Referencing

It is important to keep an exact and complete record of the details of all the sources of information that you use for coursework, essays, dissertations and other work. Examples of sources can include books, book chapters, journal articles, web pages and cases. If you don’t keep a precise record you will have difficulties and a lot more work to do when you need to list the sources in your reference list or bibliography.

When writing an essay, report or dissertation, you should make reference to, or cite, the sources that you used, referred to, or took quotes from. Citing accurate references is important for the following reasons:

• To give credit to other author’s concepts & ideas
• To help you avoid committing plagiarism
• To provide the reader with evidence of the extent of your reading
• To allow the reader to locate the cited references easily
• Accurate layout of your bibliography can influence the mark for your coursework

When you refer to, or directly quote from, someone else’s work you must refer to the author / editor in the text and provide a full reference to the source in the reference list or bibliography. There are many systems for the citation of references, and you should follow the system preferred by your College or School. Refer to your course handbook or speak to your supervisor for advice, he most commonly used systems are Harvard (known as alphabetical or author, date system) and Vancouver (known as numerical system).

• Vancouver - basic guide (pdf format)
• Harvard - basic guide (pdf format)