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The Library: Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism

What is referencing?

Referencing is how you acknowledge the sources you have used in creating your work. It ensures you get credit for your research, while also helping to avoid plagiarism. It is closely related to finding information and academic writing, which you can learn more about on the Skills for Learning website.

There are different ways of referencing but most of Leeds Beckett University uses the Harvard style (sometimes known as an Author-Year style). Details about Leeds Beckett's Harvard referencing style are in our guidelines called Quote, Unquote.

There are two other types of referencing used by specific subject areas:

For all other Schools and subjects use Quote, Unquote.

New to referencing?

Our interactive Reference Builder helps you to create references for some of the key sources of information you may want to cite (books, journals, websites). It is a great starting point for those new to referencing.

Ask us about referencing - try searching our frequently asked questions

Book an appointment

Daily appointments are usually available (weekdays only) where you can get more help with Harvard or OSCOLA (Law) or APA (Psychology) referencing. Click on Get Help below to book an appointment, or you can ask via the Library's Contact Us page.

Quote, Unquote

Leeds Beckett's Quote, Unquote guide provides information on the Harvard referencing system, including how to reference a variety of different formats and media.

For more information, visit Quote, Unquote.

Academic Integrity Tutorial

Students can access the Academic Integrity Tutorial in MyBeckett by clicking the link below.

Artificial intelligence tools

Before using any generative artificial intelligence or paraphrasing tools in your assessments, you should check if this is permitted on your course.

If their use is permitted on your course, you must acknowledge any use of generative artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT or paraphrasing tools (e.g., Grammarly, Quillbot, etc.), even if you have only used them to generate ideas for your assignment or for proofreading.