REFERENCING

A GUIDE
 WHAT IS REFERENCING?

Acknowledging the source that you have used for your research,
whether in the text itself or in your bibliography

Many different types of referencing formats, but all include the

following information: author, name of source (book/article etc.),
publisher, place and year of publication, page number (where
relevant)
 WHY REFERENCE?

To demonstrate that you have read these materials

To demonstrate that you have understood what you read: you

are showing that you can find and use sources to create a solid
argument

To show how your argument relates to the bigger picture (the

wider subject area)

To acknowledge the work of others

To demonstrate the body of knowledge on which your work is

based

To enable the reader to locate your sources easily

WHAT NEEDS TO BE REFERENCED?

Facts, ideas, theories and interpretations from other sources

Excerpts from musical scores, films, audio

Diagrams/graphs/tables/illustrations

Ideas/opinions from a source

YOU MUST USE A REFERENCE WHEN:

You have copied words directly from a source (quotation)

You have used an idea or information from a source, even if you

have changed the wording (paraphrasing and summarising)

NB: you do not need to reference common

knowledge (something that is widely known/accepted), e.g.
Paris is the capital city of France
 TYPES OF REFERENCES

You will need to use 2 types of references:

BIBLIOGRAPHY: a comprehensive list of all sources (books,

articles, websites, DVDs, CDs, plays, etc.) that you have
consulted when carrying out your research, whether you have
mentioned them in the text of your dissertation or not

IN-TEXT REFERENCE: a reference that occurs in the text itself,

at acknowledges the specific origin (i.e. source) of a quote,
diagram, idea etc.)
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

Should be divided into different sections according to types of

sources (e.g. books, articles, websites)

The information about each source (author, publisher etc.) must

be listed in a specific format.

You will be using the HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM

Example: Smith, A. (2012). A History of Everything. Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press. 2-3

You can use a reference generator such as the one below to

help build references:

Harvard reference generator

 OTHER TYPES OF SOURCES

Some sources do not have as established a convention

associated with them, e.g. CDs/DVDs, and it is important to keep
them as close to the format of your other references as possible

The main thing is to be consistent, and include all the relevant

information (including artists, label etc.), as is shown below in
this CQ University Library resource:
 EXAMPLES OF CD REFERENCES

From: http://libguides.library.cqu.edu.au/content.php?pid=43649&sid=322607
 REFERENCING WEBSITES

Referencing websites requires different information to other sources, as is shown below:

Source: http://www.nottingham.ac.uk/nursing/sonet/rlos/studyskills/referencing_websites/
EXAMPLES OF WEBSITE
REFERENCING
IN-TEXT REFERENCING: QUOTING

If you are quoting something directly, it should be placed in

inverted commas

If quote is longer than 3 lines, you should put it in a separate

paragraph and indent it

Remember, it is important to build a context around quotes

A short form of the reference must follow immediately after the

quote giving the author, year of publication and page number(s),
e.g. (Smith, 2012, p. 10)
 PARAPHRASING

Putting something in your own words

Refers to a specific point, rather than an overall summary

If you paraphrase, you must cite the source used

The source must be cited directly after each sentence in which

an idea is paraphrased in the way outlined previously.

NB: it is not sufficient to include a reference at the end of a

paragraph which contains paraphrased/summarised ideas. It
must be clear to the reader which ideas are taken from a source,
and which are your own.
 REFERENCING EXAMPLE:
The following extract is taken from Dawe, 2003:
The sound-producing devices we call musical instruments are firmly
embedded in local music cultures worldwide as well as part of global
cultural flows in which they are swept up and relocated (whether in the
hands of musicians, tourists, collectors, or museum curators).

Which of these examples demonstrates correct referencing?

Musical instruments are deeply integrated in musical culture both locally

and globally. There are a number of ways in which they move from one
place to another, for example, in the hands of collectors and museum
curators.

The sound-producing devices we call musical instruments are firmly

embedded in local musical cultures worldwide (Dawe, 2003, p. 42)

Musical instruments are, as Dawe notes, firmly embedded in local musical

cultures worldwide (Dawe, 2003, p. 42)
 PLAGIARISM
WHERE DO YOU DRAW THE LINE?
1. Copying a paragraph verbatim from a source without any acknowledgement.

2. Copying a paragraph and making small changes e.g. replacing a few verbs, replacing an
adjective with a synonym. Source is included in the references.

3. Cutting and pasting a paragraph by using sentences of the original but omitting one or two and
putting one or two in different order, no quotation marks. Including an acknowledgement in the
text e.g. (Jones, 1999) plus inclusion in the reference list.

4. Composing a paragraph by taking short phrases of 10-15 words from a number of sources and
putting them together, adding words of your own to make a coherent whole. All sources are
included in the reference list.

5. Paraphrasing a paragraph with substantial changes in language and organisation; the new
version also has changes in the amount of detail used and the examples cited. Acknowledgment
included in the text e.g. (Jones, 1999) and in the reference list.

6. Quoting paragraph by placing it in block format with the source cited in the text and in the list of
references.
Based on an exercise in Academic Writing for Graduate Students by J.M. Swales and C.B. Feak, University of Michigan (1994) and cited in
A Handbook for Deterring Plagiarism in Higher Education by Jude Carroll, p42
Published by the Oxford Centre for Staff and Learning Development 2002