UNIVERSITY INSTITUTE OF LEGAL

STUDIES, PANJAB UNIVERSITY,

CHANDIGARH

A project report on the topic ‘METHODS OF CITATION’

submitted as a part of curriculum of B.com LLB (Hons.)

Submitted To: Submitted By:

Dr. Gulshan Kumar Mehak Ghangas
B.Com. L.L.B. (Hons.)
Semester – 6th
Section-C
151/18
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I hereby acknowledge to all those who helped me to draft this project

directly and indirectly. It would have not been possible for me to
complete the task without their help and guidance.
First of all, I would like to thank our teacher Dr. Gulshan Kumar who
gave me this golden opportunity to do this project on the topic
‘Methods of Citation’. He also conveyed me the important
instructions from the university time to time.
And last but not the least I am thankful to the Panjab University for
offering this project report in our syllabus. I must mention my hearty
gratitude towards my family, other faculties and friends who
supported me to go ahead with the project.
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that MEHAK GHANGAS, a student of B.Com.

L.L.B. (Hons.) has successfully completed the research of the
Research Methodology project on the topic ‘METHODS OF
CITATION’ under the guidance of DR. GULSHAN KUMAR during
the academic session 2020-21 as per the guidelines issued by Panjab
University, Chandigarh.

Dr. Gulshan Kumar

 TABLE OF CONTENTS

S.NO. TOPIC PAGE

NO.
1. Introduction 5
2. Importance of Citation 5-6
3. Methods of Citation 7
4. Footnotes 7-8
5. Endnotes 8-9
6. References 9
7. Bibliography 10-11
8. Webliography 11
9. Citation Styles 11-14
10. Legal Citation 14-17
11. Conclusion 17
12. Bibliography 18
 METHODS OF CITATION: FOOTNOTES,
ENDNOTES, REFERENCES, BIBLIOGRAPHY
AND WEBLIOGRAPHY

Introduction:
A ‘Citation’ is the way to tell the readers that certain material or idea
in the work came from another source. A good citation makes it easy
for the reader to figure out the who, what, when, and where of the
source.
According to Cambridge Dictionary, Citation means, “a word or piece
of writing taken from a written work”
A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative
and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research and
shows how their ideas have contributed to your own work. It is also a
way of demonstrating that you have read and understood key texts
relating to the area you are writing about. It is a proof that research is
substantial and is based on facts. It shows the theoretical foundation
of the research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and
combat plagiarism.
Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of
the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object
Identifier).
Importance of Citation:
1) Offer Support or Evidence: The main objective of a citation is
to present support or evidence to the argument you made in the
work. You should provide proof for what you are saying and
citation can help you with it. The citation will help the reader to
understand where the evidence can be found.
2) Provide Reference: Citation stands as a reference. It offers a
reference to work, sources, in-depth information regarding the
 sources that you used while writing your paper. It will be seen at
the end of your document. The citation can help you to
acknowledge the ideas and points of others that you used in your
work.
3) Avoid Plagiarism: Plagiarism is a serious offense in any kind of
writing whether it is academic or non-academic. Citing sources
or references can help you to keep away from plagiarism and it
will eventually result in a superior paper. Plagiarism can never
help you with your paper and you should acknowledge the
sources that you used while preparing your paper via citation.
4) Provide Support: By means of citation, you are presenting
support for ideas, arguments, and claims you made in the work.
You need to provide support to the ideas you have come up
with. The citation will be used when it comes to providing
support to the ideas.
5) Add Credibility: Another objective of citation is to add
credibility. The paper that you publish and submit to the
professor should have credibility. The citation will help you to
have your paper much-required credibility. Your citation will
make it simple for the person who reads to locate the material
you are pointing out.
6) Verifiable Format: Citation not only plays a most important
role in backing up your research and work but also offers your
research and work a verifiable format. The verifiable format is
essential for your work and it will help you to make your paper
look like a professional.
7) Offer Overall Appeal: The appropriate use of citation can assist
you a good deal to boost the overall appeal to your academic
papers whether it is essay or research paper. It not only provides
sound support to the main statements made in the work but also
makes your research more believable.
Methods of Citation:
Information or the material referred in the research paper can be cited
in two ways by the researcher:
I. In-Text Citations: In-text citations are citations that are inserted
in the main text of the paper. The purpose of these citations is to
let the reader know from where a specific piece of information
came. The researcher must cite all information that he quotes
directly from another source, paraphrase, or summarize using
in-text citations.
II. Bibliography or Reference List Citation: Bibliographies are
called different things depending on which citation style the
researcher is using. In MLA, for example, it is called the Works
Cited page, and in APA, it is called the References page. The
bibliography shows the reader all relevant information
regarding sources.

