how to cite your research paper

Citing sources: Overview

• Citation style guides

Manage your references

Use these tools to help you organize and cite your references:

• Citation Management and Writing Tools

If you have questions after consulting this guide about how to cite, please contact your advisor/professor or the writing and communication center .

Why citing is important

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

• To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information
• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
• To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list

About citations

Citing a source means that you show, within the body of your text, that you took words, ideas, figures, images, etc. from another place.

Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work (e.g. book, article, chapter, web site).  They are found in bibliographies and reference lists and are also collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to identify and track down publications, including:

• author name(s)
• titles of books, articles, and journals
• date of publication
• page numbers
• volume and issue numbers (for articles)

Citations may look different, depending on what is being cited and which style was used to create them. Choose an appropriate style guide for your needs.  Here is an example of an article citation using four different citation styles.  Notice the common elements as mentioned above:

Author - R. Langer

Article Title - New Methods of Drug Delivery

Source Title - Science

Volume and issue - Vol 249, issue 4976

Publication Date - 1990

Page numbers - 1527-1533

American Chemical Society (ACS) style:

Langer, R. New Methods of Drug Delivery. Science 1990 , 249 , 1527-1533.

IEEE Style:

R. Langer, " New Methods of Drug Delivery," Science , vol. 249 , pp. 1527-1533 , SEP 28, 1990 .

American Psychological Association   (APA) style:

Langer, R. (1990) . New methods of drug delivery. Science , 249 (4976), 1527-1533.

Modern Language Association (MLA) style:

Langer, R. " New Methods of Drug Delivery." Science 249.4976 (1990) : 1527-33.

What to cite

You must cite:

• Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge

Publications that must be cited include:  books, book chapters, articles, web pages, theses, etc.

Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit 

When in doubt, be safe and cite your source!

Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words (or ideas) and do not acknowledge that you have done so. In this culture, we consider our words and ideas intellectual property; like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and cannot be used without our permission.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense. If it is found that you have plagiarized -- deliberately or inadvertently -- you may face serious consequences. In some instances, plagiarism has meant that students have had to leave the institutions where they were studying.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources - both within the body of your paper and in a bibliography of sources you used at the end of your paper.

Some useful links about plagiarism:

• MIT Academic Integrity Overview on citing sources and avoiding plagiarism at MIT.
• Avoiding Plagiarism From the MIT Writing and Communication Center.
• Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It From Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services.
• Plagiarism- Overview A resource from Purdue University.
• Next: Citation style guides >>
• Last Updated: Jan 16, 2024 7:02 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/citing

University Library

Start your research.

• Research Process
• Find Background Info
• Find Sources through the Library
• Evaluate Your Info
• Cite Your Sources
• Evaluate, Write & Cite

• is the right thing to do  to give credit to those who had the idea
• shows that you have read and understand  what experts have had to say about your topic
• helps people find the sources  that you used in case they want to read more about the topic
• provides   evidence  for your arguments
• is professional and  standard practice   for students and scholars

What is a Citation?

A citation identifies for the reader the original source for an idea, information, or image that is referred to in a work.

• In the body of a paper, the  in-text citation  acknowledges the source of information used.
• At the end of a paper, the citations are compiled on a  References  or  Works Cited  list. A basic citation includes the author, title, and publication information of the source. 

From:  Lemieux  Library,  University  of Seattle 

Why Should You Cite?

Quoting Are you quoting two or more consecutive words from a source? Then the original source should be cited and the words or phrase placed in quotes. 

Paraphrasing If an idea or information comes from another source,  even if you put it in your own words , you still need to credit the source.  General vs. Unfamiliar Knowledge You do not need to cite material which is accepted common knowledge. If in doubt whether your information is common knowledge or not, cite it. Formats We usually think of books and articles. However, if you use material from web sites, films, music, graphs, tables, etc. you'll also need to cite these as well.

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. When you work on a research paper and use supporting material from works by others, it's okay to quote people and use their ideas, but you do need to correctly credit them. Even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you must acknowledge the original author.

Citation Style Help

Helpful links:

• MLA ,  Works Cited : A Quick Guide (a template of core elements)
• CSE  (Council of Science Editors)

For additional writing resources specific to styles listed here visit the  Purdue OWL Writing Lab

Citation and Bibliography Resources

• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
• << Previous: Evaluate Your Info
• Next: Evaluate, Write & Cite >>

Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License except where otherwise noted.

Land Acknowledgement

The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum .

• MJC Library & Learning Center
• Research Guides

Format Your Paper & Cite Your Sources

• APA Style, 7th Edition
• Citing Sources
• Avoid Plagiarism
• MLA Style (8th/9th ed.)

APA Tutorial

Formatting your paper, headings organize your paper (2.27), video tutorials, reference list format (9.43).

• Elements of a Reference

Reference Examples (Chapter 10)

Dois and urls (9.34-9.36), in-text citations.

• In-Text Citations Format
• In-Text Citations for Specific Source Types

NoodleTools

• Chicago Style
• Harvard Style
• Other Styles
• Annotated Bibliographies
• How to Create an Attribution

What is APA Style?

APA style was created by social and behavioral scientists to standardize scientific writing. APA style is most often used in:

• psychology,
• social sciences (sociology, business), and

If you're taking courses in any of these areas, be prepared to use APA style.

For in-depth guidance on using this citation style, refer to Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association , 7th ed. We have several copies available at the MJC Library at the call number  BF 76.7 .P83 2020 .

APA Style, 7th ed.

In October 2019, the American Psychological Association made radical changes its style, especially with regard to the format and citation rules for students writing academic papers. Use this guide to learn how to format and cite your papers using APA Style, 7th edition.

You can start by viewing the  video tutorial .

For help on all aspects of formatting your paper in APA Style, see   The Essentials  page on the APA Style website.

• sans serif fonts such as 11-point Calibri, 11-point Arial, or 10-point Lucida Sans Unicode, or
• serif fonts such as 12-point Times New Roman, 11-point Georgia, or normal (10-point) Computer Modern (the default font for LaTeX)
• There are exceptions for the  title page ,  tables ,  figures ,  footnotes , and  displayed equations .
• Margins :  Use 1-in. margins on every side of the page.
• Align the text of an APA Style  paper to the left margin . Leave the right margin uneven, or “ragged.”
• Do not use full justification for student papers.
• Do not insert hyphens (manual breaks) in words at the end of line. However, it is acceptable if your word-processing program automatically inserts breaks in long hyperlinks (such as in a DOI or URL in a reference list entry).
• Indent the first line of each paragraph of text 0.5 in . from the left margin. Use the tab key or the automatic paragraph-formatting function of your word-processing program to achieve the indentation (the default setting is likely already 0.5 in.). Do not use the space bar to create indentation. 
• There are exceptions for the  title page ,  section labels ,  abstract ,  block quotations ,  headings ,  tables and figures ,  reference list , and  appendices .

Paper Elements

Student papers generally include, at a minimum: 

• Title Page (2.3)
• Text (2.11)
• References  (2.12)

Student papers may include additional elements such as tables and figures depending on the assignment. So, please check with your teacher!

Student papers generally  DO NOT  include the following unless your teacher specifically requests it:

• Running head
• Author note

For complete information on the  order of pages , see the APA Style website.

Number your pages consecutively starting with page 1. Each section begins on a new page. Put the pages in the following order:

• Page 1: Title page
• Page 2: Abstract (if your teacher requires an abstract)
• Page 3: Text 
• References begin on a new page after the last page of text
• Footnotes begin on a new page after the references (if your teacher requires footnotes)
• Tables begin each on a new page after the footnotes (if your teacher requires tables) 
• Figures begin on a new page after the tables (if your teacher requires figures)
• Appendices begin on a new page after the tables and/or figures (if your teacher requires appendices)

Sample Papers With Built-In Instructions

To see what your paper should look like, check out these sample papers with built-in instructions.

APA Style uses five (5) levels of headings to help you organize your paper and allow your audience to identify its key points easily. Levels of headings establish the hierarchy of your sections just like you did in your paper outline.

APA tells us to use "only the number of headings necessary to differentiate distinct section in your paper." Therefore, the number of heading levels you create depends on the length and complexity of your paper.

See the chart below for instructions on formatting your headings:

Use Word to Format Your Paper:

Use Google Docs to Format Your Paper:

Placement:  The reference list  appears at the end of the paper, on its own page(s). If your research paper ends on page 8, your References begin on page 9.

Heading:  Place the section label References  in bold at the top of the page, centered.

Arrangement:  Alphabetize entries by author's last name. If source has no named author, alphabetize by the title, ignoring A, An, or The. (9.44-9.48)

Spacing:  Like the rest of the APA paper, the reference list is double-spaced throughout. Be sure NOT to add extra spaces between citations.

Indentation:  To make citations easier to scan, add a  hanging indent  of 0.5 in. to any citation that runs more than one line. Use the paragraph-formatting function of your word processing program to create your hanging indent.  

See Sample References Page (from APA Sample Student Paper):

Elements of Reference List Entries: (Chapter 9)

References generally have four elements, each of which has a corresponding question for you to answer:

• Author:   Who is responsible for this work? (9.7-9.12)
• Date:   When was this work published? (9.13-9.17)
• Title:   What is this work called? (9.18-9.22)
• Source:   Where can I retrieve this work? (9.23-9.37)

By using these four elements and answering these four questions, you should be able to create a citation for any type of source.

For complete information on all of these elements, checkout the APA Style website.

This infographic shows the first page of a journal article. The locations of the reference elements are highlighted with different colors and callouts, and the same colors are used in the reference list entry to show how the entry corresponds to the source.

To create your references, you'll simple look for these elements in your source and put them together in your reference list entry.

American Psychological Association.  Example of where to find reference information for a journal article  [Infographic]. APA Style Center. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/basic-principles

Below you'll find two printable handouts showing APA citation examples. The first is an abbreviated list created by MJC Librarians. The second, which is more comprehensive, is from the APA Style website. Feel free to print these for your convenience or use the links to reference examples below:

• APA Citation Examples Created by MJC Librarians for you.
• Common References Examples (APA Handout) Printable handout from the American Psychological Association.
• Journal Article
• Magazine Article
• Newspaper Article
• Edited Book Chapter
• Webpage on a Website

Classroom or Intranet Sources

• Classroom Course Pack Materials
• How to Cite ChatGPT
• Dictionary Entry
• Government Report
• Legal References (Laws & Cases)
• TED Talk References
• Religious Works
• Open Educational Resources (OER)
• Archival Documents and Collections

You can view the entire Reference Examples website below and view a helpful guide to finding useful APA style topics easily:

• APA Style: Reference Examples
• Navigating the not-so-hidden treasures of the APA Style website
• Missing Reference Information

Sometimes you won't be able to find all the elements required for your reference. In that case, see the  instructions in Table 9.1 of the APA style manual in section 9.4 or the APA Style website below:

• Direct Quotation of Material Without Page Numbers

The DOI or URL is the final component of a reference list entry. Because so much scholarship is available and/or retrieved online, most reference list entries end with either a DOI or a URL.

• A  DOI  is a unique alphanumeric string that identifies content and provides a persistent link to its location on the internet. DOIs can be found in database records and the reference lists of published works.
• A  URL  specifies the location of digital information on the internet and can be found in the address bar of your internet browser. URLs in references should link directly to the cited work when possible.

When to Include DOIs and URLs:

• Include a DOI for all works that have a DOI, regardless of whether you used the online version or the print version.
• If an online work has both a DOI and a URL, include only the DOI.
• For works without DOIs from websites (not including academic research databases), provide a URL in the reference (as long as the URL will work for readers).
• For works without DOIs from most academic research databases, do not include a URL or database information in the reference because these works are widely available. The reference should be the same as the reference for a print version of the work.
• For works from databases that publish original, proprietary material available only in that database (such as the UpToDate database) or for works of limited circulation in databases (such as monographs in the ERIC database), include the name of the database or archive and the URL of the work. If the URL requires a login or is session-specific (meaning it will not resolve for readers), provide the URL of the database or archive home page or login page instead of the URL for the work. (See APA Section 9.30 for more information). 
• If the URL is no longer working or no longer provides readers access to the content you intend to cite, try to find an archived version using the Internet Archive , then use the archived URL. If there is no archived URL, do not use that resource.

Format of DOIs and URLs:

Your DOI should look like this: 

https://doi.org/10.1037/a0040251

Follow these guidelines from the APA Style website.

APA Style uses the  author–date citation system , in which a brief in-text citation points your reader to the full reference list entry at the end of your paper. The in-text citation appears within the body of the paper and briefly identifies the cited work by its author and date of publication. This method enables your reader to locate the corresponding entry in the alphabetical reference list at the end of your paper.

Each work you cite  must  appear in the reference list, and each work in the reference list must be cited in the text (or in a table, figure, footnote, or appendix) except for the following (See APA, 8.4):

• Personal communications (8.9)
• General mentions of entire websites, whole periodicals (8.22), and common software and apps (10.10) in the text do not require a citation or reference list entry.
• The source of an epigraph does not usually appear in the reference list (8.35)
• Quotations from your research participants do not need citations or reference list entries (8.36)
• References included in a statistical meta-analysis, which are marked with an asterisk in the reference list, may be cited in the text (or not) at the author’s discretion. This exception is relevant only to authors who are conducting a meta-analysis (9.52).

Formatting Your In-Text Citations

Parenthetical and Narrative Citations: ( See APA Section  8.11)

In APA style you use the author-date citation system for citing references within your paper. You incorporate these references using either a  parenthetical   or a  narrative  style.

Parenthetical Citations

• In parenthetical citations, the author name and publication date appear in parentheses, separated by a comma. (Jones, 2018)
• A parenthetical citation can appear within or at the end of a sentence.
• When the parenthetical citation is at the end of the sentence, put the period or other end punctuation after the closing parenthesis.
• If there is no author, use the first few words of the reference list entry, usually the "Title" of the source: ("Autism," 2008) See APA 8.14
• When quoting, always provide the author, year, and specific page citation or paragraph number for nonpaginated materials in the text (Santa Barbara, 2010, p. 243).  See APA 8.13
• For most citations, the parenthetical reference is placed BEFORE the punctuation: Magnesium can be effective in treating PMS (Haggerty, 2012).

Narrative Citations 

In narrative citations, the author name or title of your source appears within your text and the publication date appears in parentheses immediately after the author name. 

• Santa Barbara (2010) noted a decline in the approval of disciplinary spanking of 26 percentage points from 1968 to 1994.

In-Text Citation Checklist

• In-Text Citation Checklist Use this useful checklist from the American Psychological Association to ensure that you've created your in-text citations correctly.

In-Text Citations for Specific Types of Sources

Quotations from Research Participants

Personal Communications

Secondary Sources  

Use NoodleTools to Cite Your Sources  

NoodleTools can help you create your references and your in-text citations.

• NoodleTools Express No sign in required . When you need one or two quick citations in MLA, APA, or Chicago style, simply generate them in NoodleTools Express then copy and paste what you need into your document. Note: Citations are not saved and cannot be exported to a word processor using NoodleTools Express.
• NoodleTools (Login Full Database) This link opens in a new window Create and organize your research notes, share and collaborate on research projects, compose and error check citations, and complete your list of works cited in MLA, APA, or Chicago style using the full version of NoodleTools. You'll need to Create a Personal ID and password the first time you use NoodleTools.

See How to Use NoodleTools Express to Create a Citation in APA Format

Additional NoodleTools Help

• NoodleTools Help Desk Look up questions and answers on the NoodleTools Web site
• << Previous: MLA Style (8th/9th ed.)
• Next: Chicago Style >>
• Last Updated: May 1, 2024 2:04 PM
• URL: https://libguides.mjc.edu/citeyoursources

Except where otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 and CC BY-NC 4.0 Licenses .

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How to Cite a Research Paper in APA

Last Updated: October 19, 2022 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by wikiHow Staff . Our trained team of editors and researchers validate articles for accuracy and comprehensiveness. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 160,493 times. Learn more...

If you’re citing a research article or paper in APA style, you’ll need to use a specific citation format that varies depending on the source. Assess whether your source is an article or report published in an academic journal or book, or whether it is an unpublished research paper, such as a print-only thesis or dissertation. Either way, your in-text citations will need to include information about the author (if available) and the date when your source was published or written.

Sample Citations

Writing an In-Text Citation

• For example, you may write, “Gardener (2008) notes, ‘There are several factors to consider about lobsters’ (p. 199).”

• For example, you may write, “‘There are several factors to consider about lobsters’ (Gardner, 2008, p. 199).” Or, “The paper claims, ‘The fallen angel trope is common in religious and non-religious texts’ (Meek & Hill, 2015, p.13-14).”
• For articles with 3-5 authors, write out the names of all the authors the first time you cite the source. For example: (Hammett, Wooster, Smith, & Charles, 1928). In subsequent citations, write only the first author’s name, followed by et al.: (Hammett et al., 1928).
• If there are 6 or more authors for the paper, include the last name of the first author listed and then write "et al." to indicate that there are more than 5 authors.
• For example, you may write, "'This is a quote' (Minaj et al., 1997, p. 45)."

