Cite using Oxford

Oxford is a footnote style that uses in-text footnotes and often includes a reference list at the end of the document. There are many versions of the style, and the following pages provide Uppsala University Library’s suggestion for citing sources according to the Oxford style.

One aspect that can differ is when formatting the bibliography. For example, whether the author’s first name is provided or only the initials. In some versions, titles are in italics and sometimes not, certain titles are inside of quotation marks, and styles can vary in their use of commas or full stops between different parts of the reference. Sometimes shortened footnotes are used, sometimes not.

Uppsala University has not designated an official version of the Oxford style. You should always check with your department/supervisor to find out if there are any other requirements for you and the text your are writing.

Examples in the style are taken from Turabian 8^th edition (full note), which you can download in English in Zotero.

Below is an overview of the most common footnote style. In the menu to the left, you can also search for a specific source type and how to cite it.

In-text citations are written with a footnote after the sentence’s endpoint, and the footnote is shown at the bottom of the same page. The first time you cite a source in a text, the footnote needs to include the full information about the source. 

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua.¹ Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat.² Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat nulla pariatur.³

After you have cited a source using a full footnote, you can then use shortened footnotes for subsequent citations.

Sometimes shortened footnotes are used from the first citation. Check with your department to find out what applies for your text.

Can I use ‘ibid’ in footnotes?

Ibid is an abbreviation of the Latin ‘ibidem’, which means ‘in the same place’. Ibid is sometimes used if you are citing or referencing the same reference in multiple footnotes immediately after each other. 

(The second footnote refers to p. 83 in The Craft of Research by Booth et. al.)

Check with your department if you should use ibid or not.

Do note place several footnotes in the same sentence. One footnote can contain several citations. Use semicolons to separate citations and place them in the same order as you cite them in your text.

You list all your references in alphabetical order in your reference list.