Referencing Guidelines

Referencing is used to acknowledge that an idea (or the exact) words used within your assignment, is that of another person.

SACE Board of SA Guidelines for Referencing, 2010

May 2014

• To demonstrate your academic integrity.•Support your argument or illustrate important points you are making.•Make it easy for readers to find the sources you have used.•Fulfil your moral and legal obligations to recognise and acknowledge the authors of the original ideas.•Avoid plagiarism so that you are not falsely claiming someone else’s work or ideas as your own.

Why should Sources be referenced?

Referencing styles

There are a variety of different referencing styles

In-text OR footnotes OR endnotes

While the styles and format of each differ they all aim to acknowledge the source that you are using either directly or indirectly within your assignment and at the end of your assignment.

The examples used in the Guidelines for Referencing are available on the SACE website and are based on the Harvard Author-Date system.

Check with your teacher to determine which referencing style they want you to use.

Harvard Author-Date system in-text referencing

Is composed of a brief reference in the text of your assignment, to identify the author’s ideas or words (usually author or title if there is no author), date and page number with a corresponding entry in the reference list.

The reference list includes all sources of information that have been cited in your assignment. It is located at the end of the assignment and is listed in alphabetical order of the author and or titles of the different sources used.

A bibliography is included at the end of the assignment and includes all sources used in the research for your assignment – not just those cited in the body of the assignment and included in the reference list.

Check with your teacher to determine if they want you to include both a reference list and a bibliography.

When should sources be referenced in your assignment?

Direct quote

Short quotations

Long quotations

Used less commonly and only to support or illustrate important points that you are making.

Indirect quote

Summary or paraphrase

Put the author’s words into your own

Ask yourself “What is the author actuallysaying” and then use your own words.

Acknowledge the source in the text and at the end of your research assignment in a reference list.

An example of in-text referencing

Direct quote

The following is an extract from ‘Eau what a feeling’ 2013 Good Health pp. 94-96, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost.

Sports drinks are made up of carbohydrate and fluid to allow an athlete to rehydrate, refuel and meet their electrolyte needs before, during and after exercise.

To use this extract as a direct quote in your essay it must be written within quotation marks. The quote is not usually included in the total word count.

Example (where author/article title is part of the main sentence) :According to the article ‘Eau what a Feeling’ (2013, p 94) “sports drinks are made up of carbohydrates and fluid to allow an athlete to rehydrate, refuel and meet their electrolyte needs before, during and after exercise.”

Example (where author/article title is not part of the main sentence):“Sports drinks are made up of carbohydrates and fluid to allow an athlete to rehydrate, refuel and meet their electrolyte needs before, during and after exercise”(‘Eau what a feeling’ 2013, p. 94).

The following is an extract from ‘Eau what a feeling’ 2013 Good Health pp. 94-96, Australia/New Zealand Reference Centre, EBSCOhost.

They provide a replacement of electrolytes, particularly sodium, which helps increase fluid absorption and encourages fluid intake by driving the thirst mechanism, as well as potassium, which can assist in muscle contraction during exercise, but only if you are exercising for more than two hours.

To use this extract as an indirect quote, quotation marks are not used, since the words are not exact quotes.

Example : where author/title of article is part of the main sentence :The article ‘Eau what a feeling’ (2013, p. 95) confirms that sports drinks containing electrolytes are beneficial but only for exercise over two hours.

Example : where author/title of author is not part of the main sentence :Sports drinks containing electrolytes are beneficial, but only for exercise over two hours (‘Eau what a feeling’ 2013, p. 95)

An example of in-text referencing

Indirect quote

For further examples download the document Excerpts from an essay highlighting in—text referencing

from the RHS library page

The following types of source materials should be acknowledged:

Advertisements Other students work

Others’ ideas Blogs

Encyclopaedia articles

Personal interviews

CDROMS & DVDs Letters

Pictures Magazines Maps TV programs

Pamphlets Journals Newspapers Movies

Artworks Teachers Lecturers Books

Websites Emails Discussion groups

music

•Your own experiences•Your own experimental results•Common knowledge

Common knowledge includes

•Facts that are commonly known (eg there are twelve months in a year)•Facts that are so well known that they are available in a number of different kinds of sources (eg WW2 began in 1939)•Commonsense observations (eg interest rates going up will affect mortgage payments)

The following types of sources do not need to be referenced :

Construction of a Reference ListUsing the Online Referencing Generator

Use the Online Referencing Generator (ORG) to construct both your Reference List and/or Bibliography.Access is via the quick links box on the RHS library webpage and the password is available from the library.

If you use resources found from using the library catalogue, you can create a reference for them from within the catalogue. Tick the square above the amazon logo and click on List and View citation. Copy and paste this.

For more information on how to use ORG, check out the slideshare located in the Research Guide – Referencing tab – Creating a reference list or bibliography library guide on the RHS library webpage.

For each Source of Information there is a corresponding example of an in-text reference to help you. For example Website without author :

What strategies can you use to prepare for the referencing of sources in your assignments?

Organise notes and record details of where information was actuallyfound as you go.

Record details of the resource being used on the pages of your notes,printouts or photocopies of information so that it will be easy to compile your in-text references.

Set up a chart to keep track of the basic bibliographic information using ORG of the sources used.

Know the difference between a direct and indirect quote. Practice putting an author’s ideas into your own words. Try to pass up drafts with in-text referencing so that your teacher can check

whether you need extra help. Ask the library staff for assistance!

Final Tips

Check which referencing style your teacher wants you to use. Use consistent format and punctuation. Use the ORG and if you are using resources from the library

catalogue you can create a reference within this by ticking the box above the amazon logo for the resource/s you want, clicking on List and view citation. Copy and paste the reference.

Keep a logical record of potential references as you research particularly for information you want to use as in-text references. Remember if the source has a page number you will need to include this as well.