• For example, you may write, “‘The risk of cervical cancer in women is rising’ (American Cancer Society, 2012, p. 2).”

• For example, you may write, “‘Shakespeare may have been a woman’ (“Radical English Literature,” 2004, p. 45).” Or, “The paper notes, ‘There is a boom in Virgin Mary imagery’ (“Art History in Italy,” 2011, p. 32).”

• For example, you may write, “‘There are several factors to consider about lobsters’ (Gardner, 2008, p. 199).” Or, “The paper claims, ‘The fallen angel trope is common in religious and non-religious texts’ (“Iconography in Italian Frescos,” 2015, p.13-14).”

• For example, you may write, “‘There are several factors to consider about lobsters’ (Gardner, 2008, p. 199).” Or, “The paper claims, ‘The fallen angel trope is common in religious and non-religious texts’ (“Iconography in Italian Frescos,” 2015, p.145-146).”

• For example, you may write, “‘The effects of food deprivation are long-term’ (Mett, 2005, para. 18).”

Creating a Reference List Citation for a Published Source

• Material on websites is also considered “published,” even if it’s not peer-reviewed or associated with a formal publishing company.
• While academic dissertations or theses that are print-only are considered unpublished, these types of documents are considered published if they’re included in an online database (such as ProQuest) or incorporated into an institutional repository.

• For example, you may write, “Gardner, L. M.” Or, “Meek, P. Q., Kendrick, L. H., & Hill, R. W.”
• If there is no author, you can list the name of the organization that published the research paper. For example, you may write, “American Cancer Society” or “The Reading Room.”
• Formally published documents that don’t list an author or that have a corporate author are typically reports or white papers .

• For example, you may write, “Gardner, L. M. (2008).” Or, “American Cancer Society. (2015).”

• For example, you may write, “Gardner, L. M. (2008). Crustaceans: Research and data.” Or, “American Cancer Society. (2015). Cervical cancer rates in women ages 20-45.”

• For example, for a journal article, you may write, “Gardner, L. M. (2008). Crustaceans: Research and data. Modern Journal of Malacostracan Research, 25, 150-305.”
• For a book chapter, you could write: “Wooster, B. W. (1937). A comparative study of modern Dutch cow creamers. In T. E. Travers (Ed.), A Detailed History of Tea Serviceware (pp. 127-155). London: Wimble Press."

• For example, you may write, “Kotb, M. A., Kamal, A. M., Aldossary, N. M., & Bedewi, M. A. (2019). Effect of vitamin D replacement on depression in multiple sclerosis patients. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders, 29, 111-117. Retrieved from PubMed, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30708308.
• If you’re citing a paper or article that was published online but did not come from an academic journal or database, provide information about the author (if known), the date of publication (if available), and the website where you found the article. For example: “Hill, M. (n.d.). Egypt in the Ptolemaic Period. Retrieved from https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/ptol/hd_ptol.htm”

Citing Unpublished Sources in Your Reference List

• Print-only dissertations or theses.
• Articles or book chapters that are in press or have been recently prepared or submitted for publication.
• Papers that have been rejected for publication or were never intended for publication (such as student research papers or unpublished conference papers).

• If the paper is currently being prepared for publication, include the author’s name, the year when the current draft was completed, and the title of the article in italics, followed by “Manuscript in preparation.” For example: Wooster, B. W. (1932). What the well-dressed man is wearing. Manuscript in preparation.
• If the paper has been submitted for publication, format the citation the same way as if it were in preparation, but instead follow the title with “Manuscript submitted for publication.” For example: Wooster, B. W. (1932). What the well-dressed man is wearing. Manuscript submitted for publication.
• If the paper has been accepted for publication but is not yet published, replace the date with “in press.” Do not italicize the paper title, but do include the title of the periodical or book in which it will be published and italicize that. For example: Wooster, B. W. (in press). What the well-dressed man is wearing. Milady’s Boudoir.

• If the paper was written for a conference but never published, your citation should look like this: Riker, W. T. (2019, March). Traditional methods for the preparation of spiny lobe-fish. Paper presented at the 325th Annual Intergalactic Culinary Conference, San Francisco, CA.
• For an unpublished paper written by a student for a class, include details about the institution where the paper was written. For example: Crusher, B. H. (2019). A typology of Cardassian skin diseases. Unpublished manuscript, Department of External Medicine, Starfleet Academy, San Francisco, CA.

• For example, you may write, “Pendlebottom, R. H. (2011). Iconography in Italian Frescos (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). New York University, New York, United States.”

Community Q&A

• If you want certain information to stand out in the research paper, then you can consider using a block quote. Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://libraryguides.vu.edu.au/apa-referencing/7JournalArticles
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_author_authors.html
• ↑ https://bowvalleycollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=714519&p=5093747
• ↑ https://guides.libraries.psu.edu/apaquickguide/intext
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/in_text_citations_the_basics.html
• ↑ https://libguides.southernct.edu/c.php?g=7125&p=34582#1951239
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_electronic_sources.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_articles_in_periodicals.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_books.html
• ↑ https://morlingcollege.libguides.com/apareferencing/unpublished-or-informally-published-work
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_apa_faqs.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/reference_list_other_print_sources.html

About This Article

To cite a research paper in-text in APA, name the author in the text to introduce the quote and put the publication date for the text in parentheses. At the end of your quote, put the page number in parentheses. If you don’t mention the author in your prose, include them in the citation. Start the citation, which should come at the end of the quote, by listing the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number. Make sure to put all of this information in parentheses. If there’s no author, use the name of the organization that published the paper or the first few words from the title. To learn how to cite published and unpublished sources in your reference list, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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• USC Libraries
• Research Guides

Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 11. Citing Sources
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
• Academic Writing Style
• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
• Making an Outline
• Paragraph Development
• Research Process Video Series
• Executive Summary
• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
• Content Alert Services
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
• Secondary Sources
• Tiertiary Sources
• Scholarly vs. Popular Publications
• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
• Insiderness
• Using Non-Textual Elements
• Limitations of the Study
• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
• Generative AI and Writing
• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your research paper. It refers to a source of information that supports a factual statement, proposition, argument, or assertion or any quoted text obtained from a book, article, web site, or any other type of material . In-text citations are embedded within the body of your paper and use a shorthand notation style that refers to a complete description of the item at the end of the paper. Materials cited at the end of a paper may be listed under the heading References, Sources, Works Cited, or Bibliography. Rules on how to properly cite a source depends on the writing style manual your professor wants you to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note that some disciplines have their own citation rules [e.g., law].

Citations: Overview. OASIS Writing Center, Walden University; Research and Citation. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Citing Sources. University Writing Center, Texas A&M University.

Reasons for Citing Your Sources

Reasons for Citing Sources in Your Research Paper

English scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, once wrote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”* Citations support learning how to "see further" through processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time and the subsequent ways this leads to the devarication of new knowledge.

Listed below are specific reasons why citing sources is an important part of doing good research.

• Shows the reader where to find more information . Citations help readers expand their understanding and knowledge about the issues being investigated. One of the most effective strategies for locating authoritative, relevant sources about a research problem is to review materials cited in studies published by other authors. In this way, the sources you cite help the reader identify where to go to examine the topic in more depth and detail.
• Increases your credibility as an author . Citations to the words, ideas, and arguments of scholars demonstrates that you have conducted a thorough review of the literature and, therefore, you are reporting your research results or proposing recommended courses of action from an informed and critically engaged perspective. Your citations offer evidence that you effectively contemplated, evaluated, and synthesized sources of information in relation to your conceptualization of the research problem.
• Illustrates the non-linear and contested nature of knowledge creation . The sources you cite show the reader how you characterized the dynamics of prior knowledge creation relevant to the research problem and how you managed to effectively identify the contested relationships between problems and solutions proposed among scholars. Citations don't just list materials used in your study, they tell a story about how prior knowledge-making emerged from a constant state of creation, renewal, and transformation.
• Reinforces your arguments . Sources cited in your paper provide the evidence that readers need to determine that you properly addressed the “So What?” question. This refers to whether you considered the relevance and significance of the research problem, its implications applied to creating new knowledge, and its importance for improving practice. In this way, citations draw attention to and support the legitimacy and originality of your own ideas.
• Demonstrates that you "listened" to relevant conversations among scholars before joining in . Your citations tell the reader where you developed an understanding of the debates among scholars. They show how you educated yourself about ongoing conversations taking place within relevant communities of researchers before inserting your own ideas and arguments. In peer-reviewed scholarship, most of these conversations emerge within books, research reports, journal articles, and other cited works.
• Delineates alternative approaches to explaining the research problem . If you disagree with prior research assumptions or you believe that a topic has been understudied or you find that there is a gap in how scholars have understood a problem, your citations serve as the source materials from which to analyze and present an alternative viewpoint or to assert that a different course of action should be pursued. In short, the materials you cite serve as the means by which to argue persuasively against long-standing assumptions propagated in prior studies.
• Helps the reader understand contextual aspects of your research . Cited sources help readers understand the specific circumstances, conditions, and settings of the problem being investigated and, by extension, how your arguments can be fully understood and assessed. Citations place your line of reasoning within a specific contextualized framework based on how others have studied the problem and how you interpreted their findings in support of your overall research objectives.
• Frames the development of concepts and ideas within the literature . No topic in the social and behavioral sciences rests in isolation from research that has taken place in the past. Your citations help the reader understand the growth and transformation of the theoretical assumptions, key concepts, and systematic inquiries that emerged prior to your engagement with the research problem.
• Underscores what sources were most important to you . Your citations represent a set of choices made about what you determined to be the most important sources for understanding the topic. They not only list what you discovered, but why it matters and how the materials you chose to cite fit within the broader context of your research design and arguments. As part of an overall assessment of the study’s validity and reliability , the choices you make also helps the reader determine what research may have been excluded.
• Provides evidence of interdisciplinary thinking . An important principle of good research is to extend your review of the literature beyond the predominant disciplinary space where scholars have examined a topic. Citations provide evidence that you have integrated epistemological arguments, observations, and/or the methodological strategies from other disciplines into your paper, thereby demonstrating that you understand the complex, interconnected nature of contemporary research problems.
• Supports critical thinking and independent learning . Evaluating the authenticity, reliability, validity, and originality of prior research is an act of interpretation and introspective reasoning applied to assessing whether a source of information will contribute to understanding the problem in ways that are persuasive and align with your overall research objectives. Reviewing and citing prior studies represents a deliberate act of critically scrutinizing each source as part of your overall assessment of how scholars have confronted the research problem.
• Honors the achievements of others . As Susan Blum recently noted,** citations not only identify sources used, they acknowledge the achievements of scholars within the larger network of research about the topic. Citing sources is a normative act of professionalism within academe and a way to highlight and recognize the work of scholars who likely do not obtain any tangible benefits or monetary value from their research endeavors.

*Vernon. Jamie L. "On the Shoulder of Giants." American Scientist 105 (July-August 2017): 194.

**Blum, Susan D. "In Defense of the Morality of Citation.” Inside Higher Ed , January 29, 2024.

Aksnes, Dag W., Liv Langfeldt, and Paul Wouters. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories." Sage Open 9 (January-March 2019): https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019829575; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; D'Angelo, Barbara J. "Using Source Analysis to Promote Critical Thinking." Research Strategies 18 (Winter 2001): 303-309; Mauer, Barry and John Venecek. “Scholarship as Conversation.” Strategies for Conducting Literary Research, University of Central Florida, 2021; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; Newton, Philip. "Academic Integrity: A Quantitative Study of Confidence and Understanding in Students at the Start of Their Higher Education."  Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 41 (2016): 482-497; Referencing More Effectively. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Using Sources. Yale College Writing Center. Yale University; Vosburgh, Richard M. "Closing the Academic-practitioner Gap: Research Must Answer the “SO WHAT” Question." H uman Resource Management Review 32 (March 2022): 100633; When and Why to Cite Sources. Information Literacy Playlists, SUNY, Albany Libraries.

Structure and Writing Style

Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you acquired from another author’s work, and identifying where that information come from . You must cite research in order to do research, but at the same time, you must delineate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the thoughts and ideas of others. Citations help achieve this. Procedures used to cite sources vary among different fields of study. If not outlined in your course syllabus or writing assignment, always speak with your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the class because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it consistently. If your professor defers and tells you to "choose whatever you want, just be consistent," then choose the citation style you are most familiar with or that is appropriate to your major [e.g., use Chicago style if its a history class; use APA if its an education course; use MLA if it is literature or a general writing course].

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Are there any reasons I should avoid referencing other people's work? No. If placed in the proper context, r eferencing other people's research is never an indication that your work is substandard or lacks originality. In fact, the opposite is true. If you write your paper without adequate references to previous studies, you are signaling to the reader that you are not familiar with the literature on the topic, thereby, undermining the validity of your study and your credibility as a researcher. Including references in academic writing is one of the most important ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of how the research problem has been addressed. It is the intellectual packaging around which you present your thoughts and ideas to the reader.

2. What should I do if I find out that my great idea has already been studied by another researcher? It can be frustrating to come up with what you believe is a great topic only to find that it's already been thoroughly studied. However, do not become frustrated by this. You can acknowledge the prior research by writing in the text of your paper [see also Smith, 2002], then citing the complete source in your list of references. Use the discovery of prior studies as an opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the problem being investigated and, if applicable, as a means of delineating your analysis from those of others [e.g., the prior study is ten years old and doesn't take into account new variables]. Strategies for responding to prior research can include: stating how your study updates previous understandings about the topic, offering a new or different perspective, applying a different or innovative method of data gathering, and/or describing a new set of insights, guidelines, recommendations, best practices, or working solutions.

3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work? You still must cite the original work. For example, maybe you are using a table of statistics from a journal article published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or added new data to it. Reference the revised chart, such as, [adapted from Smith, 1996], then cite the complete source in your list of references. You can also use other terms in order to specify the exact relationship between the original source and the version you have presented, such as, "based on data from Smith [1996]...," or "summarized from Smith [1996]...." Citing the original source helps the reader locate where the information was first presented and under what context it was used as well as to evaluate how effectively you applied it to your own research.

4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas? You can indicate that the idea or information can be found in the works of others by stating something similar to the following example: "Though many scholars have applied rational choice theory to understanding economic relations among nations [Smith, 1989; Jones, 1991; Johnson, 1994; Anderson, 2003], little attention has been given to applying the theory to examining the influence of non-governmental organizations in a globalized economy." If you only reference one author or only the most recent study, then your readers may assume that only one author has published on this topic, or more likely, they will conclude that you have not conducted a thorough literature review. Referencing all relevant authors of prior studies gives your readers a clear idea of the breadth of analysis you conducted in preparing to study the research problem. If there has been a significant number of prior studies on the topic, describe the most comprehensive and recent works because they will presumably discuss and reference the older studies. However, note in your review of the literature that there has been significant scholarship devoted to the topic so the reader knows that you are aware of the numerous prior studies.

5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher? In the social sciences, the rationale in duplicating prior research is generally governed by the passage of time, changing circumstances or conditions, or the emergence of variables that necessitate a new investigation . If someone else has recently conducted a thorough investigation of precisely the same research problem that you intend to study, then you likely will have to revise your topic, or at the very least, review this literature to identify something new to say about the problem. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly with what you are trying to say, then you can quote from the author directly, referencing the source. Identifying an author who has made the exact same point that you want to make can be an opportunity to add legitimacy to, as well as reinforce the significance of, the research problem you are investigating. The key is to build on that idea in new and innovative ways. If you are not sure how to do this, consult with a librarian .

6. Should I cite a source even if it was published long ago? Any source used in writing your paper should be cited, regardless of when it was written. However, in building a case for understanding prior research about your topic, it is generally true that you should focus on citing more recently published studies because they presumably have built upon the research of older studies. When referencing prior studies, use the research problem as your guide when considering what to cite. If a study from forty years ago investigated the same topic, it probably should be examined and considered in your list of references because the research may have been foundational or groundbreaking at the time, even if its findings are no longer relevant to current conditions or reflect current thinking [one way to determine if a study is foundational or groundbreaking is to examine how often it has been cited in recent studies using the "Cited by" feature of Google Scholar ]. However, if an older study only relates to the research problem tangentially or it has not been cited in recent studies, then it may be more appropriate to list it under further readings .

7. Can I cite unusual and non-scholarly sources in my research paper? The majority of the citations in a research paper should be to scholarly [a.k.a., academic; peer-reviewed] studies that rely on an objective and logical analysis of the research problem based on empirical evidence that reliably supports your arguments. However, any type of source can be considered valid if it brings relevant understanding and clarity to the topic. This can include, for example, non-textual elements such as photographs, maps, or illustrations. A source can include materials from special or archival collections, such as, personal papers, manuscripts, business memorandums, the official records of an organization, or digitized collections. Citations can also be to unusual items, such as, an audio recording, a transcript from a television show, a unique set of data, or a social media post. The challenge is knowing how to properly cite unusual and non-scholarly sources because they often do not fit within standard citation rules like books or journal articles. Given this, consult with a librarian if you are unsure how to cite a source.

