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Referencing - The Basics

When you use ideas, information or data from other people in your assignments, you must acknowledge where you found them. Your tutor can then read the original sources of the information and check that you are using the authors’ arguments or data correctly.  

You acknowledge your sources by including citations and references in your work: 

• Citations are used in the main text of your assignment to identify the sources you have used to make your arguments, at the point you are making them. Citations are paired with a reference. 
• References are listed at the end of your assignment. They give the reader the full details of the sources you have cited in your assignment so they can find them.

Referencing Styles 

There are lots of different referencing styles. You can find out which style you are expected to use in your course or module handbook, or ask your module organiser.  

Some styles such as Harvard and APA use an author-date format: the author’s surname, the date of publication and the page number are included in brackets as an in-text citation at the point you refer to their work. 

Other styles such as Vancouver and Oxford use a notes and bibliography format: Numbers in the text refer to footnotes, where the original document is described in detail. 

Styles such as Chicago and MHRA are flexible and can be used in either format and others such as MLA or OSCOLA are subject specific and have unique formats that allow their users to cite common materials used in that subject. 

Support With Referencing

Cite Them Right is an amazing online tool that helps you to cite a huge variety of sources correctly, from books, ebooks and journal articles to social media posts and AI tools. It describes eight common referencing styles with tutorial guides and videos to help you with all aspects of referencing, including inserting citations into your work and avoiding plagiarism.  

The Learning Enhancement Team have an introduction to referencing on their website and host weekly Study Café drop-ins where you can ask more questions about referencing and academic writing. You can also Book an appointment to talk to a Learning Enhancement Tutor. 

Email lib.helpdesk@uea.ac.uk if you have further questions about referencing, citations or plagiarism. 

Quick References

Many Library databases contain a quick reference/citation function so you can get a reference to an article or book in the correct format to add to your assignment. Look for a quotation mark symbol (“) or the words Cite or Reference. These tools are sometimes inconsistent so make sure to check all your citations and references in detail before submitting any pieces of work. 

Reference Management Tools

Reference management tools help you to store, manage, cite and share your references. They are helpful when managing large reference lists for assignments on masters and doctorate degrees but are unlikely to be necessary for most undergraduate degrees.

Things to Think About

When choosing a reference management tool you should consider a few key points: 

• How do you work? Do you sit at the same desktop every day, or would a web-based version be easier to use if you are frequently changing computers and researching using multiple devices? 
• Is the citation/reference style you need to use available on the software? 
• Is the software compatible with the word processor you use? 
• Do you want to easily share your references with colleagues or supervisor, what tool do they use?  
• How do you like the layout and system for importing references? If you don’t find it easy to use, then you won’t want to continue using it! 

Support from UEA for Reference Management Tools 

If you need further advice or support with using the reference management tools above then please email lib.teaching@uea.ac.uk. We regularly run introductory training sessions on using referencing management tools.