RAYAT COLLEGE OF LAW, RAILMAJRA

METHODS OF CITATION
Research Methodology

A project report submitted as a part of curriculum of B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) in the

subject of Research Methodology.

Submitted To: Submitted By:

DR. KARAN SINGH LOHITA
ASSISTANT PROFESSOR B.A. LL.B. (Hons.)
RAYAT COLLEGE OF LAW 20089
RAILMAJRA
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to my teacher DR. KARAN

SINGH as well as our principal DR. MONIKA SHARMA who gave me the
golden opportunity to do this wonderful project, which also helped me in doing a lot
of Research and I came to know about so many new things I am really thankful to
them.
Secondly I would also like to thank my parents and friends who helped me a lot in
finalising this project within the limited time frame.

LOHITA
 INDEX

CONTENTS PAGE
NO.

What Is Citation?
A "citation" is the manner in which you tell the readers that specific material in your work came
from another source. It likewise gives them the data important to find that source once more,
including:

Information about the original author, the title of the work, the name and the page number of the
material you are acquiring.

Citations are a significant piece of research paper or any academic writing. At whatever point
you use data or thoughts from a source (like a book, article, or website), you need to incorporate
a citation that offers credit to the first writer .

Importance of Citing Sources

Citations document for your readers where you obtained your material, provide a means of
critiquing your study based on the sources you used, and create an opportunity to obtain
information about prior studies of the research problem under investigation. T he act of citing
sources is also your best defence against allegations of plagiarism.

Citing the works of others is important because:

1. Proper citation allows readers to locate the materials you used: Citations to sources helps
readers expand their knowledge on a topic. One of the most effective strategies for locating
authoritative, relevant sources about a topic is to review footnotes or references from known
sources.

2. Citing other people's words and ideas demonstrates that you have conducted a thorough
review of the literature on your topic and, therefore, you are reporting your research from an
informed and critically engaged perspective. The list of sources used increases your credibility
as the author of the work.
3. Other researcher's ideas can be used to reinforce your arguments. In many cases, another
researcher's arguments can act as the primary context from which you can emphasize the
significance of your study and to provide supporting evidence about how you a ddressed the "So
what?" Question.

4. The ideas of other researchers can be used to explain reasons for alternative approaches. If
you disagree with a researcher's ideas or you believe there is a gap in understanding the research
problem, your citations can serve as sources from which to argue an alternative viewpoint or the
need to pursue a different course of action.

5. Just as the ideas of other researchers can bolster your arguments, they can also detract from
your credibility if their research is challenged. Properly citing sources prevents your reputation
from being tarnished if the facts or ideas of those cited are proven to be inaccurate or off-base.
It prevents readers from concluding that you ignored or dismissed the findings of others, even if
they are disputed.

6. Ideas are considered intellectual property and there can be serious repercussions if you fail to
cite where you got an idea from. In academe and the professional world, failure to cite other
people's intellectual property ruins careers and reputations and can result in legal action. Citing
sources as a student in college will help you get in the habit of acknowledging and properly
citing the work of others.

Methods of Citation:

A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and
obtained information from while writing your research paper. A source citation always includes
two main components:

1. A brief in-text citation next to the relevant information.

2. A full reference containing all the information required to find the original source.
In-text citations: In-text citations often appear in parentheses, specifying the author’s last
name and sometimes (depending on the citation style) a year or page number. Some styles cite
using footnotes, endnotes, or bracketed numbers that match reference entries.
Parenthetical citation: You put the source reference in parentheses directly in your text. This
usually includes the author’s last name along with the publication date and/or the page number.
Note citation: You put the source reference in a footnote or endnote.
Numeric citation: You number each of your sources in the reference list and use the correct
number when you want to cite a source.
Full references: References are usually listed at the end of the paper on a page called
References, Works Cited, or Bibliography.
Full references always include the author, title, and publication date of the source. They also
include other information that helps identify the source.
The exact format of a reference depends on the type of source. For example, a book reference
includes the publisher and sometimes the edition, while a journal article reference includes
volume and issue numbers and the page range where the article appears.

