What is referencing?
There are two parts to referencing:
1. The citation. The citation is an abbreviation of your reference which usually includes the author(s) and year of publication. It is included in the text and demonstrates the source of the idea or research that you are referring to. It is important to correctly cite other people’s work to avoid committing plagiarism.
2. The reference. The reference includes full details of the item you have cited and is included in an alphabetical list at the end. This information enables those reading your work to easily find what you have read.
The citation
If you have read something and wish to refer to the ideas/research expressed in that work, you might summarize it or put t into your own words.
Example: There is some dispute about who invented the Internet, but usually the same three names are mentioned (Jones, 2002).
This shows that this idea was by Jones and was published in 2002. The student has read the whole work, and has summarised it in their own words, so it is not a quote.
Alternatively, you may wish to include the author’s name in your text
Example: There is some dispute about who invented the Internet, but usually the same three names are mentioned by Jones (2002).
Direct quote
You may wish to directly quote somebody else by using their exact words.
Example: “The most important invention in Man’s evolution is not the Internet, but the bicycle.” (Brown, 1997, p.69).
This is a direct quote from Brown, 1997, and is distinguished as such by using “quotation marks”.
Short quotations can be included as a running part of your text. Longer quotations should be separate and indented from the main body of your text.
When directly quoting you should also include the page number from where you found it - this will help those reading your work to easily locate it.
The reference
The reference list at the end of your work will include all references used in your text.
If you have read something but not explicitly referred to it in the text, this should go in your bibliography.
Sometimes you will be asked only for a reference list, not a bibliography, so check the instructions for each piece of work.
Each reference should include all the information needed for someone to find the exact item you have read.
