Heartwood uses an author-date referencing style known as APA. It has 2 parts:

• In-text citations e.g. (Tobyn, 2013), which appear in the text of your assignment
• List of References at the end of the assignment, which gives the full details of each source.

APA referencing is widely used in health and medicine and was developed by the American Psychological Association. The APA style of referencing is detailed in a manual, currently in its 7th edition, and so the current version of APA is known as ‘APA 7th’. If you are using any digital tools to help you produce your references, then you will need to make sure that you use the settings for APA 7th.

Wherever you have written about information or ideas that you have read about, you must cite the source using the author’s surname and the year of publication, in brackets. This is known as an in-text citation and often occurs at the end of the sentence e.g.

From a young age, Nicholas Culpeper was interested in plants (Tobyn, 2013).  

Here, the student has written their sentence containing information that they read in Tobyn’s book. As they have put the information into their own words, we call this paraphrasing or summarising. Even though the sentence is the student’s own words, tutors need to know where the information comes from and so an in-text-citation must be used.

Instead of putting citations at the end of the sentence, you can bring them into the sentence in a variety of ways:

According to Tobyn (2013), Culpeper was interested in plants from a young age.  
Tobyn (2013) suggests that Culpeper was interested in plants from a young age.  

For more information on in-text citations see the APA online style guide

If you are citing multiple sources at the end of a sentence to support an argument or statement, then list them in alphabetical order with a semi-colon between each citation:

(Green et al., 2007; Paton, 2013; Shaw & Hedley, 2017)

If you want to include a direct quotation, rather than summarising or paraphrasing in your own words, then how it is set out depends on its length.

For short quotations (less than 40 words), use double quotation marks and include the page number in the citation:

Clinical reasoning encompasses “the sum of thinking and decision-making processes associated with clinical practice” (Higgs & Jones, 2008, p.4).

For longer quotes (40 words or over), indent the quote and include the page number at the end:

Tobyn et al. (2016) identify that the historical use of white dead nettle is confusing as it is unclear which herb is being discussed, pointing out that: 
     A very unclear picture emerges from the Ancients themselves - are Dioscorides and Pliny speaking of the same plant and if so 
     is it Lamium or Scrophularia? The Renaissance authors broaden the debate considerably but do not necessarily help us to a 
     conclusion. (p. 215)

N.B. quotations should always be kept to a minimum. If possible, it is better to summarise or paraphrase authors in your own words (and don’t forget to include the in-text citation).

If you use a source that mentions another source with useful information in it, ideally you should always try and track down the original. However, if you can’t get hold of a copy of the original source, then you can use a secondary citation. Here you cite the original source, followed by ‘as cited in’ and the citation for the source that you read:

Culpeper is an important source of information about the practice of medicine in the 17th century (Poynter, 1962 as cited in Tobyn, 2013). 

Only the details of the source you actually read are entered into the reference list at the end of the assignment.

The reference list comes at the end of your assignment and lists the full details of all the sources you cited.

All your in-text citations should correspond to an entry in your reference list, and all the entries in your reference list should be cited in the text of your assignment. If you use the same citation multiple times in your assignment, you only need to put it once in your reference list.

Do not separate the list out into different source types – it should just be one list.

The list is in alphabetical order and should start on a new page at the end of your assignment. When you alphabetise your references by author's surname, proceed letter by letter disregarding any spaces, capitalization, hyphens, apostrophes, full stops or accent marks e.g. De Vargas would go under D; van den Oord would go under V. Bibliography: This is a second list, in the same format as the reference list but instead it includes sources that you read or consulted, but didn’t actually cite in the assignment. For most assignments you will only need a reference list, but sometimes you might also choose to include a bibliography to indicate your background reading.

Bibliography: This is a second list, in the same format as the reference list but instead it includes sources that you read or consulted, but didn’t actually cite in the assignment. For most assignments you will only need a reference list, but sometimes you might also choose to include a bibliography to indicate your background reading.

References

American Botanical Council. (2000). Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E: Hawthorn Berry. http://cms.herbalgram.org/expandedE/Hawthornberry.html

Bone, K. and Mills, S. (2013). Principles and practice of phytotherapy (2nd ed.). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-48725-7

Cabrera, C. (2014). Green healing – biophilia, herbal medicine and health. In: H. Brice-Ytsma and F. Watkins (Eds.), Herbal exchanges (2nd ed., pp.123-.131). Strathmore Publishing.

Chevallier, A. (2020). Three key herbs for the cardiovascular system at work in the older patient [Conference presentation]. Hein Zeylstra Memorial Lecture, NIMH Conference 2020. https://whova.com/embedded/event/herba_202010/?utc_source=ems#

Culpeper, N. (2007). Complete Herbal. Wordsworth. (Original work published 1653).

