In this module you will learn how to acknowledge the sources you quoted, paraphrased or summarised in your academic thesis, paper, report, assignment or other work. This acknowledgement is called a citation, providing brief details of the source given in the body of your text, e.g. (MacDonald, 2008). At the end of your document, you must give full details of the sources you used in a reference list or bibliography. This is called citing and referencing.
There are several reasons to acknowledge the sources you used:
- To allow readers to find your information sources
- To give authors of these sources credit for their work
- To add credibility and reliability to your work
- To support your ideas and arguments
- To avoid plagiarism