A. FOOTNOTES: -
As the name suggests footnotes are notes placed at the bottom of a
page. Footnotes give the source of authority of the statements of
the text. They cite references or comment on a designated part of the
text above it. They are meant for cross reference with the text.
Therefore, notes at the foot (bottom) of the page are called footnotes.
Footnotes serve the purposes of identifying the material used in
quotations in the report. The notice of this material is not immediately
necessary to the body of the research text but still of supplemental
value.
The definition of footnote is “a note of reference, explanation, or
comment placed below the text on a printed page.”
A few footnote usage rules are as follows:
• Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout the research
paper, not restarting numbering on each page.
 • Each quotation requires a footnote.
• Footnotes are placed at the bottom of the page on which the
reference or quotation which they identify or supplement ends.
• Footnotes are always typed in single space, though they are
divided in double-spaced.
• Footnotes are referenced using a superscript number i.e., the
number should be put slightly above the line, say at the end of a
quotation. At the foot of the page again the footnote should be
indented and typed a little above the line.
• Footnotes are customarily separated from the textual material by
a space of half an inch and a line about one and a half inches
long.
• Footnotes are separated from the text by a fifteen spaces solid
line drawn from the left-hand margin and one double space
below the last line of the text.
Footnotes help to enable the reader to read the reference without
having to turn to the end of the text which would otherwise tend to
disrupt the flow of the text and hamper smooth reading.
The format of writing a footnote is as follows: -
First Name Last Name, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher,
Year of publication), page number.
B. ENDNOTES: -
Endnotes are used to avoid disrupting the writing with extraneous
information. As with footnotes, the presence of an endnote is
identified in the main text with a small superscript number. However,
instead of providing the correlating note at the bottom of the same
page, endnotes are found collectively at the end of an article, chapter,
or document.

According to the Merriam Webster, endnotes are defined as “a note

placed at the end of the text.”
Therefore, endnotes are used to cite a particular source or make a
brief explanatory comment placed at the end of a research paper and
they are arranged sequentially in relation to where the reference
appears in the paper.