Ganora, L. (2009). Herbal constituents: foundations of phytochemistry. Herbalchem Press.

Green, J., Denham, A., Ingram, J., Hawkey, S. & Greenwood, R. (2007). Treatment of menopausal symptoms by qualified herbal practitioners: a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Family Practice, 24(5) pp. 468-474. http://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmm048.

Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.) Symphytum officinale. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/17886/i-Symphytum-officinale-i/Details

Shaw, N. & Hedley, C. (2017). A herbal book of making and taking (2nd ed.). Weeds in Situ.

This section will give details of how to reference the principal source types you will be using for your assignments.

Reference list entries have four basic elements: author, date, title and source details.

Each of these elements relates to a question that helps us locate the work:

• author: Who is responsible for this work?
• date: When was this work published?
• title: What is this work called?
• source: Where can I retrieve this work?

There will be occasions where you find material that you want to cite that doesn’t seem to fit any of the examples here. If this happens, answer the four questions above and use the most similar example in this guide as a template. For example, if your source is a leaflet you found online and you are not sure how to reference it, then follow the guidance for websites.

And always remember that the golden rule in referencing is to be consistent!

For more information and examples of reference list entries see the online APA style guide

End of sentence citation (Author, year):

… (Ganora, 2009).
… (Shaw & Hedley, 2017).

In-sentence citation:

Ganora (2009) points out that ….
Shaw and Hedley (2017) state that …

Reference list entry:

Author surnames(s), Initial(s). (Year). Book title in italics (Edition number, if available). Publisher.

Ganora, L. (2009). Herbal constituents: foundations of phytochemistry. Herbalchem Press. Shaw, N. & Hedley, C. (2017). A herbal book of making and taking (2nd ed.). Weeds in Situ.

Most books will list the year and publisher inside the front cover (often in very small writing). Alternatively, if you search for the book online you can usually find the information you need from book retailer websites or library catalogues.

Reference an ebook in the same way as for a print book but for ebooks you will also need to add the Digital Object Identifier (doi). The doi looks similar to a URL or web address, but it is more stable and permanent. You may find the doi formatted in various ways:

https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12487
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.11.014

ebook example:

…. (Bone and Mills, 2013).
Bone and Mills (2013) describe …

Bone, K. and Mills, S. (2013). Principles and practice of phytotherapy (2nd ed.). Elsevier. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2009-0-48725-7

If the ebook doesn’t have a doi, then use the URL instead.

Academic books are often made up of a series of essays or articles by different authors collected together into one book. If you look at the contents page, you will notice that each chapter is written by a different author. The book will have been put together by one or more editors (who may also write chapters) and it will be these editors whose names appear on the front and spine of the book.

For your citation, use the author of the specific chapter rather than the editors.

In the following example, we are referencing a chapter written by Chanchal Cabrera that is in a collection called Herbal Exchanges, edited by Hananja Brice-Ytsma and Frances Watkins.

End of sentence in-text citation (Author, year):

…. (Cabrera, 2014).

In-sentence citation:

Cabrera (2014) suggests that ….

Reference list entry:

Author surnames(s), Initial(s). (Year). Chapter title. In: Editor(s) by first initial, Surname (eds.). Book title in italics (Edition number if available and page numbers of chapter). Publisher.

Cabrera, C. (2014). Green healing – biophilia, herbal medicine and health. In: H. Brice-Ytsma and F. Watkins (Eds.), Herbal exchanges (2nd ed., pp.123-.131). Strathmore Publishing.

Journal articles often have multiple authors. If there are more than three authors, then use the first author, followed by ‘et al.’ in the in-text citation.

…. (Green et al., 2007).
Green et al. (2007) found that ….  

Reference list entry:

In the reference list entry you should write out all the authors, unless there are more than 20.

Author surname(s), Initial(s). (Year). Title of article. Journal title in italics, Volume number in italics (issue number in brackets if available) page numbers of article, or article ID number. DOI

Green, J., Denham, A., Ingram, J., Hawkey, S. & Greenwood, R. (2007). Treatment of menopausal symptoms by qualified herbal practitioners: a prospective, randomized controlled trial. Family Practice, 24(5) pp. 468-474. http://doi.org/10.1093/fampra/cmm048.

If there are more than 20 authors then write out the first 19 authors’ names and initials, followed by an ellipsis (…) and then write the final authors’ name and initials.

Digital Object Identifiers (doi)

For electronic journal articles you will need use the Digital Object Identifier (doi). The doi looks similar to a URL or web address, but it is more stable and permanent. You may find the doi formatted in various ways:

https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.12487
https://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02626667.2018.1560449
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.11.014

For many websites it is difficult to find a specific author’s name so you can use the organisation/institution as the author. If the organisation name is often abbreviated, then you will need to give the full name before you use the abbreviation.

