Nursing Associates

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?

Plagiarism is the wrongful publication as one's own, of the ideas or the expression of the ideas of another.  More information on what is plagiarism and how to avoid it is available in the tutorial.

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.

Harvard referencing

Harvard Referencing: an introduction is a short tutorial which explains why and when to reference and introduces you to the Harvard style of referencing we use at the University of Lincoln.

The tutorial takes about 20 minutes to complete.  Click on the link above or below and the tutorial will open in a new window.

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.

Reference management software can help you to store, organise and share your references and generate citations and reference lists.  The Library provides access to RefWorks and EndNote.  Details of how to access the software plus online help is available here.