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Academic Integrity - Referencing, Citation & Avoiding Plagiarism: Referencing & citation

This guide explains what referencing and citation is and how to use the APA, Chicago, Harvard, MLA and Vancouver Styles. It includes links to each style guide.

Referencing & citation

References and Citations are required in Academic Writing to:

  • respect and acknowledge the thoughts, ideas and creations from other people's work

  • give credibility to the arguments and conclusions in an assignment
  • provide evidence for the ideas and arguments made in an assignment
  • avoid plagiarising or representing another person's work as your own
  • let others trace the sources and materials used to create your work*

*IMPORTANT NOTE: By including a reference list with information such as Book Title, Publisher, Publication Date, Journal Title, Website address etc., you are allowing your readers examine the evidence used in your assignment and read more about the topic.

Citing is the process of including details of your sources within the text of your assignment. This is also known as in-text citation.

Example of an in-text citation (Harvard Style)

Thinking critically (Cottrell, 2005) is a key skill to develop at University. It involves acquiring the skill to be able to read academic information and arguments while assessing their validity (Cottrell, 2003). When thinking critically a person needs to identify the main argument of a piece, the evidence the argument is based on, and identify any assumptions that have been made in making the argument (Moore, 2010). Understanding bias and being able to weigh the evidence presented is an essential element to critical thinking (McMillan and Weyers, 2013).

Referencing is the process of acknowledging in detail all the information sources (books, journal articles, images, data, webpages etc.) that you have used in completing an assignment. References form a list with full details of sources placed at the end of an assignment or paper.

Example of a reference list (Harvard Style):

Cottrell, S. (2003) The study skills handbook. Palgrave study guides 2nd edn. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

Cottrell, S. (2005) Critical thinking skills : developing effective analysis and argument. Palgrave study guides Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.

McMillan, K. and Weyers, J. D. B. (2013) How to cite, reference & avoid plagiarism at university Harlow: Pearson.

Moore, S. (2010) The ultimate study skills handbook. Maidenhead: McGraw-Hill/Open University Press.

An In-text Citation is when you acknowledge the sources you have used within the body of your writing or assignment. In-text citations are also known as citations and should be used when you

  • use direct quotations (exact Words) from an original source
  • paraphrase or summarise information from a source (taking the thoughts and ideas of someone else and reworking them)
  • include the work of another person or institution in your assignment (for example images, tables, computer code, words etc.)

Each Citation Style has different rules about what these in-text citations should look like. Use this guide to learn how to cite with Harvard, APA, MLA, Vancouver or Chicago Style.

Referencing is the process of acknowledging in detail all the information sources (books, journal articles, images, data, webpages etc.) that you have included in your in-text citations. References form a list with full details of sources placed at the end of an assignment or paper allowing your readers to directly consult the sources you have used.

 

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