FOOTNOTES: -
Footnotes (sometimes just called ‘notes’) are what they sound like—a note (or a reference to a
source of information) which appears at the foot (bottom) of a page.
Long explanatory notes can be difficult for readers to trudge through when they occur in the
middle of a paper. Providing this information is necessary, but doing so in the main text can
disrupt the flow of the writing. Footnotes are notes placed at the bo ttom of a page.
Merriam Webster Dictionary defines footnote as:
‘a note of reference, explanation, or comment usually placed below the text on a printed page’
Footnotes are used most commonly to provide:
references (bibliographic citations) to reliable sources,
explanatory information or
source information for tables and other elements.
How they are used:
1. Using footnotes involves placing a superscript number at the end of a sentence with
information (paraphrase, quotation or data) that you wish to cite. The superscript numbers
should generally be placed at the end of the sentence to which they refer. They should be placed
after any punctuation marks except for the dash.
It looks like this.1
2. Footnotes begin with 1 and are numbered consecutively throughout the entire essay. Putting
the same number, followed by a citation of your source, at the bottom of the page. Footnoting
should be numerical and chronological: the first reference is 1; the second is 2, and so on. The
advantage of footnoting is that the reader can simply cast their eyes down the page to discover
the source of a reference which interests them.

The footnotes can be of two types:

[1] Content: Supplements or simplifies substantive information; not detailed.
[2] Copyright permission: Cites quoted text and any reprinted materials used in the text.

Advantages of Using Footnotes:

1) Readers interested in identifying the source or note can quickly glance down the page to find
what they are looking for.
2) It allows the reader to immediately link the footnote to the subject of the text without having
to take the time to find the note at the back of the paper.
3) Footnotes are automatically included when printing off specific pages.

Disadvantages of Using Footnotes

1) Footnotes can clutter up the page and, thus, negatively impact the overall look of the page.
2) If there are multiple columns, charts, or tables below only a small segment of text that
includes a footnote, then you must decide where the footnotes should appear.

1
ENDNOTES:-
Endnotes are much the same as footnotes except that they are placed at the end your research
paper instead of at the bottom of a page. In books, they can be placed after each chapter or at
the end of the book.
In many cases, the book publisher decides the best placement. Endnotes, as footnotes, are
numerically noted in superscript. The format is the same as that for footnotes.

Advantages of Using Endnotes

1) Endnotes are less distracting to the reader and allow the narrative to flow better.
2) Endnotes don't clutter up the page.
3) As a separate section of a research paper, endnotes allow the reader to read and contemplate
all the notes at once.

Disadvantages of Using Endnotes

1) If you want to look at the text of a particular endnote, you have to flip to the end of the
research paper to find the information.
2) Depending on how they are created [i.e., continuous numbering or numbers that start over for
each chapter], you may have to remember the chapter number as well as the endnote number in
order to find the correct one.
3) Endnotes may carry a negative connotation much like the proverbial "fine print" or hidden
disclaimers in advertising. A reader may believe you are trying to hide something by burying it
in a hard-to-find endnote.

REFERENCES:-
A reference list is a list of the publication information for the sources you’ve cited in your paper
and is intended to give your readers all the information they need to find those sources.
Here are a few things to keep in mind about reference lists:
Only list sources you cite in your text. Do not include sources you read but did not cite.
Organize your references alphabetically by the author's last name.
Do note bold the title of the list.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: -
A bibliography is a list of all of the sources you have used (whether referenced or not) in the
process of researching your work. The purpose of bibliography is to provide with a fair chance
to estimate the thoroughness and exhaustiveness of the report. In general, a bibliography usually
includes:
1) The authors' names: Each entry of the bibliography should start with the author's last name
at the left-hand margin. If the author is a woman, her first name is given in full. When two or
more authors' names are to be reported for the same article or book, then except for th e first
author's name, the other authors' names are to be given with the first names occurring first and
then the second name.) When there are two or more works by the same author, the author's
name must be replaced by a series of eight dashes in the second and subsequent entries. If the
book is edited by a person or persons, his or their name is written and 'ed.' or 'eds' is added
within the brackets at the end of his or their name(s). A comma is placed after the name of the
author.

2) The titles of the works: The name of the author is followed by the title of the book. The title
of the book is usually given in single inverted commas and is followed by the edition number, if
any. In the bibliography, a capital letter is used to begin all the key words in the title of the book
and journals for articles, manuscripts, thesis and unpublished papers; the procedure is to use a
capital only to begin proper nouns and the first word of the title. A full stop mark or comma is
placed at the end of the title of the book. If the article is quoted, its title is also given in single or
double inverted commas and is followed by the following information :
(i) the title of the journal/magazine,
(ii) volume number in Roman Numbers followed by the date of publication; and
(iii) the numbers of the pages of the journal in parenthesis.
3) Publisher’s address: The name of the publishers of the book/journal will be given, followed
by its place of publication and if possible the full address of the publishers. A colon mark is
placed after the place of publication and a comma is placed at the end of the publisher's address.
4) Year of Publication: The year of publication may be given in parenthesis at the end of the
references. A fullstop mark is placed at the end
5) Page numbers of your sources (if they are part of multi-source volumes): Wherever
possible, the page numbers referred to are given.

