From the beginning of your time in third level education with TU Dublin, it is essential to learn how to reference correctly.
When you work on any assignment, you will need to distinguish between your own ideas and other people's. This acknowledgement of other people's work is called referencing. We do this to:
There are many different styles of referencing used within different subject areas and professions, but they all include the same basic information:
Image source: library.hud.ac.uk/pages/principleofreferencing/
General Introduction to Referencing
Chicago Citation & Referencing Guide
Harvard Referencing - Quick Guide
You can also check out a guide dedicated to your specific subject area, including referencing within your School, on the Library Essentials Subject Guides page.
There are many different referencing systems in use within TU Dublin, depending on the discipline you are studying. Each School has guidelines on what particular referencing style they expect you to use.
That means if, for example, you are taking some subjects in Engineering and some in Business or Language Studies, you may have to use more than one referencing style for different modules during your programme.
APA, 7th edition (American Psychological Association) style Used across Schools within Social Sciences
Chicago style Used across Schools within Humanities, Education and Art & Design
Harvard style Used across Schools within Business, Science, Engineering and Humanities
IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers) style Used in the Faculty of Engineering & the Built Environment and the Faculty of Computing, Digital & Data
OSCOLA Ireland (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities) Used by the School of Law
Numeric Style (Vancouver, AMA, CSE): Used in the Faculty of Sciences & Health and the Faculty of Computing, Digital & Data
At the start of each module, your lecturer or tutor should always tell you what referencing style to use for your assignments. If you are in doubt, ask them!
Keep a record as you go of all the books, journal articles, data sets and websites you consult for each assignment, and:
This record can be as simple as an organised Word or Excel document.
Many free online Reference Manager tools can also store your saved references and create citations and full reference lists for you in any popular referencing style, such as:
From worries about plagiarism to confusion over GenAI, we're here to help!
You can also phone or email your home Library if you're not sure where to get started, or drop in to chat to a member of Library staff at the main desk of all five Library locations.
The AWLC provides free and friendly support to all TU Dublin students at any programme level, from first year right up to PhD. The AWLC offers one-to-one appointments and also group thematic workshops on various aspects of academic writing, to help you develop as an independent, confident writer in an academic setting, including a thematic workshop on Academic Integrity and Plagiarism.
All citation examples in all Library referencing guides contain important formatting and punctuation information, such as commas, full stops, CAPITAL LETTER TEXT, and italics. Every referencing style has its own specific punctuation and formatting conventions, and following these correctly is a vital part of referencing.
If you are using a screen reader it will work best, once you reach the specific example you need, to change your punctuation and other settings to accurately receive this information. Turn on an indication for capital letters and formatting, and navigate the example citations one character at a time, to ensure that all punctuation, formatting and capital letters are announced correctly.
Follow this link for more information on assistive technology from TU Dublin's Disability Support Service.
The National Academic Integrity Network (NAIN) uses the following definition for Academic Integrity:
"academic integrity is the commitment to and demonstration of honest and moral behaviour in an academic setting."
How we acknowledge the sources that influenced our learning, and properly give credit for each other's work and ideas as members of a global community of students, academics and colleagues, is a vital part of Academic Integrity.
You can read the FAQ and Universtiy Academic Integrity Policy at this link, and also get your questions answered by fellow students at the TU Dublin Students' Union 'Your Welfare' page on Academic Integrity.
The Cite Them Right series is highly recommended for students, especially those new to academic referencing.
This eBook contains specific chapters on: Harvard referencing, APA referencing, Chicago referencing, IEEE referencing, MLA referencing, OSCOLA referencing, and Vancouver referencing.
Guidance for each referencing style in relation to citing GenAI content and software is included in the new 2025 edition.
Also available to borrow from your home library at Shelf Number 808.027 PEA
A clear and easy-to-understand eBook guide to Harvard referencing, taking a step by step approach. Also advises students on how to locate appropriate sources from a range of traditional and new media.
The 3rd edition of this eBook has been updated to include clear instructions for correctly referencing a range of online material, as well as address frequently asked questions by UK-based international students. With a focus on Harvard referencing, it also offers guidance on other referencing styles including Chicago, ALA, and Vancouver.
Also available to borrow from your home library from Shelf Number 808.027 NEV
This easy-to-use guide helps to develop the essential academic skills of writing and thinking needed to cite and reference with confidence in your academic studies. Plagiarism and the most common methods of quoting, summarising and paraphrasing are explained and modelled throughout the book.
This edition of a popular series includes updated chapters on finding, evaluating, and citing a wide range of digital sources and also recognises the evolving use of software for citation management, graphics, and formatting. This edition is fully aligned with the recently released Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition, as well as with the latest edition of The Craft of Research.
A solid guide for anyone who needs to learn a new citation style or who needs an easy reference to Chicago, MLA, APA, AMA, and other referencing styles. Each chapter serves as a quick guide that introduces the basics of a style, explains who might use it, and then presents an abundance of examples.
This eBook guide to the APA 7th edition referencing system is written in clear, concise, user-friendly language, with non-native English speakers in mind and plenty of practical examples given to help explain all concepts.
Also available to borrow from Grangegorman Library at Shelf Number 808.06615 IID
The current edition of the official style and usage guide published by the University of Chicago, containing specific and detailed instruction on the use and referencing of sources in the Chicago referencing system.
(Note: A revised 18th edition of this style guide is due for publication in 2024)
Referencing an AI source generally follows the same principles as referencing any other source - a citation is still needed for each idea that is not your own.
Any direct use of AI-generated content, either in quotes, as paraphrase, or image-generation, must be cited and referenced according to the guidelines of the referencing style you are using.
In general, your citations will need to include:
Below are downloadable guides developed by Library Services on referencing AI-generated content in APA, MLA, Chicago, IEEE, OSCOLA and Harvard styles, with links to further information and examples. You should also consult the chapter on your referencing style in the most up-to-date version of 'Cite Them Right: the essential referencing guide' by Richard Pears and Graham Shields.
Below is some best practice advice that applies to all referencing styles:
This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
