CORRECT REFERENCING

TO AVOID PLAGIARISM
 WHAT IS AN IN-TEXT REFERENCE IN
HARVARD?
• In-text references or citations are used to acknowledge the work or ideas of others. They are
placed next to the text that you have paraphrased or quoted, enabling the reader to differentiate
between your writing and other people’s work.
• The full details of your in-text references must be included in a reference list.

• When presenting ideas or information from a source, include the author’s surname and date of
publication in brackets within the text of your writing, e.g. These skills need to be developed
over time (Veit & Gould 2010).
 WHAT IS AN IN-TEXT REFERENCE IN HARVARD?

• Where you refer to the author’s name in the body of the text, include the date of publication in
brackets, e.g.
• Young, Rudin-Brown and Lenne (2010) suggest increased penalties and driver education as two
possible strategies.

• When quoting directly from the source include the page number if available and place quotation
marks around the quote, e.g.
• The World Health Organisation (2011, p. 8) defines driver distraction ‘as when some kind of
triggering event external to the driver results in the driver shifting attention away from the
driving task’.
 SAMPLE IN-TEXT REFERENCES: EXAMPLE 1

• Students commencing university often lack the writing, reading and research skills necessary to
complete assessment tasks. These skills need to be developed over time (Veit & Gould 2010).
Learning the skills of note-taking and paraphrasing are vital if students are to avoid plagiarism in
their writing. Veit and Gould (2010, p. 158) emphasise the importance of ‘using your own words
and your own style’ when paraphrasing.
• There are many different strategies available to students regarding note-taking and paraphrasing.
Veit and Gould (2010) suggest a useful strategy to avoid unintentional plagiarism is to rewrite
important information in your own words at the time of reading.
• Students should remember to always record the full details of sources in their notes. Sources can
then be accurately acknowledged in the text and in the list of works cited at the end of their
paper.
 SAMPLE IN-TEXT REFERENCES: EXAMPLE 2

• Young drivers are at a greater risk of being injured or killed on our roads than any other
demographic (VicRoads 2014). There are a number of safety issues for young drivers, including
the issue of distraction. The World Health Organisation (2011, p. 8) defines driver distraction ‘ as
when some kind of triggering event external to the driver results in the driver shifting attention
away from the driving task’.
• The ringing of a telephone, responding to a text message or a telephone alert can all cause
distractions while driving. Young drivers are more likely to be involved in an accident as a result
of a distraction within the vehicle as they do not have the experience to know how to respond
(World Health Organisation 2011). Opinions differ regarding the solution to the problem of mobile
phone use while driving by young people. Young, Rudin-Brown and Lenne (2010) suggest
increased penalties and driver education as two possible strategies. In the not too distant future
technology may provide a solution to the problem.
 BASIC FORMAT TO REFERENCE MATERIAL
FROM THE WEB
• The basics of a Reference List entry for a Web page or Web document:
• Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.

• Year.

• Title (in italics).

• Publisher. Where there is a corporate author, the publisher and author may be the same.

• Date viewed.

• Web address <in angled brackets>.

• Example:

• Cancer Council 2017, Causes of cancer, Cancer Council, viewed 21 May 2018,
<https://www.cancer.org.au/about-cancer/causes-of-cancer/>.
 BASIC FORMAT TO REFERENCE MATERIAL
FROM THE WEB

• Include author(s) name(s) for internet/website references where possible (an author may be a corporate body or
organisation responsible for creating, producing or publishing a webpage or website.

• Where there is no identifiable author or authoring body, use the title of the webpage or website
The year is the time of the last update of the web page or document.
 BASIC FORMAT TO REFERENCE A BOOK
• The basics of a reference list entry for a book:

• Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.

• Year.

• Title (in italics).

• Edition.

• Publisher.

• Place of publication.

• Example:

• Hasler, E 2018, The built environment, Liverpool University Press, Liverpool.

BASIC FORMAT TO REFERENCE A BOOK

•For books with multiple authors, edited books, e-books and chapters in books see examples
below.

•Do not add edition number for the first edition of a book.
 BASIC FORMAT TO REFERENCE JOURNAL ARTICLES
• The basics of a Reference List entry for a journal article:
• Author or authors. The surname is followed by first initials.

• Year of publication of the article.

• Article title (in single inverted commas).

• Journal title (in italics).

• Volume of journal.

• Issue number of journal.

• Page range of article.

Example:
Gray, L 2018, 'Exploring how and why young people use social networking sites', Educational
Psychology in Practice, vol. 34, no. 2, pp. 175-194.