The References page is an alphabetical list of all the sources you cite in your paper.
Here are some basic rules to follow when creating your References page:
- The References page should be placed at the end of your paper and should have a page number, continuing on from the paper.
- The References page should begin on a new page.
- The word References should be at the top of the page, centered and in bold.
- The References page should be double spaced and the second line of each entry should be a hanging indent.
- To get this in MS Word:
- Select all text, and then right-click it.
- From the pop-up menu, select Paragraph.
- To double-space the text, under Spacing, Line Spacing, select Double.
- To add a hanging indent, under Indentation, Special, select Hanging. This indents the lower lines of each entry 0.5” from the left.
- To do the hanging indent in Google Docs:
- Format
- Align and Indent
- Indentation Options
- Special - Hanging
- Alphabetize each entry/reference on your References page by author’s last name, or if the author’s name is not given, by the title of the work.
- Alphabetical arrangement of author names is generally done letter by letter.
- Descartes, R.
- De Sica, V.
- MacDonald, R.
- McAllister, P.
- If there are multiple works by one author, the date should distinguish the works.
- Dr. Seuss (1985)
- Dr. Seuss (1988)
- Capitalize only the first word, and the first word following punctuation as well as proper names in the title of the work. For example: Salmonella: What is salmonellosis.
- For periodical names, capitalize all significant words. For example: Criminal Behaviour & Mental Health.
- Use a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) when possible instead of a url. Do not put a period at the end of the doi/url. Links can be either active (and in blue text) or inactive, but if the work is intended to be accessed online, it is recommended that the link is live.