It is also sometimes hard to find a specific year, in which case you can use ‘n.d.’ (which stands for no date).

End of sentence in-text citation (Author, year):

First citation:			…. (Royal Horticultural Society [RHS], n.d.).  
Subsequent citations: 		…. (RHS, n.d.).

In-sentence citation:

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS, n.d.) state that …

Reference list entry:

Author surname(s), Initial(s). (or use full organisation/institutional name). (Year, or if no year use n.d.). Web page title in italics. URL

Royal Horticultural Society. (n.d.) Symphytum officinale. https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/17886/i-Symphytum-officinale-i/Details

Writing about herbal medicine often involves using a wide range of texts, from traditional herbals to medical manuals. This list has been compiled based on queries asked by Heartwood students. If you have a query about something that is not listed here then please post it in the Heartwood Referencing Queries

Culpeper’s Complete Herbal

To reference a modern reprint of Culpeper’s Complete Herbal, add the original publication date to the in-text citation:

… (Culpeper, 1653/2007).
Culpeper (1653/2007) suggests that …

Reference list entry: Culpeper, N. (2007). Complete Herbal. Wordsworth. (Original work published 1653).

Traditional texts online

A number of traditional texts are now available to read online, such as Mrs Grieve and the texts on Henriette’s Herbal. To reference these, set them out as a website but use the original author and year e.g.

… (Grieve, 1931).
Grieve (1931) suggests that …

Grieve, M. (1931). A modern herbal. https://botanical.com/botanical/mgmh/c/cohblu84.html …. (Ellingwood, 1908).

Ellingwood (1908) describes …

Ellingwood, F. (1908). Ellingwood’s Therapeutist. Vol 2. https://www.henriettes-herb.com/eclectic/journals/elth/elth1908/09-caulophyllum.html

Commission E Monographs The Commission E monographs are available as a book and also online on the American Botanical Council (ABC) website. The book is referenced as follows:

…. (Blumenthal et al., 1998).
Blumenthal et al. (1998) state that …

Blumenthal, M., Busse, W. R., & Bundesinstitut für Arzneimittel und Medizinprodukte (Germany). (1998). The complete German Commission E monographs. American Botanical Council.

To reference a particular monograph from the website:

… (American Botanical Council 2000).
According to the America Botanical Council (2000), … 

American Botanical Council. (2000). Herbal Medicine: Expanded Commission E: Hawthorn Berry. http://cms.herbalgram.org/expandedE/Hawthornberry.html

British Pharmaceutical Codex

The author of the British Pharmaceutical Codex is the Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain.

… (Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain).
The Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1959) describe …

Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (1959). British Pharmaceutical Codex. The Pharmaceutical Press.

FAO Codex Alimentarius

… (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO], 2017).
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO, 2017) state that …

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations [FAO]. (2017). Standard for olive oils and olive pomace oils. CX 33-1981. http://www.fao.org/fao-who-codexalimentarius/sh-proxy/en/?lnk=1&url=https%253A%252F%252Fworkspace.fao.org%252Fsites%252Fcodex%252FStandards%252FCXS%2B33-1981%252FCXS_033e.pdf

BNF

The official author of the BNF is the Joint Formulary Committee.

… (Joint Formulary Committee, 2018).
The Joint Formulary Committee (2018) state that …

Joint Formulary Committee. (2018). British National Formulary. 76th ed. London: BMJ Group and Pharmaceutical Press.

Merck manual

… (Ruenger, 2021).
Ruenger (2021) describes …

Ruenger, T. (2021). Atopic Dermatitis (eczema). https://www.merckmanuals.com/professional/dermatologic-disorders/dermatitis/atopic-dermatitis-eczema?query=atopic%20dermatitis

Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)

The author of the DSM is the American Psychiatric Association. The most recent edition is the fifth edition (DSM-V).

… (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).
According to the American Psychiatric Association (2013), anxiety is characterised by …

American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Anxiety Disorders. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.books.9780890425596.dsm05

MPNS

…. (Medicinal Plant Name Services [MPNS], 2021).
According to Medicinal Plant Name Services (MPNS, 2021) …

Medicinal Plant Name Services [MPNS]. (2021) Mandragora officinarum. Kew Science. https://mpns.science.kew.org/mpns-portal/plantDetail?plantId=506563&query=mandragora&filter=&fuzzy=false&nameType=all&dbs=wcsCmp

Conference papers and presentations

… (Chevallier, 2020).
Chevallier (2020) points out that …

Chevallier, A. (2020). Three key herbs for the cardiovascular system at work in the older patient [Conference presentation]. Hein Zeylstra Memorial Lecture, NIMH Conference 2020. https://whova.com/embedded/event/herba_202010/?utc_source=ems#

