References & Citations: About referencing

Referencing is about acknowledging other people's work when it has contributed to your own. A "citation" within your text acts a signpost to the full details of the source from which you got your information, listed in your "reference list" or "bibliography". 

• Reference list: A detailed list of the sources cited in your work
• Bibliography: Both references and sources you read but did not cite
• Footnotes: Citation is a number, linked to a note at the end of the page

• To give credit to other people for their work
• To show your familiarity with a field of study
• To let readers find and study the sources themselves
• To avoid plagiarism

Plagiarism is when you use work without giving the proper credit. Keeping well-organised notes and using reference management software can help avoid inadvertent plagiarism.

The National Academic Integrity Network has some helpful information about plagiarism. 

There are many styles and variants for referencing. When your work is for an academic body or a particular publication, use the style of referencing required by them. Whichever style you are using, it is important to be consistent, and to not mix aspects of different styles. 

There is some introductory information about a selection of styles here, but more in-depth guidance can be found through your academic institution, and through library resources like Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2022) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. 12th edn. London: Bloomsbury Academic.