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Referencing explained

References and citations

When you refer to someone else's work in your assignments, you must include a citation in the text as well as the full reference at the end of your work.

By doing this, you will give the reader enough information to find the source you have consulted. 

You should insert a citation in the text whenever you use someone else's ideas, whether you put them into your own words (paraphrasing), summarise them, or quote directly. You should include page numbers in your citation if you quote directly from the text, paraphrase specific ideas or explanations, or use an image, diagram, table, etc. from a source.

Here are two examples of citations using the Leeds Harvard style:

  • The main considerations are "the scope of the project, the cost and the duration of the work" (Harris, 2001, p.20).
  • There seems to be a correlation between students' use of the library and high degree marks (Stone and Collins, 2012).

The format will vary depending on the referencing style you use, so be sure to check.

At the end of your assignment, you will need to provide a list of references that contain full details of the sources you used when writing your assignment. This might take the form of either a reference list or a bibliography.