NOTE:   In any academic writing, you are required to identify which ideas, facts, thoughts, concepts, or declarative statements are yours and which are derived from the research of others. The only exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a commonly known fact [e.g., "George Washington was the first president of the United States"] or a statement that is self-evident [e.g., "Australia is a country in the Global South"]. Appreciate, however, that any "commonly known fact" or self-evidencing statement is culturally constructed and shaped by specific social and aesthetical biases . If you have any doubt about whether or not a fact is considered to be widely understood knowledge, provide a supporting citation, or, ask your professor for clarification about whether the statement should be cited.

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Carlock, Janine. Developing Information Literacy Skills: A Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Citing Sources . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2020; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; How to Cite Other Sources in Your Paper. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Lunsford, Andrea A. and Robert Connors; The St. Martin's Handbook . New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989; Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace . 3rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2015; Research and Citation Resources. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale Univeraity.

Other Citation Research Guides

The following USC Libraries research guide can help you properly cite sources in your research paper:

• Citation Guide

The following USC Libraries research guide offers basic information on using images and media in research:

Listed below are particularly well-done and comprehensive websites that provide specific examples of how to cite sources under different style guidelines.

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• Southern Cross University Harvard Referencing Style
• University of Wisconsin Writing Center

This is a useful guide concerning how to properly cite images in your research paper.

• Colgate Visual Resources Library, Citing Images

This guide provides good information on the act of citation analysis, whereby you count the number of times a published work is cited by other works in order to measure the impact of a publication or author.

Measuring Your Impact: Impact Factor, Citation Analysis, and other Metrics: Citation Analysis [Sandy De Groote, University of Illinois, Chicago]

Automatic Citation Generators

The links below lead to systems where you can type in your information and have a citation compiled for you. Note that these systems are not foolproof so it is important that you verify that the citation is correct and check your spelling, capitalization, etc. However, they can be useful in creating basic types of citations, particularly for online sources.

• BibMe -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles
• DocsCite -- for citing government publications in APA or MLA formats
• EasyBib -- APA, MLA, and Chicago styles
• Son of Citation Machine -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles

NOTE:   Many companies that create the research databases the USC Libraries subscribe to, such as ProQuest , include built-in citation generators that help take the guesswork out of how to properly cite a work. When available, you should always utilize these features because they not only generate a citation to the source [e.g., a journal article], but include information about where you accessed the source [e.g., the database].

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Home » How to Cite Research Paper – All Formats and Examples

How to Cite Research Paper – All Formats and Examples

Table of Contents

Research Paper Citation

Research paper citation refers to the act of acknowledging and referencing a previously published work in a scholarly or academic paper . When citing sources, researchers provide information that allows readers to locate the original source, validate the claims or arguments made in the paper, and give credit to the original author(s) for their work.

The citation may include the author’s name, title of the publication, year of publication, publisher, and other relevant details that allow readers to trace the source of the information. Proper citation is a crucial component of academic writing, as it helps to ensure accuracy, credibility, and transparency in research.

How to Cite Research Paper

There are several formats that are used to cite a research paper. Follow the guide for the Citation of a Research Paper:

Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year of Publication.

Example : Smith, John. The History of the World. Penguin Press, 2010.

Journal Article

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, vol. Volume Number, no. Issue Number, Year of Publication, pp. Page Numbers.

Example : Johnson, Emma. “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture.” Environmental Science Journal, vol. 10, no. 2, 2019, pp. 45-59.

Research Paper

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Paper.” Conference Name, Location, Date of Conference.

Example : Garcia, Maria. “The Importance of Early Childhood Education.” International Conference on Education, Paris, 5-7 June 2018.

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Title, Publisher, Date of Publication, URL.

Example : Smith, John. “The Benefits of Exercise.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 1 March 2022, https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-exercise.

News Article

Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper, Date of Publication, URL.

Example : Robinson, Sarah. “Biden Announces New Climate Change Policies.” The New York Times, 22 Jan. 2021, https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/climate/biden-climate-change-policies.html.

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of book. Publisher.

Example: Smith, J. (2010). The History of the World. Penguin Press.

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of Journal, volume number(issue number), page range.

Example: Johnson, E., Smith, K., & Lee, M. (2019). The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture. Environmental Science Journal, 10(2), 45-59.

Author, A. A. (Year of publication). Title of paper. In Editor First Initial. Last Name (Ed.), Title of Conference Proceedings (page numbers). Publisher.

Example: Garcia, M. (2018). The Importance of Early Childhood Education. In J. Smith (Ed.), Proceedings from the International Conference on Education (pp. 60-75). Springer.

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of webpage. Website name. URL

Example: Smith, J. (2022, March 1). The Benefits of Exercise. Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/benefits-of-exercise

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Newspaper name. URL.

Example: Robinson, S. (2021, January 22). Biden Announces New Climate Change Policies. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/22/climate/biden-climate-change-policies.html

Chicago/Turabian style

Please note that there are two main variations of the Chicago style: the author-date system and the notes and bibliography system. I will provide examples for both systems below.

Author-Date system:

• In-text citation: (Author Last Name Year, Page Number)
• Reference list: Author Last Name, First Name. Year. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher.
• In-text citation: (Smith 2005, 28)
• Reference list: Smith, John. 2005. The History of America. New York: Penguin Press.

Notes and Bibliography system:

• Footnote/Endnote citation: Author First Name Last Name, Title of Book (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.
• Bibliography citation: Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: John Smith, The History of America (New York: Penguin Press, 2005), 28.
• Bibliography citation: Smith, John. The History of America. New York: Penguin Press, 2005.

JOURNAL ARTICLES:

• Reference list: Author Last Name, First Name. Year. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume Number (Issue Number): Page Range.
• In-text citation: (Johnson 2010, 45)
• Reference list: Johnson, Mary. 2010. “The Impact of Social Media on Society.” Journal of Communication 60(2): 39-56.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Author First Name Last Name, “Article Title,” Journal Title Volume Number, Issue Number (Year): Page Range.
• Bibliography citation: Author Last Name, First Name. “Article Title.” Journal Title Volume Number, Issue Number (Year): Page Range.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Mary Johnson, “The Impact of Social Media on Society,” Journal of Communication 60, no. 2 (2010): 39-56.
• Bibliography citation: Johnson, Mary. “The Impact of Social Media on Society.” Journal of Communication 60, no. 2 (2010): 39-56.

RESEARCH PAPERS:

• Reference list: Author Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Paper.” Conference Proceedings Title, Location, Date. Publisher, Page Range.
• In-text citation: (Jones 2015, 12)
• Reference list: Jones, David. 2015. “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Paris, France, June 1-3, 2015. Springer, 10-20.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Author First Name Last Name, “Title of Paper,” Conference Proceedings Title, Location, Date (Place of publication: Publisher, Year), Page Range.
• Bibliography citation: Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Paper.” Conference Proceedings Title, Location, Date. Place of publication: Publisher, Year.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: David Jones, “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture,” Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Paris, France, June 1-3, 2015 (New York: Springer, 10-20).
• Bibliography citation: Jones, David. “The Effects of Climate Change on Agriculture.” Proceedings of the International Conference on Climate Change, Paris, France, June 1-3, 2015. New York: Springer, 10-20.
• In-text citation: (Author Last Name Year)
• Reference list: Author Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name. URL.
• In-text citation: (Smith 2018)
• Reference list: Smith, John. 2018. “The Importance of Recycling.” Environmental News Network. https://www.enn.com/articles/54374-the-importance-of-recycling.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Author First Name Last Name, “Title of Webpage,” Website Name, URL (accessed Date).
• Bibliography citation: Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Webpage.” Website Name. URL (accessed Date).
• Footnote/Endnote citation: John Smith, “The Importance of Recycling,” Environmental News Network, https://www.enn.com/articles/54374-the-importance-of-recycling (accessed April 8, 2023).
• Bibliography citation: Smith, John. “The Importance of Recycling.” Environmental News Network. https://www.enn.com/articles/54374-the-importance-of-recycling (accessed April 8, 2023).

NEWS ARTICLES:

• Reference list: Author Last Name, First Name. Year. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper, Month Day.
• In-text citation: (Johnson 2022)
• Reference list: Johnson, Mary. 2022. “New Study Finds Link Between Coffee and Longevity.” The New York Times, January 15.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Author First Name Last Name, “Title of Article,” Name of Newspaper (City), Month Day, Year.
• Bibliography citation: Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper (City), Month Day, Year.
• Footnote/Endnote citation: Mary Johnson, “New Study Finds Link Between Coffee and Longevity,” The New York Times (New York), January 15, 2022.
• Bibliography citation: Johnson, Mary. “New Study Finds Link Between Coffee and Longevity.” The New York Times (New York), January 15, 2022.

Harvard referencing style

Format: Author’s Last name, First initial. (Year of publication). Title of book. Publisher.

Example: Smith, J. (2008). The Art of War. Random House.

Journal article:

Format: Author’s Last name, First initial. (Year of publication). Title of article. Title of journal, volume number(issue number), page range.

Example: Brown, M. (2012). The impact of social media on business communication. Harvard Business Review, 90(12), 85-92.

Research paper:

Format: Author’s Last name, First initial. (Year of publication). Title of paper. In Editor’s First initial. Last name (Ed.), Title of book (page range). Publisher.

Example: Johnson, R. (2015). The effects of climate change on agriculture. In S. Lee (Ed.), Climate Change and Sustainable Development (pp. 45-62). Springer.

Format: Author’s Last name, First initial. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of page. Website name. URL.

Example: Smith, J. (2017, May 23). The history of the internet. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/topic/history-of-the-internet

News article:

Format: Author’s Last name, First initial. (Year, Month Day of publication). Title of article. Title of newspaper, page number (if applicable).

Example: Thompson, E. (2022, January 5). New study finds coffee may lower risk of dementia. The New York Times, A1.

IEEE Format

Author(s). (Year of Publication). Title of Book. Publisher.

Smith, J. K. (2015). The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. Random House.

Journal Article:

Author(s). (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Title of Journal, Volume Number (Issue Number), page numbers.

Johnson, T. J., & Kaye, B. K. (2016). Interactivity and the Future of Journalism. Journalism Studies, 17(2), 228-246.

Author(s). (Year of Publication). Title of Paper. Paper presented at Conference Name, Location.

Jones, L. K., & Brown, M. A. (2018). The Role of Social Media in Political Campaigns. Paper presented at the 2018 International Conference on Social Media and Society, Copenhagen, Denmark.

• Website: Author(s) or Organization Name. (Year of Publication or Last Update). Title of Webpage. Website Name. URL.

Example: National Aeronautics and Space Administration. (2019, August 29). NASA’s Mission to Mars. NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/topics/journeytomars/index.html

• News Article: Author(s). (Year of Publication). Title of Article. Name of News Source. URL.

Example: Johnson, M. (2022, February 16). Climate Change: Is it Too Late to Save the Planet? CNN. https://www.cnn.com/2022/02/16/world/climate-change-planet-scn/index.html

Vancouver Style

In-text citation: Use superscript numbers to cite sources in the text, e.g., “The study conducted by Smith and Johnson^1 found that…”.

Reference list citation: Format: Author(s). Title of book. Edition if any. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Example: Smith J, Johnson L. Introduction to Molecular Biology. 2nd ed. New York: Wiley-Blackwell; 2015.

In-text citation: Use superscript numbers to cite sources in the text, e.g., “Several studies have reported that^1,2,3…”.

Reference list citation: Format: Author(s). Title of article. Abbreviated name of journal. Year of publication; Volume number (Issue number): Page range.

Example: Jones S, Patel K, Smith J. The effects of exercise on cardiovascular health. J Cardiol. 2018; 25(2): 78-84.

In-text citation: Use superscript numbers to cite sources in the text, e.g., “Previous research has shown that^1,2,3…”.

Reference list citation: Format: Author(s). Title of paper. In: Editor(s). Title of the conference proceedings. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. Page range.

Example: Johnson L, Smith J. The role of stem cells in tissue regeneration. In: Patel S, ed. Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Regenerative Medicine. London: Academic Press; 2016. p. 68-73.

In-text citation: Use superscript numbers to cite sources in the text, e.g., “According to the World Health Organization^1…”.

Reference list citation: Format: Author(s). Title of webpage. Name of website. URL [Accessed Date].

Example: World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) advice for the public. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease/novel-coronavirus-2019/advice-for-public [Accessed 3 March 2023].

In-text citation: Use superscript numbers to cite sources in the text, e.g., “According to the New York Times^1…”.

Reference list citation: Format: Author(s). Title of article. Name of newspaper. Year Month Day; Section (if any): Page number.

Example: Jones S. Study shows that sleep is essential for good health. The New York Times. 2022 Jan 12; Health: A8.

Author(s). Title of Book. Edition Number (if it is not the first edition). Publisher: Place of publication, Year of publication.

Example: Smith, J. Chemistry of Natural Products. 3rd ed.; CRC Press: Boca Raton, FL, 2015.

Journal articles:

Author(s). Article Title. Journal Name Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.

Example: Garcia, A. M.; Jones, B. A.; Smith, J. R. Selective Synthesis of Alkenes from Alkynes via Catalytic Hydrogenation. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2019, 141, 10754-10759.

Research papers:

Author(s). Title of Paper. Journal Name Year, Volume, Inclusive Pagination.

Example: Brown, H. D.; Jackson, C. D.; Patel, S. D. A New Approach to Photovoltaic Solar Cells. J. Mater. Chem. 2018, 26, 134-142.

Author(s) (if available). Title of Webpage. Name of Website. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Example: National Institutes of Health. Heart Disease and Stroke. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health-topics/heart-disease-and-stroke (accessed April 7, 2023).

News articles:

Author(s). Title of Article. Name of News Publication. Date of Publication. URL (accessed Month Day, Year).

Example: Friedman, T. L. The World is Flat. New York Times. April 7, 2023. https://www.nytimes.com/2023/04/07/opinion/world-flat-globalization.html (accessed April 7, 2023).

In AMA Style Format, the citation for a book should include the following information, in this order:

• Title of book (in italics)
• Edition (if applicable)
• Place of publication
• Year of publication

Lodish H, Berk A, Zipursky SL, et al. Molecular Cell Biology. 4th ed. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman; 2000.

In AMA Style Format, the citation for a journal article should include the following information, in this order:

• Title of article
• Abbreviated title of journal (in italics)
• Year of publication; volume number(issue number):page numbers.

Chen H, Huang Y, Li Y, et al. Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on depression in adolescents and young adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Netw Open. 2020;3(6):e207081. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2020.7081

In AMA Style Format, the citation for a research paper should include the following information, in this order:

• Title of paper
• Name of journal or conference proceeding (in italics)
• Volume number(issue number):page numbers.

Bredenoord AL, Kroes HY, Cuppen E, Parker M, van Delden JJ. Disclosure of individual genetic data to research participants: the debate reconsidered. Trends Genet. 2011;27(2):41-47. doi:10.1016/j.tig.2010.11.004

In AMA Style Format, the citation for a website should include the following information, in this order:

• Title of web page or article
• Name of website (in italics)
• Date of publication or last update (if available)
• URL (website address)
• Date of access (month day, year)

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. How to protect yourself and others. CDC. Published February 11, 2022. Accessed February 14, 2022. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/prevent-getting-sick/prevention.html

In AMA Style Format, the citation for a news article should include the following information, in this order:

• Name of newspaper or news website (in italics)
• Date of publication

Gorman J. Scientists use stem cells from frogs to build first living robots. The New York Times. January 13, 2020. Accessed January 14, 2020. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/13/science/living-robots-xenobots.html

Bluebook Format

One author: Daniel J. Solove, The Future of Reputation: Gossip, Rumor, and Privacy on the Internet (Yale University Press 2007).

Two or more authors: Martha Nussbaum and Saul Levmore, eds., The Offensive Internet: Speech, Privacy, and Reputation (Harvard University Press 2010).

Journal article

One author: Daniel J. Solove, “A Taxonomy of Privacy,” University of Pennsylvania Law Review 154, no. 3 (January 2006): 477-560.

Two or more authors: Ethan Katsh and Andrea Schneider, “The Emergence of Online Dispute Resolution,” Journal of Dispute Resolution 2003, no. 1 (2003): 7-19.

One author: Daniel J. Solove, “A Taxonomy of Privacy,” GWU Law School Public Law Research Paper No. 113, 2005.

Two or more authors: Ethan Katsh and Andrea Schneider, “The Emergence of Online Dispute Resolution,” Cyberlaw Research Paper Series Paper No. 00-5, 2000.

WebsiteElectronic Frontier Foundation, “Surveillance Self-Defense,” accessed April 8, 2023, https://ssd.eff.org/.

News article

One author: Mark Sherman, “Court Deals Major Blow to Net Neutrality Rules,” ABC News, January 14, 2014, https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/court-deals-major-blow-net-neutrality-rules-21586820.

