Ask a Teacher

What do you mean by Bibliography?

A bibliography is a list of resources you have used in your research.

The aim of a bibliography is:

• To show where you obtained information and acknowledge your sources
• To allow your readers to find this information if they need to

HOW TO WRITE A BIBLIOGRAPHY FOR BOOKS

• Author (surname first, followed by first name or initials)
• Title of publication (underlined, or using Italics)
• Publishing company
• Place of publication (usually a town or city)
• Year of publication

This information can usually be found on the first two pages of a book.

Examples: (note punctuation):

Marotta, Helen, Examining Rules and Laws, South Melbourne : Macmillan, 1996

Author: Surname first, then initial or first name Title underlined or in italics Place of publication Publisher Year of publication

Dungworth, R. and Wingate, P., The Usborne Book of Famous Women, London : Usborne, 1996

ARTICLES IN BOOKS, NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES etc.

• Author's name (as above)
• Title of article (in inverted commas)

For articles in books:

• The title of the book and publication details (as above)

For articles in newspapers, magazines, journals:

• The title of newspaper, magazine or journal; date or volume number; page(s)

Examples:

Davis, L., "Rights Replacing Needs" in Hauritz, M., Justice for People with Disabilities, Sydney : Federation Press, 1998

O'Malley, Chris, "Apocalypse Not", Time, 15 June, 1998, pp.14-18

Busfield, Wendy, "VCE Switch", Herald Sun, 17 June, 1998, p. 2

PAMPHLETS

For pamphlets, you should include at least:

• The name of the organisation producing the pamphlet
• Title
• Date of publication

Example: Office of Fair Trading and Business Affairs, Tenants : Understanding your Rights and Responsibilities, nd.

AUDIOVISUAL SOURCES

For sources such as videos, you should provide:

• The Production Company (usually found on the label)
• Title
• Date of production. If you can't find the production date, the convention is to put 'nd' (not dated)

Examples: Video Education Australia, The Small Business Case Files, Part 1, nd.

The Science Show, 3 AR, 02-07-88 (Entire program)

"Incidence of Employment", Four Corners, ABC 19-08-96 (Segment of program)

(Adult Literacy) Sixty Minutes, GTV 9, 10-07-88 (If no formal title is supplied, the writer may supply a title in brackets)

MATERIAL FROM THE INTERNET

The Internet is relatively new as a research source, so conventions for citing material may vary. It is suggested that you include:

• Surname and name of author (if provided)
• Title of work (if provided)
• The web site address or E-mail address
• The date on which you visited the site or collected the information (in brackets)

NB.

The author, if identified, may be found at the beginning or the end of online information

The "electronic address" of the resource should appear exactly as it does online

Examples: (Web site :) "Boots for Hiking", http://www.blundstone.com.au (collected 14/7/98)

(E-mail address): jstone@morris.edu.au (collected 19/6/97)

CD ROMS

You should include:

• Author’s name, if known
• Title of article (in quotation marks)
• Name of CD ROM, with the word CD ROM in brackets
• Name of publisher, year of publication

Example: Smith, John, "Antarctica", Microsoft Encarta (CD ROM), 1996