Author Guidelines

Style Guide

The Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions (JBASR, formerly known as DISKUS) is an international peer reviewed journal published online (open access, at no cost to author or reader) by the British Association for the Study of Religions (BASR).

Your article should conform to the objectives of BASR, which is to promote the academic study of religion/s, understood as the historical, social, theoretical, critical and comparative study of religion/s. BASR is not a forum for confessional, apologetic, or similar concerns.

If you follow the style set out below it will help our peer-reviewers and the co-ordinating editor and thereby enhance our ability to publish your work.

Please use a sans-serif font, e.g. Arial, at 12 point, single spaced.

Please use ‘single quotation marks’ to surround quotations, reserving “double quotation marks” for use within quotes.

Please put only a single space after the full-stop.

Please use citation style (detailed below) based on the Harvard or author-date system of bibliographic references.

Please include an article title followed by your name and institutional affiliation and email, as you would like them to appear in your published article.

Please include an abstract of no more than 250 words to precede your article.

Articles should be in general between 6-8000 words.

You may include photographs. If necessary, the co-ordinating editor will request copies of such material as separate files.

You may include diacritics if they are available as true-type-fonts. Please note, however, that JBASR is intended for a wide scholarly audience and it may be appropriate to use less complicated transliteration systems in the interests of wider accessibility.

Following submission of your article it will be made anonymous and sent to at least one peer reviewer. The reviewers’ advice will be considered by the coordinating editor of JBASR. Should advice be deemed helpful in improving your article prior to publication it will be made anonymous and forwarded to you. In the event that the peer review recommends against publication, the coordinating editor will email you. However, papers selected for consideration following our annual conference are unlikely to be rejected outright.

The remainder of this guide concerns referencing and provides examples of the resources we anticipate may be used by colleagues. 

The guidance is derived, with permission, from the Open University Library Services’ “Guide to citing references”. We thank Moojan Momen for revising this in 2018.

If you have any questions, email the coordinating editor of JBASR.

Thank you.

Referencing

In text citations

In this system, references in the text (in text citations) are referred to by the author’s name and year of publication, and the page number(s) of the quoted / summarised material, for example:

It is stated that… (Hinnells, 2009, 15). Or: Hinnells (2009, 15) states…

This is also the case for quoting material for all the types of text referred to in the rest of this guide, unless page numbers are not available.

In the reference list or bibliography items are listed only once in alphabetical order. In some cases, you may refer to more than one publication by an author for a specific year. To help identify these different items for your in-text citation and reference list, you should add a letter of the alphabet to the year of publication, for example:

(Thomson, 2004a), (Thomson, 2004b) and (Thomson, 2004c)

When you come across a publication with 3 or more authors you only list the first author for the in-text citation followed by et al., for example:

(Jones et al., 2007); but in the reference list or bibliography you would list each author in full.

Reference lists

References in the reference list or bibliography give, in alphabetical order by author surname, full details of all the sources you have used in the text, for example:

Glazier, S.D. (2009) ‘Anthropological study of religion’ in Clarke, P.B. and Beyer, P. (eds) The World’s Religions: Continuities and Transformations, Abingdon and New York, Routledge, pp. 24–39.

Hansen, T.B. (1999) The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.

Pierard, R.V. and Linder, R. (1988) Civil Religion and the Presidency, Grand Rapids, Zondervan

Willie, S. S. (2003) Acting Black: College, Identity and the Performance of Race [online], http://library.open.ac.uk/linking/index.php?id=311027 (Accessed 10 April 2010)

Books: book, book chapter and ebook

Book

The book The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, by Thomas Blom Hansen (published in Princeton by Princeton University Press in 1999) would be referred to in the in-text citation as (Hansen, 1999). If you cite a particular page or range of pages these would be included inside the brackets: (Hansen, 1999, p.8-9).

In the references list it would be cited by Author's (or editor's) surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title (in italics, capitalise each proper noun), edition (if not first) place of publication, publisher; for example:

Hansen, T.B. (1999) The Saffron Wave: Democracy and Hindu Nationalism in Modern India, Princeton, NJ, Princeton University Press.

Book chapter

Author of chapter’s surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of chapter (enclosed in single inverted commas, capitalise first word and proper nouns only), in Editor's surname and initials (ed.) title of book (in italics, capitalise each proper noun), edition (if not first) place of publication, publisher, page reference if known; for example:

Glazier, S.D. (2009) ‘Anthropological Study of Religion’ in Clarke, P.B. and Beyer, P. (eds) The World’s Religions: Continuities and Transformations, Abingdon and New York, Routledge, pp. 24–39.

