Understanding referencing | York St John University

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Getting started

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Different types of information

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Search tools

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Evaluation techniques

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Search hints & tips

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Assignment hints & tips

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.‌

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