References, Citations
and Avoiding Plagiarism
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Why should I cite my sources
Referring to your source material gives authority to your work and demonstrates the breadth of your research
Your list of citations will enable readers of your work to find the information sources for themselves
Failure to credit sources of information used for an essay, report, project, journal article or book constitutes
plagiarism, and for this you may be penalised. UCL policy on plagiarism is stated at
http://www.ucl.ac.uk/current-students/guidelines/policies/plagiarism
Students should be aware that UCL now uses a sophisticated detection system, Turnitin http://www.submit.ac.uk,
to scan work for evidence of plagiarism; this system has access to billions of systems worldwide (websites,
journals etc.) as well as work previously submitted to UCL and other universities
Referencing styles
The two main standard systems for citing sources correctly are the Harvard or author/date system and the
Vancouver or footnotes/endnotes system, otherwise known as the numeric system. There are variations on both
types, and you do need to know which system your department requires you to use. You can find out by referring
to your departmental student handbook, or by asking your tutor.
In journal publishing, versions of both the Harvard and the Vancouver systems are widely used according to the
“house style” outlined in the journal’s “Instructions to Authors”.
Harvard System
Known as the ‘author and date’ system, references made in the text are listed in alphabetical order by the
surname of the first author in the bibliography at the end of the text. N.B. if the author is unknown you should
use “Anon.”
At every point in the text where a particular item is referred to, include the author’s surname and the year of
publication along with page numbers if you are quoting these specifically
If there is more than one work by a given author from the same year you can differentiate between them by
adding “a”, “b” etc. after the year
For up to three authors include all names; if there are more than three, give the first author’s surname and
initials followed by et al.
Periodical titles are usually spelt out in full
e.g.
Reference within essay:
In his survey of the mating habits of frogs, Bloggs (1998) refuted that …
Entry in bibliography:
Bloggs, B. 1998. Frogs and their mating habits. London: Tadpole Press.
Vancouver System
Known as the “numeric” or the “footnote/endnote” system; references are numbered consecutively in the
order in which they are first cited in the text.
At every point in the text where a particular work is referred to, include the number of the reference in
brackets
For up to six authors include all names; if there are more than six, give the first six authors’ surnames and
initials followed by et al.
Periodical titles are commonly abbreviated
e.g.
Reference within essay:
In his survey of the mating habits of frogs, Bloggs (1) refuted that …
Entry in bibliography:
1. Bloggs B. Frogs and their mating habits. London: Tadpole Press; 1998.
How to reference books
Harvard
Author surname/s, initial/s. ed. or eds. (if editor/s). Year of publication. Title. Edition (if not the first edition) ed.
Place of publication: Publisher.
Dawkins, R. 1986. The blind watchmaker. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman.
Osborne, K. ed. 1995. Stonehenge and neighbouring monuments. London: English Heritage.
Vancouver
Author surname/s initial/s. editor/s (if editor/s). Title. Edition (if not the first edition) ed. Place of publication:
Publisher; Year of publication.
Dawkins R. The blind watchmaker. 2nd ed. Harlow: Longman; 1986.
Osborne K, editor. Stonehenge and neighbouring monuments. London: English Heritage; 1995.
How to reference chapters/papers
Harvard
Author/s surname/s, initial/s. Year of publication. Title of chapter/paper. In: Editor/s initial/s and surname/s,
ed/s.Title of book. Edition (if not first) ed. Place of publication: Publisher, pp. Page numbers.
Scragg, D. G. 1991. The nature of Old English verse. In: M. Godden and M. Lapidge, eds. The
Cambridge companion to Old English literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 19-28.
Vancouver
Author/s surname/s initial/s. Title of chapter/paper. In: Editor/s surname/s and initial/s, editor/s. Title of book.
Edition (if not first) ed. Place of publication: Publisher; Year of publication. p. Page numbers.
