Using and Referencing Government Papers and Law Resources
Today we are looking at using and referencing Government papers and law resources within the School of Management using APA. All of the information is in our Swansea University Referencing According to the APA 6th Style. The Guide also contains information on referencing devolved legislation from Wales (page 27) and European Union legislation (page 29).
I need to consult Parliamentary Acts. How do I do this?
The acts you need are all available via the database Westlaw. Follow the link and copy and paste the details of each act into the Westlaw search. Click the ‘Arrangement of Act’ link on the results page to see options to download/print all or part of the document.
When you search for the next act, click Home near the top of the page to go back the search box to generate a new search.
The Law subject team have some advice on Finding Legislation, as well as links to useful databases and other resources.
How do I reference parliamentary Acts?
Acts of Parliament should not be included in APA reference lists or bibliographies. However it is important that your cite the act in your writing according to the following format.
On the first mention of the Act a full citation is given in the text which includes Short Title Year.
Note that no comma should appear between the word Act and the year.
Use capitalisation as show on the front cover of the Act
After the first mention, you can refer to the act without the date. If you do choose to abbreviate the Act this must be illustrated in the first mention.
Referencing a section of an Act
S.1 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 states that….
or According to s.1 of the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 1989….
or Relevant companies and other entities must keep the registers and file relevant details with Companies House. (Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015, s.1)
How do I reference a Case Study?
Case law is also not included in reference lists. However, on the first mention of a case in an assignment a full citation is given stating:
This would look something like this:
Tesco PLC v Competition Commission [2009] CAT 6
For subsequent mentions in text just use the parties involved. For example:
… as stated in Tesco PLC v Competition Commission…
Or
… the case of Tesco PLC v Competition Commission demonstrates that..
Secondary Referencing
If you haven’t read the original case then you will need to do secondary referencing so it would look like this in text:
Tesco PLC v Competition Commission [2009] CAT 6 cited in Jones (2015)
The details in the reference would then link to the document you have read which cites the case law.
Swansea University’s Referencing According to the APA 6th Style pages 23 – 29 covers all of the all of the above plus Devolved legislation from Wales and European Union legislation.
Tomorrow we will be looking at referencing business resources.
For further information, please contact the School of Management library team:
Business Library Team: buslib@swansea.ac.uk
The Bay Library
Swansea University
T +44 (0)1792 505500
Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/SwanseaUniLib
Swansea University Library Blog for the School of Management 