how to add references in word 2016

Stack of books with text overlay "How to Insert Citations in Microsoft Word"

Managing citations for research papers, theses, dissertations, and other nonfiction works can be overwhelming. However, you can ease the process by learning how to insert citations in Microsoft Word using the software's citation and bibliography tools.

This tutorial covers six topics:

How to select a citation style
How to insert citations for new sources
How to insert citations for existing sources
How to edit sources
How to use citation placeholders
How to insert bibliographies, reference lists, or works cited lists

Important Note: At the time this tutorial was published, Microsoft Word did not offer the most up-to-date formatting for several of our primary style guides, including APA, Chicago, MLA, and Turabian. Therefore, I encourage you to review the available styles before using the citation and bibliography tools. We will cover the steps to customize citation and bibliography styles in a separate tutorial.

This tutorial is also available as a YouTube video showing all the steps in real time.

Watch more than 100 other writing-related software tutorials on my YouTube channel.

The images below are from Word in Microsoft 365. The steps are the same in Word 2021, Word 2019, and Word 2016. However, your interface may look slightly different in those older versions of the software.

How to Select a Citation Style in Microsoft Word

Select the References tab in the ribbon.

References tab in Word 365 — Figure 1. References tab

Select your citation style from the Style menu in the Citations & Bibliography group.

Citation Style menu in Word 365 — Figure 2. Citation Style menu

How to Insert Citations for New Sources in Microsoft Word

Place your cursor where you want to insert the citation.

Figure 3. Cursor placed for citation insertion

Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
Select the Insert Citation button in the Citations & Bibliography group.

Insert Citation button in Word 365 — Figure 4. Insert Citation button

Select Add New Source from the drop-down menu.

Add New Source option in Word 365 — Figure 5. Add New Source option

Select the source type from the Type of Source menu in the Create Source dialog box.

Create Source dialog box Type of Source menu in Word 365 — Figure 6. Type of Source menu

Enter the source information into the bibliography fields.

Create Source dialog box Bibliography fields in Word 365 — Figure 7. Bibliography fields

(Optional Step) Select Show All Bibliography Fields if you need to add additional information.

Create Source dialog box Show All Bibliography Fields option — Figure 8. Show All Bibliography Fields option

(Optional Step) Enter the source information into the additional fields.

Create Source dialog box additional bibliography fields — Figure 9. Additional bibliography fields

Select the OK button.

Create Source dialog box OK button — Figure 10. Create Source OK button

Your citation should appear in your text.

Figure 11. Citation inserted in a sentence

How to Insert Citations for Existing Sources in Microsoft Word

Once you enter a source, as shown in the section above, you can create additional citations for that source without reentering the information.

Place your cursor where you want to insert the citation (see figure 3).
Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
Select the Insert Citation button in the Citations & Bibliography group (see figure 4).
Select the source from the drop-down menu.

Insert Citation menu in Word 365 — Figure 12. Insert Citation menu

Your citation should appear in your text (see figure 11).

How to Edit Sources in Microsoft Word

When you edit an existing source, you will also edit any existing citations for that source in your current document.

Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
Select the Manage Sources button in the Citations & Bibliography group.

Manage Sources button in Word 365 — Figure 13. Manage Sources button

Select the source you want to edit in the Master List or the Current List in the Source Manager dialog box.

Source Manager dialog box Master List and Current List in Word 365 — Figure 14. Master List and Current List

Pro Tip: The Master List is stored in your computer and is accessible in all your documents. The Current List is part of your current file and is only accessible in that file. By default, Word stores new sources in the Master List and the Current List.

Select the Edit button.

Source Manager dialog box Edit button in Word 365 — Figure 15. Edit button

Enter your edits in the Edit Source dialog box. (Select Show All Bibliography Fields, if necessary.)

Edit Source dialog box bibliography fields in Word 365 — Figure 16. Edit Source bibliography fields

Select the OK button.

Edit Source dialog box OK button in Word 365 — Figure 17. Edit Source OK button

Select Yes or No in the alert box stating that you will be updating the source in both the Master List and the Current List. (Strongly consider selecting Yes to update both lists if you plan to cite this source in future documents.)

Update source alert box in Word 365 — Figure 18. Update source alert box

Select the Close button in the Source Manager dialog box.

Source Manager dialog box Close button in Word 365 — Figure 19. Close button

How to Use Citation Placeholders in Microsoft Word

You can use placeholders if your source information is not available.

Place your cursor where you want to insert the citation placeholder.
Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
Select the Insert Citation button in the Citations & Bibliography group (see figure 4).
Select Add New Placeholder from the drop-down menu.

Add New Placeholder option in Word 365 — Figure 20. Add New Placeholder option

(Optional Step) Change the name of the placeholder in the Placeholder Name dialog box.

Placeholder Name dialog box in Word 365 — Figure 21. Placeholder name text box

Select the OK button.

Placeholder Name dialog box OK button in Word 365 — Figure 22. Placeholder Name OK button

Pro Tip: You can use the same placeholder in the future by selecting it from the Insert Citation drop-down menu (see figure 12).

When you are ready to replace the placeholder with a source, complete the steps in How to Edit Sources above.

How to Insert Bibliographies, Reference Lists, or Works Cited Lists in Microsoft Word

These steps will only work if you inserted your sources using Word's citation and bibliography tools.

Place your cursor where you want to insert the bibliography, reference list, or works cited list.
Select the References tab in the ribbon (see figure 1).
Select the Bibliography button in the Citations & Bibliography group.