Citation Styles (text by Ian Carter)

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These notes have been drawn up with the intention of helping students cite the sources they use in the written work they submit for exams or for their final exam. 

Citations in footnotes

The titles of books and articles should be written in italics, and the names of journals in block characters with quotation marks. 

After having cited a book the first time, one should cite: editor, year and place of publication. 

After having cited the title of an article in a review, one should cite: the name of the review, the volume, the year of publication (in brackets) , the number of pages. 

Regarding details  (for example, the use of commas), authors and editors diverge. It is important that a uniform style is adopted, providing all the information mentioned above. 

For example:

For a book:

Isaiah Berlin, Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989.

For an article in a book with articles by different authors:

Hillel Steiner, Libertà individuale, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1996.

For an article in a review:

Gerald C. MacCallum Jr., Negative and Positive Freedom, in “Philosophical Review”, 76 (1967), pp. 312-334.

For books translated into Italian, the original version and the translator can be cited as follows:

Isaiah Berlin, Four Essays on Liberty, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1969, trad. it. di M. Santambrogio, Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989.


Repeated citations of the same work

For repeated citations the following Latin formulas are frequently adopted:

ibidem (or ibid.) = in the same place (for an identical citation to the one in the previous footnote).

ivi = in the same place (for a citation which is exactly the same to the one in the previous footnote but with different page numbers).

op. cit. = a work which has already been cited (to cite a work which has already been cited although not in the previous footnote).

cit. = as previously cited (for a work which has already been cited and whose title has to be repeated ).

idem (or id.) = the same author.

For example:

1 G. C. MacCallum Jr., Libertà negativa e positiva, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1996, p. 23.

2 ibid.

3 ivi, p. 25.

4 I. Berlin, The Crooked Timber of Humanity. Chapters in the History of Ideas, Harper Collins, London 1991, p. 134.

5 MacCallum, op. cit., p. 27.

6 I. Berlin, Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989, pp. 80-84.

7 Berlin, The Crooked Timber of Humanity, cit., p. 97.


For a more simple alternative,  the surnames and the titles of the works (but not with subtitles) can be repeated in the following manner:

1 G. C. MacCallum Jr., Libertà negativa e positiva, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1996, p. 23.

2  MacCallum, Libertà negativa e positiva, p. 23.

3 MacCallum, Libertà negativa e positiva, p. 25.

4 I. Berlin, The Crooked Timber of Humanity. Chapters in the History of Ideas, Harper Collins, London 1991, p. 134.

5 MacCallum, Libertà negativa e positiva, p. 27.

6 I. Berlin, Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989, pp. 80-84.

7 Berlin, The Crooked Timber of Humanity, p. 97.


While writing an assignment, it is advisable to follow the second model because if part of a text is moved (for example, for one chapter to another or to another place in the same chapter), some of the notes might automatically be relocated, whereas the use of “ibidem” or “ivi” does not change the order of the notes. For the same reason, it is better to avoid notes which refer to other notes (for example, “see note 4, infra”), unless one is working on the final version of a paper .


Harvard Style

This style is an alternative to the “traditional” one seen above. With the Harvard style, works are cited directly (in brackets) in the text, with the surname of the author and the year of publication. In some cases, the works can also be cited in the notes / list of references (but one of the aims of this style is to reduce the number of notes as much as possible). The works should be cited in complete form in the final bibliography where each note starts with the surname, name (or initials) and the year. 


For example:

In the text:

Per affrontare il problema, farò riferimento alla distinzione tra libertà positiva e libertà negativa (Berlin, 1989, pp. 121-31).

Or:

Per affrontare il problema, farò riferimento alla distinzione tra libertà positiva e libertà negativa originariamente discussa da Isaiah Berlin (1989, pp. 121-131).

In the notes:

Per affrontare il problema, farò riferimento alla distinzione tra libertà positiva e libertà negativa.1

1 La distinzione viene discussa per la prima volta in maniera approfondita da Isaiah Berlin (1989, pp. 121-31). La stessa distinzione viene messa in discussione, però, da alcuni critici di Berlin (vedi, per es., MacCallum, 1996; Pettit, 1997a).

 

Advantages and disadvantages of Harvard style    

Advantages:

  • it minimizes the use of notes and allows each work to be cited just once (that is, in the bibliography).
  • the reference: “author + year” is a quick and efficient way to refer to a well-known work. 
  • if could be useful for the reader to find all the bibliographic references at the end of the article. 

 Disadvantages:

  • if there are many references, this could make the text awkward and difficult to read;
  • the year can sometimes create problems , especially when one is citing a recent edition of a historical author (you might find for example : Plato, 2002; Mill, 1958; Kant, 1904);
  • if prolific authors are being cited, one sometimes finds citations such as: Pettit, 1997a, 1997b, 1997c, 1997e; Sen, 1992a, 1992d, 1993b, 1993c, 1993f  – this makes comprehension difficult. 


Bibliographies

Bibliographies are always:

  • at the end of a work (an article or a monograph) which has adopted the Harvard style;
  • always at the end of a degree thesis ( whatever system is adopted);
  • almost always at the end of a monograph which has adopted the traditional system;
  • rarely at the end of an article which is using the traditional system.

It is good practice for students to provide a bibliography of the works they have consulted ( even if they are not cited in the notes) at the end of any written work  (including short theses for individual exams).

The texts cited in a bibliography should be put into alphabetical order according to the surname of the author. 

For example:

With the traditional systej:

Berlin, I., Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989.

MacCallum, G. C. Jr., Libertà negativa e positiva, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano 1989.

Pettit, P., Republicanism. A Theory of Freedom and Government, Clarendon Press, Oxford 1997.

Pettit, P., Republican Theory and Criminal Punishment, in “Utilitas”, 9 (1997), pp. 59-79.


With Harvard style:

Berlin, I. (1989), Quattro saggi sulla libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano.

MacCallum, G. C. Jr. (1996), Libertà negativa e positiva, in I. Carter e M. Ricciardi (a cura di), L’idea di libertà, Feltrinelli, Milano.

Pettit, P. (1997a), Republicanism. A Theory of Freedom and Government, Clarendon Press, Oxford.

Pettit, P. (1997b), Republican Theory and Criminal Punishment, in “Utilitas”, 9, pp. 59-79.