Referencing and Plagiarism

When citing your sources and compiling your bibliography there are several different "styles" from which you can choose.

STYLE MANUALS

Often the style you choose might depend on the style your lecturer prefers or the discipline in which you are studying. You need to determine which style is preferred for your bibliography. It is important to check with your lecturer/department to find out what their recommended citation style is. Whatever style you choose it is important that your are accurate and consistent throughout your paper.

Style manuals provide guidelines for how to cite sources used in your theses/research paper. These guides also give background information on other elements of style such as proper page layout, punctuation, quotations, etc. The styles most often used are Harvard, APA, MLA and Turabian/Chicago.

• HARVARD STYLE

  Widely accepted form used in the business and social science fields.
  Guide to the Harvard Style

• APA

  (American Psychological Association): this style is used in psychology, education, and other social sciences.

• MLA

  (Modern Languages Association of America) : generally use this style for literature, arts, and humanities.

• TURABIAN / CHICAGO

  Comprehensive style manual, containing standards for documentation of sources in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.

If you do not find an example that fits your needs, please ask a Librarian who can help you locate an appropriate form.

Useful Books

• Pears, R. and Shields, G. (2016) Cite Them Right: the essential referencing guide. Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan.
• Walker, J.R. and Taylor, T (1998) The Columbia guide to online style New York : Columbia University Press.
• Li, X. and Crane N. B.(1996) Electronic style: a guide to citing electronic information 2nd ed. Medford, N.J. : Information Today.
• Neville, C. (2007) The Complete Guide to Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism. Berkshire : Open University Press.

Useful web sites

• Harvard Style- https://libguides.bournemouth.ac.uk/bu-referencing-harvard-style
• APA Style- http://www.apastyle.org/
• Chicago/Turabian Style-http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/how-to-find/cite-sources
• MLA Style- https://www.mla.org/MLA-Style
• Vancouver Style- http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/vancouver.php
• IFLA- excellent link to style guides / resources- http://www.ifla.org/I/training/citation/citing.htm
• University of Wisconsin Library - web links electronic referencing.- http://researchguides.library.wisc.edu/citing