Academic integrity is the cornerstone of academia and is preserved by attributing the sources of your learning to their original creators / authors within academic writing.
Use this guide and the contents within it to understand why, when and how to cite and reference the sources that have influenced your thinking and academic argument.
Referencing is the practice of acknowledging sources of evidence as you use them in your work. There are a variety of referencing styles used in academic work today, some of which you will discover as you read through journal articles and textbooks during the course of your study, but the one you are most likely going to use is the ‘author-date’ system, which is commonly called ‘Harvard’. The ‘author-date’ system is quite easy to identify in scholarly work: it involves placing the name of the author (or authors) whose work you are citing, together with the year in which it was published, between brackets, and adding it at an appropriate point in your text. Accurate referencing is a hallmark of high quality academic work. It requires a careful, organised and methodical approach to constructing and writing your work. Developing sound referencing practices will lead to enhanced analytical ability and communicative skills; it can also stimulate creativity if it is treated as a way of expressing knowledge and understanding rather than simply as a tool for avoiding plagiarism.
Referencing - Principles and format
Referencing - Principles and practice (Author Date - Harvard style)
Using Endnote 21 Download this interactive elesson to your device and open with Microsoft PowerPoint (or another compatible presentation software) to use.
Secondary referencing refers to the citation of a source contained within another source which you are reading. This is one of the most common referencing queries students have. This Cite Them Right guide explains the correct way to do this.
A small disclaimer: be aware that the resources linked to on this page are created and authored by institutions and individuals outside of Cardiff Met and that specific information and advice given, particularly with regards to the policies, services, provision and practices of other universities does not refer to those of Cardiff Met. We highly recommend visiting the Cardiff Metropolitan University Academic Handbook to clarify relevant policies, processes and procedures that apply to students of Cardiff Met should you need to.
Cite Them Right - This referencing database is an invaluable source for finding and confirming citation and reference formats for a huge variety of common and obscure source types including (but not limited to) print, digital, image, physical objects and audio and visual sources. Cite Them Right also contains a number of useful articles introducing the basics of referencing including overviews of how to determine what constitutes 'common knowledge', how to correctly format secondary referencing and how to avoid plagiarism.
Referencing and academic integrity | University of Sussex
How to Use Sources - Referencing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism | Trent University, Canada
Referencing | Newcastle University
Why and when to reference | University of Leeds
Zotero Download and Zotero Support Documentation - Zotero is a powerful open source piece of free reference management software. Use these links to access the latest Zotero install file and associated user guidance addressing initial setup and subsequent software usage and library management. Note it is also accessible through Cardiff Met's AppsAnywhere utility.
5 Steps to Using Zotero - Zotero - Guides at Milner Library, Illinois State University - This page provides a quick overview of the 5 steps necessary to get yourself up and running with the open source reference management software, Zotero.
EndNote - Click here for EndNote support pages. Note that as a Cardiff Met student you have access to a licensed version of the commercial reference management software EndNote, (currently version EndNote 20.6), you can install it via the Cardiff Met AppsAnywhere utility.