Two or more authors: Siobhan Hughes and Brent Kendall, “AT&T Wins Approval to Buy Time Warner,” Wall Street Journal, June 12, 2018, https://www.wsj.com/articles/at-t-wins-approval-to-buy-time-warner-1528847249.

In-Text Citation: (Author’s last name Year of Publication: Page Number)

Example: (Smith 2010: 35)

Reference List Citation: Author’s last name First Initial. Title of Book. Edition. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication.

Example: Smith J. Biology: A Textbook. 2nd ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2010.

Example: (Johnson 2014: 27)

Reference List Citation: Author’s last name First Initial. Title of Article. Abbreviated Title of Journal. Year of publication;Volume(Issue):Page Numbers.

Example: Johnson S. The role of dopamine in addiction. J Neurosci. 2014;34(8): 2262-2272.

Example: (Brown 2018: 10)

Reference List Citation: Author’s last name First Initial. Title of Paper. Paper presented at: Name of Conference; Date of Conference; Place of Conference.

Example: Brown R. The impact of social media on mental health. Paper presented at: Annual Meeting of the American Psychological Association; August 2018; San Francisco, CA.

Example: (World Health Organization 2020: para. 2)

Reference List Citation: Author’s last name First Initial. Title of Webpage. Name of Website. URL. Published date. Accessed date.

Example: World Health Organization. Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic. WHO website. https://www.who.int/emergencies/disease-coronavirus-2019. Updated August 17, 2020. Accessed September 5, 2021.

Example: (Smith 2019: para. 5)

Reference List Citation: Author’s last name First Initial. Title of Article. Title of Newspaper or Magazine. Year of publication; Month Day:Page Numbers.

Example: Smith K. New study finds link between exercise and mental health. The New York Times. 2019;May 20: A6.

Purpose of Research Paper Citation

The purpose of citing sources in a research paper is to give credit to the original authors and acknowledge their contribution to your work. By citing sources, you are also demonstrating the validity and reliability of your research by showing that you have consulted credible and authoritative sources. Citations help readers to locate the original sources that you have referenced and to verify the accuracy and credibility of your research. Additionally, citing sources is important for avoiding plagiarism, which is the act of presenting someone else’s work as your own. Proper citation also shows that you have conducted a thorough literature review and have used the existing research to inform your own work. Overall, citing sources is an essential aspect of academic writing and is necessary for building credibility, demonstrating research skills, and avoiding plagiarism.

Advantages of Research Paper Citation

There are several advantages of research paper citation, including:

• Giving credit: By citing the works of other researchers in your field, you are acknowledging their contribution and giving credit where it is due.
• Strengthening your argument: Citing relevant and reliable sources in your research paper can strengthen your argument and increase its credibility. It shows that you have done your due diligence and considered various perspectives before drawing your conclusions.
• Demonstrating familiarity with the literature : By citing various sources, you are demonstrating your familiarity with the existing literature in your field. This is important as it shows that you are well-informed about the topic and have done a thorough review of the available research.
• Providing a roadmap for further research: By citing relevant sources, you are providing a roadmap for further research on the topic. This can be helpful for future researchers who are interested in exploring the same or related issues.
• Building your own reputation: By citing the works of established researchers in your field, you can build your own reputation as a knowledgeable and informed scholar. This can be particularly helpful if you are early in your career and looking to establish yourself as an expert in your field.

About the author

Muhammad Hassan

Researcher, Academic Writer, Web developer

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• Referencing

A Quick Guide to Referencing | Cite Your Sources Correctly

Referencing means acknowledging the sources you have used in your writing. Including references helps you support your claims and ensures that you avoid plagiarism .

There are many referencing styles, but they usually consist of two things:

• A citation wherever you refer to a source in your text.
• A reference list or bibliography at the end listing full details of all your sources.

The most common method of referencing in UK universities is Harvard style , which uses author-date citations in the text. Our free Harvard Reference Generator automatically creates accurate references in this style.

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Table of contents

Referencing styles, citing your sources with in-text citations, creating your reference list or bibliography, harvard referencing examples, frequently asked questions about referencing.

Each referencing style has different rules for presenting source information. For in-text citations, some use footnotes or endnotes , while others include the author’s surname and date of publication in brackets in the text.

The reference list or bibliography is presented differently in each style, with different rules for things like capitalisation, italics, and quotation marks in references.

Your university will usually tell you which referencing style to use; they may even have their own unique style. Always follow your university’s guidelines, and ask your tutor if you are unsure. The most common styles are summarised below.

Harvard referencing, the most commonly used style at UK universities, uses author–date in-text citations corresponding to an alphabetical bibliography or reference list at the end.

Harvard Referencing Guide

Vancouver referencing, used in biomedicine and other sciences, uses reference numbers in the text corresponding to a numbered reference list at the end.

Vancouver Referencing Guide

APA referencing, used in the social and behavioural sciences, uses author–date in-text citations corresponding to an alphabetical reference list at the end.

APA Referencing Guide APA Reference Generator

MHRA referencing, used in the humanities, uses footnotes in the text with source information, in addition to an alphabetised bibliography at the end.

MHRA Referencing Guide

OSCOLA referencing, used in law, uses footnotes in the text with source information, and an alphabetical bibliography at the end in longer texts.

OSCOLA Referencing Guide

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In-text citations should be used whenever you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source (e.g. a book, article, image, website, or video).

Quoting and paraphrasing

Quoting is when you directly copy some text from a source and enclose it in quotation marks to indicate that it is not your own writing.

Paraphrasing is when you rephrase the original source into your own words. In this case, you don’t use quotation marks, but you still need to include a citation.

In most referencing styles, page numbers are included when you’re quoting or paraphrasing a particular passage. If you are referring to the text as a whole, no page number is needed.

In-text citations

In-text citations are quick references to your sources. In Harvard referencing, you use the author’s surname and the date of publication in brackets.

Up to three authors are included in a Harvard in-text citation. If the source has more than three authors, include the first author followed by ‘ et al. ‘

The point of these citations is to direct your reader to the alphabetised reference list, where you give full information about each source. For example, to find the source cited above, the reader would look under ‘J’ in your reference list to find the title and publication details of the source.

Placement of in-text citations

In-text citations should be placed directly after the quotation or information they refer to, usually before a comma or full stop. If a sentence is supported by multiple sources, you can combine them in one set of brackets, separated by a semicolon.

If you mention the author’s name in the text already, you don’t include it in the citation, and you can place the citation immediately after the name.

• Another researcher warns that the results of this method are ‘inconsistent’ (Singh, 2018, p. 13) .
• Previous research has frequently illustrated the pitfalls of this method (Singh, 2018; Jones, 2016) .
• Singh (2018, p. 13) warns that the results of this method are ‘inconsistent’.

The terms ‘bibliography’ and ‘reference list’ are sometimes used interchangeably. Both refer to a list that contains full information on all the sources cited in your text. Sometimes ‘bibliography’ is used to mean a more extensive list, also containing sources that you consulted but did not cite in the text.

A reference list or bibliography is usually mandatory, since in-text citations typically don’t provide full source information. For styles that already include full source information in footnotes (e.g. OSCOLA and Chicago Style ), the bibliography is optional, although your university may still require you to include one.

Format of the reference list

Reference lists are usually alphabetised by authors’ last names. Each entry in the list appears on a new line, and a hanging indent is applied if an entry extends onto multiple lines.

Different source information is included for different source types. Each style provides detailed guidelines for exactly what information should be included and how it should be presented.

Below are some examples of reference list entries for common source types in Harvard style.

• Chapter of a book
• Journal article

Your university should tell you which referencing style to follow. If you’re unsure, check with a supervisor. Commonly used styles include:

• Harvard referencing , the most commonly used style in UK universities.
• MHRA , used in humanities subjects.
• APA , used in the social sciences.
• Vancouver , used in biomedicine.
• OSCOLA , used in law.

Your university may have its own referencing style guide.

If you are allowed to choose which style to follow, we recommend Harvard referencing, as it is a straightforward and widely used style.

References should be included in your text whenever you use words, ideas, or information from a source. A source can be anything from a book or journal article to a website or YouTube video.

If you don’t acknowledge your sources, you can get in trouble for plagiarism .

To avoid plagiarism , always include a reference when you use words, ideas or information from a source. This shows that you are not trying to pass the work of others off as your own.

You must also properly quote or paraphrase the source. If you’re not sure whether you’ve done this correctly, you can use the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker to find and correct any mistakes.

Harvard referencing uses an author–date system. Sources are cited by the author’s last name and the publication year in brackets. Each Harvard in-text citation corresponds to an entry in the alphabetised reference list at the end of the paper.

Vancouver referencing uses a numerical system. Sources are cited by a number in parentheses or superscript. Each number corresponds to a full reference at the end of the paper.

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In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

How To Write a Research Paper

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• 4. Research Your Topic
• 5. Create an Outline
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Why are citations important?

Apa citations.

Good research projects combine data from a variety of sources and carefully document the sources of information and ideas. Research documentation usually appears in two parts: short in-text citations occurring within the actual paper and a longer, complete list of works at the end of the paper called a bibliography, reference list, or works cited page. 

Besides giving credit to the source of information or ideas, there are other great reasons to cite in your research project:

• Persuasiveness - Your writing will be more persuasive if you cite the research on which you based your own conclusions and arguments.
• Sharing - Citations make it possible for your professor and other readers to examine interesting sources that you found.
• Communication -  Correct citations helps you communicate effectively with potential peers within a discipline.
• Skills -  Correct citation demonstrates your research and documentation abilities to your professor.
• Avoid Plagiarism -  Correct citation use helps protect you from plagiarizing.

Note: a hyperlink or URL included in the text is not the same as a citation. Ex: "Higher gas prices are on the way (cnn.com/specialreport)." URLs in the text, while common on the internet, are not considered a correct form of scholarly citation.

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Don't let plagiarism errors spoil your paper

Consider your source's credibility. ask these questions:, contributor/author.

• Has the author written several articles on the topic, and do they have the credentials to be an expert in their field?
• Can you contact them? Do they have social media profiles?
• Have other credible individuals referenced this source or author?
• Book: What have reviews said about it?
• What do you know about the publisher/sponsor? Are they well-respected?
• Do they take responsibility for the content? Are they selective about what they publish?
• Take a look at their other content. Do these other articles generally appear credible?
• Does the author or the organization have a bias? Does bias make sense in relation to your argument?
• Is the purpose of the content to inform, entertain, or to spread an agenda? Is there commercial intent?
• Are there ads?
• When was the source published or updated? Is there a date shown?
• Does the publication date make sense in relation to the information presented to your argument?
• Does the source even have a date?
• Was it reproduced? If so, from where?
• If it was reproduced, was it done so with permission? Copyright/disclaimer included?

What You Need to Know About MLA Formatting

Writing a paper soon? If your assignment requires the use of Modern Language Association (MLA) style, then you're in luck! EasyBib® has tools to help you create citations for over 50 source types in this style, as well as a guide to show you how an MLA paper should be formatted. Review the guide to learn how to format a paper's title page, paragraphs, margins, quotations, abbreviations, numbers, tables, and more! There are even tips on editing, as well as on the type of paper you choose to print your paper on—yes, it's that comprehensive!

A Handy Guide for Using APA Format

Ever wonder how to cite a book with no author in APA style? Do you know how graphics should be formatted in a paper? Thanks to our EasyBib® guide on citing and formatting in American Psychological Association (APA) style, you don't have to guess anymore! We break down the guidelines for you into separate, digestible chunks of information that range from the ways to present headers, to use of abbreviations, to how to format titles for citations. There are also several helpful citation examples for you to review. Read up and start learning today!

Chicago Style Simplified

Jump start your knowledge of the Chicago Manual of Style (or Turabian style) with our structured EasyBib® guides. Each one will teach you the structure of a Chicago-style citation, followed by a real-life citation example for you to examine. Begin with our "“"Quick Guide" on citing common source types (books, magazines, newspapers, and websites). Then, discover why we have footnotes and how they work, or choose a "How to Cite" guide based on the source type you're using (e.g. photo, film, tweet, journal, blog, video on YouTube, conference paper, etc.). You're in charge of your own learning path!

Student & Teacher Blog for Better Papers

Keep your citing skills current and your writing skills fresh by reading our weekly EasyBib® Blog. You'll find articles about citing interesting source types (know how to cite a meme?), the latest updates to our tools and services, writing tips and tricks, and more! Aside from content that students (or any writer) could benefit from, we also feature posts written by educators, for educators! They discuss writing and information literacy pedagogy, present resource recommendation lists, and generally share their experience and knowledge.

Discover the EasyBib® Writing Center

Visit our writing center and explore our library of engaging guides, articles, videos, lesson plans, infographics, and other informative resources on citing, writing, and the research process. Best of all, it's free, and you can visit it anytime you need assistance. Need it now? Simply go to our homepage and input keywords based on your topic into the search bar. From there, any relevant guides will be listed with a brief description, allowing you to make an educated selection. Click on a result that fits your needs and begin reading! Easy peasy.

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MLA Works Cited Page: Format, Template & Examples

The Works Cited page is a part of research papers written in the Modern Language Association (MLA) format where all sources used by the author are listed. While writing research papers, authors may consult several sources and use their data or paraphrase parts of the original text. It is essential to give due credit to the used sources and cite them appropriately to avoid plagiarism. This list of sources offers an easy reference for readers who may want to refer to the original source for their own research.  

A well-formatted and accurate Works Cited page can provide readers with specific details to help them access that source. For example, for a journal article, in addition to basic details like author name, title, journal name, etc., the MLA Works Cited page also provides the volume and issue numbers, page numbers, publisher, etc. A Works Cited page gives credibility to the research paper, proving that the information published is accurate and backed by evidence. 

This article describes the template of an MLA Works Cited page along with examples and suggests steps to ensure accurate formatting of all entries. 

Table of Contents

• What is a Works Cited Page? 
• Basic Rules for an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Online journal article with DOI or URL 
• Online newspaper article 
• E-book 
• Specific type of e-book (Kindle, Nook) 
• Print book 
• Chapter in edited book 
• Web page with an author 
• Web page with no author 
• Web page with no author or organization 
• Blog post 
• Video 
• YouTube video 
• Image 
• Conference paper presentation 
• Dissertation from a database 
• Twitter (now X) posts 
• Format of an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Formatting Headings and Citation Titles on an MLA Works Cited Page 
• Single author 
• Two authors 
• Three or more authors 
• General rules 
• Key Takeaways 
• Frequently Asked Questions 

What is a Works Cited Page?

The MLA Works Cited page 1 lists all the sources used while writing research papers. This page is always the last one after the main content. A Works Cited page uses the official MLA format and has similar content as reference lists used by other styles such as the Chicago Manual of Style (Chicago style), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the American Medical Association (AMA). Each style uses a different format, emphasizing different elements. 

The Works Cited page helps avoid plagiarism by crediting the sources and allows readers to quickly locate the sources. Papers in MLA format should always have a Works Cited page and each entry on this page should be cited in the text at the corresponding location. 

Basic Rules for an MLA Works Cited Page

Here are some basic rules for writing the MLA Works Cited page: 2  

• Start your Works Cited list on a fresh page at the end of your paper, with the same formatting as other sections, such as one-inch margins, last name, page number, and header. 
• Align the title, “Works Cited,” at the top center. Don’t use italicization, boldfacing, quotation marks, or all-caps to highlight the title. 
• Left align the citations and arrange them alphabetically by authors’ last names. If author names are unavailable, arrange by the first letter in the title (other than A, An, or The). 
• Do not use serial numbering or bullets to list the entries. 
• Double space all citations. 
• Indent the second and subsequent lines of citations by 0.5 inches to create a hanging indent (Figure 1). 

• List page numbers of the sources correctly. If only one page of a print source is used, use the abbreviation “p.” before the page number (e.g., p. 232). If a page range is used, use “pp.” (e.g., pp. 232-38). 
• For online sources, include a location, like a URL or a digital object identifier (DOI). Delete “http://” from URLs. The DOI or URL is usually the last element in a citation. 
• End all entries with a period. 

Citing Sources in MLA

A citation in an MLA Works Cited page requires the following core elements. These elements should be written in the order given below, followed by the punctuation mark shown unless the particular element is the final element of the entry, in which case, it should end with a period. 4,5  

• Author’s name
• Title of source
• Title of the container, (a container is the larger publication in which the text is published. For example, if citing an article from a journal, the journal is the container) 
• Other editors, translators, contributors
• Publication date
• Location (page numbers in print versions; DOI or URL in online versions) 

A few optional elements can be included, if available: 

• Date of access (the date you last accessed the online source) 
• Date of original publication 
• Format of media source 

All style guides have their own specific formats for writing different sources in a reference list—journal articles, printed and digital books, videos, websites, etc. The MLA-style format for different types of sources is listed below: 4

Online journal article with DOI or URL

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal , vol., no. (issue), date of publication, pp. (if available). Database Name , DOI or URL. 