Endnotes are less distracting to the reader and allows the narrative to
flow better and as a separate section of the research paper, endnotes
allow the reader to read and contemplate all the notes at once.
However, if you want to look at the text of a particular endnote, you
have to flip to the end of the research paper to find the information
and depending on how they are created [i.e., continuous numbering or
numbers that start over for each chapter], you may have to remember
the chapter number as well as the endnote number in order to find the
correct one.
C. REFERENCES: -
According to Merriam Webster, References are defined as, “the act of
referring or consulting.”
A reference list is a complete list of references used in a piece of
writing including the author’s name, date of publication, title and
more.
In other publication styles, this list may be called a bibliography or
works cited, but APA used the term reference list. A reference page is
the last page of an essay or research paper that’s been written in APA
style. Thus, reference page format is unique to APA style.
An APA reference list must:
• Be on a new page at the end of the document.
• Be centred.
• Be alphabetically by the last name of the author.
• Contain full references for all in-text references used.
• Use ellipses if there are more than 7 authors.
• List sources by the same author is chronological order.
• Indent each line after the first line of each source.
D. BIBLIOGRAPHY: -
A bibliography tells the reader what sources have been used in an
article. It lists all the books, articles, and other references that are
cited in or used to inform your work. Bibliographies are typically
formatted according to one of three styles: American Psychological
Association (APA) for scientific papers, Modern Language
Association (MLA) for humanities papers, and Chicago Manual of
Style (CMS) for the social sciences.
According to the Cambridge Dictionary, bibliography is defined as,
“A list of the books and articles that have been used by someone
when writing a particular book or article.”
Bibliography literally means ‘booklist’. At the end of a research
report, all primary and secondary sources of data, reference books,
periodicals, articles, reports, unpublished material, pamphlets, films,
records and other references must be listed under the title
Bibliography. It should contain all those works which the researcher
has consulted.
The purpose of a bibliography is to provide with a fair chance to
estimate the thoroughness and exhaustiveness of the report.
Bibliography consists of the particulars of the literature referred to
and actually utilized in the preparation of the research report.
The bibliography should be arranged alphabetically and may be
divided into two parts; the first part may contain the names of books
and pamphlets, and the second part may contain the names of
magazine and newspaper articles. Bibliography begins on a new page
at the end of the report. It follows the main text and is a separate part
of the thesis.
The following order is usually observed while writing the reference:
a) Name of the Author
b) Title of the book
c) Publisher’s address
d) Year of publication
 e) Page number

E. WEBLIOGRAPHY: -
A webliography is much like a bibliography, but is limited to a
collection of online resources rather than books and academic
journals.
The term webliography is commonly used when discussing online
resources. It is referred to as “Web Bibliography.” Accordingly, a
webliography is a list of resources relating to a particular topic that
can be accessed on the World Wide WEB, and can be referred to in a
scholarly work.
Therefore, webliography is an online bibliography that lists and
hyperlinks websites and digital information around a single topic.
Researchers can use the webliographies to find links to relevant
information and cite those links one-by-one.
According to Oxford, webliography is defined as “A list (either
printed or online) of electronic works or documents relating to a
particular topic.”
CITATION STYLES:
A citation style is a set of rules on how to cite sources in academic
writing. Whenever you refer to someone else’s work, a citation is
required to avoid plagiarism.
A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and
how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other
formatting.
Citation style guidelines are often published in an official handbook
containing explanations, examples, and instructions. The most
common citation styles are the following:
i. APA Style
ii. MLA Style
 I. APA STYLE: -
APA Style originated in 1929, when a group of psychologists,
anthropologists, and business managers convened and sought to
establish a simple set of procedures, or style guidelines, that would
codify the many components of scientific writing to increase the ease
of reading comprehension.
APA Style was created by the American Psychological Association
and was originally used in psychology and the social sciences. Today
many other disciplines also use it. APA’s citation style uses an
author-date system of parenthetical citation.
APA style uses parentheses within the text to cite sources. These are
called in-text citations. These correspond to the bibliography listed at
the end of the paper. To cite using APA style, put the name of the
author and the year of publication separated by a comma inside a pair
of parentheses. If citing a direct quotation, include the number of the
page on which the quote appears.
Format for writing a citation in APA style is as follows:
Author’s Surname, initial(s). (Date Published). Title of Source.
Location of Publisher: Publisher. Retrieved from URL.
II. MLA STYLE: -
In 1951, the Modern Language Association published the first MLA
Style Sheet. It was developed as a means for researchers, students,
and scholars in the literature and language fields to use a uniform way
to format their papers and assignments.
MLA uses parenthetical citations containing the author and page
number. To cite using MLA style, put the name of the author and the
page number between the parentheses. The parentheses always appear
at the end of the sentence in which the material appears but before the
period. These in-text citations also correspond to the sources listed in
the bibliography at the end of the paper.
Format for writing a citation in MLA style is as follows:
Author name(s). “Title of the Source”. Title of container, other
contributors, version, numbers, publisher, publication date, location.
DIFFERENCE B/W APA STYLE AND MLA STYLE: -

