Referencing and sources
Why reference?
In your work at university you are expected to:
- acknowledge the authors and creators of the ideas and material that has informed your work, and
- show that you have used reputable sources of information.
These acknowledgments are normally presented in the format of a particular referencing style.
If you fail to acknowledge the work of others correctly, you may be guilty of plagiarism, even if you have done so unintentionally.
The University of Melbourne produces a wide range of resources to ensure that you understand the requirements of referencing, including:
Referencing styles
There are two recommended referencing styles in MSD/ABP
Chicago A (footnotes) APA (in text citations)
Make referencing easier - try using software like Endnote or Zotero
How do I reference collages/multiple images in one work?
If you are using multiple images to make a collage or to add detail to your own work you will need to provide a reference for each image.
For more information on referencing images, see the guidelines for Chicago A (footnotes) or APA.
In either style, your caption should explain or describe the image you have created, with the details of all the images you have used in creating it listed in the list of figures.
Using videos
including snippets from multiple videos you will need to provide a reference for each image/video clip. Include your list of references with or after the credits at the end of the video.
For information on citing videos see the guidelines for Chicago A (footnotes) or APA.
What do I do if I need to cite something more than once?
Sometimes you need to go into more detail about one particular source, and you may want to refer to it several times within one paragraph. This is perfectly fine. The most important thing is that the reader understands where the information came from. That could be another citation, or a word or phrase that clearly refers back to the source you have already mentioned.
eg.
APA
Jane Jacobs (1958, p.140) discusses the 'death' of Downtown, calling for planning that enables "an atmosphere of urbanity and exuberance". She states that planners and designers should walk around the city to understand what is needed to make it thrive. More recently, Perrone (2019) has analysed and commented on the article, demonstrating the continuing relevance of Jacobs' arguments. Jacobs (1958) strongly advocates for citizen-led design of the city, exhorting planners to be guided by the desires of citizens.
eg.
Chicago
Jane Jacobs discusses the 'death' of Downtown, calling for planning that enables "an atmosphere of urbanity and exuberance".1 She states that planners and designers should walk around the city to understand what is needed to make it thrive. More recently, Perrone has analysed and commented on the article, demonstrating the continuing relevance of Jacobs' arguments. 2 Jacobs strongly advocates for citizen-led design of the city, exhorting planners to be guided by the desires of citizens. 3
1. Jane Jacobs, "Downtown is for people", in The Exploding Metropolis, 1st ed., eds. Editors of Fortune (Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday, 1958) 140.
2. Camilla Perrone, “‘Downtown Is for People’: The Street-Level Approach in Jane Jacobs’ Legacy and Its Resonance in the Planning Debate within the Complexity Theory of Cities,” Cities 91 (August 2019), pp.10–16, https://doi.org/10/gnhswx.
3. Jane Jacobs, "Downtown is for people".
What do I put in an appendix?
If a source is publicly available, you don't need to include it in an appendix. An appendix goes at the end of a paper, after the bibliography or reference list. The information contained is not essential - readers will still be able to understand your work without access to it. It serves to enhance the research.
Only need to include if you want to refer to it and you want the reader to understand the context. Detailed information that would be too long/distracting in the main body and that isn't readily available to the reader.
Examples of what can go in an appendix:
- 'Dial Before You Dig' reports
- Survey questions and responses
- Interview transcripts or correspondance
- Raw data
- Tables that you have compiled and are too large to include in your work but that you want to refer to
Refer to information in an appendix or appendices in parentheses within the text.
eg. Survey respondents were clearly in favour of increased bicycle infrastructure (see Appendix 1).
Do I need to reference images/videos I have created?
Images and videos that you have created for a particular assessment are considered an unpublished work. They should be treated as a figure, and labelled as the guidelines for the style direct.
For APA, add the words "own work" to the note under the image if you want to make it clear that you have created the image yourself.
For Chicago A, follow the guidelines for captioning figures.
What do I do if I can't find the creator/author of an image?
If you can't find the creator of an image, provide as much information as you can to allow your reader/viewer to identify it. The citation or footnote and the bibliography or reference list entry should begin with the title of the work, followed by the rest of the information required for citing.
The Chicago Manual of Style, section 14.79 covers what to do if there is no listed author.
The APA Style Blog has an entry about missing information.
Incorporating sources
Incorporating sources
You can incorporate information from other sources into your own work using direct quotes, paraphrases and summaries.
A direct quote uses the exact words of another author.
A paraphrase express another author's idea in your own words.
A summary provides a short statement expressing the main point of another author's idea in your own words.
Sheehan, N.W. (2011). Indigenous knowledge and respectful design: an evidence-based approach. Design Issues 27(4), 68-80.
For some tips to help you rewrite the ideas of other authors in your own words, watch Paraphrasing ideas in your writing.
For more information about integrating sources in your writing, refer to Using sources in assessments: voice in academic writing.
Your voice
In addition to drawing on a range of academic sources in your work, it's important to include your own thoughts and ideas.
You should use 'your voice' in your academic writing to indicate to readers which ideas are yours, and provide your critical evaluation of the ideas of other authors.
One way to express your own voice is to directly praise an author's work (e.g. by describing it as 'influential').
Alternatively, you could note the limitations of a piece of work (e.g. 'the application of this approach ... in other contexts may meet different challenges').
Sheehan, N.W. (2011). Indigenous knowledge and respectful design: an evidence-based approach. Design Issues 27(4), 68-80.
Another option is to compare the findings of different authors, perhaps identifying which piece of work is more relevant to your topic.
Keep in mind that the strength of your critical evaluation also depends on how you support your ideas with additional evidence or logical reasoning, not only on how you express your ideas.
To discover more ways to distinguish your ideas from the ideas of other writers, refer to Critical literacy.
For more ways to develop your own voice, refer to Voice in academic writing and the Thesis Whisperer Verb cheat sheet.
For a collection of many words and phrases that could be used to express your voice, refer to the following sections of the University of Manchester Academic Phrasebank: