Subject guides: CDU APA Referencing: Reference List Checklist

1	Have you checked if your lecturer has any special referencing requirements, for example, page numbers for all citations or no hyperlinks?
	If your lecturer states specific requirements for referencing, these override CDU APA style. Check in your Learnline unit information or with your lecturer directly.

2	Do your references appear at the end of your document, on a new page?
	References are listed at the end of your document. Insert a page break to start the references on a new page.

3	Are your references headed by the title References, centred and bold?
	This is the exact formatting required.

4	Are your references in alphabetical order by first-named author or title if there is no author?
	Sequentially top to bottom. Ignore the words ‘A’, ‘An’, and ‘The’ when alphabetising by title.

5	Are your references double-spaced?
	Regardless of the spacing required for assignments, references must be double-spaced.

6	Are your references left aligned?
	Regardless of the alignment required for assignments, you must align the references.

7	Do your references have a hanging indent of 5-7 spaces?
	FAQ What is a hanging indent? http://libanswers.cdu.edu.au/faq/263686 FAQ How to create a hanging indent? http://libanswers.cdu.edu.au/faq/263688

8	Have you followed CDU APA rules including punctuation, spaces, italics, parenthesis, etc.?
	Video – Punctuation Pitfalls: https://youtu.be/vjQMGTAVvqw

9	Have you followed the rule of capitalisation for your titles and journal titles?
	In titles and subtitles, capitalise only the first letter of the first word of the title, the subtitle and proper nouns. Watch the video A capital idea: https://youtu.be/DAaYJVY1rRI.

Do all your references have a matching in-text citation and vice versa?

References cited in-text must appear in the reference list and vice versa. The only exceptions to this rule are ‘Personal communication’ and ‘Traditional knowledge’.

The reference entry has all the information your reader needs to find the source.

Have you provided a DOI or URL for online resources, and are they hyperlinked?

Whenever you access a resource online, you must provide a DOI or URL to help your reader find the resource. If the resource is found in the CDU Library and does not have a DOI, do not include a URL.

FAQ: What is a DOI and where can I find it? https://libanswers.cdu.edu.au/faq/136259

All URLs and DOIs should be hyperlinked (clickable), e.g., https://www.cdu.edu.au/library/

12	Have you changed all your DOIs to the correct format?
	DOI on article: doi:10.1037/arc0000014 DOI changed to: https://doi.org/10.1037/arc0000014

13	Have you shortened URLs that are longer than two lines using a URL shortening service?
	Try https://tinyurl.com/. Reminder: check ALL URLs work before submitting

For authors with multiple middle names, only include the first two initials.

Example: Robert Mark Smith = Smith, R. M.

Example: Ruby Mary Ann Sanderson = Sanderson, R. M.

If your resource did not have a date, did you use n.d. (no date)?

Example of reference: Author. (n.d.). Title. Publisher. DOI/URL

Example of in-text citation: (Author, n.d.)

If you have resources with the same author, but different dates, have you listed the references in chronological order (oldest first)?

Example of reference list entry:

Jones, J. (2012). Travel tips. Publisher. http://doi.org/...

Jones, J. (2016). Worst holidays ever. Publisher. http://doi.org/...

If you have resources with the same author and the same date, have you added a letter after the date? Have you added the same letter in the matching in-text citation?

Example of reference list entry:

Smith, J. (2014a). Best food ever. Publisher. http://doi.org/...

Smith, J. (2014b). Chocolate is great. Publisher. http://doi.org/...

If you have resources with the same author and no date, have you added a hyphen and a letter after n.d.? Have you added the same hyphen-letter in the in-text citation?

Example of reference:

St John. (n.d.-a). Burns. URL

St John. (n.d.-b). Scalds. URL

Do you have multiple resources with 3+ authors where the first named author is the same, and the resources have the same date?

Smith, A., Butler, J., Jones, T., & Walker, T. (2017).

Smith, A., Butler, J., Miller, S., Lowe, K., & Turner, J. (2017)

Both these citations shorten to (Smith et al., 2017). To avoid confusion when citing them both, cite them as follows:

(Smith, Butler, Jones, et al., 2017)
(Smith, Butler, Miller, et al., 2017)

Have you used personal communications like conversations, personal interviews, phone conversations, emails, etc. as resources for your assignment?

‘Personal communications’ are resources that are accessible to you, but not your reader.

For this reason, you only cite them in-text, without including a reference.

See the Personal communication & Traditional Knowledges page for more information.

Video: Personal Communication https://youtu.be/TPKxKYVzXzw

Have you used Traditional Knowledge or Oral Traditions that are not accessible by your reader, as a resource in your assignment?

If you speak with an Indigenous person directly, follow the ‘personal communication’ in-text citation example. There are some additional elements you need to include in the in-text citation, but still, no reference entry is included.

See the Personal communication & Traditional Knowledges page for more information.