Referencing Methods - A basic guide

The purpose of referencing in a report or essay is to show explicitly how you have educated your opinion in preparation for the writing process. It shows that you have consulted the works of experts in the particular field and allows you to credit their ideas where appropriate.

You must reference the source of your ideas when you:

Quote another person's words
Paraphrase another person's words
Summarise another person's ideas
Copy tables, diagrams etc from an information resource into your essay

Thorough and accurate referencing in an academic essay will assist you to avoid plagiarism.

Referencing has 2 aspects:

1. Identifying the source of ideas, quotes, figures and graphics at the appropriate point within the text of the assignment.

2. Writing a list of all the resources you have used in an assignment and including it at the end of the assignment:

A reference list is a list of only those resources you have made reference to in the body of your text.
A bibliography is a list of all resources you consulted in the preparation of your assignment

Unless a reference list is particularly specified a bibliography will normally suffice.

There are two main methods of referencing. Choose one method only in a particular essay and apply it consistently. Do not mix the methods in one essay.

Method 1 – In-text references – Harvard / Name-date system.

The Harvard method is also called the 'Name-date' method, because the sources of specific information, ideas, quotes, figures and diagrams are identified when you first use them in the text of your essay. The reference is in parentheses at the end of your sentence and usually includes:

the name of the author
year of publication of the work referred to
page number

In each case an in-text reference that has the author's name and the date of the publication points clearly to an entry in the bibliography with the same name and date.

The title of a book, encyclopedia, journal etc. appears in italics. The name of an article in a journal or encyclopedia appears inside single quotation marks.

Example:

(Reference in the text of the essay) Recent studies have concluded that..... (Smith 2009, p81).
(Entry in bibliography) Smith, P. (2009), Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney.

Different ways of using an author's ideas in the text of your essay

You may choose to use a direct quote, figure or diagram in your assignment because you decide there is no better way of expressing the information. In this case you should include the details immediately after the quote, figure or diagram in the form (Author’s surname date, page number).

For example:
(In text) "There are several key causes of salinity..." (Bloggs 1998, p45).
(Bibliography) Bloggs, H. (1998), Problems of NSW pastures, Macmillan, Sydney.

You may choose to refer to the author directly but paraphrase the information that is unique to his or her book or article. In this case you should include the reference details (date, page number) after the author’s name.

For example:
(In text) According to Bloggs (1998, p45) the causes of salinity are...........

(Bibliography) Bloggs, H. (1998), Problems of NSW pastures, Macmillan, Sydney.

You may use an author's idea in a sentence of your own. You still need to reference the source of the idea by including the details (Author’s surname date, page number) at the end of the sentence.

For example:
(In text) Salinity has a number of causes...........(Bloggs 1998, p45).

(Bibliography) Bloggs, H. (1998), Problems of NSW pastures, Macmillan, Sydney.

Variations for different types of resources

- Where two authors are involved cite both surnames:
(In text) Smith and Brown (1995, p122) recommend that pastures be ......
(Bibliography) Smith, P. and Brown, G. (1995), Improving pastures in NSW, Longman, Sydney.
- For works with an editor, use the editor's name in the reference as you would an author:
(In text) .....as a consequence of prolonged drought. (White 2003, p216)
(Bibliography) White, P. (Ed) (2003), Perspectives on agriculture, Federation Press, Sydney.
- For material with no author use the title of the work:
(In text) Recent government policy has been .......(School in society, 1991, p53).
(Bibliography) School in society (1991), Education Department, Hobart.
- For encyclopedias state:
('the name of the section' the date of publication, volume and page number)
(In text) ....is a characteristic of eucalypts. ('Eucalypts' 1992, Vol 5, p276).
(Bibliography) 'Eucalypts', World Book Encyclopedia (1992) Vol 5, World Book, Chicago.
- For reference to an Internet source state:
(the author’s surname,'title of web page' date of publication on the Internet)
(In text) .....which is a likey consequence of these cycles. (Arnett, ‘Earth’ 2006).
(Bibliography) Arnett, Bill. 'Earth'. 23 June 2006. (Online)
<www.anu.edu.au/physics/nineplanets/earth.html>
(19 August 2006)

Note: A footnote can be used in an essay that uses the in-text referencing system, but only to briefly expand on a point, when that explanation would otherwise disrupt the flow of the text.

Remember, all in-text references should be mirrored by an entry in your bibliography or reference list

Method 2 – Footnotes / Endnotes.

Footnotes allow the reader to glance to the bottom of the page and quickly see the full details of a work cited in the text of the essay. Endnotes are constructed in the same way as footnotes, but are placed after the text of the essay. As with the Harvard system outlined above, works cited in-text must have a corresponding entry in a bibliography or reference list at the end of the essay. With footnotes and endnotes this is in addition to the actual notes list.

Example:

(In the text of the essay) Recent studies have concluded that librarians are geniuses [1].
(Bottom of page or end of essay)
1. Peter Smith, Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney, 2009, 81.
(Model: First name Surname, Title in italics, Publisher, Place, year, page.)
(Bibliography) Smith, Peter (2009), Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney.

Abbreviations – The following may be used only with this method and you must strictly adhere to the rules for their use:

ibid. Means 'in the same place as just mentioned' and must come immediately after the full reference it refers to.

Example:
1. Peter Smith, Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney, 2009, 81.
2. ibid. p 93.
op cit. Means 'in the work previously cited' and must be used with an author’s name where you have previously cited the full details of the source in an earlier footnote.

Example:
3. Geoff Jones, Information Science towards 2010, Macmillan, London, 2008, 56.
4. Smith op cit. p 95.
loc cit. Means 'in the exact place previously cited' and refers to the exact details of a previously cited source, including page number. It also is used with an author’s name.

Example:
1. Peter Smith, Libraries in the modern age, Penguin, Sydney, 2009, 81.
2. Geoff Jones, Information Science towards 2010, Macmillan, London, 2008, 56.
3. Smith loc cit.

Remember, all footnote references should be mirrored by an entry in your bibliography or reference list.

Method 1 - Harvard method

Method 2 - Footnotes/Endnotes


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