Library Assist: Answers

Students often find PDF documents tricky to reference. This is because PDF is a file format rather being than a type of source in its own right; many different types of sources can be produced in PDF format, from book chapters to reports to journal articles to legislation. You will not find examples of how to reference a "PDF" in referencing guides.

The key for referencing purposes is to effectively ignore the fact it's a PDF and instead decide what kind of source you've actually got in front of you.

Many PDFs could be considered to be reports, especially if they have tables of contents and/or numbered subheadings. A journal article PDF would typically give the journal details (journal title, article title, volume, issue) whereas a book chapter may have a chapter author and also mention the book's main title.

Important: quite often when you download a PDF, the 'link' becomes a filepath to a location on your computer which your tutor will be unable to open. For referencing purposes you should instead give the web address of the page you downloaded the file from.

If you are unsure about what kind of document your PDF would be classed as, contact the Library for further advice.