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Different units at Deakin use different referencing styles. Always check your unit assessment information to find which style you are required to use.

Note: There are a number of interpretations of the Oxford style referencing used by different publishers and universities. Check with your teacher, supervisor or publisher whether you are required to follow a variant of Oxford that differs from the advice presented in this guide.

Deakin guide to Oxford (PDF, 639.5 KB)

Last updated: 6 March 2024

Overview

There are endless sources of information to be found on the internet, but not all of it is appropriate to contribute to your academic writing.

  1. What is the purpose of your writing task? Which sources will support your response to the task?
  2. Use the Deakin Library databases and Resource Guides to find further sources.
  3. Always ask yourself: Is this a credible and reliable source of information?
  4. Seek advice from teaching staff in your unit.
  5. You can also get help from the Deakin Library and Study Support.

Do I always need to include a URL and date of access?

In the Oxford style of referencing, online sources that can be updated by the publisher require the full URL and the date you accessed, for example:

  • Websites
  • Documents published online
  • Online news reports
  • Blog posts
  • Online videos e.g. YouTube
  • Podcasts.

However, note that most e-books and online journal articles, including those sourced from Library databases, are mostly cited the same way as print books and articles. In general, these sources do not require the name of the database, nor a URL, nor a date of access.

Likewise, citations of Films or TV episodes accessed via a digital streaming platform do not require the name of the platform e.g. Netflix, nor a URL.

Ask yourself: Is this source available to the general public?

Sources that are not available to the general public, such as private social media posts, wikis and email messages, should be treated as Personal communications. If you are not sure whether it is appropriate to cite social media or personal communications in your assessment, seek clarification from your teachers in your unit.

Web page

When citing a web page:

  • do not cite an entire website in general – always cite a specific webpage and include the full URL
  • provide all available details of the date of publication or last date updated e.g. Day Month Year
  • include the date that you accessed the source
  • if there are no page numbers, and the text is very long, provide the paragraph number or section.

Footnotes

Author, ‘Title of Web Page’, Title of Website (Day Month year), section number and title, URL, accessed date.

8. Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘The Suspension and Reinstatement of the RDA and Special Measures in the NTER’, Australian Human Rights Commission (12 Dec. 2011), 4. The 2010 Welfare Reform Act, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/suspension-and-reinstatement-rda-and-special-measures-nter-0, accessed 17 Mar. 2020.

Citing multiple sections from a single web page

In the first footnote, provide the full publication details.

In subsequent footnotes, provide only the:

  • author
  • web page title
  • section number/title or paragraph number.

8. Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘The Suspension and Reinstatement of the RDA and Special Measures in the NTER’, Australian Human Rights Commission (12 Dec. 2011), 4. The 2010 Welfare Reform Act, https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/suspension-and-reinstatement-rda-and-special-measures-nter-0, accessed 17 Mar. 2020.

9. Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘The Suspension and Reinstatement of the RDA and Special Measures in the NTER’, 2. The Proposed Change in the 2009 Welfare Reform Bill.

Bibliography

Author, ‘Title of Web Page’, Title of Website (Day Month year), URL, accessed date.

Australian Human Rights Commission, ‘The Suspension and Reinstatement of the RDA and Special Measures in the NTER’, Australian Human Rights Commission (12 Dec. 2011), https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/suspension-and-reinstatement-rda-and-special-measures-nter-0, accessed 17 Mar. 2020.

Web document

When citing a document (e.g. a PDF) from a website:

  • if the author is the same as the website title, include the author name only
  • provide all available details of the date of publication (e.g. Day Month Year) and place of publication, if available
  • include the full URL of the document – if this not accessible, provide the URL where the document is hosted
  • include the date you accessed the source.

Footnotes

if there are no page numbers, and the text is very long, provide the paragraph number or section.

