Academic Referencing Guide
Which Referencing Style Should You Use?
A brief guide to APA, Harvard, AGLC4, Vancouver, MLA and Chicago — and how to determine which style your university, discipline or publication requires.
1The Discipline-Style Mapping Matrix
| Discipline | Typical Style | Citation System |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | APA 7 | Author-Date |
| Education | APA 7 | Author-Date |
| Nursing / Health Sciences | APA 7 or Vancouver | Author-Date / Numeric |
| Humanities (UK/AU) | Harvard CTR | Author-Date |
| English Literature | MLA 9 | Author-Page |
| Business & Management (UK/AU) | Harvard CTR | Author-Date |
| Engineering / Computer Science | IEEE | Numeric (brackets) |
| Medicine / Biomedical Sciences | Vancouver (NLM) | Numeric (superscript or brackets) |
| Law (UK/AU) | AGLC4 | Footnotes |
| Law (US) | Bluebook / OSCOLA | Footnotes |
| History | Chicago (Author-Date or Notes) | Footnotes / Author-Date |
2How to Determine Your Required Style
Before choosing a style, check these sources in order of authority:
- Unit guide or assignment brief — the most authoritative source. If it names a style, use that style exclusively.
- University referencing guide — most institutions publish a preferred style with examples.
- Supervisor or tutor — if ambiguous, ask early. Getting this wrong late in the process is costly.
- Discipline convention — if no specific style is mandated, follow the standard for your field (see the matrix above).
Golden rule: Never mix styles within a single document. Even if two styles seem compatible, mixing punctuation conventions (e.g., "&" from APA with "and" from Harvard) signals carelessness to markers.
3Style System Mechanics
Author-Date systems (APA, Harvard, Chicago Author-Date): The year appears in the in-text citation, enabling the reader to judge the currency of evidence. Ideal for sciences and social sciences where recency matters.
Author-Page systems (MLA 9): The page number appears without a date, directing readers to the exact passage. Preferred in humanities where textual analysis of specific passages is central.
Numeric systems (Vancouver, IEEE): Sources are numbered in the order they appear. Common in medicine and engineering where dense, compact citation is needed.
Footnote systems (AGLC4, OSCOLA, Chicago Notes): Full source details appear in footnotes or endnotes, keeping the body text clean. Essential in law where pinpoint references to statutes and cases are critical.