how to reference a research report oscola

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• OSCOLA Referencing – A complete guide

You’ve done it. You’ve extracted the key research, peppered your content with incisive observations, and you’ve just typed the last words of your Law essay conclusion.

And then… it happens. You remember that in all those pages of research, you forgot to reference the sources you used. If only you’d done it in the first place!

Knowing how to cite sources for assignments is a hugely important skill. Even if you’re still at school, learning how to reference now means you won’t get caught out at university.

If you study Law at university, you’ll use the OSCOLA referencing system. This is the Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. We’ve created a comprehensive guide on exactly what OSCLA is, and how to use it.

What is OSCOLA referencing?

OSCOLA is a footnote referencing style. That means that you add small, superscript numbers (for example, 1,2,3 ) to the sources in your text, which connect to footnotes at the bottom of your page.

You may also have to include a list of tables of cases, legislation and other primary sources at the start of your essay, and a bibliography of second sources at the end. See page 10-11 of the 4th edition of OCSCOLA.

Let’s look at the OSCOLA system in detail, and how you can cite a wide range of legal sources. Our comprehensive guide refers to the 4th edition of OSCOLA produced by the University of Oxford.

Primary Sources

Case citations with neutral citations.

An example of a typical case citation with a neutral citation is:

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

The example above shows that this is a case involving Corr and IBC Vehicles Ltd. It was the thirteenth judgement issued by the House of Lords (UKHL) in 2008. It also indicates that a report of the judgement can be found in volume 1 of the series of the Law Reports called the Appeal Cases , beginning at page 884.

Case citations without neutral citations

An example of a typical case citation without a neutral citation is:

Page vs Smith [1996] AC 155 (HL).

When the year is used to identify the law report volume, you should always put it in square brackets. If the relevant law report series was also issued in more than one volume in that particular year, give it a volume number.

When you don’t need to use the year to identify the law report volume, give the year of judgement (not publication) in round brackets.

Where there are multiple parties in cases, you should name only the first claimant and the first defendant. Where cases concern only individuals, leave out forenames and initials. You should abbreviate common words and phrases, for example:

• BC for Borough Council
• Co for Company
• DPP for Director of Public Prosecutions.

When you want to refer to something, use Re instead of, for example, In re or in the matter of. You should use Re the Domestic Abuse Act 2017 rather than In the matter of the Domestic Abuse act 2017.

(See our ‘abbreviations’ section below for further guidance).

Short forms of case names

You should give the name of the case in full when you first mention it in the text or footnotes. After that, you can shorten it.

For example, ‘in Glebe Motors plc v Dixon-Greene’ can be shortened to ‘in the Glebe Motors case’ or ‘in Glebe Motors’. If you do shorten names this way, you should always choose the name which comes first in the full name of the case – in this case Glebe Motors, rather than Dixon-Greene.

Law Reports

A law report is a published report on a judgement. A law report includes features such as a headnote summarising the facts of a case and judgement, and lists of cases considered.

In England and Wales, there are no official law reports of any kind, but the Law Report series by the Incorporated Council of Law Reporting are considered the most authoritative.

If a case is reported in the Law Reports you should cite it in preference to any other report. If you can’t find a judgement in the Law Reports , you should cite the Weekly Law Reports or the All England Law Reports.

If you can’t find a judgement in one of these general series you should refer to a specialist series of law reports such as the Family Law Reports.

When citing courts, indicate the court in brackets after the first page of the report, and before the pinpoint if there is one. A pinpoint is a reference to a particular paragraph of a judgement or page of a report.

Use HL for the House of Lords, CA for the Court of Appeal, QB, CH and F for the division of the High Court, and Com Ct for the Commercial Court within the Queen’s Bench Division.

If you’re citing a case before 1865, it doesn’t require the court. Neither do citations of cases with a neutral citation.

Judges’ names

When you make a reference to a judge in a case, use the judge’s surname followed by the conventional abbreviation identifying their judicial office. You do not need to use ‘the Honourable’.

A High Court judge should be called, for example, ‘Mr Justice Brown’, or, if a woman (and regardless of whether she is married) ‘Mrs Justice Smith). You should abbreviate both as ‘Smith J’.

A House of Lords judge (or ‘Law Lord’) is called ‘Lord Brown’ or ‘Lady Brown’, depending on gender.

The President of the Supreme Court should be abbreviated as, for example, ‘Lord Brown P’; the Deputy President as ‘Lord Brown DP’.

The Lord Chancellor (now no longer a judge) should be abbreviated as ‘Lord Brown LC’, the Lord Chief Justice as ‘Lord Brown CJ’, and the Master of the Rolls as 20 ‘Lord Brown MR’.

The Chancellor of the High Court should be abbreviated as ‘Sir John Brown C’, and Presidents of the Queen’s Bench Division and Family Division as ‘Sir Brown P’.

UK primary legislation

Names of Statutes

You should cite an Act by its short title and year in roman, using capitals for the major words. Don’t put a comma before the year. For example:

Act of Supremacy 1558

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995.

Don’t use popular titles of Acts, for example, ‘Lord Campbell’s Act’. If you are referring to a particular Act a number of times in the same place, you can provide an abbreviated form of the title in the footnotes, as long as you let your reader know in advance. So, the Children Act 1989 becomes CA 1989 (not just CA).

Parts of statues

Statues are divided into parts, sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs. The relevant abbrevations are:

part / parts to pt/ pts

section / sections to s / ss

subsection / subsections to sub-s/ sub-ss

paragraph/paragraphs to para/paras

subparagraph / subparagraphs to subpara/subparas

schedule / schedules to sch/schs

Older Statutes

For older statutes, you can give the regnal year and chapter number. For example:

Crown Debts Act 1801 (41 Geo 3 c 90)

You can see from this example that the information in brackets shows that this Act was given royal assent in the forty-first year of the reign of George III.

Explanatory notes to statutes

When citing explanatory notes to statutes, precede the name of the statue with ‘Explanatory notes to the…’. For example,

Explanatory Notes to the Charities Act 2006, para 15.

An example of how to cite a Bill is:

Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008-09).

You can see that the Bill is cited by its title, the House in which it originated (here, House of Commons), and with the parliamentary session in brackets (here, 2008-09).

UK Secondary Legislation

Statutory Instruments

Statutory instruments (orders, regulations or rules) are numbered consecutively throughout the year. The year combines with the serial number to make an SI number that follows the abbreviations ‘SI’, which we use to identify the legislation.

When you cite a statutory instrument, give the name, year and (after a comma) the SI number. For example:

Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166

Parts of statutory instruments

The rules for referring to parts of statutory instruments are the same as those referring to parts of statues. Use the following abbreviations:

• regulation / regulations to reg/regs
• rule/rules to r/rr
• article/articles to art/arts

European Union legal sources

Official notices of the EU are in the Official Journal of the European Communities ( which is abbreviated to OJ). The OJ citation should be: year, OJ series, number / page. The letter ‘L’ refers to the legislation series.

EU legislation

When you cite EU treaties and protocols, give the title of the legislation, followed by the year of publication, the OK series and the issue and page numbers. For example:

Protocol to the Agreement on the Member States that do not fully apply to the Schengen acquis – Join Declarations [2007] OJ Li129/35.

You should cite Regulations, Directives, Decisions, Recommendations and Opinions by giving the legislation type, number and title, followed by publication details in the OJ. For example:

Council Directive 2002/60/EC of 27 June 2002 laying down specific provisions for the control of African swine fever and amending Directive 92/119/EEC as regards Teschen disease and African swine fever [2002] OJ L192/27

The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR)

For judgements of the European Court of Human Rights, you should cite either the offical reports, the Reports of Judgements and Decisions (ECHR) or the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR). Be aware of the difference before and after 1996. Before 1996, the offocial reports were known and Series A and numbered consecutively. From 2001, case numbers were used instead of page numbers. For example,

Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A no 122

Osman v UK ECHR 1998 – VIII 3124

Balogh v Hungary App no 47940/99 (ECtHR, 20 July 2004).

Omojudi v UK (2009) EHRR 10

Secondary Sources

You should cite all publications with an ISBN as if they were books, whether you read them online or in hard copy. Older books do not have ISBNs, but you should cite them as books even if you read them online.

Authored Books

You should cite the author’s name first, followed by a comma, and then the title of the book in italics. You should then follow the title with publication information in brackets. You don’t need to give the place of publication. For example:

Tom Bingham, The Rule of Law (Alan Lane 2010).

If the book has more than one volume, you should follow the volume number with the publication details. For example:

Christian von Bar, The Common European Law of Torts, vol 2 (CH Beck 2000), para 76.

Edited and Translated Books

If there is no author, cite the editor or translator as an author, adding in brackets after their name. For example ‘(ed)’ or ‘(tr)’. If there is more than one editor or translator, put ‘(eds)’ or (trs)

Hard copy journals

When you cite hard copy journal articles, give the author’s name first, followed by a comma. Then give the title of the article within single quotation marks, and the publication information as follows:

year of publication (in square brackets if it identifies the volume, in round brackets if there is a separate volume number).

• the volume number if there is one
• the name of the journal, in full or abbreviated form, with no full stops
• the first page of the article.

For example:

Paul Craig, “Theory, “Pure Theory” and Values in Public Law” [2005] PL 440.

Refence case notes with titles as if they were journal articles.

If there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and put ‘note’ at the end of the citation.

Online journals

With online journals that have been published electronically, give publication details the same way you would for hard copy journal articles.

If online journals lack some of the publication elements for OSCOLA, follow the citation advice of the online journal. Remove full stops to comply with OSCOLA.

Working papers

You should cite working papers the same way as electronic journal articles. Seeing as the content of working papers are subject to change, make sure you put the date of access. For example:

Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT accessed 27 July 2010

Other Secondary Sources

Please see the 4th edition of OSCOLA for comprehensive details on how to cite other secondary sources such as:

• Parliamentary reports
• Command papers
• Law commission reports and documents
• Conference papers
• Websites and blogs
• Newspaper articles

We hope you’ve found our complete guide to OSCOLA referencing useful. You can also use the OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide for ease when referencing.

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• A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples

Published on 28 February 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on 5 May 2022.

The Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is a referencing style used by students and academics in law.

OSCOLA referencing places citations in footnotes, which are marked in the text with footnote numbers:

The judge referred to the precedent established by Caulfield v Baldwin . 1

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Table of contents

Citing sources with oscola footnotes, oscola referencing examples, oscola tables and bibliography.

A citation footnote appears whenever you quote from, paraphrase or otherwise refer to the content of a source in your text.

