Citing References
When you produce a piece of academic writing (course work assignment, dissertation, thesis, journal article or monograph), you draw information from a wide range of sources. These sources must be acknowledged by citing them in the text and listing them in a list of references at the end of your work. The reference should include the details needed for your reader to find the source you have used.
Basic details needed include:
- originator - author, producer organisation
- title
- publication details
- books - place of publication, publisher, date
- journal articles - journal title, volume, year, page numbers
- web sites - URL, date, access date
Some sources may also require information about the edition or series, or specialised information such as the scale of a map.
Reference styles
There are many different reference styles which determine the format in which these basic details are displayed. Journals, universities and professional bodies have all created reference styles. Some common styles and the disciplines where they are used are:
| Author-date | Harvard | Science, Management |
| Author-date | APA (American Psychological Association) | Psychology |
| Running notes | Chicago 15th A | Humanities |
| Numeric | Vancouver | Medicine |
Click on the links to see a detailed guide to using each reference style.
In the University, your department will tell you, usually in your course handbook, which reference style you need to use. It may accept any suitable style, in which case you could select one of the above.
Whichever style you use, it is very important to be consistent The use of EndNote bibliographic/reference software available in PC labs and Library PCs or over the internet as EndNote web will help you to create consistent citations and bibliographies.
Further information
Some useful publications describing citation and referencing conventions are:
BRITISH STANDARDS INSTITUTION (1990). Recommendations for citing and referencing published material. BS5605:1990 . London: BSI.
LI, X. and N.B. CRANE (1996). Electronic styles: a handbook for citing electronic information.Second edition. Medford: Information Today.
NEVILLE, C.(2007).The complete guide to referencing and avoiding plagiarism. Maidenhead: Open University Press.
PEARS, R. & SHIELDS, G. (2010). Cite them right : the essential referencing guide. Basingstoke, Palgrave Macmillan