Bayero University Kano crest A publication of Bayero University Kano Library e-ISSN 3093-043X  |  p-ISSN 3093-0537
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Citation guidelines

BJIM uses APA style, 7th edition, for every citation and reference. This page covers the cases authors ask about most. For anything not covered here, the APA Publication Manual (7th ed.) and the APA Style website are the final word. Examples on this page use made-up authors and titles.

1. The style we use

Cite your sources in APA 7th edition: author and year in the text, and a full entry for each source in an alphabetical reference list at the end.

  • Set the manuscript in Times New Roman, 12 point, with 1.5 line spacing. The reference list is the exception: use single line spacing there.
  • References count towards the page limit of 13 to 15 pages, which includes the title page and any supplements.
  • Label and format tables and figures in APA style, and place them in the text where they are discussed.

A reference manager saves a lot of checking. Zotero and Mendeley are both free and include an APA 7th edition style.

2. In-text citations

Every in-text citation gives the author’s surname and the year of publication. You can put both in brackets (a parenthetical citation) or use the author’s name in your sentence (a narrative citation).

AuthorsParentheticalNarrative
One(Bello, 2021)Bello (2021)
Two(Bello & Okafor, 2021)Bello and Okafor (2021)
Three or more(Bello et al., 2021)Bello et al. (2021)
Organisation, first mention(National Universities Commission [NUC], 2020)National Universities Commission (NUC, 2020)
Organisation, later mentions(NUC, 2020)NUC (2020)
No date(Bello, n.d.)Bello (n.d.)

Points that often go wrong

  • Use “et al.” from the first citation when a work has three or more authors. APA 7 no longer lists all the names the first time.
  • Use “&” inside brackets and “and” in running text.
  • Give an abbreviation for an organisation only if you use it at least three times, and define it at the first citation.
  • Several works in one bracket go in alphabetical order, separated by semicolons: (Adamu, 2019; Bello, 2021; Okafor & Musa, 2018).
  • Two works by the same author in the same year take letters after the year: (Bello, 2021a, 2021b). The letters follow the order of the titles in the reference list.
  • Cite the source you actually read. If you only know a work through another author, name both and list only the one you read: (Okafor, 2012, as cited in Bello, 2021). Use this sparingly.
  • Interviews, emails and conversations that readers cannot retrieve are personal communications. Cite them in the text only, with a full date, and leave them out of the reference list: (A. B. Musa, personal communication, March 3, 2026). Research participants you interviewed are not cited this way; they are part of your data.

3. Quotations

A direct quotation needs a page number, or a paragraph number for sources without pages.

  • Short quotations (under 40 words) go in double quotation marks in your sentence: Bello (2021) found that “most respondents had never used the library’s online catalogue” (p. 14).
  • Use “p.” for one page and “pp.” for a range: (Okafor, 2019, pp. 22–23). For web pages, give the paragraph: (NUC, 2020, para. 4).
  • Quotations of 40 words or more are set as a block quotation: a new paragraph, indented 0.5 inch, without quotation marks, with the citation after the final full stop.

Paraphrasing is usually better than quoting. A paraphrase still needs a citation; a page number is optional but helps the reader.

4. The reference list

  • Start the list on a new page headed References, centred and in bold.
  • Every source cited in the text appears in the list, and every entry in the list is cited in the text. The only exceptions are personal communications.
  • Order entries alphabetically by the first author’s surname. For several works by the same first author, single-author works come first, ordered by year.
  • Use a hanging indent of 0.5 inch and single line spacing.
  • List up to 20 authors in the reference entry. For 21 or more, give the first 19, an ellipsis (…), then the final author. Do not write “et al.” in the reference list.
  • Write article and chapter titles in sentence case: capitalise only the first word, the first word after a colon, and proper nouns. Put book, report and journal titles in italics.
  • Put the journal name and volume number in italics, followed by the issue number in brackets, not italic: Journal Name, 12(2).
  • Do not give the publisher’s location for books. APA 7 dropped it.

5. Reference patterns

Follow the punctuation and italics exactly. Each pattern is followed by an example with made-up details.

Journal article

Pattern

Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of the article. Name of the Journal, Volume(Issue), first page–last page. https://doi.org/xxxx

Example

Bello, H. A., & Okafor, C. N. (2021). Use of electronic databases by postgraduate students in two Nigerian universities. Journal of Library Practice, 14(2), 45–58. https://doi.org/10.5555/jlp.2021.142

Journal article without a DOI

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the article. Name of the Journal, Volume(Issue), pages. URL of the article page (only if it has one)

Example

Musa, F. I. (2019). Records management practices in state ministries. Northern Journal of Information Studies, 6(1), 12–25.

Book

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the book: Subtitle (Edition if not the first). Publisher. https://doi.org/xxxx (if available)

Example

Adamu, S. B. (2018). Introduction to library cataloguing (2nd ed.). Example University Press.

