# IGNOU project referencing style: APA, programme by programme

**Which referencing style does IGNOU use for project reports?** IGNOU names APA in its BBA, M.Com, MA Psychology and educational management project handbooks; its MA Economics guide prints an APA-pattern table without naming the style. The MBA, MCA and MSW guidelines name no style, so agree one with your guide. No IGNOU document we read gives a template for citing IGNOU study material.

Published 2026-10-02 by EdCitation. https://edcitation.com/newsletter/referencing-at-ignou

IGNOU's project referencing style is APA wherever a programme names one: the BBA, M.Com, MA Psychology and educational management handbooks ask for it, and the MA Economics guide prints an APA-pattern table of examples. The MBA, MCA and MSW guidelines name no style. None of them gives a template for citing IGNOU's own blocks and units, so that entry is written by hand.

Every rule below was read on 2 October 2026 in IGNOU's own project guidelines and study material, on ignou.ac.in and on eGyanKosh, its repository (Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU], 2018, 2024a). EdCitation is not affiliated with Indira Gandhi National Open University; this follows its public documents, checked on 2 October 2026.

EdCitation, which publishes this guide, has two free tools for an IGNOU project: [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite) builds each entry from the publisher's record, and [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) checks a finished list. Their results on IGNOU's own examples are quoted below.

## Which referencing style does IGNOU ask for?

APA, where a programme names a style at all. The choice is made programme by programme, in each project guideline; the Library and Documentation Division's page lists services and e-resources but no referencing guide (IGNOU, n.d.-b).

| Programme (course) | What the guideline says | Document, page |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BBA (BMPP-001) | References/Bibliography in "APA style of referencing" | BBA guidelines, p. 6 (IGNOU, n.d.-a) |
| M.Com (MCOP-001) | The same words | MCOP-001 guidelines, p. 6 (IGNOU, 2022) |
| MA Psychology (MPCE-016/026/036) | Synopsis and dissertation: "References (APA style)", listed alphabetically; see the APA website | Handbook on Project, pp. 8, 12 (IGNOU, 2018) |
| PG Diploma in Educational Management (MES-049) | "You must use APA style" for the bibliography | Handbook for Project Work, p. 20 (IGNOU, 2011) |
| MA Economics (MECP-201) | A table of APA-pattern examples; no style named | Project-Work Guide, pp. 25–27 (IGNOU, 2024a) |
| MBA (MMPP-001) | "Reference/Bibliography"; no style | MMPP-001 guidelines, p. 7 (IGNOU, 2023) |
| MCA (MCSP-232) | "Bibliography"; no style | MCA guidelines, p. 13 (IGNOU, 2024b) |
| MSW (MSWP-001) | References "preferably at the end of each chapter", a bibliography at the end; no style | Project Work Handbook, p. 14 (IGNOU, 2020) |
| Building the entries | [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite/apa) in APA 7 | EdCitation, free |

Where your guideline is silent, the School of Management Studies' choice for the BBA and M.Com is, in our view, a fair guide for the MBA; agree it with your supervisor first. The MSW handbook's sample proposal mixes author-date entries with notes using op. cit.; EdCitation builds six styles (APA 7, MLA 9, Chicago 18 author-date, Harvard, IEEE and Vancouver) and no note style, so footnotes are written by hand.

### Which edition of APA does IGNOU want?

No guideline names an edition. The BA Psychology unit on references, BPC-003 Unit 6, teaches the sixth edition of 2009 (IGNOU, 2017, p. 79). The MA Psychology handbook sends students to apa.org, which now teaches the seventh: three or more authors take et al. "in every citation (even the first citation)" (American Psychological Association, 2019a). Ask your guide which one the evaluator marks. Our guide to [rules that changed between editions](https://edcitation.com/newsletter/et-al-and-other-rules-that-changed-between-editions) sets APA 6 beside APA 7.