A footnote is marked in the text with a footnote number, which appears at the end of the relevant sentence or clause. The number is displayed in superscript (i.e. 1) and appears after any punctuation like a comma or full stop:

These footnotes contain full information on the source cited. The format in which you present this information varies according to the type of source; examples are presented in the following section. A footnote always ends with a full stop:

Standard abbreviations

To save space in OSCOLA citations, abbreviations are used for the names of various publications and legal bodies.

For example, ‘UKSC’ is the United Kingdom Supreme Court, and ‘Cr App R’ refers to the Criminal Appeal Reports.

A full, searchable index of these abbreviations can be found here .

Pinpointing

In OSCOLA referencing, referring to a specific page number within a source is called pinpointing. To pinpoint, simply include a page number at the end of your reference, in addition to any page numbers already included.

For example, in the following citation, the first number refers to the page on which the report begins , while the second number pinpoints the passage you’re referring to :

Where available, paragraph numbers should be used instead of page numbers. Only do this if paragraph numbers are explicitly used in the text. Paragraph numbers appear in square brackets and can be used for pinpointing in the same way as page numbers:

Note that if you’re pinpointing a judge’s comments within a case report, you include the name of the judge, and some special terms and abbreviations are used in the citation and in the text.

If the judge is a peer, refer to them as ‘Lord’, e.g. Lord Williams. If they are a Lord/Lady Justice, use ‘LJ’, e.g. Williams LJ. If neither of these is the case, use ‘J’ for judge, e.g. Williams J:

Cross-referencing repeated citations of the same source

OSCOLA uses a system of cross-referencing to save space when you repeatedly cite the same source. This means that for subsequent references of a source, you don’t have to repeat the full citation.

When you refer to the same source you have just referred to (i.e. when the previous footnote was also about that source), you can simply use ‘ibid’ (Latin for ‘in the same place’):

In this example, the second footnote also refers to Davis v Dignam, but to page 522 instead of page 519.

When the previous reference to the source was in an earlier footnote (i.e. when other citations appear in between), use the author’s last name or the title (shortened if it’s a longer title), followed by the number of the previous citation (in brackets and preceded by ‘n’), then the page number you’re pinpointing (if different than the first citation):

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OSCOLA provides formats for a variety of source types. The most common ones are covered below.

Case reports

When citing a case, you’ll usually begin with a neutral citation – a way of referring to the case that does not relate to a particular report – and then give the details of the report afterwards. If no neutral citation exists, as with cases before 2002, you can just begin with the report.

Additionally, note that the year (for the report) is displayed differently depending on whether it is essential to the citation. For reports where each year is also identified with a volume number, the year appears in normal brackets. For those where multiple volumes appear in one year, the year appears in square brackets.

• Case report with neutral citation
• Case report with no neutral citation

Acts of Parliament

Use a short version of the title if the full title is longer than three words. If necessary, refer to specific parts of an Act of Parliament using section, subsection and paragraph numbers.

Statutory instruments

Statutory instruments (SIs) are numbered consecutively throughout the year; it’s this number that appears at the end of the citation – the example below is the 149th SI of 2020.

House of Commons bills are cited slightly differently from House of Lords bills. You write ‘HC Bill’ or ‘HL Bill’ depending upon which house it is, and bill numbers for Commons bills appear in square brackets.

• House of Commons bill
• House of Lords bill

Hansard is the official transcript of parliamentary debates in the UK. As with bills, write ‘HC’ for the House of Commons and ‘HL’ for the House of Lords. ‘Deb’ is short for ‘debate’, ‘vol’ for volume, and ‘col’ for column.

Use the full name of the author(s) as written in the source. List the edition (abbreviated to ‘edn’) when it is stated on the title page. Note that OSCOLA recommends abbreviating ‘Oxford University Press’ to ‘OUP’; this is not the case with other publishers.

Certain older books are listed by OSCOLA as ‘works of authority’ and given special abbreviated citations. For example, the following is a citation of volume 3, page 75 of Blackstone’s Commentaries on the Laws of England :

OSCOLA provides a list of these abbreviations in their full guide , section 4.2.3.

Journal articles

As with case reports, square brackets are used for years in a journal citation if the year also identifies the volume; normal brackets are used when there are multiple volumes in a year.

Note that standard abbreviations are also used for journal names; here ‘MLR’ refers to Modern Law Review.

In a longer work, such as a thesis or dissertation , OSCOLA requires you to include tables listing any cases and legislation you cited, as well as a bibliography listing any secondary sources . For shorter essays, this is usually not necessary, but do check your institution’s guidelines.

The tables and bibliography appear at the end of your text. The table of cases comes first, followed by the table of legislation, and then the bibliography.

Sources are listed in alphabetical order within each table and in the bibliography.

Table of cases

Cases are written in a similar format here and in the main text; the only difference is the names of the parties involved are not italicised in the table of cases:

Table of legislation

The table of legislation includes all legal sources used other than cases – for example, bills, Acts of Parliament and SIs. Items in the table of legislation are listed in identical form to how they are cited in the text.

Bibliography

A bibliography lists all your secondary sources – that is, everything other than cases and legislation. For example, here you would list Hansard , any books and journal articles cited, and other sources such as blogs, social media and newspapers.

Bibliography entries differ from citations in terms of their presentation of the author’s name. Author names in the bibliography are inverted, and initials are used in place of the first name:

Cite this Scribbr article

If you want to cite this source, you can copy and paste the citation or click the ‘Cite this Scribbr article’ button to automatically add the citation to our free Reference Generator.

Caulfield, J. (2022, May 05). A Quick Guide to OSCOLA Referencing | Rules & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved 10 July 2024, from https://www.scribbr.co.uk/referencing/oscola/

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OSCOLA is the Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities. This page from Oxford University provides access to the style guide and support materials, including a quick reference guide, FAQs, and styles for reference management software.

• Oxford University Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) OSCOLA is designed to facilitate the accurate citation of authorities, legislation, and other legal materials and is widely used in law schools (including UCL) and by journal and book publishers.
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Referencing styles - a Practical Guide

Oscola referencing style.

Used by: the York Law School

Introduction to OSCOLA referencing style

The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) was developed at Oxford University, and is widely used by law schools and publishers to acknowledge source information.

In-text citations & footnotes

OSCOLA uses a footnote citation system.

In the text, a number in superscript 1  is added at the end of a sentence and after the punctuation. 

The reference is then given in the footnote at the bottom of the page.

Where you cite an author of a secondary source their name should appear as it does on the publication with first name/ initials before surname.

For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 1.1 and 1.2

Bibliography

The bibliography at the end of the document includes the full details of each source so the reader can find them themselves. The list is organised by type of source, and then alphabetically. See below for more details on organising the bibliography.

The information to include depends on the types of source - see the examples.

Useful resources

• OSCOLA Referencing style A downloadable version of this OSCOLA style guide, with some extra details
• OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide A handy 1 page summary of OSCOLA style
• OSCOLA 4th Edition The full OSCOLA Standard
• OSCOLA for international law Details for citing international law sources

Guidance for all source types

Citing a source multiple times in the same document.

For a case, cite in full the first time. For further references to the case, use a short form of the case name and a cross-citation in brackets to the original footnote. If the case name is included in the text, omit it in the footnote.

If the subsequent citation is directly after the full citation, simply use the term ‘ibid’. If pinpointing specific paragraphs, place these in square brackets.

When referring to a previous citation a number of footnotes back, use the short version of the case and add n as an abbreviation signposting the number of the footnote

For subsequent citation of legislation, abbreviations are acceptable. For subsequent citation of secondary sources, you only need the author’s surname.

For more detailed information see OSCOLA 1.2

Citing multiple sources in the same footnote

For  multiple references  within one footnote use semi-colons to distinguish between them and put them in chronological order with the oldest first. For example, this footnote refers to two cases:

If one or more references are more relevant than the others put these first and then ‘see also’. For example:

Also, order the sources with legislation before cases, and primary sources before secondary.

Using pinpoints and page numbers

A pinpoint is a precise reference to the part of a judgment or report through numbered paragraphs or page numbers. There are a number of ways you can pinpoint specific details within publications, depending on what the publication is. When citing more than one paragraph, place the numbers in square brackets. In this first example the pinpoints are at the end to paragraphs 42 and 45 of the case:

In this example for a secondary source the page number 131 is given at the end:

 For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 2.1.6 and OSCOLA 4.2.5

Cross-citation

Cross citation is when you are referring to discussion in another part of your writing, for example on an earlier page or in a previous chapter. It is good practice to use cross citation as little as possible.

Try to be specific and use a specific footnote number (For example  See n 52  for the footnote. OR:  See text to n 22 .)

For more detailed information see OSCOLA 1.2.2 

Direct quotes

You need to be very precise when using quotations.

Short quotations (less than three lines)

Use  single quotation marks  and include within the text. For example:

Longer quotations (longer than three lines)

Use an indented paragraph, no quotation marks and a line space above and below.

For more detailed information, see OSCOLA 1.5

Citing a source you've read about in a different source (secondary referencing)

This means referring to a source you have not read that you have found within another source that you are using.  Try to avoid secondary referencing as it is always preferable to use the original source and you should always try to locate this.

If you find you have to use secondary referencing, in the footnote cite the source you have read, followed by ‘citing’… For example:

In the bibliography insert only the source you have read. There is no specific guidance on this within OSCOLA. 

Naming judges

When referring to a judge within a case, use the judge’s surname followed by the correct abbreviation.  (Mr or Mrs Justice Smith should be called Smith J in your text).

The exception to this rule is when the judge holds a title. A Court of Appeal Judge who is Lord or Lady Smith should be referred to as  Smith LJ .

• A House of Lords judge should be referred to as  Lord or Lady Smith  and should not be abbreviated.
• A Supreme Court judge should be referred to as  Lord Smith SCJ.
• The Lord Chief Justice can be abbreviated to  Lord Woolf CJ.

For more detailed information see OSCOLA 2.1.7

Using Westlaw or Lexis Library

You do not need to include any information about Westlaw or Lexis Library in your citations, as this is just the portal through which you accessed the report, legislation or article. Simply reference the relevant source as you would a paper copy. 

Using Latin terms within footnotes

The only Latin term that is acceptable to use within the OSCOLA style is ‘ibid’, for the instances when you are referring to the same source in consecutive footnotes. Do not use other terms such as supra, op cit, loc cit.

For more information see OSCOLA 1.2.3 u 

Using abbreviations

OSCOLA abbreviates a wide range of legal sources and institutions.

Do not use punctuation when using an abbreviation. Eg, the Director of Public Prosecutions should appear as DPP not D.P.P.

For a comprehensive list of legal abbreviations, use the Cardiff index . You can search by abbreviation to find the title, or by title to find the abbreviation.

For more detailed information, see OSCOLA Appendix 4.2 

Questions about referencing?

Contact your Faculty Librarians if you have any questions about referencing.

