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An Introduction to Citing & Referencing

Learn why, what and how to cite and reference your sources

Importance of referencing

It's important to use trustworthy sources to ensure the credibility of your research. By providing information about your sources, referencing guides your readers to further reading. Upholding academic integrity through referencing makes you a more responsible researcher and enhances your work's trustworthiness. 

By citing your sources, you not only give due credit to the owner of the idea but also show profound respect and recognition for their intellectual contribution. Citations serve as a roadmap, guiding you to the source of information and helping you to steer clear of plagiarism, a practice that undermines the integrity of your work and the work of others. This practice of recognition and respect is a cornerstone of academic integrity.

Referencing is defined as: 

the process of acknowledging other people’s work when you have used it in your assignment or research. It allows the reader to locate your source material as quickly and easily as possible so that they can read these sources themselves and verify the validity of your arguments. Referencing provides the link between what you write and the evidence on which it is based (Pears and Shields, 2019, p. 1).

Including references to academic sources in your projects and assignments is standard practice. You are expected to reference every time you use someone else’s words or ideas in your own work. 

Why should you reference?

Refer​encing i​s an important way to demonstrate your academic integrity and honesty:

  • provides the link between what you have read and what you have written and allows the reader to find and view sources you have read or cited;
  • shows that you have researched and read around your subject area;
  • shows that you have considered and evaluated the work of others;
  • acknowledges the sources you have used, and, most importantly;
  • plagiarism is considered a serious academic offence, and referencing protects you from any charges of copying or plagiarism.

What to cite and reference?

The following is a list of examples of the types of resources you might use for your references: 

  • Books; 
  • eBooks;
  • Chapters in books; 
  • Journal articles;
  • Online journal articles;
  • Conference papers and reports; 
  • Government publications;
  • Legal documents;
  • Theses, dissertations and other academic work;
  • Webpages;
  • Newspapers; 
  • Paintings, images, drawings and diagrams;
  • YouTube videos;
  • Podcasts;
  • Lecture notes;
  • Dictionaries and encyclopaedias;
  • Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge;
  • Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used in other publications;
  • Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit;
  • AI generated information (if the use is accepted).

Should I cite it?

Source of the flowchart: Purdue University's Online Writing Labs (Purdue Owl) 

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