Basis APA Style MLA Style

Reference In APA, this page is In MLA, this page is
page labelled as “References” labelled as “Works
Cited”
Order of References are first References are arranged
Entries of arranged in alphabetical in alphabetical order by
Reference order by author’s names, author’s names first,
Page then chronologically then by title
(oldest first)
Multiple Lists the works Work is listed from
Works by chronologically but newest to oldest, but the
Same Author includes the author’s Author’s name is only
name in each entry mentioned in the first
entry
Article Titles Only the first word of Titles are referenced in
the title is capitalized, no quotation marks with
quotation marks are used major words capitalized
In-Text Write Author’s names, Write Author’s names,
Referencing then year that the source then page number of the
was published source being referenced

OTHER CITATION STYLES:

a) Harvard System: - Harvard referencing style is often used in the
field of economics. There is no official style guide, which means
there are a few variations. Like APA Style, Harvard style is
based on an author-date system.
b) Vancouver: - Vancouver style was developed by the
International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)
 and is mostly used in medical disciplines. Vancouver style
works with a numeric system.
c) Chicago: - Chicago style is published by The Chicago Manual
of Style. The Chicago Manual of Style provides guidelines for
two styles of citation: author-date and notes and bibliography.
d) Council of Science Editors (CSE): - The Council of Science
Editors (CSE) style is a standard citation style used across many
disciplines in the physical and life sciences. The CSE style
encompasses three distinct systems; i.e., Name-Year, Citation-
Sequence and Citation-Name.
e) American Medical Association (AMA): - AMA referencing is a
system that allows academic authors to show where another
author’s work has contributed to or supported a finding or
theory within their work. The AMA referencing style was
designed by the American Medical Association specifically for
use in their publications. The style is now widely used and has a
number of variations for different universities and publications.
f) Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE): - IEEE
is a citation style often used in technical studies, such as IT and
electrical engineering. IEEE citation style includes in-text
citations, numbered in square brackets, which refer to the full
citation listed in the reference list at the end of the paper. The
reference list is organized numerically, not alphabetically.

LEGAL CITATION: -
‘Cite’ is the location of authority for, the matter that has been
mentioned. Because it is necessary to refer any statement of law that
is made by attributing the legal authority or authorities, the starting
point for legal research is to know how that law, contained in the
report of a case, section of an Act or in a clause of a Regulation, is
referred to by the legal profession.
This is known as ‘the citation’ of cases, Acts and Regulations. Thus,
we can say that a case is ‘cited’ in a research report by researcher to
provide the legal authority for the proposition.
A citation is a path address of a book, article, web page or other
published item, with sufficient details to uniquely identify the item.
INDIAN LAW INSTITUTE (ILI): -
Indian Law Institute (ILI) was founded in 1956 primarily with the
objective of promoting and conducting legal research. The objectives
of the Institute as laid down are:
➢ To cultivate the science of law
➢ To promote advanced studies and research in law so as to meet
the social, economic and other needs of the Indian people
➢ To promote systematization of law
➢ To encourage and conduct investigations in legal and allied
fields
➢ To improve legal education, to impart instructions in law
➢ To publish studies, books, periodicals, etc.
The Institute has formulated a set pattern of citation (i.e., ILI Rules of
Footnoting), which is followed in The Journal of Indian Law Institute,
Annual Survey of Indian Law and various other publications of the
Institute. Contributors of articles, notes and comments are required to
follow this pattern.
STANDARDISATION OF CITATION RULES
1. Dates and Numbers:
Date should appear as: 8 June, 2021
Percentages should be expressed as: 10 per cent
Time should be shown as: 11:30 a.m.
Monetary amounts should be shown as: Rs. or $ etc.
2. Abbreviations:
Section s.1, s.2 Paragraph para (a), para (b)
Regulation reg 1, reg 2 Clause cl.1, cl.2
Part pt.1, pt.2 Point pt.
Page number p.no. Sub-Section s.1(1), s.1(2)
Order O.1, O.2 Rule r.1, r.2
Chapter ch.1, ch.2 Division Div.
Article art. Schedule sch.

