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Getting Started

Bibliographic Citation or Reference

A bibliographic citation is a brief reference that a researcher includes in the text to the sources of material they used. Referencing a source demonstrates the breadth and quality of the research project.

Why Reference?

Acknowledge other peoples’ ideas.
Evidence of factual foundation.
Avoid plagiarism as an academic offence.
Provide proof of level and scope of reading.
Support validity and trustworthiness.

Why In-Text Citation?

Indicates source immediately to the reader to avoid plagiarism, allow verification, and demonstrate engagement with literature.

Methods

Various Referencing Styles

Method	Applicable Disciplines
Harvard	Language Studies, History, Arts, Sociology, Criminology.
APA	Social/Behavioural Sciences, Education, Management, Nursing.
Vancouver	Medicine, Computer Science, Math, Physics, Zoology.
MLA	Linguistics and Literary Subjects.
Others	Chicago (Turabian), ACS (Chemistry), CBE (Biology), CGOS, British Standard.

APA Style (Author/Date)

The year and author's last name are placed in the body. Visit: apastyle.apa.org

MLA Style Highlights

Use italics for book/film titles; "Quotation Marks" for chapters/poems. Use 'Title Case' and hanging indents. Visit: style.mla.org

Tools

Reference Management Software

Mendeley (Desktop)

Free, multi-device support, extracts PDF data automatically. Mendeley Guidelines

EndNote (Basic)

Keep all references (tables, charts, photos) in one place.
Import from Google Scholar, PubMed, Scopus.
Cite While You Write (CWYW) tool for Word.
Access to over 7000 styles.

Zotero

Free browser integration. Automatically formats citations for APA, IEEE using Microsoft Word. Zotero Guide

Process

Literature Review for Research

A description, summary, and critical evaluation of scholarly works. It combines Summary (recap) and Synthesis (reorganization).

Types:

Argumentative Integrative Historical Systematic

Steps:

Determine Focus
Find Literature
Evaluate Sources
Synthesize & Write

ETHICS GUIDE

Plagiarism Guide

Using someone else's words or ideas without credit. It is dishonest, devalues original work, and is immoral.

Types to Avoid:

Word-for-word
Copy & Paste
Self-Plagiarism
Idea/Metaphor Plagiarism

How to Avoid:

Give credit when using someone else’s opinions, theories, facts, music, or drawings. Always quote verbatim works.

Checkers: Turnitin | Grammarly

Information Hierarchy

Sources of Information

Primary

Unprocessed data, Periodicals, Patents, Dissertations.

Secondary

Encyclopaedias, Indexing, Bibliographies.

Tertiary

Year Books, Directories, Guide to Literature.

Open Access

Open Educational Resources (OER)

Teaching, learning and research materials released under an open license (Creative Commons) or in the public domain.

Popular Platforms:

Khan Academy MIT OpenCourseWare OER Commons WikiEducator Saylor Academy LibreTexts Project Gutenberg

OER Search: Creative Commons Search

Research & Referencing Portal