Oxford Referencing: Sample Reference List

What is a Reference List in Oxford?

Your Reference List should be located on a separate page at the end of your essay and titled: Reference List. It should include the details of all your footnotes, arranged alphabetically A-Z by author surname, see Sample Reference List below. The terms ‘Bibliography’ and ‘Reference List’ are often used interchangeably, however a Reference List only includes items you have cited in your assignment whereas a Bibliography also includes items used to prepare your assignment. Check with your lecturer or tutor which one they require. Other points to note:

  • In your footnotes, the author’s given name precedes the surname i.e. P. Londey, while in the Reference List the surname comes first i.e. Londey, P.,
  • If the work has no author use the first substantive word of the title (not The or A) to insert it into the alphabetical sequence.
  • In the Reference List include the full page range of a journal article or book chapter, e.g. pp. 165-217. Page numbers are not required for entire books in the Reference List.
  • If you have cited more than one work by the same author, you should arrange them by date with the earliest first. If the dates are the same add a lower case letter after the date to differentiate between two such publications, e.g. 2015a, 2015b. See 'Black' in the Reference List example below. Use this convention in your footnotes as well.
  • Examples of citing different formats of works in your Reference List is available in Reference formats & examples. An example of the layout of a Reference List is below.
  • Some lecturers or tutors require your Reference List to be divided into Primary and Secondary Sources. See the last box below for an explanation of this layout.

Reference List

Alexander, S., 'Peace March in Melbourne' [letter to W.R. Gibson], 1 November 1911, Professor W.R. Gibson Collection, University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Box 2/1/1.

Banfi, M. et al., 'Cards as a Tool in History Teaching', Form@re: Open Journal per la Formazione in Rete, vol. 18, no. 1, 2018, pp. 368-378.

Black, J., The British Empire: A History and a Debate, London, UK, Routledge, 2015a.

Black, J., British Politics and Foreign Policy, 1744-57: Mid-Century Crisis, London, UK, Routledge, 2015b.

Blakers, A., 'Sustainable Energy', in Goldie, J., Douglas, B., and Furnass, B. (eds.), In Search of Sustainability, Collingwood, VIC, CSIRO Publishing, 2004, pp. 97-106.

Cook, H., 'Shining Light on Unsung Heroes', The Age, 25 March 2019, p. 9.

Dictionary Plus History, Oxford University Press, 2016.

The Euthanasia Debate [online video], Presenter A. Denton, Sydney, Australia, Studio 10, 2016, https://youtu.be/w4Aq1-H2GD0, (accessed 2 January 2019).

FitzSimons, T., Laughren, P., and Williamson, D., Australian Documentary: History, Practices and Genres, 2nd edn., Port Melbourne, VIC, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Giovagnorio, F., 'Dedications for the Hero Ptoios in Akraiphia, Boeotia', Rosetta, no. 22, Spring 2018, pp. 18-39, http://www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk, (accessed 18 September 2018).

James Hardie Industries NV v Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2010) 274 ALR 85

International Labour Organisation, World Report on Child Labour, Geneva, International Labour Organisation, 2015.

Kozicz, G., 'Architecture of the Empty Shells of Nyar ma', Discoveries in Western Tibet and the Western Himalayas: Essays on History, Literature, Archaeology and Art: PIATS 2003, Tibetan Studies, Proceedings of the Tenth Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, 2006, pp. 38-47.

Le Gallienne, D., 'Goossens Made Musical History', The Argus, 23 November 1954, p. 7, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23462157?searchTerm=Sydney%20history%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=l-title=13, (accessed 13 September 2018).

McKenzie-Mohr, D. et al., Social Marketing to Protect the Environment, Thousand Oaks, CA, SAGE Publications, 2012.

Murray, J. (ed.), Our Great Game: The Photographic History of Australian Football, Docklands, VIC, Slattery Media Group, 2010.

Oztas, S., 'A Literary Genre in Value Education in History Courses: Poems', Journal of Education and Training Studies, vol. 6, no. 5, 2018, pp. 34-39.

Purchell, S. and Barrell, R., 'The Value of Collaboration: Raising Confidence and Skills in Information Literacy with First Year Initial Teacher Education Students', Journal of Information Literacy, vol. 8, no. 2, 2014, pp. 56-70.

The Red Badge of Courage [DVD], Director J. Huston, Burbank, CA, MGM, 1951.

Suwetwattanakul, C., Developing a Knowledge Sharing Model for the Implementation of the Learning Organization in Thailand, Ph.D. diss., Melbourne, Victoria University, 2010.

Toffoletti, K., 'How is Gender-based Violence Covered in the Sporting News?: An Account of the Australian Football League Sex Scandal', Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 30, no. 5, 2007, pp. 420-44.

