Citing and referencing: Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

A guide to the styles recommended by Monash schools and departments for students and researchers

Encyclopedias and Dictionaries

Encyclopedia entries

Entry in an encyclopedia (author's name provided)

Format

Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of work, edition, volume number if applicable, publisher, year of publication. Title of the database or website, doi.

Examples

Klein, Peter. "Epistemology." Routledge Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 1998. Routledge, doi:10.4324/9780415249126-P059-1.

Explanation In this example the name of the publisher is the same as the database, so we avoid repeating by not including the name of the publisher.

 

Entry in an edited encyclopedia (author's name provided)

Format

Print: Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of work, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, edition, volume number, Publisher, year of publication.

Online: Last Name, First Name. "Article title." Title of work, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, edition, volume number, Publisher, year of publication. Title of the database or website, URL or doi.

Examples

Kaemmer, John E. "Music of the Shona of Zimbabwe." Garland Encyclopedia of World Music, edited by Ruth M. Stone, vol. 1, Routledge, 1997.

Mulvey-Roberts, Marie. "Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft." Encyclopedia of Literary Romanticism, edited by Andrew Maunder, Facts on File, 2010, pp. 400-04. ProQuest, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=592613&ppg=417.

Explanation

The "author" is the author of the article itself.

Use the page range of entry if available.

Entry in an encylopedia - no author 

Format

"Article title." Title of work, edited by Editor's First Name Last Name, edition, volume number, Publisher, year of publication, page range of entry. Title of the database or website, URL or doi.

Examples

"Angelou, Maya." Encyclopedia of African-American Writing, edited by Bryan Conn and Tara Bynum, 3rd ed., Grey Horse, 2018, pp. 19-21. ProQuest, ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/monash/reader.action?docID=5570717&ppg=39.

"John Monash." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Sep. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Monash.

Explanation

Where there is no author, begin by listing the entry as the title.

Include a page range if available.

For a reference that is frequently updated, such as Wikipedia, include the date you accessed it, rather than the date of publication. Also, when consulting a source such as Wikipedia, it's recommended that you view the history of the entry.

 

Encyclopedia (whole work)

Format

Print: Last name, First name. Title of work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication. Number of volumes.

Online: Last name, First name. Title of work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication. Number of volumes. Title of the database or website, URL or doi.

Examples

Terrace, Vincent. Encyclopedia of Television Shows 1925 through 2010. 2nd ed., McFarland, 2011. 3 vols.

Marrone, Gaetana. Encyclopedia of Italian Literary Studies. Routledge, 2007. 2 vols. Taylor and Francis, doi:10.4324/9780203943540.

Explanation

Only use the format above if you are citing the encyclopedia as a whole.

If the encyclopedia has more than one volume, include the total number of volumes.

Dictionary definitions

(i) Specific definition entry

Format

Print: "Word defined." Title of work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication.

Online: "Word defined." Title of work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, Title of the database or website, URL or doi.

Examples

"Pastoral." Macquarie Dictionary. 4th ed., Macquarie Dictionary Publishers, 2005.

"Pastoral." Macquarie Dictionary Online. 2020, Macquarie Dictionary, www-macquariedictionary-com-au.ap1.proxy.openathens.net/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=pastoral.

"Epilogue." Australian Concise Oxford Dictionary. 4th ed., Oxford UP, 2008.

“Soliloquy.” Macquarie Dictionary Online. 2020, Macquarie Dictionary, www-macquariedictionary-com-au.ap1.proxy.openathens.net/features/word/search/?search_word_type=Dictionary&word=Soliloquy.

Explanation

If the dictionary entries are arranged alphabetically, then there is no need to include the page number of the definition.

If you are comparing different definitions within the same work, in your in-text citation, provide a parenthetical citation that includes the term and the definition number. For example (“Pastoral,” def. 11a).

If the name of the publisher is the same as the database, avoid repeating by not including the name of the publisher.

 

(ii) Specialised dictionary entry

Format

Print: Last Name, First Name. "Term defined." Title of Work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication.

Online: Last Name, First Name. "Term defined." Title of Work. Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, Title of the database or website, URL or doi.

Examples

Harbottle, Thomas Benfield. "Landrica." Dictionary of Historical Allusions. Swan Sonnenschein and Co, 1903.

Cuddon, J. A. "Rannaigheacht." A Dictionary of Literary Terms and Literary Theory. 5th ed., 2013, Wiley Online Library, doi:10.1002/9781118325988.ch18.

Explanation

If the dictionary entries are arranged alphabetically, then there is no need to include the page number of the definition.

If the name of the publisher is the same as the database, avoid repeating by not including the name of the publisher.

Simply omit the edition number if it is the first edition, or if there is no edition information.

 

Dictionary (whole work)

Format

Print: Title of Dictionary, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication.

Online: Title of Dictionary, Edition, Publisher, Year of Publication, Title of the database or website, doi.

Examples

Macquarie Dictionary, Macmillan Publishers Australia, 2020, Macquarie Dictionary Online, www-macquariedictionary-com-au.ap1.proxy.openathens.nett.

Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, 3rd ed., 1944. 

Explanation

Only use the format above if you are citing the dictionary as a whole.

If the name of the publisher is the same as the database, avoid repeating by not including the name of the publisher.

Simply omit the edition number if it is the first edition, or if there is no edition information.