Referencing

Referencing is an integral part of academic writing. Referencing enables us to show where our information and ideas came from, so that readers can find out more if they are interested. It also allows us to demonstrate our research skills, situate our work in a field of study and show our ability to communicate using methods appropriate to the situation and thus our mastery of the conventions of academic writing. By referencing correctly, we prevent plagarism and the penalties associated with it.

Top Ten Tips

1. Keep track: as you research, note down the relevant bibliographical details for each source that you look at, including page numbers. One method is to start a new page for each new source, with bibliographical details at the top of the first page, and page numbers down the margin matching the information from those pages.
2. Develop a system for indicating in your notes when what you have written down is a quotation (eg, use quotation marks), paraphrase (eg, write PARA before the information) or summarise (eg, indent).
3. Respond as you go: noting down your own ideas and responses to source will make it easier to integrate them into your own argument. Indicate which ideas are yours so you can remember later (eg, use a different colour pen).
4. Choose your sources: Pick what to reference - consider the academic credibility of your source and its information.
5. Know your system: Check if there is a set referencing style for your course or unit, and follow it. Even if there is not a set style, you will be expected to use a referencing style consistently and correctly. See the UWA Library's How to Cite your Sources for guides to all the referencing styles used at UWA.
6. Quote when the exact phrasing from your source is important.
7. Paraphrase to show your comprehension of the ideas and information in the source.
8. Summarise when building a background to your argument.
9. Keep a space for your own voice: show how your sources connect and contribute to what you are arguing.
10. When planning a schedule for working on an assessment, allow time to insert references and to check that they are correct.

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Links

Study Smarter plagiarism portal - your one stop shop to avoiding plagiairsm at UWA

Academic Conduct Essentials
Explains how referencing forms part of good academic practice, defines plagiarism and explains the penalties for plagiarism.

How to Cite Your Sources
The UWA Library's guide to all the referencing systems used at UWA: APA, Chicago, Harvard, Oxford, MLA, IEEE, Vancouver, Australian Guide to Legal Citation

Terminology
A useful glossary of terms used when discussing referencing.

Referencing online module
Contains tutorials, quizzes and a skills audit among others.

Sources: Their Use and Acknowledgement
Goes through the why and how of referencing, with a focus on an undergraduate context.

Study Smarter Survival Guides: Reading and Thinking

Review

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association, Fifth Edition. American Psychological Association. Washington, DC. 2002.

This is a very practical and accessible publication with a clear index outlining the vast content of this very useful book. It contains details with written examples on how to apply academic conventions to your writing. The book covers a large scope which includes details such as, when to use parenthesis or when to write numbers as words, to how to avoid gender bias in academic writing. This is an in depth book yet without the tedium of other reference guides. Sections are clearly set out and the book itself has a flexible spine, making it easy to prop the book open and make your own notes.

There is an excellent section called Reference Lists which handles every possible example of referencing that you may need. These include how to correctly reference journal articles with one to six authors, unpublished doctoral dissertations as well as how to reference a review of a motion picture or a television series. As the title suggests, this is a manual and it will certainly have all your referencing and academic style questions answered. There is also a practical guide to manuscript preparation in the final chapters. Again the style is accessible and extremely useful including detailed information on formatting text, as well as a section on ethics and editorial responsibilities.

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