Sub sections:
When, Where, Why?
At university, you become part of an academic community. As with any other community, there are particular ways of behaving, particular values and practices that are important. You will be expected to demonstrate these scholarly practices in your work.
Academic knowledge builds on the knowledge of other scholars. The process of “knowledge building” is a collaborative exercise, a dialogue or debate between scholars. New knowledge often emerges from existing knowledge. In the spirit of fairness, it is important, therefore, for academics to acknowledge where their information and ideas have come from. One of the most important practices for you to learn while you are studying at university is how to acknowledge where your ideas have come from in the work that you do.
By acknowledging what other scholars have said, you become a part of this exchange of ideas within the particular debate. Attributing the source of your ideas and words has a number of important consequences:
- Your readers can see where your argument or opinion fits into the discussion.
- Your readers can see that you are writing from an informed position and providing evidence and support for your claims.
- Your readers can search for the source themselves if they wish to pursue that idea further.
This acknowledgement is done by a system of conventions called referencing.
The University expects all students to provide appropriate references to the words, ideas, theories, data, pictures, etc. of others that are used in any assignment. There are a number of different styles in use at UNE, so the conventions may differ depending on what ever style you are using, but the principle remains the same. You will provide a reference any time you quote, paraphrase, summarise or use any information from another source. You will be behaving ethically and honestly by acknowledging all your sources in your work, and will avoid any accusations of plagiarism.
Check out the ASO resources for examples of how to cite sources in your written work.