3. Citing Statutes (Legislation):

Statutes are usually cited by short title with years title number and
year (in brackets); section number. The Foreign Exchange Regulation
Act, 1947 (7 of 1947)
4. Referencing:
• Supra (Latin: “above”) is used to refer to a prior footnote. If a
different page number is to be indicated in a source referred to
in a prior footnote E.g., Supra note 5 at 34. If referring to a
section/article in a source referred E.g., Supra note 5, s.40.
Supra note 6, art.14.
Avoid the use of Infra (below).
• Ibid./ Id. Ibid. (meaning “in the same place”) is used to refer to
an authority in the footnote immediately preceding the current
footnote and the same page/ place is being referred to. Id.
(meaning „the same‟) is used if the authority is the same but the
page or place of reference is different. E.g., Id. at 30. If referring
to a section / article in the same authority E.g., Id., art. 14.
CITATION OF CASE LAWS:
Case Law is law established by judicial decision in cases. When citing
to a printed law reporter, the traditional form of legal citation requires
these elements:
▪ Case name (also known as the style of cause) in italics
 ▪ “v” to separate names (indicates language of case is English) in
italics
▪ Year of decision in round brackets followed by a comma
▪ Volume Number
▪ Standard abbreviation of printed reporter title i.e., name of the
journal
▪ Series number in round bracket, if included
▪ Page number
▪ Court abbreviation in round brackets, only if not included in
reporter name.
Therefore, in India, citing a case is as follows:
Petitioner V. Defendant, (Year of Publication) Volume Number
Name of the Journal Page Number
Common law journals used in India to cite a case are as follows:
1. All India Reporter (AIR)
2. Supreme Court Cases (SCC)
3. Criminal Law Journal (Cr.L.J.)
CONCLUSION:
Citation upholds the intellectual honesty of the material the researcher
has used. By using citations, our readers are more likely to trust us
and what we write.
As discussed in this project, there are different styles of Citation that
are used commonly and some in specific field. These different styles
are used as per the researcher’s need or it may depend on the field
which is related to the paper. The essence is to give all the
information as completely as possible to allow the reader to trace the
correct sources whether the information source is printed or non-
printed.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Books:
• Kothari, C.R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques,
(2nd). New Delhi: New Age International Publishers.
• Myneni, S.R. (2012). Legal Research Methodology(5th). Faridabad:
Allahabad Law Agency.
Research Papers:
• Uzuegbu, C.P. and Onyekachi, J.C. (2015, July). Bibliographic Citation
and Referencing Method. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292869655_BIBLIOGRAPHIC
_CITATION_AND_REFERENCING_METHOD

Webliography:
• Mendeley. APA Format Citation Guide. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide#
• Mendeley. MLA 8 Citation Guide. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mla-citation-guide
• The Indian Law Institute. Citation Style. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://ili.ac.in/cstyle.pdf
• Tamil Nadu National Law University. Quick Reference: Commonly Used
Citation Styles. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://tnnlu.ac.in/pdf/2019/Single%20Credit%20Course/CRW%20Hand
book%20on%20Commonly%20Used%20Citation%20Styles.pdf
• Harvard Format Citation Guide. Retrieved May 22, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/harvard-citation-guide
• Mary Stangler Center for Academic Success. (2015, June 30).
Introduction to Citations. Retrieved May 15, 2021, from
https://www.sctcc.edu/sites/default/files/users/cas/Introduction%20to%20
Citations.pdf