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Journal articles

  • For journals where there is no volume number, use square brackets around the year.
  • For two or three authors, list all authors with 'and' before the final name.

  • If there are more than three authors, give the first author's name followed by 'and others'. 

 

Footnote

n Author name as it appears on the source, 'Article Title' [Year] Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article, pinpoint page if required.

4 Richard Flannigan, 'Fiduciary Duties of Shareholders and Directors' [2004] JBL 277, 284.

 

Bibliography

No full stop is needed at the end of the reference in the bibliography.

Author Initials, 'Article Title' [Year] Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article

Flannigan R, 'Fiduciary Duties of Shareholders and Directors' [2004] JBL 277

 

  • For journals where there is a volume number, use round brackets around the year.
  • For two or three authors, list all authors with 'and' before the final name.

  • If there are more than three authors, give the first author's name followed by 'and others'. 

 

Footnote

n Author name as it appears on the source, 'Article Title' (Year) Volume number Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article, pinpoint page if required.

4 Francesca Klug and Helen Wildbore, ‘Follow or Lead? The Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights’ (2010) 6 EHRLR 621, 624.

5 Michael Naughton, 'Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice' (2008) 186 Crim Law 3, 5.

6 Lee Roach, ‘The UK Stewardship Code’ (2011) 11 JCLS 463, 468.

 

Bibliography

No full stop is needed at the end of the reference in the bibliography.

Author initials, 'Article Title' (Year) Volume number Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article

Klug F and Wildbore H, ‘Follow or Lead? The Human Rights Act and the European Court of Human Rights’ (2010) 6 EHRLR 621

Naughton M, 'Rethinking Miscarriages of Justice' (2008) 186 Crim Law 3

Roach L, ‘The UK Stewardship Code’ (2011) 11 JCLS 463

 

  • OSCOLA uses abbreviations for journal titles. 

  • Selected journals are listed in the Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations (freely available) by journal title and by abbreviation at  https://legalabbrevs.cardiff.ac.uk/ as well as in the full OSCOLA guidance (Section 5.2.1).

  • Look for the preferred abbreviation and remove any full stops.

 

  • Case Notes should be treated as journal articles - the same rules regarding square and round brackets around the year apply.
  • If there is no title, use the case name in italics and inside single quotation marks and add (note) after the starting page number

 

Footnote 

n Author name as it appears on the source, 'Title' [Year] Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article, pinpoint page if required.

1 Daniel Nolan, 'Nuisance and Privacy' (2021)137 LQR 1.

2 Andrew Ashworth, ‘R (Singh) v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police’ [2006] Crim LR 441 (note).

 

Bibliography 

No full stop is needed at the end of the reference in the bibliography.

Author Initials, 'Title' [Year] Abbreviated Journal Name first page number of article

Nolan D,  'Nuisance and Privacy' (2021)137 LQR 1

Ashworth A, ‘R (Singh) v Chief Constable of the West Midlands Police’ [2006] Crim LR 441 (note)

 

Journal article FAQs

If a journal or article is only published electronically, it may not have a complete set of publication details. Elements such as page numbers may be missing. Give as much information as possible, but omit any elements which are not provided. 

Articles which have not yet been formally published should be given footnotes and bibliography entries which are as full as possible, with (forthcoming) added at the end. If volume and/or page numbers are not yet known, these should be omitted.