WEBLIOGRAPHY: -
A webliography is much like a bibliography but is limited to a collection of online resources
rather than books and academic journals.
The term webliography is commonly used when discussing online resources. It is referred to as
“Web Bibliography.” Accordingly, a webliography is a list of resources relating to a particular
topic that can be accessed on the World Wide WEB and can be referr ed to in a scholarly work.
Therefore, webliography is an online bibliography that lists and hyperlinks websites and digital
information around a single topic. Researchers can use the webliographies to find links to
relevant information and cite those links one-by-one.
According to Oxford, webliography is defined as “A list (either printed or online) of electronic
works or documents relating to a particular topic.”

Citation Styles:
A citation style is a set of rules on how to cite sources in academic writing. Whenever you refer
to someone else’s work, a citation is required to avoid plagiarism.
A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is
ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.
Citation style guidelines are often published in an official handbook containing explanations,
examples, and instructions. The most common citation styles are the following:
1) APA Style
2) MLA Style
APA Style
1. APA stands for American Psychological Association, the scientific organization that
assembles the publishing manual of the APA format. The style was developed in 1929 by a
group of scientists to standardize scientific writing. It was created in the hop es that it would
provide a coherent and professional manner of citing sources for students and researchers in the
fields of social and behavioral sciences.
2. The first publication manual of the APA format was published in pursuit of a neat and
efficient research formatting style, mainly for editorial purposes. Although some contemporary
scientists argued that having such strict regulations restricted personal writing styles, the format
has since become one of the most popular referencing styles. Today it is adopted in term papers,
research reports, literature reviews, theoretical articles, case studies etc.
3. These disciplines place emphasis on the date of creation or publication, in an effort to track
currency and relevancy. The date is listed immediately following the author's name in the
"References" list.
4. The APA format consists of in-text citations and a reference list.
5. The APA citation style is a parenthetical author-date style, meaning that you need to put the
author’s last name and the publishing date into parentheses wherever another source is used in
the narrative.
6. To cite sources in APA style, you need:
i. In-text citations that give the author’s last name and date.
{E.g. Smith, date (particularly year)}
ii. A reference list that gives full details of every source which you cited in the research.

For the reference lists located at the end, you need to cite four major elements:
i. Author: includes the individual author names format and group author names format
ii. Date: includes the date format and how to include retrieval dates
iii. Title: includes the title format and how to include bracketed descriptions
iv. Source: includes the source format and how to include database information
Format for writing a citation in APA style is as follows:
Author’s Surname, initial(s). (Date Published). Title of Source. Location of Publisher:
Publisher. Retrieved from URL.
MLA Style
1. The Modern Language Association (MLA) is an organization responsible for developing
MLA format. It was developed as a means for researchers, students, and scholars in the
literature and language fields to use a uniform way to format their papers and assignments.
2. In 1951, the Modern Language Association published the first MLA Style Sheet. The ninth
edition of the MLA Handbook, published in spring 2021, builds on the MLA's unique approach
to documenting sources using a template of core elements - facts common to most sources, like
author, title, and publication date that allow writers to cite any type of work.
3. The humanities place emphasis on authorship and interpreting primary sources in a historical
context.
4. To cite sources in MLA style, you need:
i. In-text citations that give the author’s last name and a page number.
{E.g. Smith 239}
ii. A list of Works Cited that gives full details of every source.
There are 9 components of Citation source in MLA Style which are as follows:
Author. "Title of the Source." Title of Container, Other Contributors, Version Number,
Publisher, Publication date, Location.

i. Author:
1 author Johnson, David.
2 authors Johnson, David, and Valerie Smith
3+ authors Johnson, David, et al.

ii. Title of Source:

