What is referencing?
In the collective academic tradition academics relate their own work to the existing body of research and scholarship in their field.  We provide references for sources we use in our work.  
By providing references:
•	We allow the reader to identify the source being used.
•	We acknowledge other people’s work.
•	We demonstrate our familiarity and expertise within a subject.
•	We link what we write with the evidence on which it is based.
•	We show how we’ve arrived at our conclusions.
Note that referencing styles may differ between assignments, courses and programmes.  Check which system you need to use.    
What does referencing look like?
•	The citation is a key to the full reference which is listed separately.
•	The citation appears in the text at the point where we use someone else’s work.
•	Common systems use (author, date, page no) or numbers. 
“Where your work includes quotations, theories, ideas, data or any other materials which are the work of another person or persons, you must ensure that you have taken all reasonable steps to acknowledge the source.” (Academic Services 2024)

The quotation above has been provided with an in-text citations (author and date in brackets).  A citation can also be a number pointing to a footnote or an endnote depending on the referencing style you have been asked to use.  Where a source has page numbers, a page number is usually given in the citation.  The full reference, often listed separately at the end of your work, allows a reader to trace your sources.  More detailed information usually goes in the reference list or bibliography.  The full reference to the quotation used here is given at the end of this document.
Cite them right online, provided by an Edinburgh University subscription, covers the common academic systems and shows you what these look like: www.citethemrightonline.com 
A lot of people think of referencing as applying to printed sources such as books and journal articles.  However, you need to reference every source you use.  These sources might include blogs, music, data, reports, statutes, films, presentations, podcasts, events, websites, articles and images.
For this reason it is best to note the full details of each source at the time of use for your reference list.

Reference
Academic Services (2020) Academic misconduct: Plagiarism, July 27 2024. Retrieved March 17, 2025, from University of Edinburgh: http://www.ed.ac.uk/academic-services/students/conduct/academic-misconduct/plagiarism 
www.ed.ac.uk/iad