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Libraries and Learning Skills

Geography

Referencing and Plagiarism

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.

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.

Plagiarism is "the wrongful... publication as one's own, of the ideas, or the expression of the ideas of another" (Oxford English Dictionary)

Further information on referencing, and the importance of academic integrity is available here: Referencing & Academic Integrity

 

Referencing Style Guide

Geography uses the Harvard referencing style.

Find out all about using the Harvard style and download a copy

Print copies are also available in the Library

 

 

 

Managing your references

Reference management software helps you to store and organise your references and generate citations and reference lists. The Library provides access and support to RefWorks and EndNote

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

 

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.

 

Books