Image attached]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/britishmuseum
	National Geographic (2020) published the launch of …	National Geographic [@NatGeo]. (2020, May 31). “America has launched" #LaunchAmerica [Video] [Tweet]. Twitter. https://twitter.com/NatGeo/status/1266813534081515523
	Visual art in Africa is exemplified by … (Zeitz MOCAA, 2020). (non-integral citation recommended)	Zeitz MOCAA [@zeitzmocaa]. (2020, May 24). Last week we shared the second scene              from the epic once off installation called, 'Exodus: The Heroic Age' by South [Photograph]. Instagram. https://www.instagram.com/p/CAkErwNHk23/
Speeches(See Frequently asked questions (13) for details)	Surname of author/ editor of the source and year given as non-integral citation Examples: Dr. King declared, “…” (Smith, 2009).	Surname of author/editor, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of speech. Publisher. Smith, J. (Ed.). (2009). Well said! Great speeches in American history. E & K Publishing. Name of organisation. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of speech. URL
	President Obama announced that … (The White House Office of the Press Secretary, 2009).	The White House Office of the Press Secretary. (2009, March 4). Remarks by the President on procurement. http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/remarks-president-procurement-3409
Images from websites (See Frequently asked questions (14) for details)	All images are referred to as figures. Example: Figure 1 shows that …	Surname of author/artist/photographer, Initials. (Year of publication). Title of image [Format of document]. URL   Morrison, N. (2017). Working from home [Photograph]. Unsplash. https://unsplash.com/photos/FHnnjk1Yj7Y
Entries in online reference work	Surname of author, year of publication	When an online reference work is continuously updated and the versions are not archived, use “n.d.” as the year of publication and include a retrieval date. Name of group. (Year of publication). Title of entry. In Title of reference work. URL
	Examples: Abstractionism is defined as … (Merriam-Webster, n.d.).	Merriam-Webster. (n.d.). Abstractionism. In Merriam-Webster.com dictionary. Retrieved May 30, 2020, from https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/abstractionism
	As explained by Ramirez (2020), Ocaranza is …	Ramirez, F. (2020, May 6). Manuel Ocaranza. In Oxford Art Online. http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/behaviorism/
ChatGPT or  other GenAI  models	Provide the prompt you used and then any portion of the relevant text that was generated in response.	Author of the model. (Year of version). Name of the model (Version number) [Additional descriptions]. URL
	Example: When prompted with  “(your question)?” the ChatGPT-generated text indicated that  “(ChatGPT’s text)”  (OpenAI, 2023).	OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 14 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com/chat
References with missing details	Missing element	Solution
	Name of author/ organisation	Move the title of the work to the author position before the date of publication. Beehive updating job wins award. (2007, October 29). Dominion Post, p. A5. Use the first few words of the title in the in-text citation. … (“Beehive updating job,” 2007). Use “Anonymous” as the author only if the work is signed “Anonymous”. Anonymous. (2020)
	Date of publication	Write “n.d.” when the publication date of a work is unknown or cannot be determined. Lewis, C. (n.d.). If there is no obvious publication date, aim to establish the earliest likely date, for example, 2010? = probable year ca.2010 = approximately 2010 201- = decade certain but not year 201? = probable decade





Reference

American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association. (7th ed.).