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ASA (7th ed.) Citation Style Guide: Reference Works

Reference Works

"Sources cited from a reference book (dictionary, encyclopedia) are typically cited in text and notes, rather than in references lists" (American Sociological Association Style Guide, 7th ed., 2022:86)

  • include publication or revision dates for frequently updated resources (e.g., Wikipedia)
  • if no publication or revision date is available, include an access date

Entry in a Dictionary, Thesaurus, or Encyclopedia, with Individual Author, Print

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. "Title of entry." Pp ## in Title of book. Vol. number, Title of volume (if applicable). Location of publisher: Publisher's name.

Saunders, Lisa. (2008). "Discrimination, wage, by gender." Pp 402-4 in International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Volume 2, Cohabitation - Ethics, edited by William A. Darity Jr. Detroit, MI: Thomson Gale.

In Text

(Saunders 2008)

Entry in a Dictionary, with Group Author

Name of group author. Year. "Title of entry." Title of publication. Location of publisher: Publisher. 

Collins. 2008. "Lineament." Collins Canadian English Dictionary. Toronto, ON: Collins Canada Ltd.

In Text

(Collins 2008)

Encyclopedia, Online

Author Last Name, First Name. Year. "Title of Article." Name of Encyclopedia. URL

Gwiazda, Emily. 2022, November 17. "Edith Watson." The Canadian Encyclopedia. https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/edith-watson

In Text

(Gwiazda 2022)

Wikipedia Entry

Name of Dictionary, s.v. "Title of Page," last edited Month Day, Year at Time, URL

Wikipedia, s.v. "Family," last edited August 21, 2024 at 17:42, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Family#Size

In Text

(Wikipedia 2024)

 

Note: Include time in update information for resources that are continually updated like Wikipedia. 

s.v. means "sub verbo" or "under the word"