Online newspaper article

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Name of Newspaper , Publication Date, p. (if available), URL. Access date. 

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . E-book, publisher, publication year, DOI or URL (if available). 

Specific type of e-book (Kindle, Nook)

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book , editor or translator (if necessary), (Kindle/Nook) ed., publisher, year. 

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . City*, Publisher, Publication Date. 

*City is cited only if the book is published before 1900 or if the publisher has multiple offices worldwide. 

Chapter in edited book

Author’s last name, First name. Title of Book . Edited by FirstName LastName, publisher, year, page range of chapter. 

Web page with an author

Author’s last name, First name. “Title of Webpage.” Title of Website , URL. Access date. 

Web page with no author

“Title of Article.” Title of Website , date of publication, URL. Access date. 

Web page with no author or organization

“Title of Webpage.” Title of Website (if different), publication year, URL. Access date. 

Author’s last name, First Name (or, in some cases, screen name, editor, etc.). “Title of Post.” Name of Website , version or date of post, name of organization (if different), URL. Access date. 

Title of Motion Picture/Film . Directed by First Name Last Name, performances by First Name Last Name, Studio Name, Year. Access date, Media format. 

Last Name, First Name, director/writer/producer. Title of Motion Picture/Film . Studio, Year. Access date, Media format. 

YouTube video

If author is different from the uploader: 

Author Last Name, First Name. “Title of Video.” YouTube , uploaded by [Screen name], date, URL. Access date, Media format. 

If author and uploader are the same OR if there is no clear author: 

“Title of Video.” YouTube , uploaded by [Screen name], date, URL. Access date, Media format. 

Artist’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Image , date of creation, institution, city. Name of web site , URL. 

Title of Piece . Date of creation. Name of Website , URL. 

Conference paper presentation

Author’s Last Name, First Name. “Conference Paper Title.” Conference Title that Includes Date and Location , edited by Conference Editor(s). Publisher. Date of Publication. 

Dissertation from a database

Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Dissertation (Doctoral dissertation) . Database name, date of publication, URL (if available). 

Twitter (now X) posts

Twitter Handle (First Name Last Name if Known). “The entire tweet word-for-word.”  Twitter , Day Month Year of Tweet, Time of Tweet, URL. 

Format of an MLA Works Cited Page

Here’s a list of steps for formatting the MLA Works Cited page:

• Place one-inch margins around the entire document except for the “running head.” In the page setup settings, you can view and modify the margin size. 
• Double space the entire page using the “Line spacing” or “Paragraph spacing” options in your word processing program. 
• Organize the Works Cited entries in either alphabetical (by author name or title) or non-alphabetical order. 1,2

Example: 

Benjamin, Chloe. The Immortalists . Penguin, 2018. 

Black Panther . Directed by Ryan Coogler, performance by Chadwick Boseman, Marvel Studios, 2018. 

Egan, Jennifer. Manhattan Beach . Scribner, 2017. 

Formatting Headings and Citation Titles on an MLA Works Cited Page

The following points outline the basic format for headings and titles used on a Works Cited page. 1 The running head is at the top right corner of every page of the document. It displays the last name of the author and the page number (e.g., Letterman 6). 

• The running head should be placed half an inch from the top of the page and along the right side’s one-inch margin. 
• The page title (Work/Works Cited) should be written below the running head.  
• No center alignment 
• No boldfacing, italicization, or underlining 
• Same font size (12 point) and type as the entire document 
• Separated by a double space from the first citation on the page 

Consider the following rules while formatting source titles: 1,5,7,8  

• List the full title as the original source and use title case (capitalize all principal words, except articles [a, an, the], prepositions, or coordinating conjunctions [and, for, but, or, so, nor, yet] when in the middle of the title). 

Examples:  

The Code of the Exiled, Wizard of Oz, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire  

Cheyfitz, Eric. The Poetics of Imperialism: Translation and Colonization from The Tempest to Tarzan. Expanded ed., U of Pennsylvania P, 1997. 

• Separate the subtitle from the title with a colon and space. 

Goldman, Anne. “Questions of Transport: Reading Primo Levi Reading Dante.” The Georgia Review , vol. 64, no. 1, 2010, pp. 69-88. 

• Italicize titles if the source is self-contained and independent, e.g., titles of books, plays, films, periodicals, journals, magazines, databases, and websites. 

Example: Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye . Little Brown, 1991. 

• Enclose titles in quotation marks if the source is part of a larger work, e.g., articles, essays, chapters, poems, short stories, webpages, songs, television episodes, and speeches. 
• Titles beginning with numbers are placed in the reference list as if the title was written out alphabetically. 

Formatting Author Names on an MLA Work Cited Page

Few important rules to consider when formatting author names: 1,2  

Single author

• List author names alphabetically by the author’s last name (or, for entire edited collections, editor names). The format for writing author names is as follows: 

Last name, first name, middle name or middle initial  

Said, Edward W. Culture and Imperialism . Knopf, 1994. 

• To cite more than one work by the same author, order the entries alphabetically by title, and use three hyphens in place of the author’s name for every entry after the first. 

Alcott, Louisa May. “Eight Cousins.” Project Gutenberg , 2018, www.gutenberg.org/files/2726/2726-h/2726-h.htm . 

—. Little Women . Bantam Classics, 1983. 

—. Rose in Bloom . CreateSpace, 2018. 

Two authors

The first listed author’s name on the source is the first author in the reference.  

Last name, First name of author 1, and First name Last name of author 2 

Pavear, Richard, and Larissa Volokhonsky, translators. Crime and Punishment . By Feodor Dostoevsky, Vintage eBooks, 1993. 

Three or more authors

Include only the first listed author’s last name, followed by a comma and their first name, followed by another comma and then “et al.”  

Example:  

Baron, Sabrina Alcorn, et al., editors. Agent of Change: Print Culture Studies after Elizabeth L. Eisenstein. U of Massachusetts P / Center for the Book, Library of Congress, 2007. 

General rules

• Do not list titles (Dr., Sir, etc.) or degrees (PhD, MA, MD, etc.) with names but include suffixes like “Jr.” or “II.”  

King, Martin Luther, Jr. 

• Alphabetize works with no known author by their title; use a shortened version of the title in the parenthetical citations in your paper. 

Baudrillard, Jean. Simulacra and Simulations . […] 

Boring Postcards USA […] 

• To cite works by authors using a pseudonym or stage-name, cite the better-known name if the person is well known. For example, Lewis Carroll is the pseudonym of Charles Dodgson, and is the better-known name so only the pseudonym should be used. If the pseudonym is less well known, cite the real name in square brackets after the pseudonym.  

Van Dyne, Edith [L. Frank Baum]. Aunt Jane’s Nieces At Work . 1st World Library, 2006. 

Key Takeaways

To summarize, an MLA Works Cited page should have the following format: 

• Starts on a new page at the end. 
• Centered page title without any highlights. 
• Double-spaced citations, preferably in Times New Roman 12-pt font. 
• Left-justified entries with a hanging indent of 0.5 inches. 
• Source titles in title case. 
• Entries ordered by the first word, typically author name or the first word in the title (except articles a, an, the). If the title begins with a year or a number, alphabetize it as if the number/year is spelled out. 

Frequently Asked Questions

A1. The Works Cited page and references have a similar purpose; both include sources that have been specifically cited or paraphrased in the paper and whose data have been directly used. A bibliography includes a list of sources related to the content in a research paper, that is, sources that you may have consulted while writing your research paper, but may not have actually used, cited, or paraphrased from. 1   

A2. Yes, there are a few other styles for citing references, such as the Chicago Style, AMA Manual of Style, APA Manual of Style, and the IEEE style. All of these have different referencing formats. In addition, organizations may create their own referencing styles, commonly called a house style. 

A3. No, the Works Cited page should include only those sources that you have cited or whose data you have used in your research paper. Sources that you have only consulted while conducting research should be included in a bibliography. 

A4. Per MLA format, ignore symbols, such as hashtags when alphabetizing. Use the first letter in the entry to alphabetize. 9   Example:  @AP. “It’s been four years since the #MeToo movement took over social media. . . .” X, 15 Oct. 2021, https://twitter.com/AP/status/1449019990741590025.  “#MeToo Poll: Many in US More Willing to Call Out Misconduct.” Associated Press , 15 Oct. 2021, https://apnews.com/article/sexual-misconduct-metoo-79688da3a0c3519d2a76b5b6e6b23ba7.  “#MeToo Protest in Amsterdam after Allegations at TV Show.” Associated Press , 29 Jan. 2022, https://apnews.com/article/entertainment-business-arts-and-entertainment-netherlands-amsterdam-4bb589aae061e534b1a47ac453e9d85f . 

A5. Here is one way of adding a hanging indent in MS Word: 10   1. Highlight the text that you want to format.   2. Click the Home tab at the top of the page; in the “Paragraph” section click the small arrow in the lower-right corner to open a window with different paragraph setting options.   3. In that settings window, look for a section, “Indentation,” which has an option, “Special.” Click the drop-down menu beneath Special and select Hanging.   4. MS Word will mostly have the default spacing of the hanging indent set to 0.5 inches. To adjust the spacing, change the number in the By section.  5. Click OK to save and apply the hanging indent to your highlighted text. 

To summarize, an MLA Works Cited page is an essential part of a manuscript written using the MLA style and includes all sources used by the author to write the research paper. As described in the article, the Works Cited page and its entries have a specific format that should be strictly followed, and all the core elements included in the individual entries.  

We hope this article has provided a deeper understanding of the MLA style and will help you apply this format to all your Works Cited pages. 

References  

• What is a works cited page? EasyBib website. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://www.easybib.com/guides/citation-guides/mla-format/how-to-format-a-mla-works-cited-list/  
• MLA Works Cited page: Basic format. Purdue Online Writing Lab. Accessed May 14, 2024. https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/mla_style/mla_formatting_and_style_guide/mla_works_cited_page_basic_format.html  
• MLA Citation: Works Cited Example. Press Books @ MSL website. Accessed May 16, 2024. https://pressbooks.ulib.csuohio.edu/csu-fyw-rhetoric/chapter/12-4-mla-works-cited-examples/  
• MLA Works Cited Page. The University of Arizona Global Campus Writing Center. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://writingcenter.uagc.edu/mla-works-cited-page  
• Section 5. List of Works Cited. MLA Handbook eighth edition. 
• Sample MLA Works Cited Page. College of San Mateo library website. Accessed May 17, 2024. https://www.collegeofsanmateo.edu/library/docs/MLAWorksCited7.pdf  
• MLA Style Guide, 8 th & 9 th Editions: Title of Source. Accessed May 18, 2024. https://irsc.libguides.com/c.php?g=483085&p=3303403#:~:text=Italicize%20titles%20if%20the%20source,are%20placed%20in%20quotation%20marks . 
• Frequently Asked Questions about Citing Sources in MLA Format. Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Accessed May 20, 2024. https://usingsources.fas.harvard.edu/frequently-asked-questions-about-citing-sources-mla-format  
• How do I alphabetize a works-cited-list entry that begins with a hashtag or another symbol? MLA Style Center. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://style.mla.org/alphabetizing-hashtags-and-other-symbols/  
• Hanging Indents and Microsoft Word. MLA Style Center. Accessed May 21, 2024. https://style.mla.org/hanging-indents/  

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The Legacy of Juan Ponce De León: Notable Achievements and Contributions to Exploration

This essay about Juan Ponce de León highlights his significant contributions to exploration and his role in the Spanish conquest of the New World. Born in Spain in the late 15th century, Ponce de León became a seasoned navigator and leader. His expeditions, including the discovery of Florida in 1513, provided invaluable insights into new lands and laid the groundwork for future Spanish colonies. While often associated with the mythical Fountain of Youth, his primary motivations were territorial expansion and economic gain. His legacy, though marked by controversy, underscores the era’s spirit of discovery and ambition.

How it works

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Lines represent modeled weighted prevalence by survey month, modeled nonlinearly using restricted cubic splines (5 knots). Shaded bands represent SEs. Points represent observed weighted prevalence by month.

Graphs show trends by age (A), gender (B), social grade (C), children in the household (D), smoking status (E), and drinking risk status (F). Lines represent modeled weighted prevalence by survey month, modeled nonlinearly using restricted cubic splines (5 knots). Shaded bands represent SEs. Points represent observed weighted prevalence by month.

eTable 1. Weighted Characteristics of the Analysed Sample Compared With Participants Excluded on the Basis of Missing Distress Data

eTable 2. Weighted Prevalence of Psychological Distress Among Adults in England, by AUDIT-C Score and 3-Level Drinking Risk Status: Data Aggregated Across the Study Period (April 2020-December 2022)

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Jackson SE , Brown J , Shahab L , McNeill A , Munafò MR , Brose L. Trends in Psychological Distress Among Adults in England, 2020-2022. JAMA Netw Open. 2023;6(7):e2321959. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21959

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Trends in Psychological Distress Among Adults in England, 2020-2022

• 1 Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, London, United Kingdom
• 2 SPECTRUM Consortium, United Kingdom
• 3 Addictions Department, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
• 4 MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit, School of Psychological Science, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom

Question   How has the prevalence of psychological distress in the adult population of England changed since 2020?

Findings   This survey study of 51 861 adults found that the proportion reporting severe levels of distress increased steadily by 46%, from an already elevated baseline, since the start of the pandemic. This increase in severe distress occurred across all population subgroups, with the exception of older adults (aged ≥65 years), and was most pronounced in young adults (aged 18-24 years).

Meaning   These findings provide evidence of a growing mental health crisis in England and underscore an urgent need to address its cause and to adequately fund mental health services.

Importance   In the last 3 years, people in England have lived through a pandemic and cost-of-living and health care crises, all of which may have contributed to worsening mental health in the population.

Objective   To estimate trends in psychological distress among adults over this period and to examine differences by key potential moderators.

Design, Setting, and Participants   A monthly cross-sectional, nationally representative household survey of adults aged 18 years or older was conducted in England between April 2020 and December 2022.

Main Outcomes and Measures   Past-month distress was assessed with the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale. Time trends in any distress (moderate to severe, scores ≥5) and severe distress (scores ≥13) were modeled, and interactions with age, gender, occupational social grade, children in the household, smoking status, and drinking risk status were tested.

Results   Data were collected from 51 861 adults (weighted mean [SD] age, 48.6 [18.5] years; 26 609 women [51.3%]). There was little overall change in the proportion of respondents reporting any distress (from 34.5% to 32.0%; prevalence ratio [PR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99), but the proportion reporting severe distress increased by 46%, from 5.7% to 8.3% (PR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.21-1.76). Although trends differed by sociodemographic characteristics, smoking, and drinking, the increase in severe distress was observed across all subgroups (with PR estimates ranging from 1.17 to 2.16), with the exception of those aged 65 years and older (PR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.43-1.38); the increase was particularly pronounced since late 2021 among those younger than 25 years (increasing from 13.6% in December 2021 to 20.2% in December 2022).

Conclusions and Relevance   In this survey study of adults in England, the proportion reporting any psychological distress was similar in December 2022 to that in April 2020 (an extremely difficult and uncertain moment of the COVID-19 pandemic), but the proportion reporting severe distress was 46% higher. These findings provide evidence of a growing mental health crisis in England and underscore an urgent need to address its cause and to adequately fund mental health services.

Since 2020, England has undergone a period of substantial societal instability that may have contributed to worsening mental health. The COVID-19 pandemic brought with it an assortment of stressors, including fear of risk of infection, work and school closures, reduced social contact, financial strain, and uncertainty about the future. 1 - 3 There has been a cost-of-living crisis in the UK since late 2021, whereby high rates of inflation have caused the cost of everyday essentials like groceries, energy, and household bills to increase faster than average household incomes. 4 This has led to widespread industrial action since mid-2022, with unions across industries (including railways, the National Health Service, and education) striking for wage increases in line with inflation. There is also an ongoing health care crisis that has seen increased pressures on the National Health Service and across the health and social care sector, resulting in substantial delays for patients seeking emergency care. 5 , 6 These national pressures have occurred in the context of other international emergencies, including the climate crisis and the war in Ukraine. Collectively, these circumstances may have increased levels of psychological distress in the population, particularly among groups with less disposable income or other vulnerabilities. 7 It is important to understand whether, how, and among which groups there have been long-term shifts in population mental health burden, because this will have implications for service needs. 8

Mental health problems are not experienced equally across population groups. Previous studies 9 - 11 have identified a number of sociodemographic groups at greater risk of psychological distress, including younger adults, women, and people who are less socioeconomically advantaged (indicated by unemployment or lower income, education, or occupational status). Factors relating to family and household structure, including being single, living alone, and (less consistently) having children in the home have also been linked to poorer mental health, 11 - 13 as have behaviors such as smoking and heavy alcohol consumption. 14 - 17 Many of the groups who have historically had higher levels of distress have also experienced greater hardship during recent years, which may have compounded inequalities in mental health. For example, the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic had greater social and financial impacts on younger adults, women, and those with lower incomes 18 - 21 (although COVID-19 mortality rates were higher among older adults, men, and minoritized racial and ethnic groups 22 ). The cost-of-living crisis has seen particularly high rates of food insecurity in households with children and those receiving state benefits. 23 More recently, the health care crisis is likely to disproportionately affect groups who seek emergency care more frequently, including older adults, people from socioeconomically deprived areas, people who smoke, and those drinking at high-risk levels. 24 - 26

Studies 27 - 32 conducted early in the COVID-19 pandemic showed an acute increase in psychological distress and mental health symptoms in the UK population. Although these changes were observed across most population subgroups sampled, some studies reported greater deterioration in mental health among certain groups, including younger adults, women, those with greater socioeconomic disadvantage, and those with children in the home, 27 , 28 , 32 - 35 the same groups experiencing greater social and financial impacts early in the pandemic. 18 - 21 According to the nationally representative UK Household Longitudinal Study, 35 the prevalence of clinically significant distress returned to prepandemic levels by September 2020, after restrictions on social interaction were eased. However, levels of distress increased again when the second wave of COVID-19 hit the UK in late 2020, with a particularly pronounced increase among those with school-aged children at home. 33 How levels of psychological distress have continued to change in the context of subsequent waves of the pandemic, the cost-of-living crisis, the health care crisis, and other global issues—and the extent to which changes have differed between groups—is not known.

The Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study has been collecting data on psychological distress from a representative sample of adults in England each month since April 2020 (the first wave of data collected after the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect England in March 2020). It is, therefore, well placed to provide up-to-date descriptive information on levels of psychological distress and insight into trends over the entirety of this unstable period to date. This study used these data to estimate time trends in psychological distress and to explore differences by key potential moderators to identify high-risk groups. Specifically, we aimed to address 2 research questions. First, how has the prevalence of any and severe past-30-day psychological distress among adults in England changed since April 2020? Second, to what extent have changes in any and severe past-30-day psychological distress differed by age, gender, socioeconomic position (indexed by occupational social grade), presence of children in the household, smoking status, and drinking risk status?

This survey study used data from the ongoing Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study, a monthly cross-sectional survey of a representative sample of adults (aged ≥18 years) living in households in England. 36 , 37 The study uses a hybrid of random probability and simple quota sampling to select a new sample of approximately 1700 adults each month. Since April 2020, data have been collected via computer-assisted telephone interview. Comparisons with other national surveys indicate that key variables such as sociodemographic characteristics are nationally representative. 36 For the present study, we analyzed trends in psychological distress in the period from April 2020 (the first data collected after the COVID-19 pandemic began to affect England) to December 2022 (the most recent data available at the time of analysis).

Ethical approval for the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study was granted originally by the University College London ethics committee. The data are collected by Ipsos Mori and are anonymized when received by University College London. All participants provide verbal informed consent. The study conformed to American Association for Public Opinion Research ( AAPOR ) reporting guideline for survey research.

Psychological distress was measured using the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale, which measures nonspecific psychological distress in the past month. 38 , 39 It uses 6 questions: “During the past 30 days, about how often, if at all, did you feel (1) nervous, (2) hopeless, (3) restless or fidgety, (4) so depressed that nothing could cheer you up, (5) that everything was an effort, and (6) worthless?”

Responses were a 5-point scale, from 0 (none of the time) to 4 (all of the time) and were summed across items to produce a total score ranging from 0 to 24. We used established cutoffs to define severe (scores ≥13), moderate (scores 5-12) and no or minimal (scores <5) psychological distress. 40 We analyzed any moderate or severe distress (scores ≥5) as our primary outcome referred to as any distress, and severe distress (scores ≥13) as a secondary outcome.

Age was categorized as 18 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 49, 50 to 64, or 65 or more years. Gender was self-reported as man, woman, or in another way and summarized descriptively. Those who identify in another way were excluded from the trend analyses by gender because of the low numbers.

Occupational social grade was categorized as AB (higher and intermediate managerial, administrative, and professional), C1 (supervisory, clerical and junior managerial, administrative, and professional), C2 (skilled manual workers), D (semiskilled and unskilled manual workers), and E (state pensioners, casual and lowest grade workers, and unemployed with state benefits only). 41 The number of children in the household was self-reported and categorized as 0, 1, or 2 or more. Smoking status was self-reported and categorized as current, former, or never smoking.

Drinking risk status was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption. Scores of 5 or higher were defined as drinking at increasing or higher-risk levels (ie, levels that increase someone’s risk of harm), and scores less than 5 were defined as drinking at low-risk levels or not drinking. 42

The analysis plan was preregistered on Open Science Framework. 43 Data were analyzed in R statistical software version 4.2.1 (R Project for Statistical Computing). We excluded participants with missing data on our outcome of interest (psychological distress). Those with missing data on potential moderators were excluded on a per-analysis basis.

The Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study uses raking to weight the sample to the population in England on the dimensions of age, social grade, region, housing tenure, ethnicity, and working status within sex. 44 This profile is determined each month by combining data from the 2011 UK Census, the Office for National Statistics midyear estimates, and the annual National Readership Survey. 36 The following analyses used weighted data.

We used log-binomial regression to test the association of (1) any and (2) severe psychological distress with survey month. Survey month was modeled using restricted cubic splines with 5 knots, to allow associations with time to be flexible and nonlinear, while avoiding categorization.

To explore moderation by age, gender, social grade, presence of children in the household, smoking, and drinking risk status, we repeated the models including the interaction between the moderator of interest and survey month, thus allowing for time trends to differ across subgroups. Each of the interactions was tested in a separate model. Two-sided P < .05 was considered statistically significant. We used predicted estimates from our models to plot the prevalence of each outcome over the study period (overall and by moderating variables), alongside unadjusted (weighted) data, and reported prevalence ratios (PRs) for the change in prevalence across the whole time-series (December 2022 vs April 2020) alongside 95% CIs calculated using bootstrapping.

A total of 53 370 adults in England participated in the Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study between April 2020 and December 2022 (mean [SD], 1617 [42.1] participants per month). We excluded 1509 participants (2.8%) with missing data on distress, leaving an analytic sample of 51 861 participants (weighted mean [SD] age, 48.6 [18.5] years; 26 609 women [51.3%]). Compared with the analyzed sample, the group excluded for missing distress overrepresented people who were aged 18 to 24 years or 65 years and older, described their gender in another way, were from social grades C1 and E, currently smoked, drank at low-risk levels or not at all, and those who were surveyed in 2022 (eTable 1 in Supplement 1 ).

Across the study period, 30.0% of adults reported any distress, and 6.2% reported severe distress ( Table 1 ). Groups with notably higher prevalence of any and severe distress included younger adults, women and those who describe their gender in another way, those from less advantaged social grades, and those who currently smoke ( Table 1 ). In addition, those with 1 child in the household had slightly higher prevalence of any distress than those with no children or 2 or more children, and those not drinking or drinking at low-risk levels had slightly higher prevalence of severe distress than those drinking at high-risk levels ( Table 1 ). When we looked at differences by drinking risk status in more detail in an unplanned analysis, using the full spectrum of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test–Consumption scores, we saw the highest prevalence at either ends of the scale (ie, among those with the highest scores and not drinking; see eTable 2 in Supplement 1 ).

The proportion of adults reporting any distress decreased from 34.5% to 28.0% between April 2020 and May 2021, then increased to 32.0% by December 2022 ( Figure 1 ), such that there was little overall change from the start to the end of the study period (PR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-0.99) ( Table 2 ). A significant overall decrease in any distress between April 2020 and December 2022 was observed among those aged 65 years and older (PR, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.46-0.68), women (PR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78-0.93), those from social grade C1 (PR, 0.86; 95% CI, 0.78-0.95), those with no children in the household (PR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82-0.97), those reporting never smoking (PR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.81-0.996) or former smoking (PR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.75-0.98), and those not drinking or drinking at low-risk levels (PR, 0.85; 95% CI, 0.78-0.93). No significant changes were observed in other subgroups (with PR estimates ranging from 0.88 to 1.08) ( Table 2 ).

However, trends in the prevalence of any distress within the study period differed significantly by all sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics ( Figure 2 ). People aged 65 years and older showed different patterns of any distress compared with younger age groups—a more pronounced decline during 2020 and a decrease in any distress since late 2021—whereas the prevalence increased among younger adults ( Figure 2 A). There was a decrease in any distress during 2020 among women, but little change among men ( Figure 2 B). After an initial decrease in any distress across social grades (with the exception of C2, where the prevalence was stable), the subsequent increase occurred soonest among those in social grade E and latest among those in social grades AB (with C2 the only group to show a fall in 2022) ( Figure 2 C). People with 1 child in the household had the highest prevalence of any distress in April 2020 and a more pronounced decline through mid-2021; in addition, from late 2021, there was an increase in any distress among those with 1 or more children in the household, whereas the prevalence remained stable among those with no children in the household ( Figure 2 D). People who used to smoke showed a more pronounced decline in any distress during 2020 than those who currently or never smoked, and those who currently smoke showed a more pronounced increase since mid-2021 ( Figure 2 E). Those not drinking or drinking at low-risk levels showed a more pronounced decline in any distress during 2020 than those drinking at high-risk levels, and the latter group showed a more pronounced increase in any distress in 2022 ( Figure 2 F).

The proportion of adults reporting severe distress increased by 46% between April 2020 and December 2022 (PR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.21-1.76) ( Table 2 ), increasing steadily from 5.7% to 8.3% with no period of decline ( Figure 1 ). An overall increase in severe distress between April 2020 and December 2022 was observed across all subgroups (with PR estimates ranging from 1.17 to 2.16) ( Table 2 ), with the exception of those aged 65 years and older (PR, 0.79; 95% CI, 0.43-1.38). Of note, the proportion reporting severe distress increased by 9 percentage points among people younger than 25 years and by 5 percentage points among those from the most disadvantaged social grades (D and E) and current smokers.

Time trends in the prevalence of severe distress within the study period differed significantly by age ( P  for interaction = .01) and drinking risk status ( P  for interaction < .001). From late 2021, there was a sharp increase in severe distress among participants aged 18 to 24 years (from 13.6% in December 2021 to 20.2% in December 2022); smaller increases among those aged 25 to 34 years (from 9.9% in December 2021 to 11.7% in December 2022), those aged 35 to 49 years (from 6.1% in December 2021 to 7.2% in December 2022), and those aged 50 to 64 years (from 4.9% in December 2021 to 6.2% in December 2022); and no change among those aged 65 years and older (2.5% at both time points). Nearer the end of the study (April 2022 to December 2022), there was an increase in severe distress among those drinking at high-risk levels (from 6.2% to 9.7%), whereas levels remained stable among those not drinking or drinking at low-risk levels (at approximately 7%) ( Figure 3 F). Tests of interactions were inconclusive across other characteristics (with P for interaction ranging from .06 to .11) ( Figure 3 ).

Between April 2020 and December 2022, there was little overall change in the proportion of adults in England reporting any distress (declining from 34.5% to 32.0%; PR, 0.93) but the proportion reporting severe distress increased by almost one-half from 5.7% to 8.3% (PR, 1.46). Within this period, the prevalence of any distress declined between April 2020 and May 2021 and then returned to slightly below baseline levels by December 2022, whereas the prevalence of severe distress increased consistently. It is important to note that the baseline assessment was conducted in April 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were experiencing substantial disruption to their daily lives and fear and anxiety about the pandemic (eg, they or loved ones contracting and becoming seriously ill from COVID-19) were at their highest. 45 Other studies documented a notable increase in distress during the early months of the pandemic; for example, in the UK Household Longitudinal Study (a nationally representative panel study), the prevalence of clinically significant psychological distress (defined as a score of ≥4 of 12 on the General Health Questionnaire–12) increased from 21% before the pandemic (2019) to 30% in April 2020. 35 This makes our findings even more concerning: the prevalence of any distress among adults in England at the end of the study (in December 2022) was only slightly lower than at the start of the pandemic, and the prevalence of severe distress was 46% higher.

There was a pronounced age gradient across the study period, with the lowest prevalence of both any and severe distress among the oldest age group (aged ≥65 years) and the highest prevalence among the youngest group (aged 18-24 years). The decline in any distress during the first year of the study was particularly pronounced among those aged 65 years and older. The participants aged 65 years and older were also the only subgroup we looked at not to show an increase in severe distress. Given that the health risks associated with COVID-19 were greatest for this age group, 22 this group had the most reason to have comparatively high levels of distress at the start of this period. Over time, they benefited the most from the continued rollout of the vaccination program in terms of their reduction in risk of severe COVID-19 outcomes. 46 Meanwhile, those aged 18 to 24 years showed the sharpest increase in severe distress, particularly in the last year of the study (increasing from 13.6% in December 2021 to 20.2% in December 2022). This younger group may have been more affected than older groups by recent stressors, such as the cost-of-living crisis (because they typically have less disposable income 47 ), the climate crisis, and war in Ukraine. Regardless of the cause, the fact that 1 in 5 young adults reports severe distress is a cause for concern and warrants action by policy makers.

As has been observed in previous studies, 35 , 48 women reported higher levels of distress than men. There was a decrease in any distress in 2020 among women but little change among men, which narrowed the gender gap but did not close it entirely. This result may reflect easing of the childcare burden during the COVID-19 pandemic, which disproportionately fell on women. 19 , 20 The prevalence of distress was also very high among those who described their gender in another way—substantially greater than those identifying as women or men—across the whole period, but we were unable to analyze trends in this group owing to the small sample size.

Occupational social grade was negatively associated with distress, consistent with previous literature documenting a substantial socioeconomic gradient in health, including mental health and well-being. 49 , 50 The increases in prevalence of any and severe distress we observed occurred soonest among social grade E (the most disadvantaged group). This group started from a high baseline and experienced a large 5 percentage point increase in severe distress. This may be explained by this group being hit earlier by the cost-of-living crisis, because they had less disposable income to absorb increasing costs of household essentials. A survey 51 conducted in July 2022 found that almost one-half (42%) of people living in the most deprived quintile of areas in England had cut back on food and essentials since the cost-of-living crisis began, compared with 27% in the least deprived quintile.

Patterns of distress varied by the number of children in the household. Those with 1 child had the highest prevalence of any distress at the start of the study period in April 2020 than those with none or multiple children. It is possible that this may be because 2 or more children provided company for each other, meaning parents were less worried about a lack of interaction with peers or the need to provide entertainment during lockdown. There was an increase in any distress among those with 1 or more children since late 2021, which may be linked to the additional strain having children puts on household budgets 52 in the context of the cost-of-living crisis. Parents may also be concerned about their children’s futures, for example due to impending climate hazards.

The prevalence of distress was elevated among those who currently smoked. It is a common misconception that smoking helps to relieve stress, 53 when in fact levels of distress are typically higher among people who smoke and decrease when people quit. 54 The most pronounced decline in any distress in the early part of the study period was observed among people who reported former smoking. This was likely confounded with age, since former smokers are, on average, older than never and current smokers. 55 Similarly, the increase in any distress in the later part of the study was more pronounced among those who currently smoked, which is likely confounded with social grade as smoking is much more common among socioeconomically disadvantaged groups. 56

Levels of distress were similar between those drinking at high-risk levels and those not drinking or drinking at low-risk levels. This was explained by relatively higher prevalence of distress among people not drinking, which may be caused by those in poor health (and thereby greater distress) abstaining from drinking 57 (levels of distress were higher among those drinking at high-risk than those reporting low-risk levels of consumption). There was a more pronounced increase in distress near the end of the study period among those drinking at high-risk levels. It is possible that people experiencing distress related to the cost-of-living crisis or other stressors around this period were using alcohol as a coping strategy. 58 The high burden of mental health problems in England is not necessarily a new concern, 59 but the COVID-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis, and other stressors appear to have exacerbated the problem and caused existing inequalities in mental health to deepen. Groups with particularly high prevalence of distress include young adults, women, those who describe their gender in another way, people from more disadvantaged social grades, and people who smoke. Mitigating and managing these mental health needs requires adequately resourced services. 60

This study had several limitations. Because it was a household survey, people too unwell to participate or those living in institutions were excluded, so the findings may underestimate levels of distress by excluding those experiencing severe mental health problems. In addition, although the sample was representative, the small proportion (2.8%) of participants who did not respond to the measure of distress tended to belong to groups with higher levels of distress (eg, those aged 18-24 years or describing their gender in another way), which may bias estimates of prevalence downward, as has been noted in previous studies. 61 The numbers of participants reporting severe distress were small, limiting statistical power to detect significant differences in time trends between subgroups. Data on psychological distress were not collected in the survey before April 2020, so we were unable to draw comparisons with the prepandemic period. In addition, the survey did not capture other variables that may have been associated with changes in distress since April 2020, such as ethnicity, family circumstances (eg, living alone and marital status), economic factors (eg, job loss and food insecurity), or health status (eg, disability and diagnosed conditions). Nonetheless, it provides a comprehensive summary of trends in distress over this period. Although we have speculated on the potential causes of the patterns of distress we have observed across population groups, further research (eg, qualitative) is required to provide deeper insight into the factors that have caused a surge in the proportion of adults experiencing distress, how they differ between population groups, and how to reduce their impact.