Scragg DG. The nature of Old English verse. In: Godden M. and Lapidge M, editors. The Cambridge
companion to Old English literature. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 1991. p. 19-28.
How to reference journal articles
Harvard
Author/s surname/s, initial/s. Year of publication. Title of article. Full journal title, Volume number(Issue number),
pp. Page numbers.
Greenhalgh, T. 1997. How to read a paper : the Medline database. British Medical Journal, 315(7101),
pp. 180-183.
Vancouver
Author/s surname/s initial/s. Title of article. Abbreviated journal title. Year;Volume number(Issue number): page
numbers.
Greenhalgh T. How to read a paper : the Medline database. BMJ. 1997;315(7101): 180-183.
How to reference theses
The reference needs to include information in the following arrangement for the Harvard System but if you are
using the Vancouver System, the date needs to move to the end and some of the punctuation needs to be
changed:
Matthews, V.C. 1998. The true self-knower : Central themes in Iris Murdoch’s moral philosophy. Thesis
(Ph.D.), King’s College, University of London.
How to reference electronic journals
Electronic journal articles are usually the same as their hard-copy versions so these should be cited in the same
way but with some adjustments:
Harvard
Author/s surname/s, first name or initial/s. Year. Title of article. Title of the Journal. [online]. Volume
number(issue number), pp. Page numbers. Available from: URL [Accessed date].
Enstrom J.E., Kabat G.C. 2003. Environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco related mortality in a
prospective study of Californians, 1960-98. BMJ [online]. 326, p. 1057. Available from:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/326/7398/1057 [Accessed 23 August 2004].
Vancouver
Author/s surname/s first name or initial/s. Title of article. Title of the Journal. [Internet].Year. [Accessed date];
Volume number(issue number): Page numbers. Available from: URL
Enstrom JE, Kabat GC. Environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco related mortality in a prospective
study of Californians, 1960-98. BMJ [Internet]. 2003. [Accessed 2004 Aug 23]; 326: 1057. Available from:
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/326/7398/1057
Some tutors may prefer to include a DOI (Digital Object Identifier) where available rather than a URL.
How to reference websites
Harvard
Author/s or corporate body. Date of publication/last update or copyright date.Title. [online]. Available from: URL
[Accessed date].
NASA Spacelink System. 29 August 2009. A brief history of rocketry. [online]. Available from:
http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/rocket-history.txt [Accessed 2 September 2009].
Vancouver
Author/s or corporate body. Title [Internet]. Date of publication/last update or copyright. [Accessed date];
Available from: URL.
NASA Spacelink System. A brief history of rocketry [Internet]. 29 August 2009. [Accessed 2 September
2009]; Available from: http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/rocket-history.txt.
How to reference e-mails
The reference can include information in the following arrangement in Harvard System but if you are using the
Vancouver System, the date needs to move to the end and some of the punctuation needs to be changed:
Author’s name, initial/s. (e-mail address) Date sent. Title of e-mail highlighted, italicised or in quotation marks. E-
mail to recipient’s surname, initials or mailing list (e-mail address).
Goskar, T. (t.goskar@wessexarch.co.uk) 21 Jun 2004. “Wessex Archaeology Press Release: Builders of
Stonehenge found.” E-mail to Britarch mailing list (britarch@jiscmail.ac.uk).
Tips for avoiding plagiarism
Cite all your sources, whether you have read or heard them
Keep full records of every source of information you use including the date you accessed electronic
resources
Place quotation marks around any words you copy verbatim and credit the source
Use your own words when summarising or paraphrasing someone else’s words – but don’t forget – you will
still need to reference it!
Make sure you check with your tutor/department which referencing system they want you to use
Further reading
British Standards Institution, London.
BS 5605 : 1990. Recommendations for citing and referencing published material
BS 6371 : 1983. Recommendations for citation of unpublished documents
BS 4821 : 1990. British Standard recommendations for the presentation of theses and dissertations
September 2009