Commonly used sources

Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for key source types.

Use these examples alongside the information given in the 'Guidance for all source types' box.

Act of Parliament

You should refer to the year the Act was passed rather than the year it came into force. 

Use the short title and refer to specific sections of the Act eg

 OR use s for Section in the middle of a sentence. For example:

Footnote: 

You do not need to footnote an Act if you make it identifiable in the text. 

Bibliography:   List Legislation and Cases separately in alphabetical order in the bibliography. 

See the  OSCOLA guides  and our Referencing with Confidence OSCOLA Guide for more details. 

Case citations including neutral citations: List cases in the bibliography in alphabetic order of case names. Use the following format to cite cases.

Case name in italics [year] court number, [year] OR (year) volume report abbreviation first page

If you have included the case name in the text, you do not have to include the case names in the footnote: In text:  refer to the text giving case names in italics eg: In  Phipps v Boardman 31  …..

Bibliography:

For most sources in OSCOLA, the bibliographic format is the same as the footnote. List legislation, cases and secondary sources in separate sections of your bibliography in alphabetical order. 

Treat case notes with titles as if they are journal articles. Where there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and add (note) at the end of the citation:

See 3.3.2 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details. 

Book 1 author

Capitalise the first letter of each major word of the title. Page numbers stand-alone without p or pp. use the following format for the footnote:

Information to include: Author,  Title in Italics  (edition, publisher date) page.

Book 2 or 3 authors

If the book has up to three authors, include ‘and’ in between each author. Use Initials or forename unpunctuated and with no spaces followed by surname. 

Information to include: Author, Title in Italics Capitalising Major Words  (Edition, Publisher Year) page. 

Bibliography: 

See 3.2 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details. 

Book (4 or more authors)

If a book has  more than three authors,  include ‘ and others’  after the name of the first author.

Edited book (& chapters)

Chapter in an edited book.

Information to include: author, ‘Title of chapter' in editor (ed), title in italics  (additional information, publisher year)

See 3.2.3 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details. 

Edited book

See 3.2.2 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details. 

Journal article / paper

Journal article / paper (print copy).

Footnotes: author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article / paper,| specific page referred to

author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article / paper

Put a comma after the first page of the article / paper if you want to refer to a particular page or set of pages:

If the year serves as the volume identifier, put the year in square brackets [ ]. If there is a separate volume number, put the year in round brackets  ().

In the Young example, 72 is the volume number. Bibliography:

Omit reference to specific page numbers (other than the first page of the article / paper) in your bibliographic entry.

Journal article / paper (electronic copy)

If you source a publication online which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version. There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication.

author, | ‘title’ | [year] OR (year) | volume/issue | journal name or abbreviation | <web address> | date accessed

If the information is only available online, give the URL before the accessed date information.

See 3.3.4 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details. 

Further sources

Examples of in-text citations and reference list entries for other source types.

Cite a Bill by its title, the House in which it originated, the Parliamentary session in brackets, and the running number assigned to it. Running numbers for House of Commons Bills are put in square brackets; those for House of Lords Bills are not. When a Bill is reprinted at any stage it is given a new running number.

Title | HC Bill | (session) | [number] OR title | HL Bill | (session) | number

Footnote and bibliography: 

In the bibliography, list bills in alphabetical order under the heading Secondary Sources.

Copied from 2.4.5 OSCOLA 4th edn. 

Where there is no relevant advice elsewhere in OSCOLA, follow the general principles for secondary sources when citing websites and blogs. If there is no author identified, and it is appropriate to cite an anonymous source, begin the citation with the title in the usual way. If there is no date of publication on the website, give only the date of access.

Author, 'Web page title' ( Website in Italics , Full Date) <URL> accessed Date

See OSCOLA 4th edn 3.4.8 for more details. 

Book (translated to English)

If you read a book that was translated from another language (eg, you read an English translation of a book orginally written in German), cite the translation:

If there is an author and translator, reference as follows:

See 3.2.2  OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details. 

Book (read in another language)

If you read a book in a language other than English (eg, you read a book written in German), cite the primary source in the original language:

Footnote:  

Bibliography:  

See 1.4 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details. 

Book review

Cite a book review in the same way as a journal article, but without the quote marks. For example,

Copied from  OSCOLA FAQs

Command paper

The abbreviation preceding a command paper number depends on the year of publication:

1833–69 (C (1stseries)) 1870–99 (C (2nd series)) 1900–18 (Cd) 1919–56 (Cmd) 1957–86 (Cmnd) 1986– (Cm)

Footnotes and bibliography:

In the bibliography, list Command Papers alphabetically by author in Secondary Sources. 

For more details see 3.4.3 OSCOLA 4th ed. 

Conference papers

See 3.4.6 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details. 

Dictionary (hard copy)

Dictionary (online).

Also consider elements of the style advice for websites and blogs (section 3.4.8).

For the OED online, open the full entry for the word, and click on the Cite button (top right above the definition). Follow that example, tidying it up to make it consistent with OSCOLA styles (eg, change double quotes to single and full stops to commas, removing those that are unnecessary; change OED Online to italics; change Oxford University Press to OUP and put it before the date; and remove http:// from the web address and delete any text after the Entry number, then put angle brackets around the url):

For other online dictionaries, follow the general advice above. You need a date of publication or at least a date of access (ie when you looked at it), as they are generally updated regularly.

Copied from  OSCOLA FAQs. 

When citing personal communications, such as emails and letters, give the author and recipient of the communication, and the date. If you are yourself the author or recipient of the communication, say ‘from author’ or ‘to author’ as appropriate.

See 3.4.11 OSCOLA 4th edn for more details

Encyclopedia

Cite as a book but exclude author or editor and publisher. Include the edition and year. Pinpoints such as volumes and page numbers come after the publication information.

If citing an online encyclopedia, give the URL and date of access:

See OSCOLA 4th edn 3.2.6 for more details. 

Entry in a reference book

List in the bibliography in alphabetical order under Secondary Sources. 

European Court of Justice case

European union regulation, hansard & parliamentary reports.

There are three series of Hansard, one reporting debates on the floor of the House of Commons, one debates in the House of Lords, and one debates in the Public Bill committees of the House of Commons, which replaced standing committees in 2007. When referring to the first two series, cite the House abbreviation (HL or HC), followed by ‘Deb’, then the full date, the volume and the column. Use ‘col’ or ‘cols’ for column(s). In the House of Commons, written answers are indicated by the suffix ‘W’ after the column number; in the House of Lords, they are indicated by the prefix ‘WA’ before the column number.

HL Deb OR HC Deb | date, | volume, | column

See 3.4.2 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details. 

When citing an interview you conducted yourself, give the name, position and institution (as relevant) of the interviewee, and the location and full date of the interview. If the interview was conducted by someone else, the interviewer’s name should appear at the beginning of the citation.

See 3.4.10 OSCOLA 4th ed. for more details. 

Footnote and bibliography:

Newspaper article

When citing newspaper articles, give the author, the title, the name of the newspaper in italics and then in brackets the city of publication and the date. Some newspapers have ‘The’ in the title and some do not. If known, give the number of the page on which the article was published, after the brackets. If the newspaper is divided into sections, and the page numbering begins afresh in each section, put the section name in roman before the page number, with a space but no comma between the two. If the reference is to an editorial, cite the author as ‘Editorial’. If the article is sourced from the web and there is no page number available, provide the web address and date of access.

List under Secondary Sources

Copied from OSCOLA 4th edn 3.4.9 

The general principles for ‘other secondary sources’ (OSCOLA 4th ed. 3.4.1) suggest the following form for citing podcasts, YouTube videos and similar sources:

Author, ‘Title’ (publication date) <url> accessed xx month 2014

If there is no clear author, give the organisation providing the source as the author. The examples below include a suggestion for citing the comments of a particular person.

If referring to comments by someone in particular, add that information as you would a pinpoint, before the url. Include the person's position if relevant. For example:

Another alternative, particularly if the podcast is quite long, would be to provide the minutes and seconds of the excerpt:

Copied from  OSCOLA FAQs 

Public communication

Author, 'Title' (additional information, publisher year)

Examples taken from  OSCOLA FAQs

List by author in Secondary Sources 

Radio programme

Footnote: Speaker (if a direct quote)/Presenter, 'Title of the programme' (Radio station, date of the programme)

Enter in alphabetical order in the Secondary Sources. If there is a direct quote/speaker, reverse the author's name as usual.

Use this format:

Author, 'Title' (Additonal information, edition if later than first, Publisher day Month year if available) page number if required.

Footnotes: 

Bibliography : 

List alphabetically in author order in secondary sources, giving the authors surname first.

Republished source

Author,  Title of book  (First published publication year, Edition if late than first, publisher, publication year) page if required.

Television programme

Footnote:  Use the following format: Main contributor [Role of main contributor],'Title of programme' [Television series episode] in Title of series (Additional information if required, Publisher, Year )

If you wish to refer to someone speaking during the programme, follow this format: Cite the name of the speaker (if a direct quote), the title of the programme, the radio station and the date of the programme. If there is no obvious author/speaker, begin the citation with the title of the programme. If available online, include the URL and date of access. For example:

List under Secondary Sources in alphabetical order

When citing an unpublished thesis, give the author, the title and then in brackets the type of thesis, university and year of completion.

Copied from 3.4.7 OSCOLA 4th edn.

United Nations Court of Human Rights

If the information is available in print, reference the print version. If only available on the web, reference as follows: 

Footnote and Bibliography:

In the bibliography, list in Secondary Sources.

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University Library

Referencing.

• About Referencing
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Need more help with referencing? Contact your Liaison Librarian .

Referencing Training

Welcome to your Law Library Referencing page. If you have a specific question please check if the answer is included in the ‘Frequently Asked Questions’ section of this page. Please also ensure you complete the OSCOLA KnowHow Tutorial , review the OSCOLA referencing guides, and access Cite Them Right for citation examples. To access key library resources pertaining to your subject and/or discipline please visit the Law Library Guide . If you still have questions, please send an email to your Liaison Librarian at [email protected] .

OSCOLA Referencing Style

OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities) is the style used by the Law School at the University of Liverpool.  

OSCOLA is minimal style and uses very little punctuation. It may be quite different to any referencing style you have used before, however the OSCOLA Quick Guide will help you by providing examples and advice on how to use OSCOLA in your work.

OSCOLA Style Guides

Use the guides below to help you format your references correctly in the OSCOLA style. The OSCOLA Quick Guide covers the majority of sources you will need to cite and provides additional advice, such as the best way to refer to the same source several times and incorporating quotations into your work. 

