Troubleshooting Other references you might encounter Reference only gives the author(s) name(s) and date Conference proceedings Look back through the reading list as the full reference should have been given earlier. Mann, Peter H. ed. 1976. Books and Undergraduates: Proceedings of a Conference held at Royal Holloway College, University of London, 4th-6th July 1975. London: National Book League. Journal titles are abbreviated Abbreviations should conform to a standard format. You will need the full title (or keywords from it) for searching. Further advice may be found at: www.bristol.ac.uk/is/library/ findinginformation/journal-abbrev/. Mistakes in the reference Try variant spellings (e.g. English or American) or using wildcards (see ‘advanced search technique tips’ in the ‘help’ section of the library catalogue). Try using different keywords from the title. If the date seems wrong, check which edition you should be reading. Unfamiliar abbreviations in the list Ibid is short for the Latin ‘ibidem’, meaning in the same place. It is used to refer to the preceding reference. Op. Cit is short for the Latin ‘opere citato’, meaning ‘in the work cited’. Et al. is short for Latin ‘et alia’, meaning ‘and others’ and is often used in place of a list of authors or editors. Thesis or dissertation Chatterton, P. 1998. The University and the Community: An exploration of the cultural impact of universities and students in the community. Ph.D. thesis, University of Bristol. Web page Information Services, 2009. Plagiarism: information and advice for students [online]. University of Bristol. Available at: http://www.bristol.ac.uk/is/library/findinginfor mation/plagiarism/advice.html [Accessed 14 July 2010]. Legal case Donoghue v Stevenson [1932] A.C. 562 (Look up the unabbreviated title of the Law Report in the library catalogue, or the party names in an online database.) July 2010 Understanding References on your Reading List References to reading materials may appear in different formats on different reading lists, but this general guide should help you understand what each part of the reference means and how to search for it. Further leaflets are available on using the library catalogue and there is also help on finding and using information at: www.bristol.ac.uk/is/library/ findinginformation/ If you cannot find an item on your reading list, please let your Subject Librarian know. www.bristol.ac.uk/is/library/subjects/ Book Chapter in a book Year of publication Title Author Cottrell, S. 2008. The Study Skills Handbook, 3rd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan. Edition Place of publication Publisher Author Year of publication Journal article Title of chapter Blake, N. 1997. Truth, Identity and Community in the University. In: R. Barnett and A. Griffin, eds. The End of Knowledge in Higher Education. London: Cassell, 151-164. Title of book Publisher Editors of book Year of publication Authors Title of article Masjuan, J.M. and Troiano, H. 2009. University Students’ Success: A psychosociological approach. Higher Education, 58 (1), 15-28. Title of journal Issue Volume number Pages Place of publication Page numbers of chapter Clues that it’s a book: Publication details are given There are no volume or issue numbers, though the edition number may be given Clues that it’s a journal article: Clues that it’s a chapter: Enter the author’s surname and keywords from the title in the relevant search fields of the library catalogue. Clicking on the library name will show you the location of copies in that branch, how long you may borrow them for (loan status) and whether they are out on loan. Books that are on loan may be reserved. Publication details are given There are two sets of names; an author and also editors There are two titles The word “in” appears after the chapter title, indicating that it can be found in another publication Page numbers are given Look up the editor and title of the book rather than the author and title of the chapter in the library catalogue. There are two titles Publication details are not given A volume number and sometimes an issue number are given Page numbers are given Search for the title of the journal rather than the author and title of the article in the library catalogue or on the eJournals page. Some references may give abbreviated journal titles and you will need to find out the full title before searching.