Food and Drink Science and Technology

Why should I reference?

Referencing is important in academic writing and an essential part of any of your assignments. It:

• allows you to acknowledge your sources,
• gives academic credibility to your work,
• demonstrates your knowledge of a subject area,
• prevents accusations of plagiarism.

What is plagiarism?

What should I reference?

You should always reference a source when:

• using a direct quote
• summarising a theory
• discussing someone else's opinion
• using case studies
• quoting statistics or visual data
• but not when stating your own opinion, observation or experience.

If you are unsure use this flowchart to check whether you need to reference (click on the image to enlarge).

The Food subjects use the Harvard referencing style

Plagiarism: promoting academic integrity online tutorial

This short tutorial explains what plagiarism is and also gives you tips on how to avoid it. It takes about 20 minutes to complete.

If you're using this tutorial on a mobile device you'll need to download the Articulate Mobile Player app for Apple or Android first.

This short tutorial explains why and when to reference and introduces you to the Harvard style of referencing.  It takes about 20 minutes to complete.

RefWorks is referencing software which allows you to:

• store references
• organise references
• generate citations
• generate reference lists
• share references

It's available to all staff and students, click here to log in.

Click here to access the RefWorks help guide.

To find out more about RefWorks view the comprehensive online help or contact your Academic Subject Librarian.