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Research: Referencing

You've done the research, now you have to correctly acknowledge where it came from.

Referencing - the basics

Useful resources

RMIT's Referencing Help

These resources are from RMIT University's Lab. Improve your general academic study, writing and maths skills through the interactive tutorials, videos and printable handouts.Another source of excellent information is in your copy of Student's manual : your guide to assignments and exams (the GREEN book).

What is Referencing?

This short video introduces why you must use references and the different ways to use referencing in your writing either through direct quotes or paraphrasing and using a reference list.

Integrating References 

This tutorial explains the correct ways to integrate references into your writing to avoid plagiarism and get better marks. It focuses on the Harvard style of referencing.

Academic Style

What does Academic Style mean? This short video explains what is meant by academic style and how this relates to your academic writing. It gives you practical guidance on how to write your assessment tasks in the correct style expected by your teachers.

QuickTips to master Academic Style & Vocabulary

What to reference?

Provide a reference every time you quote, paraphrase or summarise someone else’s ideas, theories, information or data, no matter what the source. This includes facts, figures, tables, charts and images.

The source must be referenced whether it is:

  • published or unpublished
  • electronic or hard copy
  • text based or audio/visual.

 Your reference list may include:

Books, journals, reports, personal correspondence, case studies, blog posts, lectures, podcasts, videos, television programs, interviews and more.

You do not have to cite:

  • Your own experiences, artwork, data or findings compiled from your own research work.
  • Common knowledge - facts known to most people and found in most reference resources, widely known historical or geographic facts. Common knowledge can also include information your teacher would expect all students to know, in other words it can include some specific information widely known in a field of study such as nursing, business or the social sciences. 
  • Remember, when in doubt, cite it.
In a nutshell:
Should I Cite Flowchart (Created by Cardiff University Information Services)

Citation tools

Cite This For Me is a free generator tool designed to help students prepare your whole bibliography or reference list quickly and easily. It uses the Harvard referencing style.

Harvard Generator is a free tool that allows you to quickly and easily format references and sources in the correct Harvard Referencing Format.

Online Referencing Generator is a paid service that the College encourages you to use. This site allows students in our Junior, Middle and Senior schools create bibliographies relevant to your needs.