Reference Generators

What is a reference generator?

If you are writing a short paper, you may not need to use reference management software.

A reference generator can speed up the process of creating a reference for a bibliography or reference list, allowing you to copy and paste these into your assignment, but they don't do all of the work.

The first step is to make sure the reference generator offers the referencing style you need, as some of the styles used at the University of Melbourne may not be covered.

Once you have created the reference, you always need to cross-check it against the formatting requirements listed for the style in Re:cite to confirm everything is correct before you submit the assignment.

Often references may need some quick fixes, so understanding the style rules and careful proofreading is essential. For example, you may find that some of the required information is missing or you may need to fix punctuation, or correct capitalisation.

You will still need to refer to the reference style notes in Re:cite for instructions for creating in-text citations or footnotes.

Reference generator options

Library databases

Most databases generate reference details for search results that you can copy and paste into your bibliography.  You will find a button or icon labelled "Cite", or similar that will generate the information.

However, these generated references are not always completely accurate, so it is important to understand the requirements of your style so you can manually check any references generated by databases.

Always check back with the style advice in Re:cite to make sure your referencing is consistent and correct.