
Understanding referencing
Why reference?
There are lots of reasons for referencing, but they include:
- To ensure credit is given to the author/creator of a book/image/video etc
- To show the person reading your work how much you have read
- To link evidence to your arguments
- To enable the reader to follow up on the texts you have used, if they are interested in the ideas
- To show the reader the types of resource you have used
Referencing styles
There are many different referencing styles. At York St John University we use five; which one you use will depend upon your course.
You can find all our referencing guidance on our dedicated page:
Referencing Guides
Search Success is based on SMILE by Imperial College, Loughborough University and the University of Worcester, modified by Information Learning & Estates at York St John University. It is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.