• OSCOLA Quick Guide This Quick Guide provides examples and guidance on how to cite in the OSCOLA style. The guide covers the most common sources you will need to cite within your work, including case law, legislation, EU sources, international treaties, books, journal articles and many other document types. Help on using footnotes and guidance on creating a bibliography is also included.

OSCOLA referencing: Support and guidance Sway resource

The materials in this Sway file will help you to understand the importance of academic referencing and how to reference appropriately and in the correct style. The Sway file is a mixture of text, videos and activities to support the development of your referencing and academic integrity skills. Click on the three dots in the top right hand corner of the image below to open up the Sway in a new tab.

• OSCOLA 4th edition - University of Oxford This is a link to the guide for the 4th edition of OSCOLA, produced by the University of Oxford. We advise you only consult this guide if the source you need to cite is not included in the OSCOLA Quick Guide.
• Citing International Law in OSCOLA Guidance on citing international legal sources is not included in the 4th edition of OSCOLA. See the OSCOLA Quick Guide for help with citing international treaties, judgments and international documents in general. For anything more complex, see this section from an earlier edition of OSCOLA.

OSCOLA KnowHow tutorial

The KnowHow OSCOLA Referencing tutorial provides you with detailed information on the OSCOLA referencing style and provides you with the opportunity to practice using the style with some activity questions.

Cite Them Right

The Cite Them Right website not only offers many examples on how to cite a variety of sources but also gives you an opportunity to practice citing your sources using a provided template for both the footnotes and bibliography. 

OSCOLA FAQs

See more...

OSCOLA and reference management software

For longer pieces of work such as dissertations, you may want to use reference management software.  EndNote  is available via the University network.

OSCOLA can be used with EndNote , although some editing of references may be required. For more information see the OSCOLA referencing software guidance  created by the University of Oxford.

The University Library offers EndNote workshops for those new to the software. Check the Library Training Calendar for details.

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Q. How do I reference a House of Commons Briefing paper (OSCOLA)?

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Answered By: Claire Mazer Last Updated: 16 Oct, 2023     Views: 8434

See the example used here:  Shale gas and fracking (parliament.uk)

Use the pattern described at OSCOLA s.3.4 Other Secondary Sources: author, | ‘title’ | (additional information, | publisher | year) also adding: <URL link> accessed date month year.

The author and title are immediately clear from the document. In the centre of the citation you have (additional information, | publisher | year) so use the following information: (Briefing Paper No CBP 6073, House of Commons Library 31 March 2020). The link to the paper should be non-live, i.e. just text as follows in this example: < https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06073/SN06073.pdf  >. The date of access is when you accessed the briefing paper, and uses a specific date format, for example: 16 October 2023. Avoid using th after 16 (as in 16 th  ). The month should be provided in full (October), not Oct or 16/10/23. The year should also be provided in full (2023).

Footnote:  Sara Priestley, 'Shale gas and fracking'  (Briefing Paper No CBP 6073, House of Commons Library 31 March 2020)  < https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06073/SN06073.pdf  > accessed  16 October 2023.

Remember in your bibliography Sara Priestley’s (the author) name will appear as Priestley S, … rest of citation…

Bibliography:  Priestley S,  'Shale gas and fracking'  (Briefing Paper No CBP 6073, House of Commons Library 31 March 2020)  < https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN06073/SN06073.pdf  > accessed  16 October 2023.

For further help, please contact Claire Mazer (Law librarian) [email protected] or the Academic Services team [email protected]

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• Referencing and Citing

Referencing and citations - OSCOLA: Journals

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Journals Contents

In a nutshell.

When citing articles, give the author’s name first, followed by a comma. Then give the title of the article, in roman within single quotation marks. After the title, give the publication information.

Do NOT italicise either the article title or the journal.

Preferred journal abbreviations can be checked on the Cardiff Index .

Alternatively you may specify abbreviations in a table at the beginning of your work.

Journal articles

Start with the article author (first name/initial then surname, multiple authors to be treated as per books), then the article title in single quotes.

After the title, give the publication information in the following order:

   · year of publication, in square brackets if it identifies the volume, in round brackets if there is a separate volume number;

   · the volume number if there is one (include an issue number only if the page numbers begin again for each issue within a volume, in which case put the issue number in brackets immediately after the volume number);

   · the name of the journal in roman, in full or abbreviated form, with no full stops; and

   · the first page of the article.

So articles from journals without independently numbered volumes should follow the format:

author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article.

•  Paul Craig, ‘Theory, "Pure Theory" and Values in Public Law’ [2005] PL 440.

Articles from journals which do have independently numbered volumes should follow the format:

author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article.

•  Alison L Young, ‘In Defence of Due Deference’ (2009) 72 MLR 554.

Put a comma after the first page of the article if there is a pinpoint.

•  JAG Griffith, ‘The Common Law and the Political Constitution’ (2001) 117 LQR 42, 64.

Journal databases/e-only journals

If you source an article online which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version. There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication. This will be the case for virtually all articles found in Westlaw, Lexis and Hein Online.

When citing journal articles which have been published only electronically, give publication details as for articles in hard copy journals, but note that online journals may lack some of the publication elements (for example, many do not include page numbers).

If citation advice is provided by the online journal, follow it, removing full stops as necessary to comply with OSCOLA.

Follow the citation with the web address (in angled brackets) and the date you most recently accessed the article. Pinpoints follow the citation and come before the web address.

Citations should follow the format:

author, | ‘title’ | [year] OR (year) | volume/issue | journal name or abbreviation | <web address> | date accessed.

•  Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT <http://ejlt.org/article/view/17> accessed 27 July 2010.

Pinpoints follow the citation and come before the web address.

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OSCOLA referencing

Introduction, what is referencing, why reference, types of sources, academic integrity.

• Printing USW OSCOLA Guide and Full OSCOLA guide
• OSCOLA referencing - the basics
• In-text citation
• UK case law
• UK legislation
• European case law
• EU Legislation
• Official publications
• Books and eBooks
• Journals and newspapers
• Websites and Blogs
• Other jurisdictions
• International
• Tables of Cases and Legislation and Bibliography
• Common mistakes
• Example assignment

This guide will help students and staff explore a range of AI technologies and consider how these technologies might affect their teaching and learning practice. 

The aim of this guide is to explain the importance of referencing as well as how to format references based on the OSCOLA style. It highlights examples from some of the most popular sources of UK and EU law, illustrating the conventions involved in legal academic writing. It is important to note that coursework, such as essays or dissertations, submitted by all Law students and all students studying Law modules as part of another discipline for assessment in the Law School should follow the examples provided in this guide.

Referencing is indicating in assignments when you have used material that has not originated with you. This might include factual information, data, images, opinion, direct quotation, or when you summarise or paraphrase the work of other people.  

The majority of academic assignments measure your ability to understand, analyse and evaluate the work of others. It is important to remember that as a matter of policy referencing in the Law School carries a percentage (currently 5%) of the overall marks for an assignment and if undertaken appropriately will contribute to your grade and therefore your academic success. Consequently, referencing is crucial as it informs the reader of the texts you have consulted during your research. The quality and relevance of these sources also forms part of the assessment. When writing assignments it is important to refer to every source cited in a clear and consistent way, this shows consideration for the reader as it enables them to check easily the legal authorities you have referred to and to follow the arguments or propositions you put forward.

Citing primary sources provides proof of authority and allows your reader to  make an assessment about the strength of that authority. Secondary sources (typically books and journal articles) provide explanations, comment upon and review the primary sources of law and are persuasive but are not the law itself.

The avoidance of plagiarism is an important aspect of Academic integrity . Plagiarism is when a person tries to pass off someone else's work as their own. It is therefore vital that other people's work is acknowledged and referenced properly. 

The University has a page with information and guidance on Academic integrity , including information about plagiarism and good academic practice.

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Law: Referencing Using OSCOLA

• Using the Library
• Using One Search
• Introduction to Academic Resources
• Law Books and Journals
• Cases, Legislation and Websites
• Referencing Using OSCOLA

OSCOLA Referencing

Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities is the accepted method for the referencing of legal materials, such as law cases, statutes and parliamentary papers, for example.  In-text citations appear as footnotes and there is a formal set of abbreviations for key sources, such as AC for Appeal Cases.

If you are studying Law at UWS you will be given guidance on the way in which you are required to use OSCOLA and you must adhere to this.

The following web site from the Faculty of Law at University of Oxford contains very useful information:

• OSCOLA 4th ed

What is referencing and why do I have to do it?

Referencing is the method we use to acknowledge the work of other authors.

It serves three principal aims:

• To support your arguments with evidence. Referencing demonstrates that your own arguments are grounded in a body of existing research and have been developed through an examination of the relevant literature.
• Referencing is an important means by which we credit other authors for any ideas, arguments, quotations, and other forms of intellectual property which are not your own. Not providing an acknowledgement for the work of others is considered plagiarism (note that plagiarism can be both intentional and unintentional). You must always provide a citation when you use another author's intellectual ideas, whether you are paraphrasing (putting it into your own words), summarising, or directly quoting from the source.
• Referencing shows the reader where they can access the original sources you have used (the evidence) to verify or fact check. It also helps the reader to carry out additional research of their own.

Please note!

Referencing is an essential, integral and accepted part of academic study and practice and must be used in the vast majority of academic assignments within all subject areas and at all levels of study.

Everyone, from Level 7 students to published academic researchers, will be required to reference throughout their academic career.

Referencing Using OSCOLA - Cite Them Right Online

The Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) is a widely recognised and widely used citation style specifically designed for legal research and writing in the United Kingdom. Here are some reasons why OSCOLA is preferred over other referencing styles in the context of legal writing:

Specialisation for Legal Sources: OSCOLA is tailored for the unique requirements of legal research, making it highly suitable for law students, legal professionals, and legal academics. It provides detailed rules for citing legal authorities, such as cases, legislation, and secondary sources, ensuring accuracy and consistency in legal writing.

UK Legal System: OSCOLA is designed to align with the legal system of the United Kingdom, including its court hierarchy, case law reporting, and parliamentary practices. This makes it the ideal choice for legal documents related to UK law.

Academic Acceptance: OSCOLA is widely accepted by UK law schools and academic institutions, and it is often the required citation style for legal research papers, theses, and dissertations. Using OSCOLA can help students meet academic standards and expectations.

Clarity and Precision: OSCOLA's clear and specific rules for citing legal sources reduce the likelihood of errors and ambiguities in legal writing. This precision is crucial in legal documents where accuracy and clarity are paramount.

Comprehensive Guidelines: OSCOLA provides comprehensive guidelines for citing a wide range of legal materials, including cases, statutes, statutory instruments, law reports, and legal journals. It also covers secondary sources, treaties, and international materials.

Regular Updates: OSCOLA is periodically updated to reflect changes in legal citation practices and technology. This ensures that it remains current and relevant to the evolving legal landscape.

Respected Standard: In the field of law, adherence to a recognised and respected citation standard like OSCOLA helps establish the credibility and professionalism of legal documents.

While OSCOLA is the preferred style for legal writing in the UK, the choice of a citation style may also depend on institutional requirements and individual preferences. However, for those working within the UK legal system, OSCOLA offers a comprehensive and specialised framework for accurate and consistent legal citations.

In Cite Them Right Online, click on Choose Your Referencing Style- and then select OSCOLA. Here you will find example of how to reference items using the Oxford University standard for the citation of legal authorities (OSCOLA) style. 

• Referencing at UWS
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Case Citation

• About Case Citations
• Case Citation Reference (Scotland)

Understanding case citations is crucial for students studying law for several reasons:

Facilitates Efficient Research: Case citations serve as standardised references, making it easier for students to locate specific court decisions quickly and efficiently during their research. With a proper citation, students can pinpoint the exact case they need without sifting through numerous legal documents.

Provides a Consistent Identifier: Case citations provide a consistent and unique identifier for each court decision, regardless of where it is published. This ensures uniformity in legal referencing and citation practices, making it easier for legal professionals, scholars, and students to communicate effectively about legal matters.

Enhances Credibility and Accuracy: Accurate citation of cases enhances the credibility of legal research and writing. Properly citing cases demonstrates thoroughness and attention to detail, which are essential qualities in legal practice. It also helps to avoid plagiarism and ensures that credit is given to the original sources of legal authority.

Supports Legal Analysis: Familiarity with case citations allows students to trace the development of legal principles over time by referencing landmark cases and their subsequent interpretations. This deepens students' understanding of legal concepts and enables them to analyse the application of law in different contexts.

Prepares for Legal Practice: In legal practice, the ability to navigate and interpret case law is essential. Understanding case citations equips students with the skills they need to conduct effective legal research, draft persuasive arguments, and support their positions with relevant precedents when they enter the legal profession.

What do case citations look like.

Case citations typically follow a standardised format, which may vary slightly depending on the jurisdiction. However, they generally include the following elements:

Case Name: The names of the parties involved in the legal dispute are listed, with the plaintiff (or claimant) usually mentioned first, followed by the defendant. In some cases, the names of multiple parties may be included.

Year of Decision: The year in which the case was decided by the court is provided. This helps to identify the temporal context of the case and allows users to distinguish between cases with similar names.

Volume and Law Report Series: The volume number and name of the law report series where the case is published are indicated. Law report series are specialised publications that compile and publish court decisions. Common law report series include the Official Law Reports (e.g., AC, QB, Ch) and specialist series (e.g., All England Law Reports, Weekly Law Reports).

Page Number: The page number within the law report series where the case begins is specified. This allows users to locate the case within the relevant publication.

Court Identifier (Optional): In some jurisdictions, an abbreviation or identifier for the court that heard the case may be included. This provides additional context about the judicial authority responsible for the decision.

For example, a case citation in the United Kingdom might appear as follows:

R v Brown [1993] 2 WLR 556

In this citation:

• R v Brown is the name of the case.
• 19931993 indicates the year the case was decided.
• 2 WLR refers to the volume and name of the law report series (in this case, the Weekly Law Reports).
• 556 is the page number where the case begins in the law report.

Overall, the format of case citations provides a standardised and structured way to reference and identify court decisions, making it easier for legal professionals to locate and cite relevant cases in their practice.

In Scotland, case citations follow a slightly different format compared to those used in other jurisdictions. While Scottish legal citations share similarities with citations used in other parts of the UK, they also have distinct features that reflect the unique legal system and practices in Scotland. A typical case citation in Scotland includes the following elements:

Case Name: The name of the case, which identifies the parties involved in the legal dispute. For example, "Smith v. Jones" or "R (on the application of Smith) v. Jones."

Year of Decision: The year in which the case was decided by the court.

Court: The abbreviation for the court that heard the case. Common abbreviations include "CS," "SC," or "FC" for the Court of Session, the Supreme Court of Scotland, and the High Court of Justiciary, respectively.

Volume: The volume number of the law report series in which the case is published.

Abbreviation for Law Report Series: The abbreviated name of the law report series where the case is published. Common Scottish law report series include "SLT" (Session Cases), "Scot LR" (Scottish Law Reporter), and "JC" (Justiciary Cases).

Page Number: The page number within the law report series where the case begins.

For example, a case citation in Scotland might appear as follows:

Smith v. Jones [2005] CSOH 123

• "Smith v. Jones" is the name of the case.
• "[2005]" indicates the year the case was decided.
• "CSOH" is the abbreviation for the Court of Session, Outer House.
• "123" is the page number where the case begins in the law report.

This citation format allows legal professionals in Scotland to accurately reference and locate specific cases within Scottish legal publications.

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OSCOLA referencing guide

• Elements of OSCOLA referencing
• General principles
• Order of author’s name
• Source abbreviations
• Page numbers and other pinpoints
• Secondary references
• Footnotes referencing style
• Bibliography
• Encyclopaedias
• Government publications
• Conference papers (published)
• Journal articles
• Newspaper articles
• UK Statutes (Acts)
• European cases
• European legislation
• Repeating citations – short forms and ibid
• Need help with referencing?

OSCOLA referencing

The Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA) has been created by Oxford University to facilitate the accurate citation of legal authorities and sources. It is widely used by Law Schools and legal researchers in the UK and is the style you will be expected to follow if you are studying for LLB or LLM at the University of Northampton*.

This guide provides a starting point for referencing using OSCOLA and should be sufficient for most purposes at the University of Northampton. However, it is not comprehensive so, when citing legal materials, you should also refer to the full OSCOLA guide when you need more detailed guidance.

*If you are a Joint Honours student you are not normally required to use OSCOLA but always check with your academic tutor if you are unsure.

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Referencing Styles: OSCOLA

OSCOLA stands for the Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities. It is the Law referencing system created by Oxford University. If you are a post-graduate law student, you are required to use this referencing system. In this system, citations are put in footnotes at the bottom of the page.

To create a footnote in Microsoft Word, click your mouse on the place you want it to refer to. Click on ‘References’ at the top and then on ‘Insert Footnote’. A number will appear in the text, and also at the bottom of the page, where you write your citation. This means that your readers can easily look down at the footnote to see the details of the source you are referring to.

In this guide, each type of source has an outline of the elements of the citation. Each of the elements is separated by a vertical line ‘|’. Pay attention to

• whether words are in italics ( like this )
• whether brackets are round like this ( ), square like this [ ] or angled like this < >
• where there is punctuation, such as commas (,)

You can generate OSCOLA citations using RefWorks . To do this, log into RefWorks , then find the item(s) in Summon and click the 'Save this item' icon next to the search result. This will save the item(s) in your RefWorks folder. In RefWorks, select the item(s) and click 'Create Bibliography'. You can then select 'OSCOLA 4th edition' as the reference style and it will generate the citation.

In HeinOnline , there is a Cite button to the left of an article's text which gives you the OSCOLA citation. You can find OSCOLA reference generators online, but none of them are perfect, so please check what they give you.

If you cannot find what you need, read the latest edition of OSCOLA or email the Online Library at [email protected]

You can find more information about OSCOLA including frequently asked questions on Oxford's OSCOLA page .

For International Law, see the OSCOLA guide to citing international law

General principles

UK primary legislation (Acts and Bills)

Uk secondary legislation (statutory instruments).

EU legal sources

                Judgments of the ECJ and GC

                Decisions of the European Commission

                Judgments of the ECHR

International Law

Cases from other jurisdictions, legislation from other jurisdictions, encyclopedias, online articles, websites and blogs, newspaper articles.

Personal communications (letters and emails)

General Principles

• Quotations that are three lines or shorter should be incorporated in the text. Use 'single quotation marks', but if you need to sumbit your work to Turnitin, use "double quotation marks".
• Quotations longer than three lines should be an indented paragraph. Do not include quotation marks.
• Put the footnote marker at the end of a sentence, unless for the sake of clarity it is necessary to put it directly after the word or phrase to which it relates
• The superscript number should be after the full stop or comma, if relevant
• Where more than one citation is given in a single footnote reference, separate them with semi-colons

Authors' names

• Give the author’s name exactly as it appears in the publication, but omit postnominals such as QC
• If there are more than three authors, give the name of the first author followed by ‘and others’
• If no individual author is identified, but an organisation or institution claims editorial responsibility for the work, then cite it as the author
• If no person, organisation or institution claims responsibility for the work, begin the citation with the title
• In footnotes, the author’s first name or initial(s) precede their surname
• In bibliographies, the surname comes first, then the initial(s), followed by a comma
• Italicise titles of books and similar publications, including all publications with ISBNs
• All other titles should be within single quotation marks and not in italics
• Capitalize the first letter in all major words in a title
• Minor words, such as ‘for’, ‘and’, ‘or’ and ‘the’, do not take a capital unless they begin the title or subtitle
• Pinpoints to parts, chapters, pages and paragraphs come at the end of the citation
• For cases, pinpoint paragraphs using square brackets, e.g. [23]. If pinpointing to more than one paragraph, separate the paragraph numbers in square brackets with a comma, e.g. [42], [45]. If citing spans of paragraphs, insert a dash between the first and last paragraph being cited, e.g. [1]-[37].
• For everything other than cases, use ‘pt’ for part, ‘ch’ for chapter, and ‘para’ for paragraph
• Page numbers stand alone, without ‘p’ or ‘pp’
• If citing a chapter or part and page number, insert a comma before the page number
• Where possible, give a specific range of pages but if you must refer to an initial page and several unspecified following pages, give the initial page number followed immediately by ‘ff ’ (eg ‘167ff ’)

Electronic sources (this does not apply to cases and legislation)

• If you source a publication online which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version. There is no need to cite an electronic source for such a publication
• Citations of publications that are available only electronically should end with the web address (or ‘url’) in angled brackets (< >), followed by the date of most recent access, expressed in the form ‘accessed 1 January 2010’
• Include ‘http://’ only if the web address does not begin with ‘www’
• When a full date is required, the format should be ‘1 January 2016’
• There is no need for ‘st’ or ‘th’ after the day
• If something spans more than one year in the same century, the format is ‘1972-84’

Subsequent citations

• If a citation is the same as the one immediately before it, you can put 'ibid' (followed by any differing pinpoints) in the footnote
• If the citation is the same as another, you can use a shortened form, followed by a reference to the footnote and any differing pinpoints, e.g. Stevens (n 1) 110.

