Reference works (OED)
Last updated
Last updated
For some coursework, you may need to work with and reference the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) Online. How you reference the OED depends on when the entry you refer to was added to the OED. There are two main options, exemplified with the entry for innit below. The first definition of innit provided is “a vulgar form for isn’t it”. A correct reference of this entry requires inclusion of the following information:
OPENING SINGLE QUOATION MARK + specific entry (i.e., the word you looked up in the OED) + CLOSING SINGLE QUOTATION MARK + FULL STOP + SPACE
The Oxford English Dictionary (in italics, with capitals initials for content words) + FULL STOP + SPACE
edition and year + FULL STOP + SPACE
OED Online (in italics, with capitals for content words) + FULL STOP + SPACE
the month & year on which this definition was added to the online version of the OED + FULL STOP + SPACE
Oxford University Press + FULL STOP + SPACE g. ‘Last accessed’ + SPACE + the date on which you last accessed the URL + COMMA h. ‘from’ + COLON + URL + FULL STOP.
However, the way innit is used has changed quite rapidly since the second edition of the OED was published in 1989. This is reflected in the on-line version. As shown below, a new definition for innit was added in July 2009. This is only a draft addition, though, which must be reflected in how this entry is referenced:
OPENING SINGLE QUOATION MARK + specific entry (i.e., the word you looked up in the OED) + CLOSING SINGLE QUOTATION MARK + FULL STOP + SPACE
OED Online (in italics, with capitals initials for content words) + FULL STOP + SPACE
edition and year + FULL STOP + SPACE
OED Online (in italics, with capitals for content words) + FULL STOP + SPACE
Oxford Universith Press + FULL STOP + SPACE
‘Last accessed’ + SPACE + the date on which you last accessed the URL + COMMA
‘from’ + COLON + URL + FULL STOP.
The reason why you need different conventions for the two entries is that the first entry also appears in the print version of the OED published in 1989, while the second one only appears in the current on-line version of the OED. This information is important for an interested reader.
If you have collected a lot of data from the OED, then do not give a reference for each word individually, the way it is done for innit above. Instead, at the point in your essay where you describe the sources of your data, make clear that you have collected it from the OED. At later points in your essay, whenever there is a need to remind the reader that you are discussing data collected from the OED, add the following after the relevant sentence:
(data from OED)
In the list of references, include one entry for the OED as a whole, which should take the following form:
For in-text references, follow the normal conventions: (OED 1989) or (OED 2009). For more detailed information on how to reference the OED, see .
