Referencing is an acknowledgement of the sources that you have read and that you have used to support your own theories and arguments throughout your assignment. All works that you have used during your research must be referenced in your assignment including quotations, theories, websites, statistics, diagrams...
* By accurately acknowledging the works of others through referencing, you cannot be accused of plagiarism
Shows your supervisor/lecturer the scope of reading and research that you have carried out.
Allows your supervisor/lecturer to access material that you have read or cited.
Referencing gives credit to the original author (recognising his/her intellectual property) and also credibility to the claim or hypothesis that you are proposing.
Correct use of referencing will also allow you to strengthen key arguments throughout your research with direct quotations etc...
A common trait among all styles is that every citation within the text must be referenced in full at the end of the document in a list of references or bibliography.
A bibliography is a full list of the material you have read for your study even if you did not cite it specifically in your report.
Many students also include a reference section at the end of their document. This is a complete list of specifically cited works throughout the document and is listed in alphabetical order.
A reference section should not be confused with a bibliography which also includes works read but not specifically cited in the document.