Italics when the source is self-contained (e.g. a whole book, movie or website)
Quotation marks when the source is part of a larger whole (e.g. a chapter of a book, a page
on a website, or an article in a journal).
No styling when describing a source without a title.
iii. Container is the larger work that the source you’re citing appears in. For example, a chapter
is part of a book, a page is part of a website, and an article is part of a journal.
iv. Contributors are added right after the container title and always end with a comma.
v. When there is more than one version of a source, you should include the version you used.
For example, a second edition book
vi. Sources such as journal articles (vol. 18), magazines (no. 25) and TV shows (season 3,
episode 5) are often numbered.
vii. Sometimes the publisher is already included elsewhere in the source entry, such as in the
container title or author element. For example, the publisher of a website is often the same as
the website name. In this case, omit the publisher element.
viii. When a source does not state a publication date, add the date on which you accessed the
information. For example: Accessed 22 Sep. 2018.
ix. What you include in the location element depends on the type of source you are citing:
Book chapter: page range on which the chapter appears (e.g. pp. 164–180.)
Web page: URL, without ‘https://’ (e.g. www.scribbr.com/mla-style/quick-guide/.)
Journal article: DOI or stable url (e.g. doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449. or
www.jstor.org/stable/43832354.)
Physical object or live event: name of the location and city (e.g. Moscone Center, San
Francisco. or The Museum of Modern Art, New York.)
Format for writing a citation in MLA style is as follows:
Author name(s). “Title of the Source”. Title of container, other contributors, version, numbers,
publisher, publication date, location.

Other Styles:
Other than APA and MLA there are other style which are as follows:
1. Harvard Style
Harvard referencing style is often used in the field of economics. There is no official style
guide, which means there are a few variations. Like APA Style, Harvard style is based on an
author-date system.
2. Vancouver Style
Vancouver style was developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
(ICMJE) and is mostly used in medical disciplines.
Vancouver style works with a numeric system. In the text, the source is indicated by a number,
and the full source details appear next to that number in the reference list.

3. Chicago Style
Chicago style is published by The Chicago Manual of Style. This style is generally used when
citing sources for humanities papers and is best known for its requirement that writers place
bibliographic citations at the bottom of a page or at the end of a pa per.
Therefore, it provides guidelines for two styles of citation: author -date and notes and
bibliography:
1) In notes and bibliography style (mostly used in the humanities), you use footnotes or
endnotes to cite sources.
2) In author-date style (mostly used in the sciences), you use brief parenthetical references to
cite sources in the text.

4. American Medical Association (AMA): -

AMA referencing is a system that allows academic authors to show where another author’s
work has contributed to or supported a finding or theory within their work. The AMA
referencing style was designed by the American Medical Association specifically for use in
their publications. The style is now widely used and has a number of variations for different
universities and publications.

5. IEEE Style
The IEEE citation style is mainly used for reports in electronics, engineering, computer science,
telecommunications, and information technology. IEEE is the official style of the eponymous
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. The IEEE style has both in-text (numbered in
square brackets) and reference list citations.
 LEGAL CITATION

A citation (or cite) in legal terminology is a reference to a specific legal source, such as a
constitution, a statute, a reported case, a treatise, or a law review article. Then legal citation is
the practice of crediting and referring to authoritative documents and sources and most common
sources of authority cited being court cases, statutes, regulations, government documents, and
scholarly writing.

ILI (Indian Law Institute)

Indian Law Institute (ILI) was founded in 1956 primarily with the objective of promoting and
conducting legal research. The objectives of the Institute as laid down are:
➢ To cultivate the science of law

➢ To promote advanced studies and research in law so as to meet the social, economic and
other needs of the Indian people
➢ To promote systematization of law

➢ To encourage and conduct investigations in legal and allied fields

➢ To improve legal education, to impart instructions in law

➢ To publish studies, books, periodicals, etc.

The Institute has formulated a set pattern of citation (i.e., ILI Rules of Footnoting), which is
followed in The Journal of Indian Law Institute, Annual Survey of Indian Law and various
other publications of the Institute. Contributors of articles, notes and comments are required to
follow this pattern.
STANDARDISATION OF CITATION RULES
1. Dates and Numbers:
Date should appear as: 8 June, 2021
Percentages should be expressed as: 10 per cent
Time should be shown as: 11:30 a.m.
Monetary amounts should be shown as: Rs. or $ etc.
2. Abbreviations:
Section- s.1, s.2 Paragraph- para (a), para (b)
Regulation- reg 1, reg 2 Clause- cl.1, cl.2
Part- pt.1, pt. 2 Point- pt.
Page number- p.no. Sub-Section- s.1(1), s.1(2)
Order- O.1, O.2 Rule- r.1, r.2
Chapter- ch.1, ch.2 Division- Div.
Article- art. Schedule- sch.