Case citations including neutral citations

case name | [year] | court | number, | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page

Corr v IBC Vehicles Ltd [2008] UKHL 13, [2008] 1 AC 884

Case citations without neutral citations

case name | [year] OR (year) | volume | report abbreviation | first page | (court)

Barrett v Enfield LBC [2001] 2 AC 550 (HL)

• If only one volume was issued during that particular year, do not give a number
• Use square brackets for the year a volume was issued
• Use round brackets for the year a judgment was issued
• If you included the case name in the text, you do not need to include the case name in the footnote
• Where there are multiple parties, name only the first claimant and first defendant. Where the parties are individuals, omit forenames and initials.

What are neutral citations?

Many courts now issue judgments with a neutral citation which identify the judgment independently of any law report. Neutral citations give the year of judgment, the court and the judgment number. The court is not included in brackets at the end of a neutral citation because the neutral citation itself identifies the court.

Where a judgment with a neutral citation has not been reported, give only the neutral citation.

Re Guardian News and Media Ltd [2010] UKSC 1

Where such a judgment has been reported, give the neutral citation followed by a citation of the most authoritative report, separated by a comma.

Cite an Act by its short title and year, using capitals at the beginning of major words, and without a comma before the year. Do not use popular titles of Acts, such as ‘Lord Campbell’s Act’

Shipping and Trading Interests (Protection) Act 1995

If several jurisdictions are discussed in a work, it may be necessary to add the

jurisdiction of the legislation in brackets at the end of the citation

Water Resources Act 1991 (UK)

Statutes are divided into parts, sections, subsections, paragraphs and subparagraphs. The relevant abbreviations are:

section/sections

subsection/subsections

sub-s/sub-ss

paragraph/paragraphs

subparagraph/subparagraphs

subpara/subparas

schedule/schedules

Clause/clauses

Consumer Protection Act 1987, s 2

If specifying a paragraph or subsection as part of a section, use only the abbreviation

for the section. For example, paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 15 of the

Human Rights Act 1998 is expressed as follows:

Human Rights Act 1998, s 15(1)(b)

title | HC Bill | (session) | [number]

title | HL Bill | (session) | number

Consolidated Fund HC Bill (2008–09) [5]

Academies HL Bill (2010-11) 1, cl 8(2)

Statutory instruments (orders, regulations or rules) are numbered consecutively throughout the year. The year combines with the serial number to provide an SI number that follows the abbreviation ‘SI’ and which is used to identify the legislation. When citing a statutory instrument, give the name, year and (after a comma) the SI number:

Penalties for Disorderly Behaviour (Amendment of Minimum Age) Order 2004, SI 2004/3166

Statutory instruments used to be called statutory rules and orders, and these are cited by their title and SR & O number.

The Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) and their predecessors, the Rules of the Supreme Court (RSC) and the County Court Rules (CCR), may be cited without reference to their SI number or year. Cite all other court rules in full as statutory instruments.

RSC Ord 24, r 14A

CPR Practice Directions (PD) are referred to simply by number, according to the part or rule they supplement.

Parts of statutory instruments

regulation/regulations

r/rr (not necessary for CPR)

article/articles

European Union legal sources

Official notices of the EU are carried in the Official Journal of the European

Communities (abbreviated to OJ). The letter ‘L’ denotes the legislation series, the ‘C’ series contains EU information and notices, and the ‘S’ series invitations to tender.

Legislation

legislation title | [year] | OJ series | issue/first page

Consolidated Version of the Treaty on European Union [2008] OJ C115/13

Regulations and Directives

legislation type | number | title | [year] | OJ L issue/first page

Council Regulation (EC) 1984/2003 of 8 April 2003 introducing a system

for the statistical monitoring of trade in bluefin tuna, swordfish and big

eye tuna within the Community [2003] OJ L295/1

Council Directive 2002/60/EC of 27 June 2002 laying down specific

provisions for the control of African swine fever and amending Directive

92/119/EEC as regards Teschen disease and African swine fever [2002]

Note that the year precedes the running number in citations to Directives, but follows it in citations to Regulations.

Judgments of the European Court of Justice and General Court

• EU cases registered at the European Court of Justice are given the prefix ‘C-‘
• EU cases registered at the General Court (known as the Court of First Instance until 2009) are given the prefix ‘T-‘
• Judgments from the Civil Service Tribunal (established in 2005) are given the prefix ‘F-‘
• For an unreported case, cite the relevant notice in the OJ. If the case is not yet reported in the OJ, then cite the case number and case name, followed by the court and date of judgment in brackets.
• When citing an opinion of an Advocate General, add the words ‘Opinion of AG [name]’

case number | case name | [year] | report abbreviation | first page

Case 240/83 Procureur de la République v ADBHU [1985] ECR 531

Case T–277/08 Bayer Healthcare v OHMI—Uriach Aquilea OTC (CFI, 11 November 2009)

Case C–176/03 Commission v Council [2005] ECR I–7879, paras 47–48

Case C–411/05 Palacios de la Villa v Cortefiel Servicios SA [2007] ECR I–8531, Opinion of AG Mazák, paras 79–100

Decisions of the European Commission

case name | (case number) | Commission Decision number | [year] | OJ L issue/first page

Alcatel/Telettra (Case IV/M.042) Commission Decision 91/251/EEC [1991] OJ L122/48

Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights

Cite either the official reports, the Reports of Judgments and Decisions (cited as ECHR) or the European Human Rights Reports (EHRR), but be consistent in your practice. Before 1996, the official reports were known as Series A. References to unreported judgments should give the application number, and then the court and the date of the judgment in brackets.

Johnston v Ireland (1986) Series A no 122

Osman v UK ECHR 1998–VIII 3124

Balogh v Hungary App no 47940/99 (ECtHR, 20 July 2004)

Omojudi v UK (2009) 51 EHRR 10

For International Law, see the OSCOLA guide to citing international law .

Cite cases from other jurisdictions as they are cited in their own jurisdiction, but with minimal punctuation. If the name of the law report series cited does not itself indicate the court, and the identity of the court is not obvious from the context, you should also give this in either full or short form in brackets at the end of the citation.

Henningsen v Bloomfield Motors Inc 161 A 2d 69 (NJ 1960)

Roe v Wade 410 US 113, 163–64 (1973)

Waltons Stores (Interstate) Ltd v Maher(1988) 164 CLR 387

BGH NJW 1992, 1659

Cass civ (1) 21 January 2003, D 2003, 693

CA Colmar 25 January 1963, Gaz Pal 1963.I.277

Cite legislation from other jurisdictions as it is cited in its own jurisdiction, but without any full stops in abbreviations. Give the jurisdiction if necessary.

Accident Compensation Act 1972 (NZ)

1976 Standard Terms Act ( Gesetz über Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen ) (FRG)

loi n° 75-1349 du 31 décembre 1975 relative à l’emploi de la langue française

author, | title | (additional information, | edition, | publisher | year)

Timothy Endicott, Administrative Law (OUP 2009)

Gareth Jones, Goff and Jones: The Law of Restitution (1st supp, 7th edn, Sweet & Maxwell 2009)

If there is more than one author insert an 'and' before the last author's name. The edition should be included where the book is in its second edition or beyond. If citing information from a specific page, add the page number directly after the reference. Example:

Gary Slapper and David Kelly,  The English Legal System  (Routledge 2016) 17

If a book consists of more than one volume, the volume number follows the publication details:

Andrew Burrows, Remedies for Torts and Breach of Contract (3rd edn, OUP 2004) 317

If the publication details of the volumes vary, the volume number precedes them, and is separated from the title by a comma:

Christian von Bar, The Common European Law of Torts , vol 2 (CH Beck 2000) para 76

Editors and translators

If there is no author, cite the editor or translator as you would an author, adding in brackets after their name ‘(ed)’ or ‘(tr)’, or ‘(eds)’ or ‘(trs)’ if there is more than one.

If the work has an author, but an editor or translator is also acknowledged on the front cover, cite the author in the usual way and attribute the editor or translator at the beginning of the publication information, within the brackets:

HLA Hart, Punishment and Responsibility: Essays in the Philosophy of Law (John Gardner ed, 2nd edn, OUP 2008)

Contributions to edited books

author, | ‘title’ | in editor (ed), | book title | (additional information,| publisher | year)

John Cartwright, ‘The Fiction of the “Reasonable Man”’ in AG Castermans and others (eds), Ex Libris Hans Nieuwenhuis (Kluwer 2009)

Cite an encyclopedia much as you would a book, but excluding the author or editor

and publisher and including the edition and year of issue or reissue. If citing an online encyclopedia, give the web address and date of access.

Halsbury’s Laws (5th edn, 2010) vol 57, para 53

Leslie Green, ‘Legal Positivism’, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall edn, 2009) <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/fall2009/entries/legal-positivism> accessed 20 November 2009

author, | ‘title’ | (year) | volume | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article

If only one volume was published that year, use square brackets:

author, | ‘title’ | [year] | journal name or abbreviation | first page of article

Put a comma after the first page of the article if there is a pinpoint (the specific page you are referencing).

JAG Griffith, ‘The Common Law and the Political Constitution’ (2001) 117 LQR 42, 64

When citing journal articles which have been published only electronically, give publication details as for articles in hard copy journals.

• Note that online journals may lack some of the publication elements (for example, many do not include page numbers).
• If citation advice is provided by the online journal, follow it, removing full stops as necessary to comply with OSCOLA.
• Follow the citation with the web address (in angled brackets) and the date you most recently accessed the article.

author, | ‘title’ | [year] OR (year) | volume/issue | journal name or abbreviation | <web address> | date accessed

Graham Greenleaf, ‘The Global Development of Free Access to Legal Information’ (2010) 1(1) EJLT <http://ejlt.org/article/view/17> accessed 27 July 2010

Treat case notes with titles as if they were journal articles. Where there is no title, use the name of the case in italics instead, and add (note) at the end of the citation.

Andrew Ashworth, ‘ R (Singh) v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police ’ [2006] Crim LR 441 (note)

HL Deb OR HC Deb | date, | volume, | column

In the House of Commons, written answers are indicated by the suffix ‘W’ after the column number; in the House of Lords, they are indicated by the prefix ‘WA’ before the column number.

HC Deb 3 February 1977, vol 389, cols 973–76

HL Deb 21 July 2005, vol 673, col WA261

Command papers

Command papers include White and Green Papers, relevant treaties, government responses to select committee reports, and reports of committees of inquiry. When citing a command paper, begin the citation with the name of the department or other body that produced the paper, and then give the title of the paper in italics, followed by the command paper number and the year in brackets.

