A secondary reference is when you refer to a source cited within another source i.e. you have not read the original work. For example, you could be reading about a case in a law textbook but have not read the original transcript.
Ideally, you should always try and read the original source so that you can review the work first-hand and cite this directly. If you are not able to locate the original source, it is acceptable to provide a secondary reference.
Secondary references not covered in Oxford’s guide and there are different ways you could provide this information. The key principle is that you will need to cite both the original source and the one that you are using, making it clear in your footnote.
Format:
Original Author, Original Title (Original Publication Details) cited in Author Title (Publication details) Page.
Footnote:
B Hepple, Equality: The New Legal Framework (2nd edn, Hart Publishing 2014) cited in David Cabrelli, Employment Law in Context (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2018) 4.
Bibliography:
In the Bibliography, only cite the source that you are using without the page number pinpoint:
Cabrelli D, Employment Law in Context (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2018)
To be consistent with the overall OSCOLA format, follow the same punctuation as you would for any other source type. The above example is for a book reference cited within another book. The following example is for an article cited within the same book.
Footnote (article mentioned in a book):
R Sandberg and N Doe, ‘Religious Exemptions in Discrimination Law’ (2007) 66 CLJ 302, 306, cited in David Cabrelli, Employment Law in Context (3rd edn, Oxford University Press 2018) 67.
The reference will be the same as the Bibliography example above.