In this survey study of adults in England, the proportion reporting any psychological distress was similar in December 2022 to that in April 2020 (an extremely difficult and uncertain moment of the COVID-19 pandemic), and the proportion reporting severe distress was 46% higher. This burden has been compounded by a particularly sharp increase in severe distress since 2021 among young adults. Because not all people experiencing distress or other symptoms of mental health problems will seek treatment, continued monitoring outside of clinical populations is important for understanding the scale of the mental health crisis in England and introducing measures to address it.

Accepted for Publication: May 22, 2023.

Published: July 6, 2023. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.21959

Open Access: This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the CC-BY License . © 2023 Jackson SE et al. JAMA Network Open .

Corresponding Author: Sarah E. Jackson, PhD, Department of Behavioural Science and Health, University College London, 1-19 Torrington Pl, London WC1E 7HB, United Kingdom ( [email protected] ).

Author Contributions: Dr Jackson and Prof Brown had full access to all of the data in the study and take responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

Concept and design: Jackson, Brown, Munafò, Brose.

Acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data: Jackson, Brown, Shahab, McNeill, Brose.

Drafting of the manuscript: Jackson, Munafò.

Critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content: Brown, Shahab, McNeill, Brose.

Statistical analysis: Jackson.

Obtained funding: Brown, Shahab, Brose.

Administrative, technical, or material support: Shahab.

Conflict of Interest Disclosures: Prof Brown reported receiving grants from Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer outside the submitted work. No other disclosures were reported.

Funding/Support: This work was supported by the UK Prevention Research Partnership (grant MR/S037519/1), which is funded by the British Heart Foundation, Cancer Research UK, Chief Scientist Office of the Scottish Government Health and Social Care Directorates, Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, Economic and Social Research Council, Health and Social Care Research and Development Division (Welsh Government), Medical Research Council, National Institute for Health Research, Natural Environment Research Council, Public Health Agency (Northern Ireland), and The Health Foundation and Wellcome. Cancer Research UK (PRCRPG-Nov21\100002) funded the core Smoking and Alcohol Toolkit Study data collection and Dr Jackson’s salary.

Role of the Funder/Sponsor: The funders had no role in the design and conduct of the study; collection, management, analysis, and interpretation of the data; preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript; and decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

Data Sharing Statement: See Supplement 2 .

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• Epistemic injustice, healthcare disparities and the missing pipeline: reflections on the exclusion of disabled scholars from health research
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• http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3868-5765 Joanne Hunt 1 ,
• http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0205-1165 Charlotte Blease 1 , 2
• 1 Department of Women's and Children's Health , Uppsala University , Uppsala , Sweden
• 2 Digital Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Harvard Medical School , Boston , Massachusetts , USA
• Correspondence to Joanne Hunt, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Uppsala University, Uppsala 751 05, Sweden; joanne.hunt{at}uu.se

People with disabilities are subject to multiple forms of health-related and wider social disparities; carefully focused research is required to inform more inclusive, safe and effective healthcare practice and policy. Through lived experience, disabled people are well positioned to identify and persistently pursue problems and opportunities within existing health provisions that may be overlooked by a largely non-disabled research community. Thus, the academy can play an important role in shining a light on the perspectives and insights from within the disability community, and combined with policy decisions, these perspectives and insights have a better opportunity to become integrated into the fabric of public life, within healthcare and beyond. However, despite the potential benefits that could be yielded by greater inclusivity, in this paper we describe barriers within the UK academy confronting disabled people who wish to embark on health research. We do this by drawing on published findings, and via the lived experience of the first author, who has struggled for over 3 years to find an accessible PhD programme as a person with energy limiting conditions who is largely confined to the home in the UK. First, we situate the discussion in the wider perspective of epistemic injustice in health research. Second, we consider evidence of epistemic injustice among disabled researchers, focusing primarily on what philosophers Kidd and Carel (2017, p 184) describe as ‘strategies of exclusion’. Third, we offer recommendations for overcoming these barriers to improve the pipeline of researchers with disabilities in the academy.

• Disabled Persons
• Quality of Health Care

Data availability statement

Data sharing not applicable as no datasets generated and/or analysed for this study.

This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See:  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ .

https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2023-109837

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Introduction

People with disabilities have been described as an ‘unrecognized health disparity population’. 1 Health disparity (or health inequity) is understood as an avoidable and unjust difference in health or healthcare outcomes experienced by social, geographical or demographic groups with a history of socioeconomic, political or cultural discrimination and exclusion. 1 2 Despite the passage of landmark disability legislation, including the UK Equality Act 2010, the US Americans with Disabilities Act 1990 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (adopted in 2006), disability-related health and healthcare disparities persist. Disabled people report lower levels of well-being on average compared with non-disabled people, are at increased risk of physical and mental comorbidity and are more likely to die younger. 1–3 There are multiple reasons as to why health disparities persist along the lines of disability; however, prejudicial biases, engendering structural barriers to care, play a critical part. For example, recently, the WHO 2 reported that people with disabilities are significantly more likely to perceive discrimination and stigma in healthcare contexts compared with non-disabled people. This is supported by a wealth of literature from across the world revealing institutional, physical and attitudinal healthcare barriers for disabled people, including medical professionals’ ambivalence or lack of understanding towards disability, lack of confidence vis-à-vis providing quality care and physically inaccessible clinics and clinical equipment. 4–7

Health and healthcare-related disparities also intersect with broader social disparities. For example, people with disabilities are less likely to be employed and earn less when they are in work, despite the fact that disability incurs higher living costs. 2 In the UK, government data from 2021 reveal a disability employment gap of 28%, 8 with a disability pay gap of 14%. 9 Recent figures from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics 10 indicate that the unemployment rate among disabled people is over twice the rate for non-disabled people, with similar trends across other countries. 2 Perhaps unsurprisingly, disabled people are also more likely to live in poverty than their non-disabled counterparts. 2 11 Compounding matters is structural disablism: discrimination and stigma (woven into collective attitudes, organisational policies, legislation and infrastructure) that often go unnoticed by non-disabled people but can take a serious toll on individuals living with disabilities. In 2023, the UK’s Office for National Statistics reported that the suicide rate was higher among people with disabilities than any other demographic group. 12

To better understand and address such disparities, carefully focused research is needed. 2 In this regard, people with lived experience of chronic illness and disability can offer unique insights that can strengthen and help drive richer research, where disabled people are positioned equally as co-researchers, as opposed to the traditional dynamic of disabled ‘research subject’ to be passively studied. Through first-hand experience, via experiential or standpoint epistemology, 13 disabled researchers are often well positioned to understand how health-related policies and practices (informed through largely non-disabled research communities) may unwittingly harm or otherwise disadvantage disabled persons. 14 Researchers with disabilities may also be more motivated and well placed to perceive knowledge gaps, and to pose penetrating and uncomfortable questions necessary to galvanise change. Embracing viewpoint diversity, and the input of disabled researchers, could therefore represent a powerful pathway to improve understanding and to develop more inclusive health and healthcare policy and practice.

The history of the disabled people’s movement within the UK, 15–17 whereby disabled scholar-activists entered the academy and contributed to profound changes in social practice and policy, constitutes an exemplar of the potential value of viewpoint diversity and disability standpoint, the legacy of which continues today, most notably within disability studies, but also more widely within critical social sciences and humanities. 18–20 However, within health sciences—particularly those tightly tied to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)—there appear to be greater barriers to including disabled scholars and integrating disabled knowledges. 21–23 For example, research shows that the percentage of people with a declared disability is lower in STEM subjects relative to non-STEM subjects at first degree, postgraduate level and within the academic workforce. 22 Moreover, a 2020 data analysis brief from the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group on Diversity and Inclusion in STEM 23 reported that the UK STEM workforce had a lower representation of disabled people relative to the rest of the UK workforce (11% vs 14%). Here, it is noteworthy that the analysis used the wider definition of STEM, that of ‘STEM(H)’ which specifically includes health and related fields. 23 Such exclusions are further compounded by intersectionality, the intersection and co-constitution of multiple forms of social (dis)advantage. 24 Indeed, the intersection of disability with other minoritised identities 19 21 23 is yet another reason to promote disability inclusion within the academy and beyond.

Despite the potential benefits that could be yielded by greater inclusivity, in this paper we describe barriers within the UK academy confronting disabled people who wish to embark on health research. We do this by drawing on published findings, and via the lived experience of the first author (hereafter, ‘JH’) who has struggled for over 3 years to find an accessible PhD programme in the UK as a person with ‘energy limiting conditions’ (ELC) 25 26 who is largely confined to the home. First, we situate the discussion in the wider perspective of epistemic injustice in health research. Second, we consider evidence of epistemic injustice among disabled researchers, in particular those with ELC, by situating this in the legal context in the UK, and by detailing the nature of barriers experienced. Third, we offer recommendations for overcoming these barriers in the academy.

A note on nomenclature: we recognise that person-first language (‘people with disabilities’) is the globally prevalent form. 18 As a self-identifying disabled person broadly ascribing to the British social model of disability, 16 17 JH tends towards identity-first language (‘disabled people’). Therefore, while recognising the semantic and ideological divergences embedded within different forms of disability-related language, 18 we have chosen to adopt both forms in this paper to reflect our case for viewpoint diversity.

Additionally, while recognising the heterogeneity of disability and disability-related exclusions, 19 we focus on ELC: health conditions that share energy impairment as a key experience and substrate of disability discrimination or disablism.

ELC include but are not limited to ‘medically unexplained’ or contested conditions such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome, alongside ‘rare’ conditions such as Ehlers-Danlos syndromes. 25 26 Since ELC do not conform to socially prevalent (fixed, non-fluctuating, easily identifiable) stereotypes of disability, disablism largely manifests as clinical and social disbelief, resulting in ELC being poorly recognised and poorly researched through the lens of disability rights and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI). 25 26 Equally, while we focus on exclusions within the academic space, it is important to note that people with ELC (and wider disabled communities) are subject to marginalisation and exclusion in all social arenas, including education, employment and the healthcare system itself. 25–28 Moreover, measures to improve physical inclusion (such as wheelchair-accessible environments) are oftentimes ineffective or insufficient among people with ELC who are confined to the home, thus furthering marginalisation of this group. In this respect, we recognise that people diagnosed with mental health conditions (notably but not limited to agoraphobia or social anxiety) may be confined to the home and are subject to similar dynamics of disability-related disbelief and associated exclusions as evidenced in the ELC arena. 29–31 Therefore, while we focus on ELC, the following discussion and recommendations for academic inclusion may benefit others with ‘hidden’ or poorly recognised health conditions.

The importance of ELC-specific research is arguably amplified by the emergence of long COVID, another condition that sits well within the ELC umbrella. 26 The concept of ELC arose from research led by disabled people within and outside of the UK academy 25 26 and thus represents an example of the potential value of ‘disability standpoint’ in contributing to health and healthcare-related research gaps. Nevertheless, there is very little peer-reviewed academic literature explicitly focusing on ELC (for recent exceptions see ref 32–34 ). To our knowledge, and motivating this paper, there is no research exploring academic exclusions in the ELC arena through a lens of epistemic injustice.

Epistemic injustice

Epistemic injustice refers to a variety of wrongs perpetrated against individuals in their capacity as a knower or contributor to knowledge. According to philosopher Miranda Fricker, 35 it takes two forms: testimonial injustice and hermeneutic injustice. The former arises when an individual is unfairly discriminated against with respect to their capacity to know or contribute to knowledge. This form of injustice often arises because of negative stereotypes about a demographic group. For example, in the case of disability, testimonial injustice may take the form of global, unjustified prejudices about the intellectual or bodily capacity of disabled individuals to contribute to knowledge. Disabled people may, for example, be seen as lacking the stamina, strength, reliability or acuity to offer useful insights. Philosophers of medicine Ian Kidd and Havi Carel 36 sum it up as a ‘pre-emptive derogation of the epistemic credibility and capacities of ill persons’ that involves ‘a prior view, for instance, of ill persons being confused, incapable or incompetent, that distorts an evaluation of their actual epistemic performance’. Testimonial injustice can take the form of implicit or explicit discrimination on the part of the hearer, leading to an outright dismissal or discrediting of the contribution of individuals to discussions in which they might otherwise offer valuable insights.

As others have argued, many people with disabilities may have acquired valuable knowledge about their condition through lived experience that renders them experts on aspects of their illness, the nature of health services and the quality of provider care. 27 37 38 Notwithstanding, it is also important to clarify that living with an illness need not automatically afford epistemic privilege. Rather, the point is that a finer awareness is needed to move past unhelpful stereotyping, to appreciate the contributions to knowledge that individuals may make. This, with a view to avoiding global or unwarranted assumptions about the credibility of individuals’ contributions to knowledge formation activities.

Hermeneutic injustice represents a wrong which Fricker describes as the set of structural and social problems that arise because ‘both speaker and hearer are labouring with the same inadequate tools’. 35 This form of injustice arises when individuals are precluded from accessing, or can only partially access, resources that could improve understanding about their experiences. Because of this asymmetry, those with unequal access to resources can suffer additional disadvantages that serve to further undermine their status and impede understanding about their condition. Kidd and Carel describe two kinds of means—which they dub ‘strategies’—by which hermeneutic injustice can be explicitly or implicitly perpetuated. 39 The first includes a range of structural barriers to participation in practices whereby knowledge is formed. Kidd and Carel argue that these can encompass physical barriers and subtler exclusions such as employing specific terminologies and conventions that serve to exclude the participation of disadvantaged people who might otherwise usefully contribute to knowledge. 39 A related, second strategy of exclusion, they argue, is the downgrading of certain forms of expression (such as first-person experiences, affective styles of presentation or vernacular) as evidence of the diminished credibility of the marginalised group. This demotion, Kidd and Carel contend, serves to further frustrate the efforts of the disadvantaged individual to participate, compounding ‘epistemic disenfranchisement’. 39 In this way, hermeneutic injustice can lead to a vicious, self-perpetuating cycle of testimonial injustice.

In what follows, we focus primarily on evidence of hermeneutic injustice, including strategies of exclusion among disabled researchers with ELC, who are largely or completely confined to the home and who seek to contribute to knowledge formation activities within the UK academy. Before we delve into the evidence, however, we offer some contextual caveats. First, it is important to offer some legal context with respect to disability rights. On the most charitable analysis, we acknowledge that not every individual who is disabled can expect to participate in every research context. For example, some barriers—such as the design or location of laboratories—might preclude full participation among some disabled researchers even with significant adaptations. Our aim then is to examine forms of epistemic injustice that pertain to ‘reasonable adjustments’, a legal term that we will unpack. Since our focus is on barriers to people with disabilities in British universities, we focus on UK legislation; however, what we have to say doubtlessly applies to other countries and regions.

Evidence of epistemic injustice among disabled researchers

Background on uk disability legislation.

Under Section 20 of the UK Equality Act 2010, higher education providers in England, Scotland and Wales are legally bound to provide ‘reasonable adjustments’ for people with disabilities who require them. 40 Section 6 of the Act defines disability as the experience of an impairment that has a ‘substantial’, long-term adverse impact on a person’s ability to engage in daily activities. Section 20 clarifies that the duty to make reasonable adjustments exists where any provisions or criteria offered or required by education providers place disabled people at a ‘substantial’ disadvantage relative to non-disabled people. 40

Health scholars have identified vagueness and therefore ambiguities in how qualifiers such as ‘substantial’ and ‘reasonable’ are interpreted. 41 Moreover, it has been contended that ‘reasonable adjustments’ rely on a non-disabled and potentially ableist perspective of what is reasonable, while also placing the burden to prove eligibility for adjustments onto disabled people, thus individualising the structural problem of normalised discrimination. 42 As previously outlined, ELC are poorly recognised as forms of disability, and research demonstrates that people living with diagnoses that can be positioned as ELC struggle to gain the recognition necessary to obtain reasonable adjustments. 32–34 43 Section 19 of the Equality Act 2010 explains that indirect discrimination occurs when one party applies a provision, criterion or practice that puts a person with a protected characteristic (such as disability) at a substantial disadvantage when compared with people without that protected characteristic. 40 44

The Equality Act allows for scenarios where discrimination may be justified (known as ‘objective justification’) in cases where providers can demonstrate that their policies or provisions constitute ‘a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. 40 Among the considerations about what might constitute a proportionate means are the size of the organisation, the practicalities and costs involved. 44 However, these are seldom explicitly articulated as a justification for the status quo, and the resulting ambiguities (which ultimately can only be resolved by tribunal or court) mean—as we will next find out—that disability discrimination may inadvertently become normalised.

