Academic Integrity & Avoiding Plagiarism: Citing and referencing

When you start out with citing and referencing it's easy to get confused as to which is which:

• Cite = when you acknowledge within your text to show that the information comes from a published source (a book, journal article, etc.)
  Read more about in text citation
• Reference = when you give full publication details of the sources in an A-Z list by author's surname at the end of your report, essay, presentation etc.
• Reference list identifies sources referred to (cited) in the text of your assignment.
• Bibliography is presented in the same format as a reference list but it includes all material consulted in the preparation of your assignment.
  In other words, a bibliography presents the same items as a reference list but it also includes all other sources which you have read or consulted but did not cite. A bibliography allows you to show to your reader (examiner) the unused research you carried out. The bibliography will show your extra effort.

Referencing:

• provides the link between what you have read and what you have written;
• shows that you have researched and read around your subject area;
• shows that you have considered and evaluated the work of others;
• acknowledges the sources you have used, and, most importantly;
• protects you from any charges of copying or plagiarism.