Answered By: FAQ Team
Last Updated: Jun 04, 2019     Views: 233

When referencing, firstly, you must acknowledge the sources in the body of your work, and then bring them all together at the end in a more detailed list called a list of references (a list of the works you cited in your paper) or a bibliography (a list of all the works that have influenced your thinking, whether or not you cite them directly in your paper).

There are numerous referencing styles available, which differ in how the references are laid out on the page, the punctuation and so on. Your faculty or department will tell you which style they would like you to use. Whichever style you use the purpose is the same, to acknowledge wherever in your essay you are using someone else’s ideas, and to allow your reader to follow up and read the original source you are referring to. More information about the different styles can be found on the Cambridge referencing and study skills page and referencing advice for your particular area is available from the relevant Cambridge LibGuide.

Cite them Right online is a good place to start if you are looking for general information about referencing. You can use the online tool to help with different types and styles of reference. There are also referencing software such as Zotero and Mendeley which can help you produce a bibliography easily.

To keep the process simple and save yourself a lot of time while writing your papers, it is important to keep a record of the sources you are using as you go along. The key information about sources can be found when you search for an item in iDiscover, Eresources@Cambridge or GoogleScholar.

The process can be sped-up and automated using a reference manager such as Endnote, Mendeley or Zotero. The University Library has more information about these tools or you could attend a training course run by the University Computer Service at regular intervals throughout the year.

More information about the University of Cambridge’s policy on referencing and plagiarism is available here.