• Why acknowledge sources?
• What is plagiarism?
• In-Text referencing systems (Harvard, APA)
• Footnotes
• Reference list (Bibliography)

Introduction

Much of your written work at university is based on the ideas of other writers.

Whenever you have taken something from another author (that is to say, you have taken an author’s theory, opinion, idea, example, conclusion, or findings), you must say who you took it from, and where the original can be found.

In other words, you must acknowledge and cite your sources. This is important whether or not you use the author’s own words.

Why acknowledge your sources?

• to show that you have read and understood the research published in your area of interest;
• to lend authority to what you are writing;
• to strengthen your argument;
• to support your own ideas;
• to provide details or background
  to what you are writing;
• to provide interest; and
• to avoid the charge of plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

If you don’t acknowledge sources you may be accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism is the act of using another person’s ideas as if they are your own. It’s a very serious breach of academic etiquette. Your assignment will be given a fail mark, and in extreme cases, you may fail your course.

It doesn’t matter whether the original words or ideas are those of a published writer, or those of another student—you must not copy without giving your source.

How do you acknowledge your sources?

There is more than one way to acknowlege your sources; the commonest systems are the footnoting system and the Author-Date system (often known as the Harvard system). Most lecturers at the University of Canberra now prefer the Author-Date system. But whichever system you use, you must follow it consistently.

Rule number one:

Always ask your tutor for his/her preferred referencing system and style for any assignment.

Rule number two:

Whatever system and style you use, use it consistently.

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In-text Referencing Systems

UC Referencing Guides:

• A Guide to Referencing with examples in the APA and Harvard styles (PDF 494kb)
• An Abridged Guide to Referencing with examples in the APA Author-Date Referencing style (PDF 47kb)
• An Abridged Guide to Referencing with examples in the Harvard Author-Date Referencing style (PDF 44kb)

Using the automatic footnoting program on your wordprocessor

Most wordprocessing applications have an automatic footnoting system. You should learn to use this (use the Help command), rather than put the footnote numbers in manually.

Automatic footnoting will allow you to insert or delete footnote references without having to change the numbers yourself—the right number is inserted automatically and all the other references are automatically renumbered. 

Automatic footnoting also ensures that a space for the footnote is automatically placed at the foot of the page on which the reference occurs—you don’t have to create a space at the bottom of the page to type in the information.

The reference list/bibliography

Although technically a reference list is not the same as a bibliography, there is usually no difference between them as far as undergraduate study is concerned—they are the same thing with different names. Some people call it reference list, and others call it bibliography, but the same rules apply.

At the end of an assignment you should give a list of all the sources you have referred to. Your reference list/bibliography must provide full and accurate details, as it is the means by which the reader can follow up your sources.

Rule number three:

Make sure that every text reference appears in the reference list, and that every item in the reference list is mentioned at least once in the assignment.

Rule number four:

Make sure that the references that appear in the text have the same spellings and dates as the ones in the reference list.

There are some standard conventions which you must follow, and some stylistic conventions which are more flexible. Your lecturer may have a particular style which you are expected to follow; for example, you may or may not have to put dates in brackets, you may or may not have to put article titles within inverted commas. Publications and organisations also have their preferred style, which is known as ‘House Style’. Find out what is preferred, and follow it consistently.

Remember rule number one:

Always ask your tutor for his/her preferred referencing system and style for any assignment.

Important standard referencing conventions:

• An entry must consist of author(s), date of publication (full date for daily or weekly publications, year only for others), title details, publisher details.
• Entries must be in alphabetical order of surname.
• Titles of books and journals should be in italics (or underlined where italic font is not available).
• Titles of books and journals should be in Title Case (i.e. all important words have a capitalised initial letter).
• Titles of articles or chapter headings should be in Sentence case (i.e. only the first word or proper nouns should have a capital).
• Book title must include edition (other than first) and any other details given on the title page (eg series, translator, original title).
• Journal title must include volume, number, and page numbers of article.

Within these standard conventions, there are very many style differences:

• Date may or may not be in brackets.
• Punctuation between items may differ.
• Article titles may or may not use inverted commas.
• First names may be given in full or reduced to initials.
• Names of joint authors may be separated by 'and' or by an ampersand (&).

These are only a few of the stylistic differences that individuals or organisations may choose. The important things are:

1. always follow your lecturer's preferences or an organisation's House Style;
2. always be consistent.

Sample reference list in Author-Date (APA) Style

Note that the punctuation used is only one possibility. Different styles use different punctuation. Always check styles with your tutor.

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