Referencing

When writing your essays and research paper, it is important to credit the people whose ideas you used. We call this referencing.

This article aims to explain what referencing is and why it is important. It will provide you with examples on how to reference, including in-text citations and the reference list. Finally, it will explain the different referencing styles, such as Harvard, APA, and MLA referencing.

What is Referencing?

Why is Referencing important?

Referencing is an essential part of any essay or research paper and shouldn't be overlooked. Let’s look at some of the reasons why we should reference.

Supporting your ideas

Referencing credible authors and organisations throughout your essay or research paper shows that your work is evidence-based and trustworthy. It’s also important to show that your ideas and conclusions are based upon previous research and not just conjured up inside your head! Of course, your thoughts are valid, but it’s important to show how and why you came to your conclusions.

In summary, referencing adds a sense of credibility to your work.

Showing the scope of your reading and research

Referencing lets others know how much research you have put into your work, especially the examiner. It’s good to show that you’ve read and understood a wide range of material, including academic literature. When writing an essay or research paper, it’s essential that all of your information doesn’t come from just one source. You need to gain a broad perspective of your chosen topic and compare and contrast multiple sources to create a piece of work with depth and criticality. Correct referencing will highlight when you have done this.

Crediting the original source

It is essential to reference correctly, so you don’t get accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism is taking someone else’s work and claiming it as your own. Any ideas, concepts, research findings, or direct quotations taken from another source must be referenced.

Plagiarism is a severe offence, and even if you didn’t intend to take someone else’s intellectual property, it could happen if your work isn’t referenced accurately.

Letting the readers know where they can find out more

Referencing our work allows the readers to follow up on certain ideas or topics. It also helps them read about key theories and better understand your essay's topic.

Fig. 1 - Referencing gives the original author the correct credit.

When should I Reference?

You must use references in your essay or research paper every time you use someone else’s work, ideas, or findings. When using others’ work, you can use a direct quotation or paraphrase their ideas. In both cases, it’s important to include an in-text reference (sometimes called a citation) and put that reference in your reference list (we’ll cover reference lists soon!).

How do I Reference in-text?

Now you have a good idea of why and when to reference, let’s look at how you would reference a direct quote and how you would reference paraphrased ideas. Typically, in-text references include the author’s surname and the publication date of the piece of work.

It’s important to note that there is more than one referencing style. This section will use Harvard referencing to show you examples for in-text referencing.

Direct quotation

Direct quotation refers to taking words from someone else’s work and putting them directly into your own. When doing this, you must copy the quote word for word and use all the same punctuation etc. It is up to you how much text you want to quote, but typically quotes shouldn’t be more than a couple of sentences long.

When quoting directly, place the quote between quotation marks and include the page number where the text can be found.

Here we can see that the quote is in quotation marks, and the reference includes the author's surname, the publication date, and the page number where the quote can be found. All three examples are acceptable according to the Harvard referencing system.

As a general rule, direct quotes should come from credible sources and be kept to a minimum. Building an essay purely on direct quotes will not get you good grades; therefore, you also need to paraphrase ideas to show that you understand what you’re writing about.

Paraphrasing

This is when you take work and ideas from others and put it into your own words. Paraphrasing is an essential part of essay writing as it shows you are using credible sources and have a good understanding of what you’ve read. It also helps to summarise ideas and build your argument. When paraphrasing, you don’t need to use quotation marks, but you still need to reference the original authors to show where the ideas have come from.

You can reference paraphrased ideas by placing the reference at the end of your sentence, like so:

References can also be used at the beginning of a sentence by integrating the author’s name into the sentence, like so:

As you can see, both references include the author’s surname and the publication date.

Fig. 2 - Keep in mind that you may lose marks if you do not reference correctly!

When not to Reference

You do not need to reference your work when:

• You are drawing your own conclusions.

• You are sharing your original thoughts, ideas, or personal experiences.

• You're writing up the results of your research.

Making a Reference list

Remember, referencing includes the in-text reference and the reference list. Your reference list should be a complete list of all the sources you used throughout your work, and it should be placed at the end of your work. Typically, reference lists are in alphabetical order by the authors’ surnames. References in the reference list are more complete than the in-text reference and contain more information.

References in the reference list typically include:

• All of the authors’ surnames and initials (do not use ‘et al.’ in reference lists)

• The publication date

• The title of the book (in italics) or

• The title of the article

• The name of the publisher, if it’s a book, or

• The name of the journal (in italics )

• The place of publication and publisher (this isn’t needed for websites or journals)

• The DOI (digital object identifier) - the DOI is a unique link to online journal articles. You only need to include DOIs for online articles.

How to reference different mediums

Let's take a look at how you would write a reference for different mediums, such as books, journal articles, and web pages.

Book

Template = Author's surname, initial. (Year). Book title. City: Publisher.

What about books read online? When an online book is presented like a printed book (i.e. it has the publication details included), you can reference it the same way as a printed book.

Chapter in a book

Template = Author's surname, initial. (Year). ‘Chapter title’, in Editor's surname, initial. (ed./eds.) Book title. City: Publisher, pp. page range of chapter

Journal article

Template = Author's surname, initial. (Year). Article title, Journal Name, Volume(Issue), pp. page range of the article. doi link.

What's a DOI, and where can I find it?

DOI stands for digital object identifier. It is a unique link that will lead the reader directly to the journal article. You should be able to find an article's DOI at the top of the webpage.

Online news article

Template = Author's surname, initial. (Year). ‘Article Title’, Newspaper Name, Day Month of publication. Available at: URL HERE (Accessed: Day Month Year).

You can reference many other online sources, such as blog posts and podcasts, but the ones you're using must be reputable and credible. For now, let's focus on online news articles from credible news sites, such as BBC News and The Economist.

Example Reference list

As you can see, the reference list is in alphabetical order per the author's surname.

This reference list is in the Harvard referencing style. You will likely see variations in how a reference list looks. That's why it's always best to check with your teacher on how you should be referencing and remember to stay consistent.

Referencing styles

APA Referencing

MLA Referencing