3. Citing Statutes (Legislation):

Statutes are usually cited by short title with years title number and year (in brackets); section
number. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947 (7 of 1947)

4. Referencing:
• Supra (Latin: “above”) is used to refer to a prior footnote. If a different page number is to be
indicated in a source referred to in a prior footnote E.g., Supra note 5 at 34. If referring to a
section/article in a source referred E.g., Supra note 5, s.40. Supra note 6, art.14.
Avoid the use of Infra (below).
• Ibid./ Id. Ibid. (meaning “in the same place”) is used to refer to an authority in the footnote
immediately preceding the current footnote and the same page/ place is being referred to. Id.
(meaning „the same‟) is used if the authority is the same but the page or place of reference is
different. E.g., Id. at 30. If referring to a section / article in the same authority E.g., Id., art. 14.

CITATION OF CASE LAWS:

Case Law is law established by judicial decision in cases. When citing to a printed law reporter,
the traditional form of legal citation requires these elements:
▪ Case name (also known as the style of cause) in italics
▪ “v” to separate names (indicates language of case is English) in italics
▪ Year of decision in round brackets followed by a comma
▪ Volume Number
▪ Standard abbreviation of printed reporter title i.e., name of the journal
▪ Series number in round bracket, if included
▪ Page number
▪ Court abbreviation in round brackets, only if not included in reporter name.
In India, citing a case is as follows:

1. All India Reporter (AIR)

(a) If the case name and citation together are to be written in the text of the article itself
[Note: This format is not allowed in JILI):
Case Name (Reporter Citation)
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala (AIR 1962 SC 933).
(b) If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:
Case Name, Reporter Citation
Kesavnanda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933.
(c) Where the case title is written in the body of the text, only the name of the case shall be in
the text
e.g. Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala and the citation is written in the footnote as AIR
1973 SC 1461.
(d) If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself
Kesavananda Bharati v. State of Kerala, AIR 1962 SC 933.
2. Supreme Court Cases (SCC)
(i) If the name and citation are to be written in the footnote itself:
Jassa Singh v. State of Haryana (2002) 2 SCC 481.
(ii) If the case title is to be written in the body of the research paper, only the name of the case
shall be written
Jassa Singh v. State of Haryana then the citation would be written in the footnote as (2002) 2
SCC 481.

3. Criminal Law Journal (Cr.L.J)

Lakhwinder Singh & Ors. v. State of Punjab, 2003 Cri LJ 3058 (SC).
Ujjagar Singh v. State of Haryana, 2003 Cri LJ 1691 (P&H).

CONCLUSION:
Citation upholds the intellectual honesty of the material the researcher has used. By using
citations, our readers are more likely to trust us and what we write. As discussed in this project,
there are different styles of Citation that are used commonly and some in specific field. These
different styles are used as per the researcher’s need, or it may depend on the field which is
related to the paper. The essence is to give all the information as completely as possible to allow
the reader to trace the correct sources whether the information source is printed or non-printed.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY
Books:
• Kothari, C.R. (2004). Research Methodology: Methods and Techniques, (2nd). New Delhi:
New Age International Publishers.
• Myneni, S.R. (2012). Legal Research Methodology(5th). Faridabad: Allahabad Law Agency.

Research Papers:
• Uzuegbu, C.P. and Onyekachi, J.C. (2015, July). Bibliographic Citation and Referencing
Method. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292869655_BIBLIOGRAPHIC
_CITATION_AND_REFERENCING_METHOD

Webliography:
• Mendeley. APA Format Citation Guide. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide#
• Mendeley. MLA 8 Citation Guide. Retrieved May 16, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/mla-citation-guide
• The Indian Law Institute. Citation Style. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://ili.ac.in/cstyle.pdf • Tamil Nadu National Law University. Quick Reference: Commonly
Used Citation Styles. Retrieved May 23, 2021, from
https://tnnlu.ac.in/pdf/2019/Single%20Credit%20Course/CRW%20Hand
book%20on%20Commonly%20Used%20Citation%20Styles.pdf
• Harvard Format Citation Guide. Retrieved May 22, 2021, from
https://www.mendeley.com/guides/harvard-citation-guide
• Mary Stangler Center for Academic Success. (2015, June 30). Introduction to Citations.
Retrieved May 15, 2021, from
https://www.sctcc.edu/sites/default/files/users/cas/Introduction%20to%20 Citations.pdf