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BMS105/132 Research Skills Guide: Understanding citations

Interpreting citations

Recommended readings in your subject site can give you an idea of the type of resources that your lecturer values.

Distinguishing between citations for books, book chapters, journal articles and websites can help you to search for the items in Primo Search, Google Scholar, or Journal Databases.

Below we list some of the most common resources and their citation structure when formatted in the APA 7th style.

Book citation structure: Author/s. Year of publication in parentheses. Book title in italics. Edition in parentheses. Publisher.Book chapter citation structure: Author/s. Year of publication in parentheses. Chapter title. Editor/s. Book title in italics. Edition and page numbers in parentheses. Publisher.Journal article citation structure: Author/s. Year of publication in parentheses. Article title. Journal title in italics. Volume in italics, issue in parentheses. Page numbers. DOI.Webpage citation structure: Author/s. Year of publication in parentheses. Title of work in italics. Title of site. URL.

Finding your subject readings

Search tips

If you are searching for a chapter in an edited book from your reading list:

  • Search your subject site for the Resources tab > Reading and Resources, as digitised chapters are often in there
  • Search for just the title of the book (not the chapter) in Primo Search - it might be available in an eBook

If you are searching for a journal article from your reading list:

  • Search for just the article title in Primo Search, and if that doesn't work-
  • Search for just the journal title in Primo Search - it might be available within an eJournal or a hard copy journal

Charles Sturt University acknowledges the traditional custodians of the lands on which its campuses are located, paying respect to Elders, both past and present, and extend that respect to all First Nations Peoples.Acknowledgement of Country

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