A. Author, ‘Title of Document’, Title of Website (Place, Day Month Year), page/paragraph, URL, accessed date.

10. M. Specter, ‘The Dangerous Philosopher’, The Graduate Forum NYU (2 Apr. 2001), para. 12, http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~pillow/gradforum/materials/DangerousPhilosopher.pdf, accessed 3 Feb. 2020.

12. Department of Reproductive Health and Research (WHO), ‘Respect Women: Preventing Violence Against Women’, World Health Organization, (Geneva, 2019), 14–15, https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/312261/WHO-RHR-18.19-eng.pdf?ua=1, accessed 16 June 2020.

Bibliography

Author, A., ‘Title of Document’, Title of Website (Place, Day Month Year), URL, accessed date.

Specter, M., ‘The Dangerous Philosopher’, The Graduate Forum NYU (2 Apr. 2001), http://www.cns.nyu.edu/~pillow/gradforum/materials/DangerousPhilosopher.pdf, accessed 3 Feb. 2020.

Department of Reproductive Health and Research (WHO), ‘Respect Women: Preventing Violence Against Women’, World Health Organization, (Geneva, 2019), https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/312261/WHO-RHR-18.19-eng.pdf?ua=1, accessed 16 June 2020.

Blog post

  • Note that an author of a blog post is sometimes different to the author/publisher of a blog.
  • If the blog has no named author, begin with the title.
  • Include the medium as [blog post], unless obvious from the title of the blog.

Footnotes

If the post is lengthy, you may provide details about the paragraph or section heading.

A. Author, ‘Title of Post’, Title of Blog [blog post] (Day Month Year), paragraph, URL, accessed date.

16. C. Raddato, ‘The Acts of the Arval Brethren of AD 120 (#Hadrian1900)’, Following Hadrian [blog post] (16 Jan. 2020), para. 8, https://followinghadrian.com/2020/01/16/the-acts-of-the-arval-brethren-of-ad-120-hadrian1900/, accessed 3 May 2020.

17. S. Morris, ‘Hilary Mantel and Shakespeare: Fiction Versus Fact’, The Shakespeare Blog (4 July 2017), http://theshakespeareblog.com/2017/07/hilary-mantel-and-shakespeare-fiction-versus-fact/, accessed 29 May 2020.

Bibliography

Author, A. ‘Title of Post’, Title of Blog [blog post] (Day Month Year), URL, accessed date.

Morris, S., ‘Hilary Mantel and Shakespeare: Fiction Versus Fact’, The Shakespeare Blog (4 July 2017), http://theshakespeareblog.com/2017/07/hilary-mantel-and-shakespeare-fiction-versus-fact/, accessed 29 May 2020.

Raddato, C., ‘The Acts of the Arval Brethren of AD 120’, Following Hadrian [blog post], (16 Jan. 2020), https://followinghadrian.com/2020/01/16/the-acts-of-the-arval-brethren-of-ad-120-hadrian1900/, accessed 3 May 2020.

Social media

Before citing a social media source, ask yourself:

  • Is this a credible and reliable source of information?
  • Is it acceptable to cite social media for an assessment in this unit?
  • Is the social media account/post public or private? Posts from private social media accounts should be treated as Personal communications. All the following examples are public social media posts.

Provide the:

  • author name (which may be a username)
  • text from the beginning of the post
  • full date of the post
  • full URL and the date accessed.

Footnotes

A. Author/username, ‘First part of post/comment/update…’ [Social media post] (Day Month Year), URL, accessed date.

13. J. Goodall, ‘What I’m doing now is my job, trying to wake people up…’ [Facebook post] (23 Apr. 2020), https://www.facebook.com/janegoodall/, accessed 29 Apr. 2020.

17. R. Dawkins, ‘Fairy tales, as well as charming, can be good training in critical thinking…’ [Twitter post] (4 June 2014), https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/474420845428109312, accessed 9 June 2019.