Oxford sample Reference List: Separating Primary and Secondary Sources

Some teaching staff prefer your Reference List to be divided into Primary and Secondary Sources. Check with your teaching staff member / lecturer as to which style of Reference List they require.

A Primary Source is an original work or document, i.e. the raw material or first-hand information used in research. Primary sources include historical and legal documents, archival material, eyewitness accounts, autobiographies, diaries, letters, photographs, novels, poems, plays, films, newsreels, statistical data and original research published in a journal article or book, or produced as a thesis.

A Secondary Source is something written about a primary source. Secondary sources include comments on, interpretations of, evaluations or discussions about the original material. Secondary source materials can be articles in newspapers or scholarly journals, documentaries, or books or chapters written about events or about original research.   

An example of the Primary/Secondary Sources Reference List style is below:

Reference List

Primary Sources

Alexander, S., 'Peace March in Melbourne' [letter to W.R. Gibson], 1 November 1911, Professor W.R. Gibson Collection, University of Melbourne Archives, Melbourne, VIC, Box 2/1/1.

Australian Bureau of Statistics, Queensland Office, The Economic Status of Migrants in Australia, Canberra, ACT, Australian Govt. Pub. Service, 1990.

Australian State of the Environment Committee, Australia State of the Environment 2001: Independent Report to the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Heritage, Collingwood, VIC, CSIRO Publishing, 2001.

Chaucer, G., The Canterbury Tales, ed. F.N. Robinson, 2nd edn., London, UK, Oxford University Press, 1957.

Dewell, G., 'Theft, Simple Larceny' [proceedings of the Old Bailey], 16 February 1832, Ref. No. t18320216-60, http://www.oldbaileyonline.org/index.jsp, (accessed 20 February 2019).

James Hardie Industries NV v Australian Securities and Investments Commission (2010) 274 ALR 85

Maloney, J.E., 'Recollections of Canberra' [interviewed by John Ferrell], 12 August 1991, John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library, Curtin University, Perth, WA, JCMPL00897/3.

The Red Badge of Courage [DVD], Director J. Huston, Burbank, CA, MGM, 1951.

Schultz, J.E., This Birth Place of Souls: The Civil War Nursing Diary of Harriet Eaton, Oxford, UK, Oxford University Press, 2010.

Suwetwattanakul, C., Developing a Knowledge Sharing Model for the Implementation of the Learning Organization in Thailand, Ph.D. diss., Melbourne, Victoria University, 2010

Secondary Sources

Black, J., The British Empire: A History and a Debate, London, UK, Routledge, 2015a.

Black, J., British Politics and Foreign Policy, 1744-57: Mid-Century Crisis, London, UK, Routledge, 2015b.

Blakers, A., 'Sustainable Energy', in Goldie, J., Douglas, B., and Furnass, B. (eds.), In Search of Sustainability, Collingwood, VIC, CSIRO Publishing, 2004, pp. 97-106.

Cook, H., 'Shining Light on Unsung Heroes', The Age, 25 March 2019, p. 9.

Dictionary Plus History, Oxford University Press, 2016.

The Euthanasia Debate [online video], Presenter A. Denton, Sydney, Australia, Studio 10, 2016, https://youtu.be/w4Aq1-H2GD0, (accessed 2 January 2019).

FitzSimons, T., Laughren, P., and Williamson, D., Australian Documentary: History, Practices and Genres, 2nd edn., Port Melbourne, VIC, Cambridge University Press, 2011.

Giovagnorio, F., 'Dedications for the Hero Ptoios in Akraiphia, Boeotia', Rosetta, no. 22, Spring 2018, pp. 18-39, http://www.rosetta.bham.ac.uk, (accessed 18 September 2018).

Le Gallienne, D., 'Goossens Made Musical History', The Argus, 23 November 1954, p. 7, https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/23462157?searchTerm=Sydney%20history%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20&searchLimits=l-title=13, (accessed 13 September 2018).

Murray, J. (ed.), Our Great Game: The Photographic History of Australian Football, Docklands, VIC, Slattery Media Group, 2010.

Oztas, S., 'A Literary Genre in Value Education in History Courses: Poems', Journal of Education and Training Studies, vol. 6, no. 5, 2018, pp. 34-39.

Purchell, S. and Barrell, R., 'The Value of Collaboration: Raising Confidence and Skills in Information Literacy with First Year Initial Teacher Education Students', Journal of Information Literacy, vol. 8, no. 2, 2014, pp. 56-70.

Toffoletti, K., 'How is Gender-based Violence Covered in the Sporting News?: An Account of the Australian Football League Sex Scandal', Women's Studies International Forum, vol. 30, no. 5, 2007, pp. 420-44.