Audio-visual material

TED talk:

… (Scrivener, 2020).
Scrivener (2020) argues that …

Scrivener, K. (2020). A concrete idea to reduce carbon emissions [video]. TED conferences. https://www.ted.com/talks/karen_scrivener_a_concrete_idea_to_reduce_carbon_emissions

Youtube video

… (APA University, 2019).
APA University (2019) demonstrated that …

APA University. (2019, August 28). Soft robotic gripper for jellyfish [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guRoWTYfxMs

Podcast

… (Hyman, 2021).
… Hyman (2021) suggests that …

Hyman, M. (Host). (2021, May 21). Is brain inflammation the cause of depression, dementia, ADD, and autism? A functional medicine approach to neuroinflammation (No. 57) [Audio podcast episode]. In The Doctor’s Farmacy https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/is-brain-inflammation-cause-depression-dementia-add/id1382804627?i=1000522897965

Lecture notes

Unless your assignment brief states that you can use lecture notes as references you should stick to referencing published sources (books, journal articles etc). If you do need to reference a lesson then set it out as follows:

… (Bendle, 2020).
Bendle (2020) describes …

Bendle, C. (2020). PC101 Herbal Traditions Term 1 Lesson 2: Urtica dioica, Stinging nettle. [PowerPoint slides]. https://heartwood-uk.net/lms/course/view.php?id=652

Referencing sources with the same author and date If you have more than one source by the same author produced in the same year then include a lower case letter after the publication year, in both the in-text citation and the reference list entry.

(Bendle, 2020a)
(Bendle, 2020b)

Bendle, C. (2020a). PC101 Herbal Traditions Term 1 Lesson 2: Urtica dioica, Stinging nettle. [PowerPoint slides]. https://heartwood-uk.net/lms/course/view.php?id=652

Bendle, C. (2020b). PC101 Herbal Traditions Term 1 Lesson 4: Taraxacum officinale, Dandelion. [PowerPoint slides]. https://heartwood-uk.net/lms/course/view.php?id=652

Images

For every image, even on a title page you should provide a caption under the image, which includes a title and a citation in brackets e.g.

Figure 2. Mandragora officinarum L. (Gregory, n.d.)

If the image does not have a title in the original publication, then come up with one that describes the image.

Put the full details of the image in the Reference list at the end of the assignment as follows:

Gregory, S. (n.d). Mandragora officinarum L. [Photograph]. http://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:816733-1

If the image is your own then you can either use you own name in the citation or ‘Author’s own image’. If the image is unpublished, you do not add it to the reference list.

Figure 1: Image title (Author's own image)

or

Figure 1: Image title (Your name)

Personal Communications

Referencing is usually only for published work but you can cite information you have obtained personally (such as verbal information, emails or personal recipes) by using a personal communication citation. However, this method does involve using the person's name so you should only use this method if you have their permission and it would be appropriate to do so.

… (J. Bloggs, personal communication, January 28, 2021).
Joe Bloggs (personal communication, January 28, 2021) developed the recipe …

You do not put anything in the reference list as the information isn’t publicly available.

Testimonials

Testimonials about a product or service often just use initials / and or occupation to give a sense of the person, without revealing their identity e.g.

"The lessons were great" (B.B. 2nd year student)

Another option for testimonial quotes in an assignment is to ensure the sentence introducing the info makes it clear where it is from (in a similar way to a newspaper article). e.g.

Testimonials were gathered from users, who commented: "It tasted lovely".

Testimonials do not have reference list entries.

Traditional Knowledge and Oral Traditions

To refer to traditional knowledge that has not been recorded or incorporated into a publication, for example if you spoke to an indigenous person directly, you should provide as much detail as you can in the main text and then use the personal communication citation.

We spoke with Anna Grant (Haida Nation, lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, personal communication, April 2019) about traditional understandings of the world by First Nations Peoples in Canada. She described . . .

Personal communications do not have entries in the reference list.

To demonstrate respect for indigenous people and perspectives you should capitalise the names of specific groups (e.g. Cherokee, Cree, Ojibwe) and words relating to indigenous culture (e.g., Creation, the Creator, Elder, Oral Tradition, Traditional Knowledge, Vision Quest).

For more information, see the APA guide to personal communications

Referencing Acts of Parliament

In the text, provide the name of the act and the year.

As stated in the Data Protection Act 2018, … 

Acts of parliament are not included in the reference list.

Referencing sources in other languages

In the reference list entry include the title in the original language, followed by the translated title in square brackets.

… (de Saint-Exupéry, 1943).

de Saint-Exupéry, A. (1943). Le petit prince [The little prince]. Gallimard.