Bibliography

Dawkins, R., ‘Fairy tales, as well as charming, can be good training in critical thinking…’ [Twitter post] (4 June 2014), https://twitter.com/richarddawkins/status/474420845428109312, accessed 9 June 2019.

Goodall, J. ‘What I’m doing now is my job, trying to wake people up…’ [Facebook post] (23 Apr. 2020), https://www.facebook.com/janegoodall/, accessed 29 Apr. 2020.

Podcast

Depending on who you are citing, you can begin the citation of a podcast with the:

  • main interviewee
  • presenter or producer
  • or the title of the episode if there is no named speaker/producer.

Include the medium in square brackets [podcast], if this is not obvious from the title of the podcast series.

Note: you can use elements of this format if you need to cite broadcast radio.

Footnotes

A. Interviewee, interview with A. Presenter, ‘Title of Episode’ [podcast], Title of Show (Day Month Year), Publisher/Broadcaster, URL, accessed date.

16. M. Kingwell, interview with J. Gelonesi, ‘The Hipster Philosopher’ [podcast], The Philosophers’ Zone (5 Jan. 2014), ABC Radio National, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/the-hipster-philosopher/5017288 accessed 9 June 2020.

‘Title of Episode’ [podcast], Title of Show (Day Month Year), Publisher/Broadcaster, URL, accessed date.

18. ‘The Last Sound’ [podcast], Invisibilia (3 Apr. 2020), NPR, https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/821648089/the-last-sound, accessed 6 May 2020.

Bibliography

Kingwell, M., interview with J. Gelonesi, ‘The Hipster Philosopher’ [podcast], The Philosophers’ Zone (5 Jan. 2014), ABC Radio National, https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/philosopherszone/the-hipster-philosopher/5017288 accessed 9 June 2020.

‘The Last Sound’ [podcast], Invisibilia (3 Apr. 2020), NPR, https://www.npr.org/2020/03/25/821648089/the-last-sound, accessed 6 May 2020.

Online video

Depending on who you are citing, you can begin the citation of a video with the:

  • interviewee/speaker/presenter
  • producer/director (which in some cases may be the user who uploaded the video)
  • or the title of the video if there is no named speaker, producer or director.

Include the medium in square brackets [video].

Footnotes

Video on social media platform (e.g. YouTube)

The date of publication refers to the date uploaded.

A. Interviewee, ‘Title of Video’ [video], Social Media Platform (Day Month Year), URL, date accessed.

21. H. Mantel, ‘Hilary Mantel: The Waterstones Interview - Wolf Hall Trilogy’ [video], YouTube (24. Feb. 2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZrYQ2Ud_c, accessed 6 May 2020.

The producer of the video can also be provided in brackets before the date.

A. Speaker, ‘Title of Video’ [video], Social Media Platform (Producer, Day Month Year), URL, date accessed.

22. S. Fitzpatrick, ‘The Russian Revolution of 1917 and World History: A Centenary Reflection’ [video], YouTube (Schwartz Media, 7 Apr. 2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyH1NF_kh-s, accessed 23 May 2020.

For clips of previously released videos, films or episodes that may only be available now in an online platform, include the original date in addition to the date uploaded.

See also the topics in this guide: TV episodes and Film.

A. Director (dir.), ‘Title of Video’ [video], Social Media Platform (recorded Year, uploaded Day Month Year), URL, date accessed.

23. J. Pilger (dir.), ‘John Pilger: Palestine is Still the Issue’ [video], YouTube (recorded 1977, uploaded 21. Nov. 2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYF0td7Ykus, accessed 6 May 2020.

Video on producer website

A. Speaker, ‘Title of Video’ [video], Producer (Day Month Year), URL, date accessed.

31. L. Lagerstrom, ‘Einstein’s Miracle Year’ [video], TED-Ed (Jan. 2015), https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lagerstrom_einstein_s_miracle_year, accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

Bibliography

Fitzpatrick, S., ‘The Russian Revolution of 1917 and World History: A Centenary Reflection’, [video], YouTube (Schwartz Media, 7 Apr. 2017), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyH1NF_kh-s, accessed 23 May 2020.

