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What is Referencing and why do we need to do it?
Referencing is the acknowledgement of the sources you used when producing your piece of work.
it is an important academic skill and is related to academic integrity
Why do we reference and use referencing styles?
to acknowledge the sources you have used as the basis for your research - avoid plagiarism
to enable other people to identify and trace the sources you have used
to support facts and claims you have made in your written work
to show that you have read widely and used a variety of sources.
If you have ever used Google Scholar to do a search on a topic then you may have noticed the words 'Stand on the shoulders of giants' underneath the search box. This statement is a general acknowledgment of the contributions made by of all those who have gone before. Acknowledging the sources you have used gives credit to others for their work and demonstrates academic honesty-integrity which forms the basis of academia.
Understanding referencing
The words Referencing or Citing have almost the same meaning.
Citing your sources (also called referencing) is an essential part of your academic work.
In an author-date style such as Harvard there are two elements to referencing or citing sources:
The Citation/In text citation: this gives brief details (the author's surname and the publication year) of your source of information - you put this within the text of your essay or assignment.
eg. 'Jones (2023) illustrated how to plan an essay ..' OR 'results reported by Simpson (2018) demonstrated that ..'
Each in-text citation has a corresponding entry in the reference list.
The Reference List: this usually appears at the end of an essay or work, and is a final list of all the sources cited in the text and includes the full information (the author's name and the publication year, the title, and the publication details) for your citations. The reader can then easily identify and retrieve the sources you have used. The reference list is usually arranged in alphabetical order by author's last name.
eg. Jones, A. (2023) How to write an essay. 2nd edn. Palgrave.
Simpson, C. (2018) How to study science. 5th edn. Oxford University Press.
In summary:
For most pieces of writing you are required to cite your sources in the text and compile a References section with details of each source cited, as illustrated below.
Looking at the example above:
for sources having more than three authors, the in-text citation is abbreviated to the first author followed by 'et al.'
(short for et alia which means 'and others').for internet sources with no publication date, still include the date you accessed the website in your reference list.
While researching your work you will come across different sources of information (books, journal articles, web sites) - so you will need to know how to reference these sources - the information you include in your full reference/reference list will depend on what it is you are referencing. To find out how to reference these different sources see the section below.
Where can I get help with referencing?
Cite Them Right Online illustrates how to reference a wide range of sources (books, journal articles, web sites) using Harvard and other referencing styles. It also gives guidance on how to avoid plagiarism.
Watch the brief video here: How to use Cite Them Right Online - then try it out yourself, you can click on this link: Cite Them Right Online.
Other sources of help:
Library guide to referencing: Citing your sources using the Harvard system
Further information available via the: Referencing web page
An easy to read guide book: Referencing and understanding plagiarism
Frequently Asked Questions:
What is a Bibliography?
This is another name for the list of references at the end of your work. A reference list usually only contains references for the sources you have cited in your work. A bibliography may also include references for materials you have read or consulted but not cited.
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is presenting or submitting someone else's work (words, figures or ideas), intentionally or unintentionally, as your own. This is considered to be a form of cheating, so it is important that you reference your work correctly.
There are various forms of plagiarism including:
Copying: using the same, or very similar, words to the original text (whether in a book, journal, website or any other source) without either acknowledging the source or using quotation marks. This also applies to images, pictures and melodies
Inadequate paraphrasing: changing a few words and phrases from the original but retaining too much of the original structure and expressions
Collusion: working with others but passing off the work as your own individual work
Duplication: submitting work for one module which had been prepared for another
Cite Them Right Online (see section above) has a useful section on avoiding plagiarism.
What is an Annotated Bibliography?
An annotated bibliography is a list of citations including a short summary or analysis of each citation (your sources). So, it is like a reference list but for each reference in the list you would include a short summary or analysis.
You may be asked to write an annotated bibliography in preparation for an essay or assignment to encourage you to reflect upon and critically review your chosen literature sources in relation to your topic. Engaging more deeply with the sources will help you to compare and contrast the research on your topic.
For further information take a look at: The Centre for Academic Development webpages.
We hope you found this guide useful - thank you.
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