Referencing

Referencing is the overall process of acknowledging and recording the sources you use in your academic work.  

It consists of two parts: 

• The citation (or in-text citation): this briefly identifies, in text, where you have used or referred to the work of others. The citation acknowledges the original source, and helps to avoid plagiarism.
• The reference list: this is a detailed list at the end of your work providing full details of the citations in your work formatted consistently to your referencing style. The reference list gives the reader of your work all the information they need should they wish to find the original source.

A reference list includes only the sources cited in your text. It differs from a bibliography, which includes all materials used in preparing your work, even if not directly cited. 

Note: OSCOLA is a legal referencing style used by Law students. This is a footnoting system with an accompanying bibliography at the end of the work.

At Abertay, we use three main referencing styles:  

• Cite Them Right (CTR) Harvard: Used by most programmes 

• APA  (American Psychological Association): Used by Psychology programmes 

• OSCOLA (Oxford Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities): Used by Law programmes 

Always check your module or assessment guidance to confirm which referencing style you should use. If you are still unsure, ask your module teaching team.

An in-text citation briefly identifies the source you are using. You normally need one when you quote, paraphrase or summarise a source, or use information, data, images or other material from it. The exact format depends on your referencing style. See Citing for guidance on when and how to cite, or use Cite Them Right Online for style-specific examples.

Our Citing guide explains how you acknowledge a source. For help using source material in your writing, see Integrating information from sources. We also have separate guides to Paraphrasing, Quoting information from sources and Reporting verbs.

Referencing allows you to: 

• Avoid plagiarism: see our companion guide on how to do this here
• Show the breadth of your research: your reference list will quickly inform the reader of your work what you have read to inform your work
• Support your arguments with evidence: you will lend authority to your work if your arguments are supported with quality sources.
• Give credit to original authors: this helps to avoid plagiarism.
• Allow readers to find your sources: they may wish to consult your sources to check your understanding, or to check the reliability of the sources used.
• Demonstrate academic integrity.

You do not normally need to reference common knowledge. This means information that is generally expected to be known within your subject area and is not disputed.

For example, stating that Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland would not normally require a citation. A specific claim about Edinburgh’s current population would need a source because the figure can change and has to be checked.

What counts as common knowledge can vary between subjects. If you are unsure whether something needs to be cited, check with your module teaching team or cite the source you used.

Cite Them Right Online (CTRO) is a subscription resource provided by Library Services.

CTRO is especially useful when you need to know how to cite and reference a particular type of source. It covers more than 150 source types and lets you view examples in different referencing styles.

How to use CTRO

You can:

• search for a specific source type, such as a journal article, website, podcast, report or AI-generated content
• browse by referencing style or source type
• select your required referencing style to see the correct citation and reference format
• use the You try feature to practise constructing your own reference using the details from your source

CTRO also includes a Basics of Referencing section with additional guidance on referencing principles and common questions.

For more help using the site, see How to use Cite Them Right, which includes an introduction video.

CTRO tutorial

If you are new to referencing or would like a refresher, you can work through the Cite Them Right eLearning tutorial.

The tutorial takes around one hour in total and is divided into short sections of approximately five minutes. It covers why referencing matters, how citations and references work, and gives you opportunities to practise and check your understanding.

If you want to save your tutorial progress, you will need to create or log in to a personal CTRO account. Check the Bloomsbury Cite Them Right terms and conditions before creating an account.

For Abertay guidance on citing, avoiding plagiarism, using sources in your writing and where to get help, use the relevant Skills Hub guides.

• Check which referencing style you need to use. Your module or assessment guidance should tell you whether to use Harvard, APA, OSCOLA or another style.
• Keep a record of your sources as you work. Save the details you will need for your citations and reference list rather than trying to reconstruct them later.
• Cite sources when you use them. This includes when you quote, paraphrase, summarise or use information, ideas, data or other material from a source.
• Keep page numbers for quotations. Record them when taking notes so you can add them accurately later.
• Be consistent. Apply the required referencing style in the same way throughout your work.
• Check generated references. Reference-management tools and automatic citation generators can make mistakes, so compare important details with the guidance for your referencing style.
• Check that citations and references match. Sources cited in your work should normally appear in your reference list, and entries in your reference list should correspond to sources you have cited.
• Use Turnitin wisely. Submit draft work to Turnitin and use the Originality Report to identify and address possible issues with citing, referencing and paraphrasing before final submission. Find out how to use Turnitin and interpret your report.

For specific guidance on how to reference different types of sources, please refer to Cite Them Right Online. 

Various digital tools can help you format your references correctly. These range from built-in citation generators such as those found in LibrarySearch or individual journal collections, to comprehensive reference management software like RefWorks.

While these tools can save time and reduce errors, always remember to double-check the output against your required referencing style.