In-text citation: (Glazier, 2009, 24) or Glazier (2009, 24) states…

Ebooks

The format for referencing an ebook, when publisher information is not known, is: Author, A. (year of publication) Title of Book [online], URL (date accessed). Example:

Willie, S. S. (2003) Acting Black: College, Identity and the Performance of Race [online], http://library.open.ac.uk/linking/index.php?id=311027 (Accessed 10 April 2010)

In-text citation: (Willie, 2003) or Willie (2003) notes that…

ebooks on ebook readers

The format for referencing an ebook on an ebook reader (such as a Kindle) is: Author, A. (year of ebook publication) Title of Book [ebook], place of publication, publisher. Example:

Matthews, D. J. (2010) What Cats Can Teach Us [ebook], London, Penguin.

In-text citation: (Matthews, 2010) or Matthews (2010) notes that…

As page numbers are not available on ebook readers, use the chapters instead for indicating the location of a quoted section:

In-text quotation: Matthews notes that ‘kittens are often delightful’ (2010, Chapter 6)

Journals: journal and ejournal articles

Journal article

Author's surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of article (enclosed in single inverted commas, capitalise first word and proper nouns only), the Title of the Journal (in italics, capitalise each proper noun), the volume, issue number and, if given, the date, and the pages on which the article appears; for example:

Primiano, L.N. (1995) ‘Vernacular Religion and the Search for Method in Religious Folklife’, Western Folklore, vol. 54, no. 1, pp. 37–56.

In text citation: (Primiano, 1995, 38) or Primiano (1995, 38) states…

Ejournal articles

Author's surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of article (enclosed in single inverted commas), the title (in italics) of the journal, if given, the volume and issue number of the journal, Online in square brackets, 'available from' information such as the name of the service and/or URL and, in round brackets, followed by the date you accessed the site; for example:

Helland, C. (2005) ‘Online Religion as Lived Religion: Methodological Issues in the Study of Religious Participation on the Internet’, Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet 1.1: 1-16. http://www.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/archiv/5823  Available from: (Accessed 4 October 2009).

In text citation: (Helland, 2005, 2) or Helland (2005, 2) states…

For electronic journal articles you are advised to put the name of the service the item is from, or the URL. Some databases and electronic journals provide persistent URLs. This is a URL that should get you direct to the article – use this if given.

Newspapers: Print and online

Newspaper: print

Author's surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of the article (enclosed in single inverted commas, capitalise the first word and proper nouns only), title of the newspaper in italics, date i.e. day and month, page number [optional to put in column number, especially for broadsheets]; for example:

Mackay, C. (2002) 'Alert over big cat', The Daily Mirror, 4th July, p.28.

In text citation: (Mackay, 2002, 28) or Mackay (2002, 28) states…

Newspaper: online

Author's surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of the article (enclosed in single inverted commas, capitalise the first word and proper nouns only), title of the newspaper in italics, date i.e. day and month, [online] Available from URL and, in round brackets, the date you accessed the site; for example:

MacLeod, D. (2007) 'Oxbridge trainee teachers twice as likely to get jobs', Education Guardian, 3^rd August, [online] Available from http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/news/story/0,,2140513,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=8  (Accessed 3 August 2007)

In text citation: (MacLeod, 2007) or MacLeod (2007) states…

Reports

Author's surname and initials or organisation, year of report (in brackets), title (in italics), issuing organisation, and report number; for example:

Halliday, J. (1995) Assessment of the accuracy of the DTI's database of the UK wind speeds, Energy Technology Support Unit, ETSU-W-11/00401/REP.

In text citation: (Halliday, 1995) or Halliday (1995) states…

Conference papers

Author's surname and initials, year of publication (in brackets), title of paper (enclosed in single inverted commas, capitalise the first word and proper nouns only), title of conference (in italics), location and date of conference, place of publication, publisher, pages on which the paper appears; for example:

Jones, J. (1994), 'Polymer blends based on compact disc scrap', in Proceedings of the Annual Technical Conference - Society of Plastics Engineers, San Francisco May 1-5, 1994, Brookfield, CT, Society of Plastics Engineers, pp. 2865-2867.

In text citation: (Jones, 1994) or Jones (1994) states…

Theses

Author’s surname and initials, Year of submission (in brackets), Title: subtitle (if any) (in italics, capitalise first word and proper nouns only), Degree statement (e.g. Unpublished PhD thesis, Unpublished Degree dissertation), place of publication (if not clear from institution name, e.g. Cambridge University), Awarding institution; for example:

Morishita, M. (2003) Empty museums: transculturation and the development of public art museums in Japan. Unpublished PhD. thesis, Milton Keynes, Open University.

In text citation: (Morishita, 2003, 56) or Morishita (2003, 56) claims…

Online documents, personal sites, blogs and podcasts

World Wide Web documents

Author's surname and initials, year of publication if given (in brackets), title of document (in italics, capitalise first word and proper nouns only), [online], place of publication if given, publisher, 'available from information such as the URL, and, in round brackets, the date you accessed the site; for example:

Spitzer, K. L., Eisenberg, M.B., & Lowe, C. A. (1998) Information literacy: essential skills for the information age, [online], Syracuse, N.Y.: ERIC Clearinghouse on Information and Technology, Syracuse University (ED 427 780) Available from: http://ericit.org/toc/infoliteracytoc.shtml (Accessed 28 October 2003)

In text citation: (Spitzer et al., 1998) or Spitzer et al. (1998) state…

Organisational sites

Author's surname and initials or organisation name, year of publication/ last updated if given (in brackets), title of site (in italics, capitalise first word and proper nouns only), Available from: information such as the URL, and, in round brackets, the date you accessed the site; for example:

Open University Library (January 2005) Welcome to the Open University Library, Available from: http://library.open.ac.uk/ (Accessed 2 February 2006)

In text citation: (Open University Library, 2005) or Open University Library (2005) states…

Blogs

Author of message, Year that site was published/last updated (in brackets), Title of message (enclosed in single inverted commas), Title of Internet site in italics, Day/Month of posted message, Available at: information such as the URL and, in round brackets, the date you accessed the site; for example:

Sloniowski, L. (2005) ‘Because sharing is nice’, Information literacy in Canada, 30 June. Available at: http://blog.uwinnipeg.ca/ilig/archives/learning_objects/ (Accessed 2 February 2006)

In text citation: (Sloniowski, 2005) or Sloniowski (2005) states…

Note: Some blog authors may choose to remain anonymous by using an alias. Use this instead of surname and initials if that is all that is available.

Podcasts

Title of podcast in italics, year of publication (in brackets), podcast type, podcaster, place of podcast. Available from information such as the URL and, in round brackets, the date you accessed the site; for example:

The wings of a butterfly (2005), podcast radio programme, ABC Radio National, Sydney. Available from: http://www.abc.net.au/rn/podcast/default.htm#mind (Accessed 16th September 2005)

In text citation: (The wings of a butterfly, 2005) or In The wings of a butterfly (2005) it is said…

Primiano, Leonard (2014) ‘Studying vernacular religion in the US’, podcast interview, The Religious Studies Project. Available from: http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/leonard-primiano-studying-vernacular-religion-in-the-us/ (Accessed 17th January 2006)

In text citation: (Primiano, 2014) or Primiano (2014) states…

Messages: emails and forums

Emails

Author's surname and initials, full date of message (in brackets), subject of message (in single quotes), 'email to' followed by the recipient's name; for example:

Knight, C. J., (May 29 1997), ‘Cumbrian windfarms’, e-mail to J.Q.Parker-Knoll

In text citation: (Knight, 1997) or Knight (1997) states…

Please note: You should always check with the author of the e-mail that they are happy for you to use the content of the e-mail before using the material.

Conference messages

Author's surname and initials, followed by full date of message (in brackets), subject of message (in single quotes), ‘conference message to ' followed by the name of the conference; for example:

Burrage, R. (10 August 2004) ‘Virus information’, conference message to OU Service News

In text citation: (Burrage, 2004) or Burrage (2004) states…

Please note: You should always check with the author of the e-mail that they are happy for you to use the content of the e-mail before using the material.

Images: online and works of art

Online images

Title of image, or a description in italics, year of publication (in brackets), [online] Available from information such as the URL, filename including extension, and in round brackets date accessed; for example:

Mary of Modena, fleeing with her son James Francis Edward Stewart (c.1688) [online], http://www.scran.ac.uk (Accessed 2 February 2006)

In text citation: When looking at the image “Mary of Modena, fleeing with her son James Francis Edward Stewart” (c.1688) it is obvious that…

Works of art

Artist, title of work (in italics), date, medium, size, location; for example:

Horan, David. Kipper in the cat’s mouth, 2002, watercolour, 20 x 30 cm, National Gallery, London.

In text citation: (Horan, 2002) or Horan (2002) illustrates…

Audiovisual material: TV programmes, films and YouTube

TV programme

The format for referencing an TV programme is: Title of Programme (year) channel, date of transmission.

Example:

The Apprentice (2008) BBC 1, 11 June.

In text citation: Sir Alan Sugar (The Apprentice, 2008) exemplifies…

If you are accessing the programme online, e.g. via BBC iplayer, then you would amend the reference as follows:

The Apprentice (2008) BBC 1, 14 June [online], www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer (Accessed 16 June 2008).

Film

The format for referencing a film is: Title of Film, film, directed by Director Name, place of distribution, distribution company, year of distribution.

Example:

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, film, directed by Peter Jackson, New York, Newline Productions Inc, 2003.

In-text citation: The animation of the Ents (Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, 2003) is a good example of …

YouTube item

The format for referencing a YouTube item is: Title of Item (year of distribution), YouTube video, added by name of who uploaded it [online], URL, (date accessed). Example:

Google Privacy: A Look at Cookies (2008) YouTube video, added by googleprivacy [online], www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfZLztx8cKI (Accessed 12 June 2008).

In-text citation: Maile Ohye discusses (Google Privacy: A Look at Cookies, 2008)