Lagerstrom, L., ‘Einstein’s Miracle Year’ [video], TED-Ed (Jan. 2015), https://www.ted.com/talks/larry_lagerstrom_einstein_s_miracle_year, accessed 8 Aug. 2020.

Mantel, H., ‘Hilary Mantel: The Waterstones Interview - Wolf Hall Trilogy’ [video], YouTube (24. Feb. 2020), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LsZrYQ2Ud_c, accessed 6 May 2020.

Pilger, J. (dir.), ‘John Pilger: Palestine is Still the Issue’ [video], YouTube (recorded 1977, uploaded 21. Nov. 2015), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYF0td7Ykus, accessed 6 May 2020.

TV episode

  • Begin the citation with the director. If it not relevant/available, begin the citation with the title of the episode.
  • Include the medium in square brackets [video].
  • Whether a TV episode has been accessed via a TV broadcast, Netflix, via a Deakin Library database, or on DVD is irrelevant. Therefore, do not include information about the platform or distributor i.e. how you accessed the episode.
  • Include the name of the producer/broadcaster (this is different to a distributor or platform provider or format, but note that in some cases this may be the same organisation).
  • Include numbers of the episode and season, if relevant.
  • Note: IMDb (the International Movie Database) is a reliable source of information on TV series and episodes.

Footnotes

There is no need to provide a URL if you have all of the other relevant production/broadcast details:

‘Title of Episode [video], Title of TV Program (Producer, Day Month Year of original broadcast/release).

24. ‘Trapped in the Volcano’ [video], Four Corners (ABC TV, 27 Apr. 2020).

However, you may choose to include a URL to a publicly available site if you think it would assist your reader to locate your source. Here is the same footnote as above, but with a URL provided:

24. ‘Trapped in the Volcano’ [video], Four Corners (ABC TV, 27 Apr. 2020), https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/trapped-in-the-volcano/12189154, accessed 8 May 2020.

Here is an example of an episode produced by Netflix – but remember, Netflix is only listed here as the producer of the TV series, not as the platform it was accessed on.

A. Director (dir.), ‘Title of Episode’ [video], Episode, Season, Title of TV Series (Producer, Day Month Year of original broadcast/release).

25. D. DiMauro (dir.), ‘Slumlord Millionaire’ [video], Episode 3, Season 2, Dirty Money (Netflix, 11 March 2020).

Bibliography

DiMauro, D., (dir.), ‘Slumlord Millionaire’ [video], Episode 3, Season 2, Dirty Money (Netflix, 11 March 2020).

‘Trapped in the Volcano’ [video], Four Corners (ABC TV, 27 Apr. 2020), https://www.abc.net.au/4corners/trapped-in-the-volcano/12189154, accessed 8 May 2020.

Film

  • The citation can begin with the director, where relevant. If not available, begin the citation with the title of the film.
  • Whether a film has been accessed via Netflix, the Deakin Library or on DVD is irrelevant. Therefore, do not include information about the platform/distributor or format.
  • Include the name of the producer (this is different to a distributor / platform provider, but note that in some cases this may be the same organisation).
  • IMDb (the International Movie Database) is a reliable source of information on films.

Footnotes

A. Director (dir.), Title of Film [film], (Production Company, Day Month Year of original release).

26. S. Bognar (dir.), American Factory [film], (Higher Ground Productions, 2019).

31. M. Blackwood (dir.), Art in our Time: Toward a New Museum of Modern Art [film], (Michael Blackwood Productions, 2001).

Bibliography

Blackwood, M. (dir.), Art in our Time: Toward a New Museum of Modern Art [film], (Michael Blackwood Productions, 2001).

Bognar, S. (dir.), American Factory [film], (Higher Ground Productions, 2019).
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