Referencing

What is referencing?

There are two parts to referencing:

  1. The citation. The citation is an abbreviation of your reference which usually includes the author(s) and year of publication. It is included in the text and demonstrates the source of the idea or research that you are referring to. It is important to correctly cite other people’s work to avoid committing plagiarism.
  2. The reference. The reference includes full details of the item you have cited and is included in an alphabetical list at the end. This information enables those reading your work to easily find what you have read.

Citations - using your own words

If you have read something and wish to refer to the ideas/research expressed in that work, you might summarize it or put it into your own words, as a citation. For example:

There is some dispute about who invented the Internet, but usually the same three names are mentioned (Jones, 2002).

This demonstrates that this idea was by Jones and was published in 2002. The student has read the whole work, and has summarized it in their own words, so it is not a quote.

Alternatively, you may wish to include the author’s name in your text. For example:

There is some dispute about who invented the Internet, but usually the same three names are mentioned by Jones (2002).

Both examples are correct. You may choose one over the other depending on the flow of the sentence or writing style.

Citations - using direct quotes

You may wish to directly quote somebody else by using their exact words. The following is a direct quote from Brown, 1997, and is distinguished as such by using “quotation marks”. For example:

“The most important invention in Man’s evolution is not the Internet, but the bicycle.” (Brown, 1997, p.69).

However, if you were to use the above without quotation marks and without acknowledging the source then the following could be identified as plagiarism:

It could be said that the most important invention in Man's evolution is not the Internet, but the bicycle as it has made such an enduring environmental impact on human society.

Short quotations can be included as a running part of your text. Longer quotations should be separate and indented from the main body of your text.

When directly quoting you should also include the page number from where you found it - this will help those reading your work to easily locate it.

Be careful not to use too many direct quotations. Remember, you are being marked for your work - the more quotations you add, the less there is of your work to mark.

References and bibliographies

The reference list at the end of your work will include details of all the citations used in your text. If you have read something but not explicitly referred to it in the text, this should go in your bibliography.

Sometimes you will be asked only for a reference list, not a bibliography, so check the instructions for each piece of work.

Imagine yourself as the person reading your work:

  • each reference should include all the information needed for the reader to find the exact item you have read
  • make it as easy as possible for the reader to link from the citation to the reference
  • be consistent in your referencing style

Harvard referencing examples

Referencing Books

Print and e-books can be referenced in the same way. For each reference, you should include the following information in the order given:

  • Author(s) / Editor(s) - surname first, followed by initial(s).
  • Year of publication in rounded brackets.
  • Title of the book in italics.
  • Edition – only if it is not the first.
  • Place of publication, followed by a colon
  • Publisher

Examples

One author:
Cottrell, S. (2011) Critical thinking skills: developing effective analysis and argument. 2nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

More than one author:
Moore, S., Neville, C., Murphy, M. and Connolly, C. (2010) The ultimate study skills handbook. Maidenhead: Open University Press

An edited work:
Jeffs, T. and Smith, M. (eds) (1987) Youth work. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan

Referencing Chapters

For each reference, you should include the following information in the order given:

  • Author(s) of the chapter - surname first, followed by initial(s).
  • Year of publication in rounded brackets.
  • Title of the chapter enclosed in ‘single quote marks’
  • ‘in’ followed by the author(s) or editor(s) of the book
  • Title of the book in italics.
  • Edition – only if it is not the first.
  • Place of publication, followed by a colon
  • Publisher
  • ‘pp.’ followed by the page numbers of the chapter

Example

Smith, P.H. (1951) ‘The overall allocation of resources’, in Chester, D.N. (ed) Lessons of the British war economy. Westport: Greenwood Press, pp.34-57.

Referencing Articles

Print and e-journal articles can be referenced in a similar way. For each reference, you should include the following information in the order given:

  • Author(s) of the article - surname first, followed by initial(s).
  • Year of publication in rounded brackets.
  • Title of article enclosed in ‘single quote marks’
  • Title of Journal in italics.
  • Volume (issue number), page numbers eg 7(4), pp.123-132
  • DOI - for e-journals only, if available. eg doi: 10.1080/13562510020029608.

Example

Jackson, S.J. and Hokowhitu, B. (2002) 'Sport, tribes and technology: the New Zealand All Blacks haka and the politics of identity', Journal of Sport and Social Issues, 26 (2), pp.125-139.

Q. When should I include page numbers in my citation?

If you are referring to ideas expressed throughout a chapter or throughout a whole book/article, there is no need to include page numbers in your citation. Do add page numbers when:

  • making a direct quote
  • referring to an idea expressed on a particular page

Q. Do I have to list all the authors?

If a title is by more than three authors, your citation should list the first author followed by et al.

Your citation would read: (Smith, et al. 2004).

Your reference, however, should include all of the named authors.

Q. How do I reference something with no date?

If no date is given, more usually with webpages, use (no date).

Your citation would read: (Smith, no date)

Your reference would read: Smith, A. (no date) etc…

Q. Do in-text citations always have to go in brackets?

No. As long as the citation clearly refers to the relevant information you can put this in a way that works best for the sentence. Some examples are:

  • Smith (2002) argues …
  • In a recent study (Smith, 2002) …
  • Smith conducted his first study in 2002. He found that …

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