Why reference?

Referencing is how you signpost readers to the things you have read and used to inform your work. This is done through in-text citations (or footnotes) in your text, and reference lists (or bibliographies) at the end of the document.

Different schools and departments use different referencing styles, each with their own conventions and requirements.

For more information, visit How to reference?, and consult your school or department's guidelines.  

It is important to acknowledge those who have come before you, and to distinguish between your own words and ideas and those you have borrowed or adapted from other people.

Giving proper credit is a key part of academic integrity. The video below discusses the importance of academic integrity within your work: 

To learn more about academic integrity, UK students can view the Academic Integrity module on Moodle:

Academic Integrity - UK

Referencing others' work

Referencing others' work in your assignments is an essential part of academic writing. This is for several reasons: 

Academic misconduct refers to any action which may give a student an unfair academic advantage.

Examples of academic misconduct include plagiarism (passing off someone else’s work or writing as your own), collusion, fabricating results, and unauthorised (and unacknowledged) use of generative AI. 

The University of Nottingham policy on academic misconduct can be viewed in the Quality Manual:

Academic misconduct policy

Plagiarism

You can maintain academic integrity by following a few simple steps in your academic writing and note making:

• Only use direct quotations when necessary. It is generally better to paraphrase your sources or, ideally, present your own responses to them.
• Don’t rely on a single source. Read widely, so that you can combine and compare a range of evidence.
• Keep good quality notes. Keep track of the sources you have found and maintain a clear distinction between your own words and the words of others (e.g., highlighting in different colours, or using quotation marks).
• Don’t submit the same piece of work for different assignments or modules. You should produce a separate, original piece of work for each assignment, unless instructed otherwise.
• Most importantly, you should reference appropriately and accurately, and use quotation marks for direct quotations. Specific ideas (i.e., not common knowledge) that are adapted, summarized, or paraphrased from other people’s work must also be cited.