University of Bradford Numeric referencing

General principles of referencing

When you refer to another piece of work you must always acknowledge the source of that information. This enables you to-

• avoid plagiarism;
• give appropriate credit to the person who did the work you are using;
• enable a reader to trace your sources and follow up your work;
• enable a reader to distinguish your ideas from someone else's and show the range of your reading; and to
• demonstrate the evidence supporting your arguments; this supports your ideas and theories and adds credibility.

The rules for how to reference are all there to support these principles, and to make sure that your references are clear and consistent so that it is easy for someone reading your work to follow them. It is more important to get the spirit of giving credit for other peoples' work right than to make sure all your commas are in the right places.