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Citation technique and styles

In academic texts, references are used to show from where information has been collected and to guide the reader to further reading.

There are three main reasons for referencing:

  • to show which previous works your own work is drawing on
  • to distinguish your own thoughts from those of others and to avoid suspicions of plagiarism
  • to enable the reader to check out your sources or to delve deeper into the subject

Different academic disciplines have developed their own ways of writing references. Examples of reference styles are Harvard, Oxford, APA, IEEE and Vancouver. Your supervisor should be able to tell you which is the most common and desirable style within your discipline.

Reference styles

Here is a selection of guides to the most commonly used reference styles:

APA

APA Style References (American Psychological Association)
Reference guide for APA 7 (Karolinska Institute Library)
Reference guide for APA 7th edition (Lund University)

Harvard

Harvard - writing a reference list (Umeå University Library)

IEEE

IEEE Reference Guide (IEEE Publishing Operations)

Oxford

Deakin guide to Oxford (Deakin University)

Vancouver

Reference guide Vancouver (Karolinska Institute Library)
Citing and referencing: Vancouver (Monash University)

Need help?

Once you have chosen a reference style, the Library can help with questions regarding specific references. You are welcome to email your questions. Don't forget to tell us which reference style you are using!

Contact: biblioteket@liu.se

You can also find answers to questions about referencing in the Library FAQ

 

Reference management software

In order to simplify the handling of references and reference lists, there are so called reference managers. EndNote and Zotero are two examples.

With a reference management software, you can:

  • Import references and PDFs to the reference manager from search tools and databases
  • Create a searchable database with your references
  • Insert references into MS Word documents
  • Create a references list in your text

 

LiU has an agreement that allows access to EndNote Desktop for LiU students and employees. Zotero is a free software with open source code.

As a LiU student or employee, you are welcome to sign up for workshops in Zotero and EndNote that the Library regularly offers online.

More information about reference management software and how you can access them is available at Liunet Student and Liunet Employee (sign-in with LiU-ID required).

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