OSCOLA referencing style is used when submitting work for a module for the School of Law.  Due to the complexity of particular sources, some entries are very detailed.  Make sure to fully read each page.

Includes personal communications (letters, memos, emails, unarchived online forums, telephone conversations, & interviews, and public communications (speeches, lectures, seminars & announcements).

If the author is also the interviewer, provide the name, position and institution (as relevant) of the interviewee, location of the interview, and full date. If the interview was conducted by someone other than the author, the interviewer’s name should appear before the rest of the citation, as in the second example.

 

Footnote form

Interviewer (if not the author), Interviewee, position, institution (as relevant) (Location of interview, full date).

 

Footnote examples

1 C Anderson, Interview with Michael Mansfield QC (London, 12 December 2004).

2 Interview with Ian Bonar, University Librarian, University of Portsmouth (Portsmouth, 11 March 2007).

 

Bibliography

A private interview is not a public source, it is not considered to be "recoverable data", therefore you cannot list it in your bibliography. A transcript may, with the agreement of the interviewee, be included as an appendix to your work.

 

Notes

  • In the example above the first is a private interview by the author and therefore not included in the bibliography although it may be footnoted and referenced to a appendix.
  • The second was a public interview recorded for broadcast and could therefore be included in a reference list.
  • This does not apply to published interviews, such as those found in articles or books.  In these cases, use the appropriate style for the source, and use your text to indicate that the context is an interview and whose speech you are quoting or paraphrasing, but cite the author of the article or book, as it is their account of what was said that you have seen.

Reference: Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, OSCOLA: Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edn Oxford University 2010) 43.

 

Examples include a letter, memo, unarchived online forum, and telephone/mobile conversation.

Give the author and recipient of the communication, and the date. If you are the author or the recipient, say 'from author' or 'to author' as appropriate.

 

Footnote form

Type of personal communication from author to recipient (day month year).

 

Footnote examples

1 Email from Jo Bloggs to John Doe (26 January 2007).

2 Letter from Jo Bloggs to John Doe (11 March 2008).
 

Bibliography

Personal communication cannot be considered to be 'recoverable data', therefore you cannot list it in the bibliography. However, you may refer to them in text and can give relevant details in the footnote. 

 

Notes

Reference: Faculty of Law, University of Oxford, OSCOLA: Oxford Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (4th edn Oxford University 2010) 43.

 

This source is not covered by the OSCOLA style manual. Suggestions on this page are modelled on FAQs on the OSCOLA website but have not yet been discussed and approved by the OSCOLA editorial board.

 

Examples include a speech, lecture, seminar, and announcement. Follow the general principles for citing secondary sources. If a source has an ISBN, cite it like a book. 

If the text of the communication is available as a print or electronic resource, and is recoverable, then this is what should be referenced e.g press release, website, speech, etc. However, if the communication is not recoverable it should be treated in the same way as personal communications. Most lecturers prefer you not to cite their lectures in your work but instead use the primary and secondary sources they have referred to in the lectures. 

 

Footnote form

Author, 'Title' (additional information, publisher year). 

If a source is available only online, then give the web address and the date of access.

Additional information may include a document number, a document description, a date of adoption and any other information that may help a reader to locate the source.

The publisher may be a government body or an organisation, and it is also possible that no publisher will be identifiable. Depending on the source, it may be more appropriate to provide the publication date, rather than the year.

 

Footnote examples

1 Lord Bingham, ‘Keynote Address’ (Liberty conference, London, 6 June 2009) <http://www.liberty-human-rights.org.uk/publications/3-articles-and-speeches/index.shtml> accessed 19 November 2009.

2 Stavros Dimas, EU Environment Commissioner, 'Improving Environmental Quality through Carbon Trading' (Speech at the Carbon Expo Conference, Köln, 2 May 2007) <http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=SPEECH/07/265> accessed 29 May 2011.

 

 

Notes

  • Consider if this is the best sort of material to refer to in your work. Are there recoverable sources which make the same point more authoritatively?
  • Information on arrangement of the bibliography.
  • In the bibliography, list these as secondary sources alphabetically by author.