## Which referencing rules do IGNOU's documents set?

These rules shape the reference list in IGNOU's project report format. Each comes from the document and page named; the MA Economics table first appeared in the 2006 MECP-001 guide and is repeated almost word for word in 2024 (IGNOU, 2006, 2024a).

| Rule | What IGNOU's document says | Document, page |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Placing the list | A new page, headed References, centred | MECP-201, p. 25; BPC-003, p. 86 |
| Order | Alphabetical by surname; with no author, by the first two words of the title | MECP-201, p. 25 |
| Page numbers in the text | For a direct quotation; "Omit the page number if Paraphrasing" | MECP-201, p. 25; BPC-003, p. 79 |
| Et al. | Three or more authors: all names at the first citation, then et al. | MECP-201, pp. 25–26 |
| Et al., in more detail | Three to five named first; six or more take et al. from the start | BPC-003, pp. 80, 85 |
| Authors in the list | Up to seven; with eight or more, the first six, an ellipsis, the last | BPC-003, p. 81 |
| Online sources | Say "where and when you retrieved" the document | MECP-201, p. 25 |
| Separate heads | Sources grouped by kind: records, reports, newspapers; or books and journals | MECP-201, p. 9; MES-049, p. 38 |
| Recent studies | Include studies from the last ten years in the review | MA Psychology, p. 11 |
| Marks | References carry 10% of the report's 100 marks | MECP-201, p. 8 |
| Checking each entry | [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references), free | EdCitation |

### Where IGNOU's documents disagree

1. **One list or several?** MECP-201 asks for a bibliography "under separate heads" on page 9 and a single alphabetical References list on page 25.
2. **References or bibliography?** BPC-003 says research reports usually carry References only (p. 79), then says the list may be headed either way (p. 89).
3. **Retrieval dates.** MECP-201 wants the date for every online source; BPC-003 gives one "ONLY when content is likely to change" (p. 83). APA 7 gives one when a page is designed to change and is not archived (American Psychological Association, 2020).
4. **The examples themselves.** The MA Psychology handbook prints "Dennision, B. (1984)", pages 22-24; the record is Denison, D. R., 13(2), 5–22 (Denison, 1984). Its web example truncates a DOI to 10.1080/ 09638237.2016.122206, with a space inside; the article is 26(1), 14–20, in 2017 (Hernandez & Barrio, 2017). MECP-201 dates Baxter and colleagues 1998 in the list and 1988 in the citation, and its sample synopsis files NITI Aayog as "Aayog, NITI." Follow the handbooks' layout, and take every detail from the record.

## How do you cite IGNOU study material?

No IGNOU document we read gives a template, so this is our suggestion; confirm it with your guide. eGyanKosh gives each unit a record with its title, issue date and publisher, and asks you to "use this identifier to cite or link to this item". For BPC-003 Unit 6 the record reads: Unit-6 References in Research Report, 2017, IGNOU. In APA 7, with the university as group author:

> Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2017). Unit 6: References in research report. In *BPC-003: Research methods in psychology, Block 4: Report writing* (pp. 78–89). https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/23414

Cite it as (Indira Gandhi National Open University [IGNOU], 2017) the first time, then (IGNOU, 2017). If a unit names its writer, the writer is the author. Given the record's address, Cite a source answered "That page could not be read. Some sites block automated readers. If it is a journal article, paste its DOI or its title instead." So IGNOU units are written by hand.

## What does an IGNOU project reference list look like?

Like this, in APA 7, for a commerce or psychology project. In the text: (Alesina et al., 1993), or (Alesina, Cohen, & Roubini, 1993) first where the evaluator follows the handbooks; Arun and Kamath (2015); (Department of Financial Services, n.d.); (Denison, 1984); Hernandez and Barrio (2017).

> Alesina, A., Cohen, G. D., & Roubini, N. (1993). Electoral business cycle in industrial democracies. *European Journal of Political Economy*, *9*(1), 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1016/0176-2680(93)90027-r
>
> Arun, T., & Kamath, R. (2015). Financial inclusion: Policies and practices. *IIMB Management Review*, *27*(4), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2015.09.004
>
> Denison, D. R. (1984). Bringing corporate culture to the bottom line. *Organizational Dynamics*, *13*(2), 5–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(84)90015-9
>
> Department of Financial Services. (n.d.). *Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana*. Ministry of Finance. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://pmjdy.gov.in/about
>
> Hernandez, M., & Barrio, C. (2017). Families and medication use and adherence among Latinos with schizophrenia. *Journal of Mental Health*, *26*(1), 14–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2016.1222061

### What each entry shows

- **Alesina:** MECP-201's own example, with the record's singular "cycle" and the issue number.
- **Arun and Kamath:** an article in *IIMB Management Review*, an Indian journal.
- **Department of Financial Services:** an undated government page, so n.d. and a retrieval date, which satisfies MECP-201 and APA alike.
- **Denison and Hernandez:** the MA Psychology handbook's examples, rebuilt from their records.

