Before using Kildekompasset, it’s helpful to know that references are written differently depending on the type of source. Kildekompasset explains these using various templates for books with one or more authors, books with editors, articles, government publications, websites, and much more. But what actually distinguishes a book with authors from a book with an editor? What exactly is a journal article? And where do you find the information you need in your sources in order to reference them?

Below is an overview that defines some of these source types, highlights their distinguishing features, and includes image examples showing where to find practical information such as the year, edition, and publisher

Book with 1 or more authors

Author: 1 or more authors have written the entire book
Chapters: All chapters are written by the authors of the book
Publication date: The year is on the title page. Often, there is a year for both edition and printing. The year for the edition is important, not the printing, because the content, page numbers, etc. can change from edition to edition but not from printing to printing.

Book with an editor (anthology)

Author: Various authors have written their own parts of the book, such as different chapters. An editor has put together the chapters into a book. The editor(s) are often marked with "(ed.)" on the title page of the book.
Chapters: There are different authors for each chapter. If you use multiple chapters from the book, you must refer to and create individual references for all the chapters you use.
Publication date: The year is on the title page. Often, there is a year for both edition and printing. The year for the edition is important, not the printing, because the content, page numbers, etc. can change from edition to edition but not from printing to printing.

This is where you find the information you need to cite books:

Journal article

Author: Each article in the journal is written by one or more authors.
Chapters/articles: There are different authors for each article in the journal.
Publication date: A journal has three ways to indicate the publication date: year, volume, and number. Journal issues are published periodically at regular intervals, often between 2 and 10 times a year. It is common to indicate volume and number like this: 54(2). That means it is the second issue in volume 54.
Other: "Peer review" means that the article has been reviewed and approved by two or more impartial experts in the field before publication.

This is where you find the information you need to cite articles:

Website

Author: A website can be written by one or several individuals or an organization.
Chapters: Websites are not divided into chapters. If you use multiple pages on the same website, you must create individual references for all the pages you use.
Publication date: Not all websites provide a date or year of publication. In such cases, you can write (n.d.) instead. If the website is frequently updated (e.g., news websites), you should also provide the date you accessed the information from the website.
Be aware: A website can also be a different type of source, such as journal article, report, law etc. Consider what type of source you've found and what information you should provide in order for your reader to find the source. Ask your library if you're uncertain what your source is.

Government publications

Author: Often an institution, department, directory or similar.
Publication date: Year, usually on the front page of the document, in the field for dates or on the title page. It's often easier to find on the PDF if there is one available for download.
Be aware: Laws, reports and other government publications all have different information you will need to put in your reference, for instance information about the series it is published as a part of, or unique codes for this type of report or publication. Find the exact template you need in Kildekompasset in order to see all the information necessary for your specific source type.

This is where you find the information you need to cite government publications:

If the source lacks an author or publication date, or if you are unsure about what a DOI or 'read date' for a website is, you can find information in the Citation Compass rules for APA 7th. If you want to learn more about genres, you can visit this page from Search & Write. And remember, it is not expected that you know all the details on this page, come find this information when you need it!

You've now learned about the different types of sources and where to find the information you need to reference them. On the following pages, you will learn how to use Kildekompasset.no, a handy tool you can use to provide your readers with the information they need to locate your sources, in accordance with the APA 7 reference style.