Referencing

There are three main types of referencing:

Harvard (pdf download) - mostly used by Social Sciences, Business, Engineering and Science,

Oxford (pdf download) - mostly used in Law subjects and occasionally referred to as 'footnoting', and

APA (pdf download) - Psychology and some Health Science areas. 

Referencing occurs in the body of your writing and as a list located at the end of your piece of writing. References or a Reference List requires you to give the full details only of the texts cited in the body of your writing. A Bibliography requires you to include all texts that you have read for understanding, as well as those you have cited in your writing. Check carefully with your lecturer about what is required as these terms are misused.

Referencing shows you have acknowledged other people's work - you're not pretending their work is yours - which would be plagiarism.  

Plagiarism is unacceptable. Plagiarism is the copying or incorporating of ideas from other authors without acknowledging the source of those ideas. Sometimes students plagiarize because they think that the original text puts the idea better. This may be true but at Uni lecturers are interested in your understanding. Other times students plagiarize and hope they will not be caught. The penalty for plagiarism can be immediate failure.

To summarise, you have plagiarized if you:

copy word for word what is written in a published article or book without stating who wrote it

 

use an idea from something you have read and do not state whose work you took it from

 

put something you have read into your own words and do not state whose work you took it from.

Activities

Explore some strategies on avoiding plagiarism.

Look at this essay to see how authors are mentioned in-text and the full reference list, then try this exercise.

Additional Referencing Links

Harvard Referencing

Oxford Referencing

Library Guide

Reference List

Reporting Verbs - commonly used verbs that may be used to introduce quotations or to convey your understanding of what an author is doing.