## Which EdCitation style is closest to IGNOU's APA, and what do you change?

APA 7. Where your guide accepts the current edition, the four DOI entries above needed no change at all. Where the evaluator marks to the handbooks' older pattern, make these changes by hand.

| APA 7 | Change to, for the handbooks' pattern | Where IGNOU shows it |
| --- | --- | --- |
| (Alesina et al., 1993) from the first citation | All three names first, then et al. | MECP-201, p. 26; BPC-003, p. 80 |
| https://doi.org/10.1080/… | doi:10.1080/… | BPC-003, pp. 83, 86 |
| Up to 20 authors in the list | From eight authors: six, an ellipsis, the last | BPC-003, p. 81 |
| A book's publisher, no place | Place and publisher: London: MacMillan Publishers Ltd. | MA Psychology, p. 12 |
| One alphabetical list | Separate heads, if your guide asks | MECP-201, p. 9; MES-049, p. 38 |
| A retrieval date on an undated page | Keep it | MECP-201, p. 25 |

APA itself now presents a DOI as https://doi.org/ and drops "Retrieved from" before it (American Psychological Association, 2019b). EdCitation builds APA 7, not APA 6.

## What did Cite a source and Verify references return on IGNOU's examples?

EdCitation is the right first step for an IGNOU list because it looks each source up and composes none: for the handbook's "Dennision, B." it took Daniel R. Denison, issue 2 and pages 5–22 from Crossref. A chatbot cannot do that, since it writes a reference from what it has seen rather than from the record. [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite) sets six styles, screens every source for retraction and needs no account or payment. EdCitation never writes any part of a student's paper. It finds the sources, builds their references and checks them, which leaves every sentence of the report or dissertation to the student who signs its certificate of originality.

### Cite a source on four sources

By DOI, APA 7 returned, with no retraction reported:

> Arun, T., & Kamath, R. (2015). Financial inclusion: Policies and practices. *IIMB Management Review*, *27*(4), 267–287. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iimb.2015.09.004

Denison and Alesina came back exactly as in the worked list. By title, the Hernandez article came first among five records offered; by its DOI, 10.1080/09638237.2016.1222061, it gave the 2017 issue entry above.

For https://pmjdy.gov.in/about it read the title and site but no author: "*Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana*. (n.d.). Ministry of Finance. Retrieved October 2, 2026, from https://pmjdy.gov.in/about". The page's footer names the Department of Financial Services; entered in the form as an organisation, it became the entry in the list above.

### Verify references on IGNOU's own examples

We pasted entries word for word into [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references):

- **"Dennision, B. (1984)" as printed:** not found, "No publisher's or registry's record matches this reference." With the name, initials and "bottom line" corrected but pages 22-24 kept, it was verified, "Title, year and first author match a published record": take the pages from the record.
- **Hernandez as printed, DOI with its space:** could not check, "Reports, guidelines and web pages are in no publisher's index or library catalogue, so this one could not be checked here." With the space removed: "check this", "No registry holds the DOI 10.1080/09638237.2016.122206."
- **Alesina as printed:** "check this", "The closest published record differs in its title." The record offered was a 1999 entry in another journal, titled with the three authors' names and a book title, not the article; rewritten from the 1993 record, the entry was verified. Open the record before copying from it.
- **Arun and Kamath:** verified, "The DOI resolves to this record and the title matches."
- **The Jan-Dhan page:** verified, "The page is at this address, and its title matches."

Where EdCitation cannot read a source, it says "could not check" and never calls it "not found". To check a whole report from its file, Pro ($8 a month) adds [References from a file](https://edcitation.com/tools/references-from-a-file); see [pricing](https://edcitation.com/pricing).

## How do you build an IGNOU project reference list, step by step?

1. Find your programme's project guideline on eGyanKosh or ignou.ac.in and note the style. EdCitation's free [Check your paper](https://edcitation.com/check) reads instructions into a checklist, each rule beside its sentence.
2. Search for sources in [Find sources](https://edcitation.com/).
3. Build each entry from its DOI or address in [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite), in APA 7.
4. Make only the handbook changes your guide asks for.
5. Write IGNOU blocks and units by hand from the record.
6. Run the list through [Verify references](https://edcitation.com/verify-references) and settle every "check this".
7. Start the list on a new page headed References.

## Quick questions

### Does IGNOU use APA for project reports?

Where a style is named, yes: the BBA, M.Com, MA Psychology and MES-049 guidelines ask for APA. The MBA, MCA and MSW guidelines name none.

