Mastering Academic Referencing and Citations for Law and Health

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Disclaimer: This article is for general educational information only and does not constitute legal, academic, medical, or professional advice. Referencing requirements vary by university, module, publisher, and jurisdiction; always follow your institution’s official style guide and assessment instructions. “While my own legal studies use OSCOLA, this guide is intentionally broader to support students across law, health, and related disciplines.”

A step-by-step guide (with clear, copy-and-paste examples for footnotes, reference lists, and online sources)

Academic writing isn’t just about what you know; it’s about proving where it came from. Strong citations help you avoid plagiarism, support your arguments, and signal credibility. The key is to follow the right system for your discipline: law usually relies on footnotes (often OSCOLA in the UK), while health commonly uses Harvard (author–date) or Vancouver (numeric).

Step-by-step: How to cite properly (Law + Health)

Step 1) Confirm which referencing system you must use

• Law (UK / many universities): OSCOLA (footnotes + bibliography/table of authorities).
• Health/healthcare/nursing / public health: often Harvard (author–date + reference list) or Vancouver (numbers + reference list).

Rule: Use your module/department guide as the “source of truth” if it differs.

Step 2) Keep perfect source notes while you research

For every source, capture (minimum):

• Author(s)
• Title
• Year
• Publisher/journal
• Volume/issue/pages (if relevant)
• Court + neutral citation (law cases)
• URL/DOI (online sources)
• Date accessed (often required for web pages)

This saves hours later.

Step 3) Decide what you’re citing: direct quote, paraphrase, or fact

• Direct quote: cite immediately and include a pinpoint (page/paragraph).
• Paraphrase: still cite, credit the original idea.
• Data/clinical claims: cite the best-quality evidence (systematic reviews, guidelines).

Step 4) Use the right “pinpointing” method

• Law (OSCOLA): pinpoint with paragraphs (cases) or pages (books).
• Health (Harvard/Vancouver): include page numbers for quotes; for paraphrase, pages are helpful if available.

Step 5) Format citations correctly (discipline-specific)

A) LAW examples (OSCOLA-style footnotes)

1) Case in a footnote (with pinpoint paragraph)

In your text:

The duty of care is not automatic and depends on proximity and policy considerations.¹

Footnote:

1 Caparo Industries plc v Dickman [1990] UKHL 2, [18]–[21].

2) Legislation in a footnote

In your text:

Employers have statutory duties relating to health and safety.²

Footnote:

2 Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, s 2.

3) Book in a footnote (with page pinpoint)

In your text:

The concept of negligence requires breach and causation.³

Footnote:

3 Donal Nolan and Andrew Robertson (eds), Rights and Private Law (Hart Publishing 2012) 45.

4) Journal article in a footnote (with page pinpoint)

4 Sarah Green, ‘Causation in Negligence: A Reappraisal’ (2015) 31(2) Professional Negligence 85, 90.

5) Website/online report in a footnote (include access date)

5 World Health Organization, ‘Patient Safety’ (WHO) <https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety> accessed 13 February 2026.

OSCOLA tips that boost marks

• Use footnotes for almost all legal authorities (cases, statutes, books, articles).
• Use neutral citations where available.
• Pinpoint precisely (paragraphs/pages).
• If required, add a bibliography or table of authorities at the end.

B) HEALTH examples (Harvard author–date)

1) In-text citation (paraphrase)

In your text:

Medication adherence improves when patient education is tailored to health literacy (Smith and Patel, 2021).

2) In-text citation (direct quote with page number)

In your text:

“Shared decision-making increases treatment satisfaction” (Jones, 2020, p. 44).

3) Reference list examples (Harvard)

At the end, under References:

Jones, R. (2020) Patient Communication in Clinical Practice. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.

Smith, A. and Patel, K. (2021) ‘Improving medication adherence in primary care’, Journal of Health Practice, 15(3), pp. 210–222.

World Health Organization (2023) Patient safety. Available at: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety (Accessed: 13 February 2026).

4) DOI and URL handling (health writing)

• Prefer DOIs for journal articles when available.
• If using a URL, include an Accessed date if your style requires it.

Example with DOI:

Taylor, M. (2022) ‘Health literacy interventions in chronic illness’, Public Health Review, 18(1), pp. 12–25. doi:10.1234/phr.2022.0012.

