IS226
Introduction to Referencing,
Citing & Structuring Bibliographies
(for course work & dissertations)
2012-2013
www.rhul.ac.uk/library
Aims of the Session
Find out how to create references and structure bibliographies for course work & dissertations, and
how to create references for a wide range of resources from books & journals to online resources
& audio / visual material (such as films, DVD ‘extras’, sound clips).
This session will enable you to:
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understand plagiarism
understand the key principles of referencing & creating bibliographies.
know where to find more information on the referencing system that your department uses
locate overviews & detailed help on the different types of referencing systems (e.g.
Harvard, Chicago, MLA, MHRA)
have an awareness of the different types of sources & resources and how to reference
them
understand how create references in your course work: footnotes vs ‘in-text’ references
have an awareness of tools to help you easily create & manage references & bibliographies
(these are covered in more detail in the courses IS228 & IS229)
Contents
1. Plagiarism
a. How can I avoid accidental plagiarism?
2. What is referencing?
a. What is a bibliography?
b. When should I use referencing?
c. Why do I need to use referencing?
d. Which material should I reference?
3. Referencing styles & systems.
a. Finding information on your Department’s web pages
b. Further help and detailed information on the main referencing styles
c. Key books on referencing styles (copies in RHUL Libraries)
4. Writing & referencing:
a. In-text references
b. Footnotes (& creating Footnotes in Word 2007/10)
5. Tools to create & manage references & bibliographies
a. Introduction to RefWorks
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1. What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism involves the process of using or copying someone else's work and pretending that you
thought of it or created it.
Plagiarism is viewed as a form of cheating and is a serious academic misconduct.
The most common forms of plagiarism are:
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cut / copy and pasted material from the Web
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copying the work of another student (past or present) including essay material,
laboratory data or computer source code
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copying course material or lecture notes
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copying material out of a textbook or journal
1a. How can I avoid accidental plagiarism?
You can help avoid accidental plagiarism through the proper attribution of source material (i.e.
correct referencing). Always make sure you take time to reference accurately and don't be afraid
to ask for help!
There are a number of college resources available to help you understand plagiarism and how to
avoid it.
The Academic Support Team provide useful and interactive guides on how to understand and
avoid plagiarism. See the section ‘Study Resources’ on their web pages:
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http://www.rhul.ac.uk/ecampus/academicsupport/
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See their link to: ‘Avoiding Plagiarism’ tool on Moodle
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And their link to: The ‘Six Point Code’
Plagiarism is taken very seriously by academic institutions. At Royal Holloway, how the College
views and deals with cases of plagiarism is covered in the College Regulations.
If you are in any doubt about what plagiarism is & how to avoid it: consult your tutor & read the
RHUL regulations here:
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http://www.rhul.ac.uk/ecampus/academicsupport/regulations/
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2. What is referencing?
Referencing, also referred to a ‘citing’, is the process of adding ‘references’ (or ‘citations’) & a
‘bibliography’ within your course work. A reference is a clearly identified ‘note’ that states that you
are referring to someone else’s work and what the work is that you are referring to. Referencing
must be carried out in a specific ‘style’ as required by your Department.
Referencing is a very important academic skill & it is a requirement when writing your essays &
course work.
2a – What is a bibliography
A bibliography is a list, located at the end of your piece of course work, of the references and all
the material that you have used in your work. Anything referenced in the body of your essay should
also have a corresponding entry in your bibliography.
The bibliography must be formatted in the referencing style required by your Department.
2b - When should I use referencing?
When writing your assignment or dissertation a reference is required if you:
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Paraphrase (use someone else's ideas in your own words)
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Summarise (use a brief account of someone else's ideas)
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Quote (use someone else's exact words)
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Copy (use someone else's figures, tables or structure)
2c - Why do I need to use referencing?
There are three main reasons why you need to reference:
– Acknowledgement:
to acknowledge an intellectual debt to another author and to
avoid plagiarism
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Support:
to give supporting evidence to specific facts or claims you make in the
text, show the breadth of your research & can strengthen your academic argument
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Referral:
to enable a reader to find the sources that have been quoted & verify
your data
ALSO: to avoid accidental plagiarism
Exercise 1: note down the types of material or sources that you may reference in your
work?
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2d. Which material should I reference?
References must be provided whenever you use someone else's opinions, theories, data or
organisation of material.
You may need to reference information from: books, journal articles, videos, web sites, images,
recordings, films & TV, performances, newspapers, and any other print, electronic & online
sources.
If in doubt: reference EVERYTHING!
3. Referencing styles & systems
There is a wide range of referencing styles or formats. These include:
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Author-date (Harvard, APA, MHRA, MLA)
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Author-page number (MLA)
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Numbering (MHRA, Nature, Vancouver)
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Footnotes (Chicago)
At Royal Holloway, different Departments use different referencing styles. So you need to be able
to find this information on you Department website, in your Department Handbook, or in a
Department ‘style guide.
