Introduction to Referencing

Referencing is a process that allows you to show where you have used the work or ideas of others and what source you obtained them from.  It's an important student skill because it allows you to:

• to acknowledge your sources
• give credit to others
• allow readers to identify and find your sources
• protect yourself against the risk of plagiarism
• provide sources  and evidence to support your arguments and assertions 

Elements of References

All references are made up of elements.  The elements required for each reference will vary depending upon the style being used, the source being referenced, and whether it's an in-text reference, footnote, or entry in a reference list or bibliography.  

An APA in-text reference to a book might only require two elements; the surname of the author and the year of publication.  

(Asprey, 2010)

The APA entry for the same book in the reference list requires more elements including the initial of the author, the title of the book, the name of the publisher and year of publication.

Asprey, M. (2010). Plain language for lawyers. Federation Press.

The elements required and the format of those elements will vary according to the style being used.  However, all references in all styles are made up of elements, so it's important to be able to find these elements in the sources that you wish to reference.  The next exercise will show you how to find the elements that you need to reference a source.

How to Reference

There are a number of ways to reference.  You might reference:

1. manually. Write out the references using the library referencing guide for your style
2. by using databases that can generate references in the style that you are using and then copy the references from there. Look for the 'Cite' option.  Good option if you only have a few sources.
3. using a reference management program. Programs such as Endnote or Zotero store all the information about your sources and can automatically insert the citation into Word or Google docs and generate your reference list. Recommended if  you are going to be doing a lot of referencing. 

The method that you choose will depend on the assessment task and how you prefer to work.  And whatever method you use, you must always check every reference to ensure that it is correct.

Different Styles

There are many different formats for referencing.  These are called styles.  Each style is a set of rules about what elements a reference must contain and how they must be formatted.  

Different courses and subjects required the use of different styles.  You must use the correct style.

Four referencing styles are used at VU.

Each guide has an introductory video.  Go to the guide for the style used in your course or subject and watch the introductory video.

Summary

• Referencing is an important student skill. 
• There are different styles of referencing and you must use the style that's required for your subject or course.  
• References to sources are made up of elements.  What elements are required and how they are formatted will vary from one style to another.
• You may create references manually, use a database to generate them, or use reference management software.
• Regardless of the method you use to create references, you must be familiar with the fundamentals of referencing and of the style you must use.

Discussion

• What referencing style must be used in this unit/course?
• Ideas for saving time when referencing.
• Teacher expectations.