Step 6) Know how “footnotes” work in each discipline

• Law: footnotes are the main citation system (OSCOLA is built around them).
• Health (Harvard): footnotes are usually not for referencing, more for brief explanatory notes (unless your guide says otherwise).
• Health (Vancouver): footnote-like numbers in the text point to the reference list.

If your health module uses Vancouver, it looks like this:

In-text: Patient safety incidents remain underreported.1
Reference list: 1. World Health Organization. Patient safety [Internet]. 2023 [cited 2026 Feb 13]. Available from: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/patient-safety

Step 7) Build your reference list (health) or bibliography/table (law) as you go

Best habit: add the full reference the moment you cite it. Don’t “leave it until the end.”

Step 8) Do a final citation audit before submission

Run a quick checklist:

• Every claim that needs support has a citation.
• Every citation has a full matching entry (health reference list/law bibliography if required).
• Pinpoints are included for quotes and key propositions.
• URLs are not broken; access dates are present if required.
• Consistent punctuation, italics, and ordering.

Common mistakes (and how to avoid them)

• Over-citing obvious facts (wastes space) vs under-citing key claims (risks plagiarism).
• Missing pinpoints (page/paragraph) on quotes or case propositions.
• Using the wrong style (e.g., Harvard formatting in a law essay expecting OSCOLA).
• Citing low-quality sources (blogs, opinion pieces) instead of guidelines, statutes, cases, and peer-reviewed research.

Credible Sources to Use in Academic Writing

When selecting sources for academic work in law and health, priority should always be given to authoritative, verifiable, and evidence-based materials. In law, this includes primary sources such as legislation, case law, and official court judgments, alongside respected legal textbooks, peer-reviewed law journals, and publications from recognised legal institutions. In health and healthcare writing, credible sources include peer-reviewed medical and nursing journals, systematic reviews, clinical guidelines, government health departments, and international organisations such as the NHS, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), and the World Health Organization (WHO). These sources are written or reviewed by experts and are regularly updated to reflect current research and best practice.

Sources to Use With Caution

Some materials may be useful for background reading or general understanding, but should be approached carefully and, in most cases, not relied upon as core academic sources. These include news articles, magazine features, opinion pieces, charity blogs, and commercial websites. While they can help contextualise an issue or demonstrate public debate, they often lack peer review and may present bias, outdated information, or simplified interpretations. If used at all, they should be clearly supported by more authoritative academic or official sources.

Sources to Avoid in Academic Work

Certain sources are generally considered inappropriate for academic citation in both law and health disciplines. These include Wikipedia, personal blogs, social media posts, forums, unverified websites, and content produced without clear authorship or references. Although Wikipedia can be helpful as a starting point for understanding a topic, it is not a reliable academic source because it can be edited by anyone and may change without notice. Citing such sources can weaken an argument and may negatively affect academic credibility and assessment outcomes. Most lectures will tell you to avoid these sources.

Quick mini-templates you can reuse

Law (OSCOLA) footnote templates

Case:         1 Case Name [Year] Court Abbrev Number, [pinpoint].
Statute:      2 Act Name Year, s X(Y).
Book:         3 Author, Title (Publisher Year) page.
Website:      4 Author/Org, ‘Title’ (Site, Year) <URL> accessed DD Month YYYY.

Health (Harvard) templates

In-text:      (Author, Year) | (Author and Author, Year) | (Author et al., Year)
Book:         Author (Year) Title. Edition. Place: Publisher.
Journal:      Author (Year) ‘Title’, Journal, volume(issue), pp. xx–xx. doi:...
Website:      Organisation (Year) Title. Available at: URL (Accessed: date).

Conclusion

Mastering academic citations is not about memorising rules for their own sake, but about communicating ideas with clarity, integrity, and credibility. Whether writing for law or health disciplines, understanding how to reference sources correctly allows students to engage confidently with existing research, support their arguments with evidence, and demonstrate academic honesty. By following a structured, step-by-step approach and using the appropriate referencing system for each subject area, academic writing becomes more manageable and far less intimidating. With practice, accurate citation becomes second nature, empowering students to focus on what truly matters: developing strong, well-reasoned arguments that contribute meaningfully to academic and professional discussions.