Referencing

What is referencing?

Referencing, or citing, means acknowledging all sources of information and ideas you have used in your assignment.

Why reference?The referencing in your assignment shows:• the range of ideas and approaches to a topic

that you have found and thought about• your acknowledgement of where these ideas

came from• that you have read widely about your topic• that your ideas and arguments are supported

by others

More importantly…If you reference correctly you will:

• impress your teachers! All subjects use the same system.

• get higher grades

• be prepared for university/TAFE

• never get caught copying someone else – you will fail your assignment if this happens!

Plagiarism• If you reference correctly, you avoid

plagiarism.

• Plagiarism is presenting someone else’s ideas or work as if they are your own.

No reference = Plagiarism!

Referencing RulesThere are two main rules of referencing.

1. A reference must be included every time you use someone else’s ideas or information.

Referencing RulesThis includes:• Paraphrasing - expressing someone else’s idea

in your own words• Summarising - expressing someone else’s idea

in a reduced form in your own words• Quoting - expressing someone else’s idea in

their exact words• Copying - reproducing a diagram, graph or table

from someone else’s work.

Referencing Rules2. Each reference must appear in two places:• As a shortened reference in the text of your

assignment each time it is used. This is called the in-text reference.

AND

• Listed in full once in the reference list at the end of the assignment. This listing has full details so that your reader can find your source of information.

The In-text ReferenceThis is placed either before or after the quote or idea you are using. It consists of:

• the author’s or editor’s family name (or organisation responsible). Do not include given names or initials

• the year of publication• page numbers if you are using a

quote/idea/object from a specific page

In-text Reference Examples

Paraphrasing an idea Many factors are known to affect the

successful outcomes for students at secondary school (Johnston, 2003, p. 37).

ORJohnston (2003, p. 37) claims that there are many factors that are known to affect the success of students at secondary school.

In-text Reference Examples

A direct quoteMcLaine (2002, p. 16) stated that ‘productivity among 69 percent of workers was found to be affected by work related stress’.

OR‘Productivity among 69 percent of workers was found to be affected by work related stress’ (McLaine, 2002, p. 16) .

The Reference listThe Reference list:• is arranged alphabetically by author’s family

name• is a single list — books, journal articles and

electronic sources are listed together • includes the full details of your in-text

references (author, date, title, publishing details)• the name of the book/magazine is placed in

italics and other information is separated by commas

Reference List Examples

Book

Author’s family namefollowed by a comma, then initial(s)

Title of book in italics, followed by a comma. Upper case used for first letter

Year of publication followed by a comma – no brackets

Publisher

Daly, J, Speedy, S & Jackson, D 2004, Nursing leadership, Elsevier, Sydney.

Place of publication

Reference List Examples

Website

Author’s family name followed by a comma and then the initial

Title of the webpage in italics, followed by a comma. Upper case letter used for the first word only

Year of publication followed by a comma with no brackets

Name of organisation,if applicable, then a comma

Date first accessed on the WWW, followed by a comma

The internet address (URL) is enclosed in < and > with a full stop at the end.

Thomas, S 2007, Guide to personal efficiency, Adelaide University, viewed 6 January 2008,<http://library.adelaide.edu.au/~sthomas/papers/perseff.html>.

Reference List Examples

Journal/magazine

Title of the article in single quotation marks, followed by a comma. Upper case is used for the first word

Name of the magazine/journal in italics. Use an upper case letter at the start of each main word.

Use p. if the information comes from a single page. Use pp. if information comes from a range of pages.

Volume and number

Author’s family name followed by a comma, then the initial, comma then date.

O'Hara, MJ 2000, ‘Food preparation in the 21st century’, Journal of Food Science, vol. 41, no. 11, pp. 145–151.

Can I quote information my teacher has told me?

Generally, no! Your teacher has given you the basic information. You are expected to show that you have read widely and can gather evidence/information from a wide range of resources.

What if the information source does not have an author or a

date?If there is no author:

• Look for a sponsoring body such as an organization or a government department that is responsible for the information.

• If this is not possible, use the title of the book, article or document as the ‘author’.

• If no date can be found, write the abbreviations n.d.

Example of journal article with no author

In-textSuch a strategy is already in use (‘Building human resources instead of landfills’ 2000) and …

Reference List ‘Building human resources instead of landfills’ 2000, Biocycle, vol. 41, no. 12, pp. 28–29.

What do I do if there is a really long quote?

If you have a long direct quote (more than 30 words):

• indent the quote on a new line.

• you do not need to use quotation marks.

• use a smaller size font

A long quote example

Australians have developed:

an emerging interest in values, vision, meaning and purpose which is the common characteristic of societies facing the end of a chronological era … each new decade is approached as if it holds some new promise (Mackay 1993, p.231).

Three dots (ellipses) are used if you have left out a section of the quote.

How do I reference conversations, interviews, letters

or emails etc?

These are known as personal communications. They are given an in text reference, but are not written in the reference list unless they form a major part of your assignment.

In text examples of an interview

• It has been confirmed by Seow (interview 3rd July 2008) that this practice is widespread.

• I interviewed Lleyton Hewitt (7th March 2008) and asked him what advice he has to give young tennis players …

• In an interview conducted on 19 February 2002, Ms J. Smith stated that …

• I’ll call him David. That’s not his real name, but he sleeps in the parklands and agreed to talk to me about how he copes (interview 6th June 2008).

An Interview in the Reference List:

• Not required in reference list unless it forms a major part of your document.

• You must obtain the interviewee’s permission to use the interview in your work.Hewitt, L 2008, Interview by [your name], Adelaide, 3 March 2008Interview with a homeless person, by [your name], Adelaide, 6 June 2008

How do I reference a survey?

• A survey that you have conducted yourself should be put at the back of your assignment as an Appendix.

• You should refer to the appendix as the in-text reference

• Do not put it in your reference list.• A published survey should be added to the

reference list.

Example of a survey

• This view is supported by 55% of people who responded to a survey conducted to gauge opinion (Appendix 1).

What is the difference between a reference list and a

bibliography?• A bibliography lists everything you may

have read

• A reference list is limited to the in-text references in your assignment

• you do not need to produce a bibliography for your assignments unless specifically asked to do so by your teacher

Still stuck?Bring your assignment to one of the teacher librarians and get some help!