The act of recording information about the sources used in a piece of work. Examples include:
A book - Kerven, R. (2011) Arthurian Legends. London, National Trust Books
A journal article - Gerard, C. (2013) Your UCAS personal statement. The English Review, 23(4), 14-15
Our friends at Aberdeen's Robert Gordon University tell us a bit more about referencing.
This is the study skill that fills many students hearts with dread. Mainly because they don't understand what purpose it serves. It is an important part of your studies and all lecturers expect it to be done. In a nutshell, referencing is a method of telling your reader:
You won't always be a student, striving for qualifications. At any point in your life you could become an inventor, performer, author, designer etc. Nothing could be worse than losing your reputation because you've been caught plagiarising or losing earnings because someone else is plagiarising you.
Take a look at these examples:
Different professions use different referencing styles e.g. Lawyers use OSCOLA, psychologists/psychiatrists use APA. Here at the University of Worcester we believe it makes sense to train our students to use the appropriate style for their future profession. Take a look at our referencing styles table which provides links to the most popular styles.
There are a range of tools that will help create reference lists for you. Often all you need is an ISBN number or URL.
Take a look at these online tutorials to help you find a tool that suits you.