General points for creating reference list entries for research and technical reports:
Many reports are authored by organisational departments, units or agencies - if so, include them as 'corporate authors' as the first element in the reference.
The author and publisher should be recorded as they appeared when the document was published, whether in print or online – not amended to their current organisational title.
Report titles appear in italics.
Include report numbers (if available) in brackets after the title.
For print reports include only the first place of publication if more than one is listed. For U.S. publications include the official state abbreviation after the city. This is also acceptable for Australian states and territories. For all other countries, spell out the name in full (e.g., New York, NY; Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.; Abingdon, England). When the author is also the publisher, use Author to indicate the publisher.
For onIine reports if the publisher is not identified as the author, add the publisher name to the retrieval statement: Retrieved from [Agency Name] website: http://www.xxxxxxx
Some reports may be assigned a DOI or "digital object identifier". If this is the case the DOI must be added to the reference. If no DOI is found, then the URL of the online publication site is included. Check the What are DOIs? page for more information.
The format for a reference to a print report is:
Note: When the author is also the publisher, use Author to indicate the publisher.
Reference list examples:
The general format for a reference to a report available online (but not assigned a DOI) is:
The first format example is the most common, where the publisher/agency is listed on the document as the author.
The second format example shows where the publisher/agency hasn't directly written the report but is hosting it on their website. In this case the agency name needs to be added to the retrieval statement to clarify their association with the report.
Reference list examples:
Reference list example:
For government reports and documents see the page for referencing these resources.
A white paper is a short document that presents an organisation’s philosophy, position, or policy on a particular issue. These documents are usually found via the organisation's website (or Google search).
White papers follow a similar format to a report but require the description White paper to be added after the title:
Reference list example:
If the source is a corporate author such as an organisation include the organisation's name within the in-text citation, plus the year of publication, in the format:
For example:
... found that students were spending more time online on social media platforms than undertaking research (IAB Australia, 2010).
If an organisation's name is known by a common acronym (eg. ASMR [Australian Society for Medical Research], SAG [Society of Australian Genealogists]), include the full name, plus the acronym in the first in-text citation, in the format:
For example:
... found that Australians had "good general knowledge" of their country's history. (Royal Australian Historical Society (RAHS), 2009, p. 3).
In subsequent references, include just the acronym:
... suggested that more could be done for preservation (RAHS, 2009).