Home Office, Report of the Royal Commission on Capital Punishment (Cmd 8932, 1953) para 53

The abbreviation preceding a command paper number depends on the year of publication:

1833–69 (C (1st series))

1870–99 (C (2nd series))

1900–18 (Cd)

1919–56 (Cmd)

1957–86 (Cmnd)

Sarah Cole, ‘Virtual Friend Fires Employee’ (Naked Law, 1 May 2009) <www.nakedlaw.com/2009/05/index.html> accessed 19 November 2009

• If there is no author identified, and it is appropriate to cite an anonymous source, begin the citation with the title in the usual way.
• If there is no date of publication on the website, give only the date of access

author, | ‘title’ | name of the newspaper | (city of publication, | date) | page if known

Jane Croft, ‘Supreme Court Warns on Quality’ Financial Times (London, 1 July 2010) 3

Ian Loader, ‘The Great Victim of this Get Tough Hyperactivity is Labour’ The Guardian (London, 19 June 2008) <www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/jun/19/justice.ukcrime> accessed 19 November 2009

interviewer(s) if not yourself, | Interview with name, position, institution of interviewee | (location, date of interview)

Interview with Irene Kull, Assistant Dean, Faculty of Law, Tartu University (Tartu, Estonia, 4 August 2003)

Timothy Endicott and John Gardner, Interview with Tony Honoré, Emeritus Regius Professor of Civil Law, University of Oxford (Oxford, 17 July 2007)

If the reference is to an editorial, cite the author as ‘Editorial’.

If you conducted an interview for the purposes of your dissertation, you do not need to cite it in your dissertation. If the transcripts of your interviews are in your appendix, you can refer to your appendix in brackets or a footnote, e.g.:

According to interviewee X (Appendix 1), the …

Or, you could cite it as a personal communication in a footnote.

Personal communications

When citing personal communications, such as emails and letters, give the author and recipient of the communication, and the date. If you are yourself the author or recipient of the communication, say ‘from author’ or ‘to author’ as appropriate.

Letter from Gordon Brown to Lady Ashton (20 November 2009)

Email from Amazon.co.uk to author (16 December 2008)

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OSCOLA extra guidance

Supplementary guidance not found in the official OSCOLA guides.

COM/SEC documents and other EU working papers

• COM documents are the working papers of the European Commission, covering preparatory legislation and policy.
• SEC documents are Commission staff working documents or papers produced by the Secretariat-General of the Commission until 2012.
• In 2012 the latter were re-labelled as SWD documents (Staff Working Documents).
• JOIN documents are those jointly issued by the European Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.

Of these, COM documents are the type of European Union documentation that you are most likely to come across, and need to reference.

The EU help page will assist in understand the differences between types of EU official publications. Patrick Overy’s European Union: A Guide to Tracing Working Documents provides a clearer, and more comprehensive, overview.

Reference a COM or SEC document

Note: citations from COM and SEC documents follow the same principles:

Author (or body responsible for producing the document), 'Title of paper in single inverted commas' (Brief indication of type of document if the title does not make this clear) Document number, (include chapter and/or article if necessary for pinpointing).

Footnote example: Commission, 'Access of Consumers to Justice and the Settlement of Consumer Disputes in the Single Market' (Green Paper) COM (93) 576 final, 16 November 1993.

Footnote example: Commission, ‘Proposal for a Council Decision on the European Capital of Culture event for the year 2013’ COM (2009) 0176 final.

Footnote example: Commission (EC), 'Recommendation for a Council Decision establishing, in accordance with Article 104(8), whether effective action has been taken by Hungary in response to recommendations of the Council in accordance with Article 104(7) of the Treaty establishing the European Community' (Communication) SEC (2004) 1621 final.

Footnote example: Commission, 'Commission staff working document – Annex to the report from the Commission – Member States' replies to the Court of Auditors' 2007 Annual Report' SEC (2009) 0257 final.

Current law statutes (annotated)

If you are citing the commentary upon legislation in the Current Law Statutes Annotated, cite the name of the relevant legal commentator and make it clear that you are referring an annotation to the Act, and not the primary text of the Act itself.

The following is a suggested format: 

Oliver Hyams, [annotations to] 'Sale of Student Loans Act 2008 s 1(4)(e)', Current Law Statutes Annotated (Sweet & Maxwell 2008) I, 10—5.

Neutral citations

See the Building Legal Information Online (BLIS) tutorial for further explanation regarding neutral citations .

Home Office and other government publications

A Home Office report can be treated like a printed book. There will not normally be a named author or editor for such reports, so you need to cite the relevant organisational or corporate author(s) instead, eg the Home Office or other government department(s).

The OSCOLA standard advises the following:

• If your source is an online publication which is also available in hard copy, cite the hard copy version.
• Citations of publications that are only available electronically should end with the web address in angled brackets (< >), followed by the date of most recent access, expressed in the form 'accessed 1 January 2010'.

Footnote example: Home Office report

31 Ministry of Justice, Home Office and the Office for National Statistics, An Overview of Sexual Offending in England and Wales (2013) 20.

Note: The report has three government departments as authors, with title, year and page number. The three departments cited would also be the publishers so this information is not replicated within the brackets.

Footnote example: Home Office research study

32 L Kelly, J Lovett and L Regan, A Gap or a Chasm? Attrition in Reported Rape Cases (Home Office Research Study 293, 2005) 25.

Note: The report has three named authors. The series title, series number and date of publication are in brackets. The page number is at the end. 

The examples above are taken from the Oxford Journal of Legal Studies . The journal is published by the University of Oxford and uses the OSCOLA standard, 4th edition.

Foreign law sources

There is limited advice on citing legal documents from foreign jurisdictions in the OSCOLA 4th edition (see sections 1.4 and 4.3). We therefore advise you follow the examples of foreign law formats in the Guide to Foreign and International Legal Citations * (with the exception that, as OSCOLA stipulates, full stops in abbreviations should be dropped).

The first edition (1996) is freely available online at the link above. A print copy of the second edition (2009) is held in the Library's Law Search Area.

* A publication of the New York University School of Law’s Journal of International Law and Politics

Photographs and other images

When citing a photograph or picture you must identify the source of the image.

For example, if you are citing an online photograph you would reference the website where you accessed the image.

Footnote example: photograph on a website

14 Janet Lindenmuth, [photograph of] 'Atlantic Digest 2d' ( Flickr , 12 January 2012) accessed 27 November 2014.

If, however, you are referencing a photograph that you took yourself, you would reference yourself as the personal creator (or with your identity anonymised, if required).

Footnote example: personal photograph

15 Photograph taken by Susan Shreeve (27 November 2014).

Footnote example: personal photograph anonymized for marking purposes

15 Photograph taken by Student 1235 (Name withheld as per University policy) (27 November 2014).

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How Pew Research Center Uses Its National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS)

In 2020, Pew Research Center launched a new project called the  National Public Opinion Reference Survey (NPORS) . NPORS is an annual, cross-sectional survey of U.S. adults. Respondents can answer by paper, online or over the phone, and they are selected using address-based sampling from the United States Postal Service’s Computerized Delivery Sequence File. The response rate to the latest NPORS was 32%, and previous years’ surveys were designed with a similarly rigorous approach. 

NPORS estimates are separate from the  American Trends Panel  (ATP) – the Center’s national online survey platform. Pew Research Center launched NPORS to address a limitation that researchers observed in the ATP. While the ATP was well-suited for the vast majority of the Center’s U.S. survey work, estimates for a few outcomes were not in line with other high-quality surveys, even after weighting to demographics like age, education, race and ethnicity, and gender.

For example, in 2018, roughly one-quarter of U.S. adults were religiously unaffiliated (i.e., atheist, agnostic or “nothing in particular”), according to the General Social Survey (GSS) and the Center’s own telephone-based polling . The ATP, however,  estimated the religiously unaffiliated rate at about 32%. The Center did not feel comfortable publishing that ATP estimate because there was too much evidence that the rate was too high, likely because the types of people willing to participate in an online panel skew less religious than the population as a whole. Similarly, the ATP estimate for the share of U.S. adults identifying as a Democrat or leaning to the Democratic Party was somewhat higher than the rate indicated by the GSS and our own telephone surveys .

From 2014 to late 2020, the Center approached these outcomes slightly differently. We addressed the political partisanship issue by weighting every ATP survey to an external benchmark for the share of Americans identifying as a Republican, Democrat or independent. For the benchmark, we used the average of the results from our three most recent national cellphone and landline random-digit-dial (RDD) surveys. 

During this time period, ATP surveys were not weighted to an external benchmark for Americans’ religious affiliation. The ATP was used for some research on religious beliefs and behaviors, but it was not used to estimate the overall share of Americans identifying as religiously affiliated or unaffiliated, nor was it used to estimate the size of particular faith groups, such as Catholics, Protestants or the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. NPORS allows us to improve and harmonize our approach to both these outcomes (Americans’ political and religious affiliations). 

Design and estimates

Read our fact sheet to find the latest NPORS estimates as well as methodological details. Data collection for NPORS was performed by Ipsos from 2020 through 2023 and is now performed by SSRS. 

Why is the NPORS response rate higher than most opinion polls?

Several features of NPORS set it apart from a typical public opinion poll. 

• People can respond offline or online.  NPORS offers three different ways to respond: by paper (through the mail), online, or by telephone (by calling a provided phone number and speaking to a live interviewer). The paper and telephone options bring in more conservative, more religious adults who are less inclined to take surveys online.
• Monetary incentives.  When sampled adults are first asked to respond to NPORS online, the mailing contains a $2 incentive payment (cash visible from the outside of the envelope) and offers a $10 incentive payment contingent on the participant completing the survey. When nonrespondents to that first stage are sent the paper version of the survey, the mailing contains a visible $5 bill. These incentives give people a reason to respond, even if they might not be interested in the questions or inclined to take surveys in general. 
• Priority mailing.  The paper version of the survey is mailed in a USPS Priority Mail envelope, which is more expensive than a normal envelope, signaling that the contents are important and that the mailing is not haphazard. It helps people distinguish the survey from junk mail, increasing the likelihood that they open and read what is inside. 
• Low burden.  The NPORS questionnaire is intentionally kept short. It’s about 40 questions long, including demographics such as age, gender and education. This means that NPORS takes about seven minutes to finish, while many polls take 10 minutes or longer. 
• Bilingual materials.  In parts of the country with sizable shares of Hispanic Americans, the materials are sent in both English and Spanish. 
• No requirement to join a panel.  NPORS respondents are not required to join a survey panel, which for some people would be a reason to decline the request. 

These features are not possible in most public polls for a host of reasons. But NPORS is designed to produce estimates of high enough quality that they can be used as weighting benchmarks for other polls, and so these features are critical.

Why a ‘reference’ survey for public opinion?

