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Citing and referencing

How to acknowledge your sources

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Example: view examples straight away, available in AIP, APA, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, MLA, Turabian or Vancouver styles.

Tutorial objectives

Accurate acknowledgement of the sources used in preparation of academic work is called citing or referencing.

This tutorial will help you to:

  • understand why acknowledgement is important
  • recognise the details that are needed to make up a citation/reference
  • correctly cite a reference

Acknowledging sources

"standing on the shoulders of giants"1

Presentation of ideas developed on previous knowledge requires acknowledgement of sources of information so that

  • readers can find the original sources
  • the authors of the original sources are given credit for their work
  • the writer's own research is clear
  • the work has credibility

You must acknowledge what you have read to avoid plagiarising.

1. Newton I. Letter to Robert Hooke, February 5, 1676. Cited in: The Columbia World of Quotations. 1996. Bartleby.com. http://www.bartleby.com/66/18/41418.html (accessed 20 January 2005)

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is defined as taking, using, and passing off as your own, the ideas or words of another. It is a very serious academic offence, and can result in your work being failed automatically. The best way to avoid it is to take careful notes of where you find your information, and always acknowledge the work of others. Such work may include sections of text, quotations, original ideas, graphics, diagrams, charts, tables and figures.

Plagiarism is:
  • using an author's work which is paraphrased or presented without a reference
  • copying other students' work; including items of assessment which are written in conjunction with other students (without prior permission of your tutor / lecturer)
  • submitting work which has already been submitted for assessment previously in another course.

Read the Monash University Plagiarism policy.

Test your knowledge of plagiarism with this short quiz.
Quiz requires Flash Player to view and is also available as print friendly (rtf, 45kb).

Terminology and abbreviations

Citation and reference are often used to mean the same thing.

To cite is to point to evidence, authority or proof. To cite correctly you need to collect and assemble details of your information source, and note this in your text. There are two main methods of citing (author-date and numeric, sometimes known as footnote / endnote ) although there are many individual variations, or styles.

There are many accepted styles to present your references. Each style is a system with consistent rules about how to display a citation (including punctuation, font, capitalization and so on) within your text, footnotes, and the reference list (or bibliography). Some common styles are provided here, but you may need to consult other sources.

Abbreviation Meaning Use
anon anonymous Used in some styles when the author is unknown
c., ca. circa Used for approximate dates e.g. ca. 1978
ch., chs. chapter, chapters  
conf. conference  
e.g., eg for example  
ed., eds. editor, editors  
et al. and others (et alii) Used when there are more than three authors - use the first author only eg Testudo et al instead of Testudo, McPherson, Ripkin & Londo
ibid. in the same work, cited just above (ibidem) Used when the citation comes from the same source as the one immediately before it. The page number can be different. e.g. ibid., p.56
loc. cit. in the place (or work) cited (loco citato)  
n.d. no date Used when the date is unknown
op. cit. in the work cited (opere citato) Used when the citation comes from the same source as one cited previously. The author's name should be attached to indicate the source e.g. Menzies, op. cit., p.99
p., pp. page, pages  
proc. proceedings  
rev. revised Used when a book has a revised edition, rather than a new number e.g. rev. ed.
suppl. supplement  
trans. translated by Used to acknowledge a particular translator of an item published in another language
v.,vol.,vols. volume, volumes  
  • AIP American Institute of Physics
  • APA American Psychological Association
  • Chicago or notes-bibliography
  • Harvard or author-date
  • IEEE Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
  • MLA (Modern Language Association)
  • Turabian based on Chicago style
  • Vancouver or numeric or footnote-endnote, for Biomedical publications

When to cite

Whenever you directly copy the words of another author (quoting) or put their ideas into your own words (paraphrasing) you must acknowledge that you have done so, or you are plagiarising their work. You must reference another author's ideas, factual material, graphs or tables of data and pictures and diagrams, software programs and music or any other form of intellectual property.

How you acknowledge their work depends on which style you are following. Take care to do all your citing in the same style.

In the author-date method you put the name of the author, the year the information was published and the page it was on in brackets after the quote or paraphrase. At the end of your essay you make a reference list (or bibliography) of your sources.

In the numeric (footnote/endnote) method you number each quote or paraphrase, then give the details of where to find it either at the bottom of each page (footnoting), or in a reference list (or bibliography) at the end of your essay (endnoting).

Keeping records

Make sure you keep track of the information sources of the information you use, and record the necessary details. When noting sources it is more efficient to write them out in full, even if you decide not to use them. Often it is very difficult and time consuming to find this information at the last minute.

A good way to record references is to prepare cards with the full details of each source. The cards can then be sorted when you are preparing your paper and writing up your reference list/bibliography.

Computer programs (bibliographic software such as EndNote) also allow you to store and organise a reference list/bibliography. The list of sources can be merged with a MS Word document to automatically extract entries quoted in the text from your bibliographic database.

You need to make note of the following information about every source you use. Not every detail will be applicable in every case:

  • author(s)'s or editor(s)'s full names; or the group/body/organisation responsible
  • title of article or chapter
  • name of the journal, periodical or book
  • edition (if applicable)
  • publisher's name (if applicable)
  • place of publication (for book)
  • year of publication
  • volume number (for journal)
  • issue number (for journal)
  • page numbers

Citing electronic sources

The following details should be noted, when available, to cite an electronic resource such as a web page.

  • name of the author or editor
  • title of the page (look in the bar at the top of your browser)
  • title of the site (go to the site's homepage)
  • date the page was last updated, or the copyright date
  • the full internet address (URL) of the page (http://etc.)
  • the date that you accessed the page
  • any other details that might help someone else find the part of the page or web site that you used

Composing a citation / reference

A citation or reference is composed of all the details needed to find a piece of information, in a specified order according to the type of source and style.

Remember to use the chosen style exclusively and consistently throughout your piece of work. That doesn't mean you have to use one style for the rest of your life - just until the end of your essay!

Reference lists or bibliographies

As well as acknowledging the information you have used in the body of your work, you often need to provide a list of all your sources at the end. This can take two forms -

  • a list of the sources you have directly quoted or paraphrased, in number order (a reference list or endnotes) or
  • an alphabetical list, by author, usually of all the material you consulted, even if you didn't quote or cite the reference directly (a reference list or bibliography).

The form of your Reference List or Bibliography is set by the style.

Publisher's instructions to authors

To publish in a journal authors need to conform to the style defined by the editorial board or publisher of the journal. Publishers usually provide "instructions to authors" on their websites for example from the home page of the journal, and/or within the print copy of each issue.

For an overview of the journals available electronically in a particular discipline, start with the Electronic journals pages of the library website. To locate publisher's contact details use AcqWeb's Directory of Publishers and Vendors.

EndNote bibliographic management software contains many key journal style files. This facilitates quick formatting of manuscripts to the appropriate style. Over 1,000 EndNote style files are available for download from the EndNote support and services website.

Summary

The important things to remember about acknowledging your sources:

  • referencing and citing generally mean the same thing
  • make sure you acknowledge any facts or ideas that you draw from other sources
  • collect the citation details you need while you are researching
  • find out what style your department wants you to use. If they don't specify one, pick the one favoured by your Faculty or discipline and learn it
  • if in doubt, ask your lecturer or tutor for help on their preferred style
  • whatever style you use, be consistent

If you need more help contact the Library or Language and Learning.

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