Exercise 2: use your Dept handbook to find the referencing style that you need to use. What
is it? Does that Handbook include examples or links to online guides?
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3a. Finding information on your Department’s web pages:
To find your Department Handbook you can use the following methods:
The Study Resources web pages: Department handbooks
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/ecampus/academicsupport/studyresources.aspx
The College’s list of Department web pages:
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/ecampus/departments/home.aspx
Then select: Information for current students, and check the text & tabs to find the department
handbook or style guide.
3b. Further help and detailed information on the main referencing styles:
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Harvard: check Department Handbooks as they may have developed their own version of
Harvard (as is guide rather than a fixed style), but this is a useful starting point:
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Chicago guide: the Library subscribes to the online version of the full Chicago Manual of
Style
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http://pages.mail.bfwpub.com/2009mlaupdate
MHRA guide: the full MHRA guide online
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http://eresources.rhul.ac.uk/kb/Chicago_Manual_of_Style_Online
MLA guide: the full MLA guide online
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http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm
http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/download.shtml
APA guide: the full APA guide online
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http://www.apastyle.org/
IMPORTANT: whichever referencing style you need to use, you have to make sure that you
are CONSISTENT in its use.
3c. Key books on referencing styles (copies in RHUL Libraries):
For Harvard:
Pears, R. (2010) Cite them right: the essential referencing guide. Basingstoke: Palgrave
Macmillan.
Bedford 378.170281 PEA
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For MLA:
Gibaldi, Joseph. (2009). MLA handbook for writers of research papers. New York: MLA.
Founders 808.023 MOD
For Chicago:
University of Chicago Press. (2003). The Chicago manual of style. Chicago, Ill: University of
Chicago Press.
Bedford & Founders 808.02 UNI
4. Writing & referencing
When writing your course work you need to insert you references or ‘placeholders’ as you progress
through your essay and they need to be placed in the correct locations with your work. There are
two main types of reference formats:
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In-text
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Footnote
4a. In-text references 4b. Footnotes Footnotes in Word 2007/10
In-text references are placed in the body of the text of your essay or course work. The in-text
reference should be placed immediately after the quote or paraphrase or the mention of someone
else’s work and/or ideas.
For example:
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Somewhat strangely, Burke (2011) claimed that horses are made of cheese.
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One person even claimed that horses are made of cheese (Burke, 2011).
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“Horses are made of cheese” (Burke, 2011, p. 8).
4b. Footnotes
Footnotes are references that are inserted at the bottom of the page in which the reference is
made. They may also include additional information relevant to the reference.
Footnotes are usually indicated within the body of the text with a number starting with ‘1’.
If using an ‘author, date’ style, then each new page starts again at ‘1’.
If using a ‘numbering’ reference style, the numbers run consecutively throughout the essay or
course work.
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Footnotes in Word 2007/10
To insert footnotes in a Word 2007/10 document:
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choose ‘References’ tab
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click on ‘Insert footnote (this adds a number to the text & a footnote)
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enter the reference in the footnote plus any text
5. Tools to help you create references & bibliographies
Refworks - If you are a current undergraduate or taught postgraduate, Refworks is provided for
free and will help you:
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Capture, save and organise references
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Create references & bibliographies in a few clicks
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Work with a range of Word processing tools
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Access on & off campus via the E-resources A-Z lists
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Accessible on any PC & anywhere you have access to the internet
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Refworks also provides comprehensive online self-help tutorials on YouTube
The Library runs free RefWorks training sessions. Check the Student IT Training Programme for
more details (under Library & Research Skills):
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/library/helpandsupport/findinginformation.aspx
We also provide EndNote – this is particularly targeted at current members of College staff, taught
or research postgraduate regularly using a single College-owned computer and who will want to
manage a large number of references. Users will have to buy their own copy of EndNote.
You can find out more about EndNote here:
http://www.rhul.ac.uk/library/helpandsupport/studyaids/endnote.aspx
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6. Further help
If you would like more help or guidance on any of the topics explored in this course at any time
during your research, please contact the Information Consultant for your subject or email the
Information Consultants Team [email protected]
Drama; English; Media Arts; Royal Holloway
International
Irene Bittles
[email protected]
Classics; History; Modern Languages; Music
Russell Burke
[email protected]
Management; Economics; Criminology and
Sociology; Health and Social Care
Lucinda Lyon
[email protected]
Biological Sciences; Computer Science; Earth
Sciences; Information Security; Mathematics;
Physics; Psychology
Adrian Machiraju
[email protected]
European Studies; Geography; Philosophy;
Politics & International Relations
Helen Westwood
[email protected]
Royal Holloway Information Services Department
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