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FEBE- Chemical Engineering: Referencing & Citation

Information resources for Chemical Engineering.

What is Referencing?

REFERENCING is a way to demonstrate that you have extended your reading, learning and comprehension by using relevant and up to date sources.

Primary sources refer to material the author has written, like all the works written by Shakespeare.

Secondary sources are written as interpretations, criticism, research, etc. about a subject or an author. An interpretation of Shakespeare’s tragedies will be categorised as secondary material on his tragedies. The tragedies themselves will be the primary sources. 

Harvard Quick Referencing Guide

Why should I reference?

To give recognition to the original author of the text, opinion, idea, fact, image, etc.

To enable your reader to check your information

Sources confirm the completeness of the research

Quotations and references lend authority to the argument, view, etc.

The source list can be consulted by the reader to verify information in the text

The sources can be used by the reader as additional sources to a topic.

Citation

Referencing and Citation are frequently used to refer to the same thing although a citation tends to mean the part of the text within your assignment where you acknowledge the source; whilst a reference usually refers to the full bibliographic information at the end. A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including:

  • information about the author & the title of the work
  • the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
  • the date your copy was published &  the page numbers of the material you are borrowing