Edited book

Pattern

Editor, A. A., & Editor, B. B. (Eds.). (Year). Title of the book. Publisher.

Example

Okafor, C. N., & Bello, H. A. (Eds.). (2020). Information services in rural communities. Example Academic Publishers.

Chapter in an edited book

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the chapter. In E. E. Editor & F. F. Editor (Eds.), Title of the book (pp. first–last). Publisher.

Example

Yusuf, A. M. (2020). Community radio as an information channel. In C. N. Okafor & H. A. Bello (Eds.), Information services in rural communities (pp. 101–118). Example Academic Publishers.

Thesis or dissertation (unpublished)

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the thesis [Unpublished doctoral dissertation / Unpublished master’s thesis]. Name of University.

Example

Garba, M. Y. (2022). Digital preservation readiness of university libraries in North-West Nigeria [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. Example University.

Thesis or dissertation (in a repository)

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year). Title of the thesis [Doctoral dissertation, Name of University]. Name of Repository. URL

Example

Garba, M. Y. (2022). Digital preservation readiness of university libraries in North-West Nigeria [Doctoral dissertation, Example University]. Example University Institutional Repository. https://repository.example.edu.ng/123

Paper in published conference proceedings

Pattern

Cite it like a journal article (if the proceedings appear in a journal) or like a book chapter (if they are published as a book).

Example

Lawal, Z. I. (2023). Library services for distance learners. In R. T. Musa (Ed.), Proceedings of the Example Library Conference (pp. 34–41). Example Publishers.

Conference presentation (not published)

Pattern

Presenter, A. A. (Year, Month Day–Day). Title of the presentation [Paper presentation]. Name of Conference, City, Country. URL (if available)

Example

Lawal, Z. I. (2023, July 10–14). Library services for distance learners [Paper presentation]. Example Library Conference, Kano, Nigeria.

Report by an organisation or government body

Pattern

Organisation Name. (Year). Title of the report (Report No. if any). Publisher (leave out if it is the same as the author). URL

Example

Example State Library Board. (2024). Annual report on public library services. https://www.example.gov.ng/report-2024

Web page

Pattern

Author or Organisation. (Year, Month Day). Title of the page. Site Name (leave out if it is the same as the author). URL

Example

Example Library Association. (2025, May 2). Guidelines for school library staffing. https://www.example.org.ng/guidelines

Newspaper article (online)

Pattern

Author, A. A. (Year, Month Day). Title of the article. Name of the Newspaper. URL

Example

Ibrahim, K. (2025, March 18). New reading centres open in rural communities. The Example Times. https://www.example-times.ng/reading-centres

Generative AI tool

Pattern

Developer. (Year). Name of the tool (Version or date) [Large language model]. URL

Example

Example AI Lab. (2025). ExampleChat (March 2025 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.example.com

If you use a generative AI tool, cite it in the text as (Developer, Year) and describe in your methods what you used it for. Tell the editor about any such use when you submit.

6. DOIs and URLs

  • Give a DOI for every source that has one, even if you read a printed copy. Write it as a link: https://doi.org/10.xxxx/xxxxx. Do not write “DOI:” or “doi:” in front of it.
  • You can look up missing DOIs for journal articles at crossref.org.
  • For online sources without a DOI, give the URL. Leave out “Retrieved from” unless the page is designed to change over time, such as a live statistics page. For those, add the date you viewed it: Retrieved March 3, 2026, from https://…
  • Do not give URLs for databases you searched, such as Google Scholar or EBSCOhost. Cite the article itself.
  • Check that every link works before you submit.

7. Before you submit

Editors return manuscripts whose references do not follow these points.

  • Every in-text citation has a matching reference, and every reference is cited in the text.
  • Names and years match exactly between the text and the list.
  • Works with three or more authors use “et al.” in the text from the first citation.
  • The list is in alphabetical order, single-spaced, with a hanging indent.
  • Article titles are in sentence case; journal names and volume numbers are in italics.
  • Every source that has a DOI shows it as https://doi.org/….
  • Direct quotations have page or paragraph numbers.
  • Your own earlier work is cited in the third person, and you have removed anything that identifies you from the copy sent for blind review.

8. Citing a BJIM article

Every article page on this website shows a ready-made APA citation. The pattern is:

Author, A. A., & Author, B. B. (Year). Title of the article. Bayero Journal of Information Management, Volume(Issue), pages. https://doi.org/xxxx

Write the journal name in full rather than as “BJIM”. BJIM’s ISSNs are 3093-043X (online) and 3093-0537 (print). You don’t need them in an APA reference, but some indexes ask for them.

Questions about referencing?

Write to the editorial office at bjim@buk.edu.ng before you submit. See also the manuscript guidelines.