Source Type Guides
46 source types in 7 groups
Different types of sources require different citation formats. Learn how to properly cite each source type, no matter which citation style you're using.
Books and reference works
7 source types
Book
Print books, e-books and textbooks, including new editions and translations.
Book Chapter
Individual chapters from edited books or collections.
Classic Work
Classical works, ancient texts, and historical writings.
Reference Entry
An entry in a database, directory or catalogue, such as the World Heritage List.
Dictionary Entry
Dictionary entries and word definitions.
Encyclopedia Entry
Britannica, the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy and other encyclopedias.
Collection
A whole book of chapters or works by different authors, under one or more editors.
Articles and periodicals
6 source types
Not sure which kind of article you have? How to cite an article tells them apart.
Journal Article
Academic journals, peer-reviewed articles, and research papers.
Newspaper Article
Print and online newspaper articles.
Magazine Article
Magazine articles and popular periodicals.
Review
Reviews of films, TV shows, albums, games, performances or products, in print or online.
Book Review
Reviews of books in journals, newspapers, magazines or on websites.
Periodical
Periodicals, journals, and serial publications as a whole.
Online sources
4 source types
Website
Pages on a website that fit no other guide, such as an organisation’s fact sheet.
Post
Social media posts and forum discussions.
Blog Post
Blog posts and personal web publications.
Generative AI
Text or other content from ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, Copilot and other AI tools.
Audio, video and images
8 source types
Video
A film, a documentary, a TED Talk or a YouTube video.
Podcast/Broadcast
A podcast episode, or a radio or TV broadcast.
Song
A recording of a song or other piece of music.
Musical Score
Sheet music or a published score of a composition.
Graphic
A painting or other artwork, a photograph, or another image.
Figure
A chart, graph or diagram taken from a book, report or article.
Map
A printed or online map, such as a topographic or road map.
Performance
A live performance: a play, a musical, a concert or a dance.
Reports and research
9 source types
Thesis/Dissertation
Dissertations, theses, and academic research papers.
Report
Technical reports, white papers, and organizational documents.
Software
Programs, applications, code repositories, and software packages.
Dataset
Research data, databases, and data repositories.
Patent
Inventions, intellectual property, and patent filings.
Standard
Technical standards from ISO, IEEE, and standards bodies.
Conference Paper
Papers presented at academic conferences and symposiums.
Pamphlet
Brochures, pamphlets, and leaflets.
Preprint
Preprints on servers such as arXiv, SSRN or bioRxiv, and working papers.
Legal and government
7 source types
Legal Case
A court’s decision in a case, such as a Supreme Court ruling.
Legislation
A law passed by a legislature, or a section of a code.
Bill
A proposed law still before the legislature.
Regulation
A rule made by a government agency, such as the FDA.
Hearing
The published record of a legislative committee’s hearing.
Treaty
A written agreement between countries, such as the Paris Agreement.
Document
A memo or other official record with no guide of its own.
Interviews, speeches and letters
5 source types
Manuscript
Unpublished manuscripts, letters, and archival materials.
Interview
Recorded or published interviews with individuals.
Speech
Speeches, lectures, addresses, and oral presentations.
Event
Conferences, exhibitions, and organized events.
Personal Communication
Emails, letters, phone calls, and private correspondence.
Citation Tips by Source Type
- Websites: Note the date you looked. Cite Them Right Harvard always prints it, Chicago when the page has no date, APA only for a page meant to change, and in MLA it is up to you
- Books: Include the edition number if it's not the first edition
- Journals: Include the DOI when available - it's the most reliable link
- Videos: Note the timestamp if citing a specific part