Evidence of strategies of exclusion

Despite an ostensible increase in DEI policies within the academy, 45 46 there exists considerable literature demonstrating experiences of physical and attitudinal barriers to participation in academic research among disabled students and academics, including those with diagnoses that sit within the ELC umbrella. 29 31–34 43 46 There is also evidence that disability-related inequities in higher education persist in terms of degree completion, degree attainment and progression onto skilled employment or postgraduate study, within and beyond STEM. 21 22 47 48 The experience of JH is that such disparities are deeply entwined with physical and attitudinal barriers to full epistemic participation within the academy. Drawing on research findings and situating these against the lived experience of JH, we now explore evidence of strategies of exclusion for disabled researchers that, we argue, could contribute to epistemic injustice.

Studies that reveal barriers to academic participation, among people with ELC and disabled people more broadly, focus on two principal scenarios: (1) experiences of higher education students who can attend ‘on campus’ but require accommodations, 29 33 43 and (2) experiences of academics (from PhD study level upwards) navigating workplace barriers pertaining to reasonable adjustments, employment and career progression opportunities. 31 34 46 49 Where these barriers occur, we suggest they point to evidence of hermeneutical injustice that may also be underpinned by testimonial injustice. Indeed, chief among themes across such literature is that of ableism, understood as ‘a cultural imaginary and social order centred around the idealised able-bodied and -minded citizen who is self-sufficient, self-governing and autonomous’ 50 ; this ‘social order’ is founded on global prejudices about disabled bodies and minds. 50 Reports of academic ableism are evidenced as manifesting through, inter alia, a lack of accessible buildings and equipment, institutional inability or unwillingness to facilitate disability-related accommodations, and lack of familiarity (or consensus) among faculty and non-academic staff as to what constitutes disability-specific DEI practice and policy. 31 43 45 46 Additionally, increasing literature probes the creeping neoliberalisation of academia, which is contended to intersect with and perpetuate ableism, most notably though institutional normalisation of competition and hyperproductivity as a reflection of ‘excellence’. 31 46 Relatedly, and notably among students or academics with health conditions that can be positioned as ELC, the question of whether or how to disclose disability and implications of (non)disclosure is receiving critical attention. 21 29 31 33 34 43

Furthermore, as previously outlined, scarce attention has been paid to ELC explicitly, especially among people with ELC who are largely or completely confined to the home, yet may wish to continue within or enter academic spaces and thus require remote access. JH’s experience is that some of these people are not only marginalised within the academy but may be excluded from accessing it altogether. This, it would appear, is owing to a failure of institutions to facilitate remote access programmes. Here again, to understand how strategies of exclusion operate, we must turn to legal considerations. In terms of what might be considered ‘reasonable’, the willingness of research institutes to extend remote access to students and faculty during successive lockdowns owing to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic 31 51 52 suggests that failure to extend such accommodations to disabled people who depend on them, and especially where research can be conducted from home, would be difficult to justify.

Yet, such remote access tends to be considered at best an ‘adjustment’ to preferred or ‘normal’ (non-disabled) practice, and provision appears to be patchy and poorly signposted; lack of clarity over which research institutes offer remote delivery programmes may thus constitute the initial hurdle. Some universities appear to offer remote PhDs within some disciplines but not within others, and the exclusions do not appear to be related to pragmatics such as requiring laboratory access. For example, according to JH’s enquiries, and information received, one UK research institute and member of the Russell Group (representing UK leading research-intensive institutions) offered distance learning PhD programmes in 2021 and 2022 within psychology, but not within sociology. For added context, JH’s research interests are interdisciplinary but primarily straddle disability studies (typically sited within academic schools of sociology and faculties of social sciences) and psychology. This is with a view to researching disability-affirmative, socioculturally and politically cognisant approaches to psychotherapy practice and policy. However, in academic fora, psychology and psychotherapy (often aligned with health sciences faculties) foreground heavily medicalised understandings of disability, and JH’s experience has been that psychology departments have not been open minded or welcoming vis-à-vis the prospect of integrating sociocultural and political perspectives, as per disability studies. In practice, this has meant that JH’s endeavours to find an accessible PhD have been limited to the purview of sociology. These disciplinary exclusions arguably represent the legacy of the reluctance of psychology, wider health sciences and life sciences to embrace disability in all its diversity. 21–23 50

In response to an enquiry as to why the above institution did not offer remote access PhDs in disability studies/sociology, the postgraduate admissions team informed JH: ‘All our PhD students undertake mandatory units which are only delivered in person’ (email, 10 February 2022). It is unclear how these mandatory units differ from units offered on remote access programmes. Indeed, a recurring motif throughout JH’s enquiries across various UK institutions is that further probing about potentially exclusionary policies results in ambiguous responses, or no response at all. Reasons for lack of remote access offered by other institutions included a mandatory requirement for direct (on-campus) contact with the PhD supervisor or the need to participate in onboarding sessions face to face on campus. However, lack of justification about why this was necessary was not offered.

Again, it might be expected that institutional willingness to provide remote access during lockdowns would serve as a precedent for remote access to become the norm rather than the exception. 46 However, in response to JH challenging lack of remote access provision on these grounds, the reply from the admissions team at another Russell Group university was as follows:

While during the last year some teaching and supervision has taken place online this is a temporary measure and not part of a formal distance learning course. Some supervision and teaching is also now taking place back on campus in person again. All ‘on campus’ programmes are subject to government mandated attendance requirements. (email, 28 January 2022)

When JH requested more details regarding these government-mandated attendance requirements, the admissions team declared that the enquiry would be passed onto another point of contact. Over 2 years later, no further details have been forthcoming. Ad hoc adjustments pertaining to remote delivery might be possible at some institutions, but it seems conceivable that these may be dependent on the supervisor’s individual preferences rather than policy, perhaps permitting prejudicial judgements about disability to interfere with decision-making.

Furthermore, for those fortunate enough to find a supervisor willing to ‘accommodate’ them, additional strategies of exclusion arise pertaining to funding via doctoral training programme (DTP) and research council consortiums. For example, a representative of the UK White Rose social sciences DTP 53 (covering seven UK higher education institutions in Northern England) informed JH that, in accordance with Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) policy, disabled students confined to the home are not eligible to be considered for funding. Further digging revealed that this policy is not limited to the White Rose DTP; for example, the UK Midlands Graduate School DTP, 54 covering a further eight UK higher education institutions, lists the same exclusion criteria on its website at time of writing. When JH challenged the White Rose DTP’s policy on grounds of (dis)ableism, a representative forwarded the following response from the ESRC:

UKRI [UK Research and Innovation, non-departmental body of the UK government responsible for funding research] terms and conditions confirm that UKRI funded students must live within a reasonable travel time of their Research Organisation (RO) or collaborative organisation to ensure that they are able to maintain regular contact with their department and their supervisor. This should also ensure that the student receives the full support, mentoring, access to a broad range of training and skill development activities available at their RO, as well as access to the resources and facilities required to complete their research successfully and to a high standard. Our expectation also reflects that we want to avoid students studying in isolation […] (email, 15 December 2022)

In light of the considerable evidence that scholars across many disciplines can work remotely, the assumption that disabled people cannot research to a ‘high standard’ while confined to the home is problematic. Additionally, the reasoning around avoiding isolation, while likely well intended, does not hold much weight from JH’s standpoint. Many disabled people frequently experience significant physical and emotional isolation through navigating a (dis)ableist society and develop numerous strategies (including use of remote access technology) to mitigate this; in this respect, they may even be considered ‘experts by experience’ in resiliently striving to manage isolation. 51 55 56 Social media, for example, is used by many disabled people to connect with others, share ideas on managing health conditions and disability discrimination and develop collective advocacy and activism initiatives. 55 Refusing to offer remote access on (partial) grounds that disabled people may not be able to cope with the ensuing isolation risks infantilising people with disabilities, and withholds one of the very tools that can facilitate inclusion and thus counter isolation.

Moreover, literature suggests that being on campus does not necessarily prevent disabled people from experiencing or overcoming isolation, notably emotional isolation or alienation arising from lack of accommodations and thus feeling ‘unwelcome’ or ‘less than’. 33 46 The ESRC’s reasoning would therefore appear to arise from a non-disabled perspective (or at least, a perspective not attuned to certain facets of disability culture). Funding-related barriers are aggravated by the general lack of other funding opportunities for disabled students. For example, while scholarships for other under-represented groups are justly offered across many institutions, 57–59 often with emphasis on recruiting traditionally marginalised candidates, similar much-needed initiatives for people disadvantaged through disability are conspicuously absent. This is particularly important to address since disability and economic disadvantage are entwined in a complex manner, 2 11 and because, as previously noted, disability is intersected with other forms of social (dis)advantage. 19 21 24 28

It is worth emphasising that the exclusionary practices pertaining to health-related research, as discussed here, may be more pervasive and entrenched than we have presented. Discussing the impact of academic ableism, Brown 46 notes that disability disclosure rates, though on the increase in undergraduate admissions, drop between undergraduate and academic employment level. Brown identifies two factors that might explain this: (a) disabled academics may avoid disclosure for fear that declaring disability would impede their career, and (b) disabled students may simply drop out of the academy. As the foregoing demonstrates, JH’s experience suggests that the second factor may be entwined with disabled students being excluded from the academy because they cannot meet ‘on campus’ attendance requirements. It is currently unknown how many fledgling academics with disabilities have been excluded from the academy owing to discriminatory policies and academic culture, but it seems likely that JH’s case is not exceptional. Recent research recounts that some disabled faculty are being refused remote working arrangements as lockdown accommodations begin to revert to ‘normal’ practice. 60 For disabled researchers in perpetual lockdown, such refusals might result in experiences such as those detailed here remaining unknown and thus unaddressed.

In summary, where a ‘leaky pipeline’ exists vis-à-vis academic representation of some historically oppressed groups, 61 62 it appears that there exists no pipeline at all for a subgroup of disabled people who cannot leave their homes due to a combination of body/mind restrictions and lack of social provisions such as healthcare. Yet, disadvantages created by refusing remote access accommodations to scholars with disabilities who are confined to the home are certainly substantial. Beyond the potential loss to collective wisdom, the hermeneutical injustice perpetuated by barriers to education and employment among disabled people results in what Kidd and Carel describe as a ‘double injury’, 39 since it leads to significant ramifications for the psychosocial well-being and financial security of those excluded.

Conclusions and recommendations

Despite an ostensible increase in commitment to DEI policy and practice, the academy is far from an inclusive space for disabled people. In the case of disabled people who are unable to leave the home, we might better speak of outright exclusions as opposed to marginalisation. The above discussion has demonstrated that various strategies of exclusion operate within the academy that serve to exclude some people with disabilities ‘from the practices and places where social meanings are made and legitimated’. 39 Such exclusions risk further marginalising an already hermeneutically marginalised group, with concomitant psychosocial, occupational and financial harms. Additionally, these exclusions incur a loss of collective wisdom that adversely impacts the development of inclusive, safe and effective healthcare practice and policy.

Although we urge the importance of universities facilitating remote access to disabled scholars, we add a note of caution. First, a remote access academy should be offered in complementarity with, as opposed to an alternative to, ensuring accessibility of academic buildings and equipment, or to otherwise supporting disabled people to attend on campus. This is especially important since we also acknowledge that remote access is not a solution for all disabled people. 52 63 Of note, while remote access can be understood as an assistive technology that helps support the health, well-being and social inclusion of people with disabilities, 2 the digital divide means that disabled people are also less likely to be able to access this technology compared with their non-disabled counterparts. Such marginalisation is owing to lack of devices, broadband connectivity or reduced digital literacy, underpinned by financial, social and educational disparities as already discussed. 1 2 63 Our promotion of remote access as an inclusivity tool does not negate the need to address this divide. Nevertheless, recent research has shown that a leading UK online education provider (University of Derby) has three times as many disabled students as the national average, 30 suggesting that remote delivery of academic programmes can be a significant facilitator of DEI. We therefore conclude by offering recommendations with a view to building on such strategies of inclusion.

Given the lack of familiarity vis-à-vis disability-specific DEI practice and policy, as reported in literature 31 45 46 and as experienced by JH, our first recommendation is for formalised disability equality training and education initiatives that specifically take account of people with ELC and those confined to the home. Since report of such training reinforcing disability-related stereotyping exists, 31 there should be greater emphasis on co-producing such resources with people with disabilities, including those confined to the home who are often excluded from public policy-making. Such initiatives, which could also beneficially target personnel involved in research councils and DTPs, should address implicit personal and organisational biases, facilitate understanding of how current policy and practices perpetuate (dis)ableism and promote a proactive approach to equity and inclusion, specifically in the case of people confined to the home. Disabled researchers and disability studies scholars have argued that an institutional culture change is necessary to move beyond a perfunctory engagement in, or basic legal compliance with, DEI initiatives; a foregrounding of the social model of disability and universal design principles has thus been proposed in developing DEI policy and practice. 29 31 46 The social model upends academically prevalent (individualistic) representations of disability and reasonable adjustments, by placing the onus for change on social structures and institutions as opposed to the people who are discriminated against. 16 17 In the case of ELC, we suggest that the social structures requiring greatest change to facilitate inclusion are attitudinal contexts, most notably disbelief. 24 25 In complement to the social model, application of universal design tenets to academic contexts, which involve building ‘accommodations’ into academic standard and managing disability-related diversity proactively as opposed to reactively, 29 31 46 should be extended to remote access. In practice, this means reducing the likelihood that disabled people have to ask and prove eligibility for reasonable adjustments. 42

Second, we recommend greater institutional transparency, including clear guidance for researchers with disabilities, vis-à-vis remote working policies. For many research and study programmes, online library access, supervision and other meetings represent acceptable accommodations, if not candidates for integration into academic standard as a complement to on-campus delivery. Such accommodations should be clearly signposted and, where remote working is not possible or government mandates apply, both transparency and strong justifications are required. In this regard, an institution outside of the UK has set a precedent. Uppsala University in Sweden has welcomed JH as research affiliate in the Department of Women’s and Children’s Health, operating entirely via remote access. This approach, which embraces remote working as if it were standard practice (as per universal design principles), is invaluable in challenging the prevalent yet exclusionary academic notion of dominant (on-campus) practice and policy as ‘normal’ and ‘ability neutral’. It thus serves as an exemplar for disability-related best practice for UK institutions.

Third, the current funding system requires considerable revision to better include people with disabilities who are confined to the home. In cases where research projects can be conducted remotely, there is surely no justification for exempting this group of disabled people from being eligible to apply for grants and PhD stipends. As per our above recommendations for remote accommodations, information on funding eligibility should be easily accessible, with strong and transparent rationale for any exclusions. Additionally, existing initiatives to ring-fence funding for researchers from minoritised groups to study health-related inequities 64 should be extended to include disabled people. Without such measures, much-needed research might never be conducted. This article, which has arisen from disability standpoint, and both disability and academic allyship, has indicated a considerable research gap pertaining to how disabled students or academics confined to the home experience barriers to health-related research. With a view to addressing this research gap with the added value of disability standpoint, funding opportunities must facilitate the inclusion of disabled researchers. Yet, while some under-represented groups are supported through funding-related DEI schemes, 64 disability is often overlooked.

Finally, we recommend a more formalised and universally applied academic DEI monitoring and ombudsman scheme, both to assess DEI-related shortcomings and to support minoritised researchers in raising concerns. Disabled scholars have suggested using Disability Standard (a form of benchmarking used in business to assess inclusivity and accessibility) to analyse gaps in disability-related DEI practice and policy 31 ; practical application across UK universities appears very limited. Existing schemes to promote DEI within the education sector should ensure that disability, including disabled people confined to the home, is represented and consider how institutional compliance can be secured. ‘Advance HE’ is a UK non-governmental body that promotes excellence in higher education, an objective the body acknowledges as entwined with DEI. 65 While DEI ‘international charters’ pertaining to gender and race exist with a view to encouraging providers to commit to inclusion of under-represented groups, 65 an equivalent charter specifically for disability does not exist. Here again, we recognise that different forms of discrimination intersect and that race and gender shape disability. 2 21 28 Moreover, while we do not mean to overlook recent efforts among Advance HE and other bodies to include disability in DEI initiatives, 66 the voluntary nature of many of these initiatives (which ‘encourage’ higher education institutions to address more fully disability-related DEI) will likely allow the inequitable status quo to persist. Seeking to ground a collective institutional commitment to disability inclusion within legislation, or at the very least within a transparent ‘award’ system as with DEI initiatives pertaining to other under-represented groups, 65 would likely lend more gravitas to such schemes and ‘nudge’ research institutes towards greater accountability.

In summary, insights from scholars with disabilities can help to inform more inclusive, safe and effective health-related interventions, with further benefits for social inclusion. Current academic structures deny opportunities to the very people who are well placed to identify and research the most overlooked problems in our health systems. If we truly prize DEI, the academy must become more accessible to disabled people.

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X @JoElizaHunt, @crblease

JH and CB contributed equally.

Contributors Both authors contributed equally to all aspects of the paper. As corresponding author, JH acts as guarantor.

Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing interests None declared.

Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

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