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Quiz

Referencing terms

Referencing Terms

Lecturers use particular terms to talk about how to do academic referencing, and they will expect students to understand these.

How familiar are you with these referencing terms? Check your knowledge by doing the following activity.

Choose the correct label to match the definition

1. Full bibliographic details for a source of information.

A Citation

Think again. A citation is the short acknowledgment of the source of some idea or information used in your work. The ‘citation’ is noted within the body of your work and backed up with the correct bibliographic information in your reference list or bibliography.

A Reference

Well done. You’ve got it right. A citation is the short acknowledgment of the source of some idea or information used in your work. The ‘citation’ is noted within the body of your work and backed up with the correct bibliographic information in your reference list or bibliography

 

2. A number in the text next to the quote links to the reference details at the end of the page or the end of the text, depending on the system.

Footnote

Correct; to paraphrase is to rewrite completely another author's words or ideas with the intention of presenting the author's ideas. You might be changing the structure and words to fit in with your writing. The source must always be referenced.

Paraphrase

Incorrect; to paraphrase is to rewrite completely another author's words or ideas with the intention of presenting the author's ideas. You might be changing the structure and words to fit in with your writing. The source must always be referenced.

 

3. A list of all the sources that you referred to in your work. Even with a reference list you will still need to acknowledge sources in the body of the writing, either by footnotes or in-text referencing.

Referencing guide/style guide

Think again. A referencing guide tells you the rules about how you properly format a reference. There are different types of guides. For tutorials to help you understand the principles of referencing go to the Academic Referencing Module.

A reference list

Well done. This is correct. A referencing guide tells you the rules about how you properly format a reference. There are different types of guides. For tutorials to help you understand the principles of referencing go to the Academic Referencing Module.

 

4. These details include the author’s name, year, title of article or book, journal or book, volume, issue, page numbers.

Bibliographic details

Correct; a bibliography is a list of the sources used for ideas and quotations in an assignment. It is like a reference list, but a bibliography can also refer to a list of works on a topic, or by an author, which have not been directly quoted from.

Bibliography

Incorrect; a bibliography is a list of the sources used for ideas and quotations in an assignment. It is like a reference list, but a bibliography can also refer to a list of works on a topic, or by an author, which have not been directly quoted from.

 

5. This is a list of resources which includes explanation and analysis for each reference.

Research based evidence

Think again. Research based evidence, which you use to support the academic opinions in your writing, is usually found in readings which report research. Make sure you put in references to show the source of the evidence.

An annotated bibliography

Well done. You’ve got it right. Research based evidence, which you use to support the academic opinions in your writing, is usually found in readings which report research. Make sure you put in references to show the source of the evidence. Another section of Achieve@Uni has information about Annotated bibliographies.

 

Referencing scenarios

There are proper ways to use references at university. Consider the following situations. Have the students got it right? When you decide on your answer, think about what you would do in the same situation.

SkyeSkye

Skye has found all the right answers. She has copied and pasted but hasn’t stated the sources because the information was free on the internet.

Reveal answer
Skye has not done it correctly. She needs to state the source of the information she has used in her writing. She can find out how to reference properly in the Academic Referencing Module.
 

SamSam

Referencing is done, but is it correct? Sam put in a list of references at the end of his essay. He’s submitted the essay, even though he’s not sure about the correct way to acknowledge quotes and ideas.

Reveal answer
  1. Sam has not referenced properly. It is his responsibility to use the appropriate referencing system. He can find out how to use the appropriate style in the Academic Referencing Module.
 

SallySally

Sally’s Turnitin report shows some matched sentences. She has copied and pasted some sentences from electronic articles into her essay. She used the Library’s Academic Referencing Tool to make sure her quotes were properly referenced.

Reveal answer
If Sally has followed the Academic Referencing Tool correctly she doesn’t need to worry about some matching text in the Turnitin report. Turnitin can match text, even if it has been properly referenced. For more information about Turnitin see the La Trobe Turnitin site.
 

AliAli

Ali learnt how to reference before he came to university, so he’s confident that he knows how to do it. He did notice that in the model his lecturer gave the class, the references and quotes look very different from how he did them.

Reveal answer
Ali needs to look carefully at the model, and he needs to be open to new ways of talking about knowledge at university. There are different referencing styles, and the way that quotations are used and discussed differs from subject to subject.