### How do I cite IGNOU study material in APA?

No IGNOU document gives a template. Use the eGyanKosh record: IGNOU as author, the issue date, the unit title, the course and block, and the record's address.

### Which APA edition does IGNOU want?

None of its guidelines says. BPC-003 teaches the sixth edition and the MA Psychology handbook points to apa.org, which teaches the seventh, so ask your guide.

### Should an IGNOU dissertation have references or a bibliography?

It depends on the handbook: MA Psychology asks for References, MSW for a bibliography at the end, and MA Economics for both. BPC-003 draws the line: references list only the works you cited.

### Can EdCitation build IGNOU references?

Yes, for published sources: EdCitation's [Cite a source](https://edcitation.com/cite/apa) builds APA 7 from the record. Study material is written by hand.

## References

- Alesina, A., Cohen, G. D., & Roubini, N. (1993). Electoral business cycle in industrial democracies. *European Journal of Political Economy*, *9*(1), 1–23. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0176-2680(93)90027-r](https://doi.org/10.1016/0176-2680(93)90027-r)
- American Psychological Association. (2019a). *Author–date citation system*. APA Style. [https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date](https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/citations/basic-principles/author-date)
- American Psychological Association. (2019b). *DOIs and URLs*. APA Style. [https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls](https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/dois-urls)
- American Psychological Association. (2020). *Webpage on a website references*. APA Style. [https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/webpage-website-references](https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/webpage-website-references)
- Denison, D. R. (1984). Bringing corporate culture to the bottom line. *Organizational Dynamics*, *13*(2), 5–22. [https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(84)90015-9](https://doi.org/10.1016/0090-2616(84)90015-9)
- Hernandez, M., & Barrio, C. (2017). Families and medication use and adherence among Latinos with schizophrenia. *Journal of Mental Health*, *26*(1), 14–20. [https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2016.1222061](https://doi.org/10.1080/09638237.2016.1222061)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (n.d.-a). *BMPP-001: Project course: Guidelines for submission of synopsis and project report* [PDF]. School of Management Studies. [https://www.ignou.ac.in/viewFile/SOMS/programmeguide/BBA-Project-Guidelines.pdf](https://www.ignou.ac.in/viewFile/SOMS/programmeguide/BBA-Project-Guidelines.pdf)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (n.d.-b). *Library & Documentation Division*. [https://www.ignou.ac.in/pages/178](https://www.ignou.ac.in/pages/178)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2006). *MECP-001 Master of Arts (Economics): Project-work guide* [PDF]. School of Social Sciences. eGyanKosh. [https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/60567/2/Project.pdf](https://www.egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/60567/2/Project.pdf)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2011). *Handbook for project work: MES-049 project work* [PDF]. School of Education. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/50951/1/Project%20Manual.pdf.pdf](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/50951/1/Project%20Manual.pdf.pdf)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2017). Unit 6: References in research report. In *BPC-003: Research methods in psychology, Block 4: Report writing* (pp. 78–89). eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/23414](https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/23414)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2018). *Handbook on project: MPCE-016/026/036* (Rev. ed.) [PDF]. School of Social Sciences. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/21199](https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/21199)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2020). *MSWP-001 project work handbook on social work research* [PDF]. School of Social Work. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/59052/1/MSWP-001.pdf](https://egyankosh.ac.in/bitstream/123456789/59052/1/MSWP-001.pdf)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2022). *MCOP-001: Project course guidelines* [PDF]. School of Management Studies. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/93698](https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/93698)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2023). *MMPP-001: Project course* [PDF]. School of Management Studies. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/95843](https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/95843)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2024a). *MECP-201 Master of Arts (Economics): Project-work guide* [PDF]. School of Social Sciences. eGyanKosh. [https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/108641](https://egyankosh.ac.in/handle/123456789/108641)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University. (2024b). *Project guidelines for Master of Computer Applications (MCSP-232)* [PDF]. School of Computer and Information Sciences. [https://webservices.ignou.ac.in/assignments/Master-Degree/MCA_NEW/2025/MCSP%20232%20-%20Project%20Guidelines%20-%20MCA_NEW.pdf](https://webservices.ignou.ac.in/assignments/Master-Degree/MCA_NEW/2025/MCSP%20232%20-%20Project%20Guidelines%20-%20MCA_NEW.pdf)