The “R” in NPORS stands for “reference.” In this context, the term comes from  studies  in which researchers calibrate a small sample survey to a large, high-quality survey with greater precision and accuracy. Examples of reference surveys used by researchers include the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) and the Current Population Survey (CPS). NPORS is not on the scale of the ACS or CPS, nor does it feature face-to-face data collection. But it does have something that those studies lack: timely estimates of key public opinion outcomes. Other studies like the American National Election Survey (ANES) and the General Social Survey collect key public opinion measures, but their data is released months, if not years, after data collection. The ANES, while invaluable to academic researchers, also excludes noncitizens who constitute about 7% of adults living in the U.S. and are included in the Center’s surveys.

NPORS is truly a reference survey for Pew Research Center because researchers weight each American Trends Panel wave to several NPORS estimates. In other words, ATP surveys refer to NPORS in order to represent groups like Republicans, Democrats, religiously affiliated adults and religiously unaffiliated adults proportional to their share of the U.S. population. The ATP weighting protocol also calibrates to other benchmarks, such as ACS demographic figures and CPS benchmarks for voter registration status and volunteerism.

Pew Research Center is weighting on political party affiliation, but isn’t that an attitude?

It’s correct that whether someone considers themselves a Republican or a Democrat is an attitude, not a fixed characteristic, such as year of birth. But there is a way to weight on political party affiliation even though it is an attitude and without forcing the poll’s partisan distribution to align with a benchmark. 

Pew Research Center started implementing this approach in 2021. It begins with measuring the survey panelists’ political party affiliation at a certain point in time (typically, each summer). Ideally, the reference survey will measure the same construct at the same point in time. We launched NPORS because we control its timing as well as the American Trends Panel’s timing, allowing us to achieve this syncing.

NPORS and ATP measurements of political party are collected at approximately the same time each summer. We may then conduct roughly 25 surveys on the ATP over the next year. For each of those 25 surveys, we append the panelists’ party affiliation answers from the summer  to the current survey. To illustrate, let’s say that a survey was conducted in December. When researchers weight the December ATP survey, they take the measurement of party taken in the summer and weight that to the NPORS estimates for the partisan distribution of U.S. adults during the summer time frame. If, for example, Democrats were more likely than Republicans to respond to the December survey, the weighting to the NPORS target would help reduce the differential partisan nonresponse bias. 

Critically, if the hypothetical December poll featured a fresh measurement of political party affiliation (typically asked about three times a year on the ATP), the new December answers do  not  get forced to any target. The new partisan distribution is allowed to vary. In this way, we can both address the threat from differential partisan nonresponse and measure an attitude that changes over time (without dictating the outcome). Each summer, the process starts anew by measuring political party on the ATP at basically the same time as the NPORS data collection. 

Is the NPORS design connected to the American Trends Panel?

A key feature of NPORS is that respondents are not members of a survey panel. It is a fresh, random sample of U.S. adults. This matters because some people are willing to take a onetime survey like NPORS but are not interested in taking surveys on an ongoing basis as part of a panel. That said, in certain years, NPORS serves as a recruitment survey for the ATP. After the NPORS questions, we ask respondents if they would be willing to take future surveys. People who accept and those who decline are both part of the NPORS survey. But only those who consent to future surveys are eventually invited to join the ATP.

Can other survey researchers use NPORS?

Yes. As a nonprofit organization, we seek to make our research as useful to policymakers, survey practitioners and scholars as possible. As with the Center’s other survey work, the estimates and data are freely available. 

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Watch CBS News

White House releases letter from Biden's doctor after questions about Parkinson's specialist's White House visits

By Ed O'Keefe , Caitlin Yilek

Updated on: July 9, 2024 / 9:50 AM EDT / CBS News

Washington — The White House released a letter from President Biden's doctor Monday night after press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre faced repeated questions at a briefing earlier in the day about Mr. Biden's health and whether visits to the White House by a Parkinson's disease specialist involved the president. 

White House visitor logs, details of which were first reported by the New York Post and  New York Times , show that Dr. Kevin Cannard, an expert on Parkinson's disease, visited the White House eight times from last summer to this spring. The logs show Cannard met at least once with Mr. Biden's personal physician. 

Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday afternoon that the president is not being treated for Parkinson's. 

"Has the president been treated for Parkinson's? No. Is he being treated for Parkinson's? No, he's not. Is he taking medication for Parkinson's? No," she said. 

But at the time, the press secretary refused to confirm the doctor's visits, citing "security reasons." 

It led to a tense back-and-forth between Jean-Pierre and reporters. It came as the president holds firm against critics who have urged him to end his reelection campaign after a disastrous debate performance against former President Donald Trump on June 27. 

"You're not answering a very basic, direct question" about the doctor's visits, CBS News' Ed O'Keefe said to Jean-Pierre. 

"Every year, around the president's physical examination, he sees a neurologist," she said. "That's three times." 

"At the White House or Walter Reed?" O'Keefe asked, referring to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, where presidents typically receive their annual physical exam. Mr. Biden had a checkup there in February .

"That is what I'm sharing with you. So every time he has a physical, he has had to see a neurologist. So that is answering that question," Jean-Pierre said. 

"Did Dr. Kevin Cannard come to the White House specifically because of the president's condition?" O'Keefe asked again. 

"For security reasons, we cannot share names," the press secretary said. "We cannot share names of specialists broadly, from a dermatologist to a neurologist." 

CBS News noted the visits were public information, but Jean-Pierre said she could not confirm the visits because "we have to keep their privacy." 

"It doesn't matter how hard you push me. It doesn't matter how angry you get with me. I'm not going to confirm a name. It doesn't matter if it's even in the log," she said. "It is inappropriate. It is not acceptable. So I'm not going to do it." 

On Monday night, the White House released a memo from the president's physician, Dr. Kevin O'Connor, in which he said he had obtained permission from Mr. Biden and Cannard to share more details.

"Dr. Cannard was the neurological specialist that examined President Biden for each of his annual physicals. His findings have been made public each time I have released the results of the President's annual physical. President Biden has not seen a neurologist outside of his annual physical," O'Connor wrote, noting that Cannard has been the neurology consultant to the White House Medical Unit since 2012.

"The results of  this year's exam  were detailed in  my February 28th letter : 'An extremely detailed neurologic exam was again reassuring in that there were no findings which would be consistent with any cerebellar or other central neurological disorder, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's, or ascending lateral sclerosis,'" O'Connor wrote.

O'Connor also noted that Cannard has made regular visits to the White House Medical Unit "in support of the thousands of active-duty members assigned in support of White House operations. Many military personnel experience neurological issues related to their service, and Dr. Cannard regularly visits the WHMU as part of this General Neurology practice."

The president, adamant that he's staying in the race, has gone on offense in recent days. 

Since the debate, Mr. Biden has been trying to prove he can do the job for another four years, participating in a number of interviews , campaign events and making outreach to prominent Democrats and donors in an effort to shore up support. 

"I am not going anywhere," Mr. Biden said in a phone interview with MSNBC's "Morning Joe" on Monday. "I wouldn't be running if I didn't absolutely believe that I am the best candidate to beat Donald Trump in 2024. We had a Democratic nominating process where the voters spoke clearly." 

In a letter to congressional Democrats on Monday, Mr. Biden said he is " firmly committed " to continuing his campaign and called for the discourse on whether he has a path forward to end. 

First lady Jill Biden, seen as one of the few who might be able to sway his decision, echoed his message during a campaign stop in Wilmington, North Carolina. 

"Joe has made it clear that he is all in," she said. "That's the decision that he's made, and just as he has always supported my career, I am all in too." 

Though several House Democrats have called for him to withdraw from the race , many have said they're still backing him. No Senate Democrats have publicly called for the president to step aside, though some have urged him to do more to show he's up to the task.

Among those wanting Mr. Biden to withdraw is Washington Rep. Adam Smith, who told CBS News on Monday, "there would be a huge sigh of relief amongst just about every Democrat in the House" if the president ends his campaign. 

"We would be better off with another nominee," Smith said. "I believe that in my heart, my soul, my brain — I'm 100% convinced of that." 

A recent CBS News poll found that the race shifted slightly in former President Donald Trump's direction after the July 27 debate. Trump now has a 3-point edge over Mr. Biden in battleground states and a 2-point lead nationally. 

• White House
• Karine Jean-Pierre
• Parkinson's Disease
• 2024 Elections

Ed O'Keefe is CBS News senior White House and political correspondent. He previously worked for The Washington Post covering presidential campaigns, Congress and federal agencies. His primary focus is on President Biden, Vice President Harris and political issues across the country.

More from CBS News

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Following Trump’s Lead, Republicans Adopt Platform That Softens Stance on Abortion

The document reflects the former president’s ideological grip on his party, outlining the same nationalistic priorities that his campaign website does.

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By Maggie Haberman ,  Shane Goldmacher and Jonathan Swan

• July 8, 2024

Donald J. Trump told officials on Monday that he supports a new Republican Party platform, one that reflects the presumptive nominee’s new position on abortion rights and slims down policy specifics across all areas of government.

The new platform, as described to The New York Times by people briefed on it, cements Mr. Trump’s ideological takeover of the G.O.P. The platform is even more nationalistic, more protectionist and less socially conservative than the 2016 Republican platform that was duplicated in the 2020 election.

Mr. Trump, who has had the draft for several days, called into a meeting of party officials on Monday and said that he supports it. The document overwhelmingly was approved during a vote by the platform committee on Monday, passing 84 to 18, according to a person briefed on the matter.

The abortion section has been softened. There is no longer a reference to “traditional marriage” as between “one man and one woman.” And there is no longer an emphasis on reducing the national debt, only a brief line about “slashing wasteful government spending.”

The rest of the document reflects Mr. Trump’s priorities as outlined on his campaign website: a hard-line immigration policy, including mass deportations; a protectionist trade policy with new tariffs on most imports; and sections on using federal power to remove policies in academia, the military and throughout the U.S. government put in place by what it describes as radical Democrats.

Mr. Trump and his top aides have alienated some activists by shutting them out of the development of the platform. The former president was especially focused on softening the language on abortion — the issue he views as his biggest vulnerability in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

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OSCOLA referencing guide (Online): Command Papers

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A command paper is a document issued by the UK Government and presented to Parliament.

White papers, green papers, treaties, government responses, draft bills, reports from Royal Commissions, reports from independent inquiries and various government organisations can be released as command papers, so called because they are presented to Parliament formally "By Her Majesty's Command".

To reference information from a Command Paper, you need to include the Author and the title in italics, followed by the Command paper number and year in brackets.

Format:  Author,  Title  (Command Paper number, year)

Example:  Secretary of State for the Home Department,  Identity Cards: The Next Steps  (Cm 6020, 2003).

Be careful to note the abbreviation for a Command Paper as shown on its title page. There have been six series of Command Papers and each series has its own unique abbreviation.

There is no change in format between a footnote reference and a bibliography entry.

Abbreviations for the Command Paper Series

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