Within the School of Law & Government, two referencing styles apply depending on your area of academic focus.
For legal sources, the Oxford University standard for the citation of legal authorities (OSCOLA) style applies.
For politics and international relations, the Harvard style applies.
For more information, see our Citing and Referencing section on the DCU website.
Please always confirm with you lecturer which referencing style you are expected to use
OSCOLA uses footnotes, while Harvard uses in-text citations.
OSCOLA is explicitly designed for Law and legal materials; usually, only law students use OSCOLA. The OSCOLA citation guide is available to download here.
The OSCOLA Ireland citation guide is a version of OSCOLA adapted and amended to suit the Irish legal context and is available to download here. See also the OSCOLA Ireland Quick Reference Guide.
See our DCU Library video guide on How To Cite and Reference in OSCOLA too for a quick start to using this style.
Tip!
Consider using /Zotero/ with the OSCOLA legal referencing system. Check out this screencast to learn how to do this; check out some OSCOLA samples. It is essential that you first develop an understanding of how to include OSCOLA in your written assignments. Once you have done this groundwork, you will benefit from the support provided by the Zotero Word plug-in.
Harvard is a more widely used Reference style across multiple disciplines, and is often used in the politics and international relations field.
Harvard uses in-text citations, unlike the footnotes used with OSCOLA
See our DCU Library video guide on How To Cite and Reference in Harvard for a quick start to using this style, and visit the Style Guide in Cite Them Right for guidance on using Harvard