Writing a Reference List A Presentation from the Sawle Literature and Research Centre (SLRC)

Reference List vs. Bibliography: What’s the Difference? Both a reference list and a bibliography include a list of sources (websites, books, journal articles, images etc) that you have used to learn more about your topic – but there is a slight difference. A reference list includes details for the sources you you have quoted, paraphrased or directly used in your assignment. A bibliography includes details of all the sources that you have used to generate ideas or ‘read around’ a topic, but have not referred to directly in the body of the document e.g. Encyclopedia Britannica online. Paraphrased – reworded in your own words. Did you know? The word ‘Bibliography’ is derived from the Greek word biblion meaning ‘books’.

Why Do I Need a Reference List? When you include a fact or piece of information in an assignment, you must also include where you found that information so that anyone reading your assignment can find it too. If you use information from a source and do not provide a reference, you are saying to your teacher that you came up with that knowledge on your own. This is called ‘plagiarism.’ Some things are ‘general knowledge’ and do not require a reference, e.g. Lakes are large bodies of water surrounded by land. A reference list that includes a variety of reliable sources shows your teacher that you have investigated your topic thoroughly. e.g. Lakes are large bodies of water surrounded by land. Don’t just add references for the sake of it – your teacher will be able to tell if you have used information from a variety of different sources.

Here at Santa Maria we use the Harvard referencing style. Citation Styles There are a wide range of different citation styles. Some you may have heard of include: APA MLA Harvard Chicago Following a particular style ensures you include all the details needed for someone else to find the information you’ve used. The styles are all fairly similar, but different styles are favoured by different universities and different disciplines (e.g. Science, History, the Arts, Medicine). Here at Santa Maria we use the Harvard referencing style.

Harvard Referencing Quick Guide http://libguides.staffs.ac.uk/ld.php?content_id=9572296

Front Cover Title

ISBN (useful when using ‘Cite This For Me’) Back Cover ISBN (useful when using ‘Cite This For Me’)

Title Page Authors Publisher

Publisher’s address (place published) Imprint Page Publisher’s address (place published) c Copyright info (publication date)

Other Commonly Referenced Sources (taken from Harvard Quick Referencing Guide)

A note about online images… ‘Google Images’ is a search engine that collects images from all over the internet. It is not where the image is originally published, therefore you can not reference Google Images in your Reference List. To reference an online image correctly you must visit the page where the image originally appears: Click on the image in the search results, then click the ‘Visit Page’ button

Visit the SLRC Referencing & Bibliographies page for more information, http://slrc.santamaria.wa.edu.au/research/referencing/ Visit the SLRC Referencing & Bibliographies page for more information, or contact an SLRC Teacher Librarian.