An Introduction to Citing & Referencing

These are not just academic jargon; citing and referencing are crucial elements of your work.

If you use the author's exact words (direct quotation) or ideas from a book, journal article, etc. (paraphrasing), you must acknowledge this in your text. This is called in-text citing. 

• An in-text citation is not just a formality, it's a crucial part of acknowledging the sources you have used within the body of your writing or assignment. It's a direct way to show your reader where your ideas come from, enhancing their understanding and respect for your work.

Reference is the full description of the resource, which is included in the reference list at the end of the essay or assignment. 

• A reference list or end-text citations are the full list of sources you have referred to or cited in the body of your work.

• A bibliography is the full list of works which you have used in the preparation of your written work.

If you have used the author’s exact words (direct quotation) or the author’s ideas (paraphrasing) from a book, journal article, etc., you must acknowledge this in your text. This is referred to as in-text citing:

In-text citations give the brief (abbreviated) details of the work that you are quoting from, or to which you are referring in your text. These citations will then link to the full reference in the reference list at the end of your work, which is arranged in alphabetical order by author (Pears and Shields, 2019, p.7).

In-text citations have two formats:

• All in-text references must be included in an alphabetical list by author/editor’s surname at the end of the work. This is known as the reference list. The reference list is a detailed list of all the sources you have cited in your work, including books, eBooks, journal articles, theses, webpages, etc. 
• Items are listed alphabetically in the reference list according to the main author/editor’s surname.
• This means that regardless of the order in which the in-text citations appear within your work, these items are all listed alphabetically by author/editor in the reference list. 
• A bibliography is a list of all works presented in the same format as a reference list. However, it includes all the sources you consulted in the preparation of your assignment, not just those you cited. 
• In other words, a bibliography presents the same items as a reference list, but it also includes references to all the additional research you carried out, so it shows your extra effort. 

Both a bibliography and reference list allow the readers to consult the sources you have used directly.

• Common Reference Examples Guide (APA Style 7th Edition)

Answering the following four questions will assist you in creating a reference entry for any type of work.

• author: Who is responsible for this work?
• date: When was this work published?
• title: What is this work called?
• source: Where can I retrieve this work?

(Source: Basic principles of reference list entries)