Encyclopaedias, subject dictionaries and dictionaries are usually alphabetically arranged and may consist of many volumes. Attributing authorship is not always practical, especially if all the contributors are listed on the title page, and reference works are often known better by their titles than their authors.
IN-TEXT CITATION
According to the International Encyclopedia of Business and Management .... (1996).
... (Warner, 1996)
... (Heller, 1996: 2541)
FORMAT OF REFERENCING REFERENCE MATERIAL
It is easiest to cite reference material according to the title, as follows:
Title (in italics). Year. Place of publication: Publisher.
Under the name of the editor:
Editor’s Surname, Initials. ed. Year. Title. (in italics). Place of Publication: Publisher.
Under the name of the contributing author:
Author’s Surname, Initials. Date. ‘Title of contribution’. In: Editor’s Surname, Initials. ed(s). Title of reference work. (in italics). Place of publication: Publisher. Page numbers of individual contribution.
It will depend on which of the three options you have selected, that is, to cite it according to the title of the reference work, name of the editor, or name of the contributing author.
EXAMPLES OF REFERENCE SOURCES
International encyclopedia of business & management. 6 vols. 1996. ed. Warner, W. London: Routledge (by title)
Concise Oxford dictionary of current English.1995. ed. by Thompson, D. 9th ed. Oxford: Claredon Press. (by title)
Warner, M. ed. 1996. International encyclopedia of business & management. 6 vols. London: Routledge. (by editor)
Heller, F. 1996. ’Leadership’. In: Warner, M. ed. International encyclopedia of business & management. Vol 3. London: Routledge. 2541-2549. (by contributing author)
EXAMPLE OF AN ELECTRONIC REFERENCE SOURCE
Title. Year of publication. Edited by: Surname, Initials. Publisher. Available from: <url> >[Accessed date]
Dictionary of Psychology. 2006. Edited by: Colman, A.M. Oxford Reference Online. Oxford University Press. Available from <http://0-www.oxfordreference.com.oasis.unisa.ac.za/view/10.1093/acref/9780199534067.001.0001/acref-9780199534067[ Accessed on: 20 May 2007].