Get your referencing right

 It is important for both Keele students and NHS staff to understand what referencing is and how to apply it. You need to keep the references for material you use when creating your own writing, whether that be for an assignment, dissertation, article or report. You need to demonstrate to your reader which resources you have used to develop your research, argument or decision.

The health Library can help. We have etutorials and other resources to help you to create and manage your references.

What is referencing and why is it important?

Complete our online tutorial Introduction to referencing and plagiarism to learn why referencing is so important and how you can avoid plagiarism.

Where do you get the information for your references?

You need to reference different types of material. What information do you need for a reference? Our tutorials can help you:

• Using Books – get the information you need to reference books
• Using eBooks – learn how the ebooks interface can quickly give you the ebook reference
• What is an article? – learn about academic articles and what information you will need for a reference

How do you create your references?

There are many different styles of referencing – ie how the information is ordered to create a reference. Keele students need to check with their tutors for the style required for their course. If you are writing for publication, check with the publisher what their preferred style is. Make sure you are consistent.

Keele students can use the online tool Cite them right to help them to construct their references. We also have book copies of Cite them right for library members to borrow.

How can you manage your references?

Tools are available to help you to manage your references. These are particularly helpful if you are producing a significant piece of work. All Keele students and staff can access RefWorks. NHS RefWorks is available for NHS staff completing significant pieces of work. See our Referencing help page for more details about reference management tools.

More help

Check our Referencing help page for more help to make sure you get your referencing right.