Referencing Guide

HOW TO REFERENCE

A GUIDE FOR STUDENTS

Mandy Shaw (2004) Division of Criminology Nottingham Trent University

www.internetjournalofcriminology.com

© Shaw (2004)

CONTENTS

What is referencing? Why is it important to reference properly? What is plagiarism? How is plagiarism viewed at university? Example - how to refer to someone else’s work What is the correct way to quote directly? An example of plagiarism What is the correct way to paraphrase the words of an author? What is the correct way to refer to the ideas of an author? What is the correct way to quote words from one author which are quoted in a different author’s work (secondary referencing)? What is the correct way to write a quotation within a quotation? What is the correct way to set out a reference list? 3 3 3 4 4 4 6 6 7

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© Shaw (2004)

This Guide shows you how to reference using the Harvard system in your academic written work at university. It starts by addressing why referencing is important. The issue of plagiarism is also addressed. Basic principles to adopt in referencing in the body of an essay/assignment are given and applied to an example. The Guide then turns to address how to reference in a reference list, adapting the same example. WHAT IS REFERENCING? Referencing is when you attribute the source of words, ideas and data you use to the author(s) whose work you have read. Referencing refers to other people’s work which you directly quote from and other people’s work whose words you use less directly. WHY IS IT IMPORTANT TO REFERENCE PROPERLY? It is vital to attribute sources throughout all assessments, so that you are not accused of plagiarism (see next section). Many different sources are available to be used nowadays (books, journal articles, videos, etc.). Authors whose work is not correctly referenced are more likely now than ever before to bring legal action if they find out that their words have been used...