Referencing

Introduction

A selection of books that all rely on multiple forms of referencing to legitimise their content.

Referencing is a formal, systematic academic writing technique that utilises references, bibliographies, and citations to acknowledge and signpost the source(s) an author has used throughout their work to the reader.

Referencing usually involves including some kind of citation within the text itself, an in-text citation, and a corresponding reference within a reference list at the end of the work. For work not directly involved in constructing the writing, but was consulted by the author and is potentially relevant to the reader, a bibliography can be used to highlight these works after your reference list.

The primary purpose of carrying out referencing is to provide legitimacy, verifiability, and accountability to your writing. Presenting external sources helps backup your writing and legitimise your point of view through including well known and trustworthy sources. Carrying out this referencing in a systematic way additionally improves the verifiability of your work as it allows the reader to easily engage with your sources and cross-reference them with what you have said. This holds the work accountable to the rigor of evidence it has referenced and the interpretations the author has generated from the work engaged with.

Academic integrity

Characteristics

Format

Referencing is stylised around three major formats; parenthetical, numerical, or footnotes.

Parenthetical referencing presents in-text citations