Referencing

Referencing involves acknowledging the sources of information used in a report or essay. Information is acknowledged in two ways:

• by in-text referencing
• by adding a reference list or bibliography at the end of the document.

Examples of in-text referencing, and reference list and bibliography entries, are available on the CQUniversity referencing website.

Referencing is required if you:

• quote (use the exact words of someone else)
• paraphrase (change the words of another person's ideas)
• summarise (provide an account of an other's ideas)
• copy (statistics, figures, tables).

Referencing stops you from committing plagiarism. It also:

• demonstrates the breadth of your research
• strengthens your argument
• enables the reader to independently consult and verify the information source.

CQUniversity uses two main referencing styles:

• Harvard
• APA

Two other systems are also used:

• Documentary-note (History courses)
• Australian Guide to Legal Citation (Law courses)

Tip: Check your course profile to ensure you are using the correct referencing style.