Guidelines on citations and references
Referencing
Guidelines on citations and references:
In the course of your studies, you will be expected to acknowledge books, journal articles, web sites etc., used in the preparation of assignments, projects, essays, and dissertations by producing a list of references and/or a bibliography with each one. The reference list gives details of sources you have referred to (cited) within your text; the bibliography lists sources you have used but not referred to directly.
Why reference?
There are a number of reasons why you should provide references:
- to demonstrate that you have considered other people’s opinions and read around your subject;
- to acknowledge other people’s work and/or ideas – and thus avoid accusations of plagiarism (plagiarism: is the act of presenting the ideas or discoveries of another as one’s own);
- to provide evidence for a statement;
Why should we provide references
•to demonstrate that you have considered other people's opinions and read around your subject; •to acknowledge other people's work and/or ideas - and thus avoid accusations of plagiarism (plagiarism: is the act of presenting the ideas or discoveries of another as one's own); •to provide evidence for a statement; •to illustrate a point or offer support for an argument/idea you want to make; •to enable readers of your work to find the source material, e.g. for a particular methodology you have used; and •to direct readers to further information sources.
What is plagiarism
plagiarism: is the act of presenting the ideas or discoveries of another as one's own
- to illustrate a point or offer support for an argument/idea you want to make;
- to enable readers of your work to find the source material, e.g. for a particular methodology you have used; and
- to direct readers to further information sources.
When preparing reports, essays, etc. for assignments, if you wish to refer to something you have read you MUST give a reference for this material.
Referencing styles
- APA (American Psychological Association), commonly used in Sciences, Psychology, and Education.
- MLA (Modern Language Association), commonly used in humanities
- Chicago/Turabian style is commonly used in Fine Arts, History, and Business.
- IEEE
