[ Looking for v4.0.1 help?]Document it 3.0.2 - Help Topics

Referencing Using Document it

What should I record and how?

The introduction to Cite them right: referencing made easy Pears & Shields (2004) states:

When writing a piece of work, whether essay, seminar paper, dissertation or project it is essential that detailed and precise information on all sources consulted is included in the text and in the reading list at the end of the piece. This allows the reader to locate the information used and to check, if necessary, the evidence on which any discussion or argument is based. References and citations should, therefore, enable the user to find the source of documents as quickly and easily as possible.

You need to identify these documents by making reference to them - both in the text of your assignment (called in-text referencing) and in a list at the end of your assignment (called the reference list or end-text referencing). The reference list only includes sources cited in the text of your assignment as in-text references. It is not the same thing as a bibliography, which uses the same format or reference system as a reference list, but also includes all material used in the preparation of your assignment. Thus, a bibliography will repeat everything in your reference list and will also include all of the other sources which you read or consulted but did not cite.

By providing references you:

  • Demonstrate the breadth of your research
  • Allow the reader to independently consult and verify your sources of information
  • Avoid plagiarism

'Document it' uses the standard Harvard referencing system as detailed in Cite them right...

Reference

Pears, R. & Shields, G. (2004) Cite them right: referencing made easy Newcastle upon Tyne: Northumbria University Press.

[Back to Topics]