Citing

When you write academically, you must state which sources you have used. This is done by including citations in the text and a reference list at the end of your work.

Why is it important?

Copyright law requires that the author of an original work is acknowledged. For this reason, you must always cite your sources. Careful referencing also reduces the risk of plagiarism. Readers should be able to check that you have interpreted your sources correctly and consult the material in full. You do not need to cite common knowledge that is widely known.

Copyright protects literary and artistic works. Plagiarism means presenting someone else’s work as your own. This is a breach of copyright.

• Copyright and plagiarism
  Here you can find more information about copyright and plagiarism.
  

In-text referencing

Start by dividing your text into paragraphs. When you use a source in a new paragraph, you must cite it again, even if you have already cited it in the previous paragraph.

You can refer to sources by paraphrasing or quoting. Short quotations, a few words or sentences, are placed within quotation marks in the running text. Longer quotations, more than 40 words or three lines, are presented as block quotations. A block quotation is a separate paragraph. It does not use quotation marks and is indicated by indentation.

Paraphrasing

A paraphrase is a brief summary of someone else’s idea, theory, or facts, written in your own words. When you paraphrase, you must always include the author’s name and the year of publication. Example:

According to Hjern (2012), non-European immigrants state that they suffer from health problems three to four times more than Swedish-born, while at the same time, immigrants who are asylum seekers and paperless have limited access to Swedish care.

or

Overseas immigrants suffer from health problems three to four times more than Swedish-born, while at the same time, immigrants who are asylum seekers and paperless have limited access to Swedish care (Hjern, 2012).

Quotations

You can also refer to a source by quoting. A quotation is a word-for-word reproduction of someone else’s text. As with a paraphrase, you must include the author’s name and the year of publication. When quoting, you must also provide the page number. Example:

• In-text citation:
  Hjern (2012) argues that "integration into Swedish society is important to the health of those who come to settle in Sweden" (p. 257).

• Block quote:
  Integration into Swedish society is important to the health of those who come to settle in Sweden. This is shown by comparisons between the health of those who immigrated to Sweden and that of their children who were born in Sweden. Analyzes of the ULF surveys provide a fairly consistent picture: the health status and social situation of Swedish-born children of immigrants are clearly better than that of their foreign-born parents. (Brain, 2012, p. 257)

Reference:
Hjern, A. (2012). Migration and public health. Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, 66(9), 255–267. doi:10.1177/1403494812459619

Reference styles

To format in-text citations and the reference list correctly, you use a referencing style. Use templates and examples in a style guide to ensure that your references are consistent. Referencing styles are usually divided into three main groups:

• Parenthetical or author–date:
  The source is given with the author’s last name and year of publication in parentheses in the text, for example in APA and Harvard.
• Numeric:
  The source is indicated by a number in the text, for example in Vancouver.
• Footnote:
  The source is given in a footnote at the bottom of the page and marked with a number in the text, for example in Oxford.

Different subjects use different referencing styles and style guides. Ask your teacher or supervisor which referencing style you should use.

• Using references
  Learn more about reference management in the open course Using references.

Style guides for some common referencing styles

Use templates and examples in a style guide to format your references correctly and consistently. They show what information to include and the order in which it should be presented. Different subjects use different referencing styles. Ask your teacher or supervisor which style you should use.

AMA

• New York Medical College
  

APA

• Karolinska Institutet
  
• Red Cross College and Södertörn University (In Swedish)
  
• APA Style - American Psychological Association
• Jönköping University Library (In Swedish)
  

Harvard

• University of Borås (In Swedish)
  
• University West
  
• Umeå University – reference in text
  
• Umeå University – writing a reference list
  

IEEE

• IEEE Author Center
  

Oxford

• Umeå University – reference in text
  
• Umeå University – writing a reference list
  
• Södertörn University (In Swedish)

Vancouver

• Karolinska Institutet
  

Check your references

• Checklist for referencing
  Use the checklist from the Karolinska Institutet University Library to review your references, for example before submitting a written assignment.
  

Examples of difficult references to format according to APA 7

Some sources can be difficult to reference. Here are examples of such sources. The examples are based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed., 2020). Please note that the examples are an interpretation of the manual and not an exact reproduction.

RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based program that helps you manage your references, that is, your sources. With RefWorks, you can:

• Import references from databases and websites.
• Organise references in folders.
• Insert in-text citations and a reference list into text documents.

Before you start using RefWorks

• If you are working with others in the same Word document, we recommend that you create a shared project in RefWorks and use Word Online in Microsoft 365. In Google Docs, you can use two accounts and do not need to create a shared project.
• Do not use the Track Changes function in Microsoft Word when creating a reference list.
• Allow pop-ups.

Processing of personal data

When you create an account, you must accept ProQuest’s terms for the processing of personal data and its general terms and conditions. This includes allowing ProQuest and Luleå University of Technology to process your name and email address. Read the terms carefully.

You are not allowed to share information that contains personal data. Therefore, avoid uploading files with recorded or transcribed interviews.

Create a RefWorks account

RefWorks is available free of charge to students and staff at Luleå University of Technology. To use RefWorks, you first need to create an account.

• Login or create an account
  To create an account, select Create account at the bottom of the login box. Enter your university email address.
  

Install add-ons

To use RefWorks in Microsoft Word or Google Docs, you need to install add-ons. There are several options:

• Save to RefWorks
  A bookmark that you add to your browser’s bookmarks bar. When you are on a website with references that you want to save, select the bookmark. The references and full texts will then be saved to your RefWorks account. Works in modern browsers.
• RefWorks Citation Manager, RCM
  An add-on that allows you to use RefWorks in Microsoft Word. It cannot be used at the same time as other add-ons in the same document.
• RefWorks for Google Docs
  An add-on that provides access to a simplified version of RefWorks in Google Docs.

More information about the add-ons is available via these links:

• Save to RefWorks and other add-ons
  Information from Ex Libris about which add-on to choose depending on your operating system and how to use Save to RefWorks.
  
• Install RefWorks Citation Manager
  ExLibris guide for installing RefWorks Citation Manager in Microsoft Word.
• Installing RefWorks for Google Docs
  ExLibris guide for installing RefWorks in Google Docs.
• Upgrade to RefWorks Citation Manager, RCM
  Upgrade your add-on from Write-N-Cite to RefWorks Citation Manager.
  

Other reference management programs

There are several reference management programs that can make it easier to write a report or a thesis. A reference management program can help you to:

• Collect references from different sources.
• Create a reference list.
• Insert in-text citations into your document.
• Format references according to different referencing styles, such as AMA, APA and Vancouver.

The links lead to some of the available reference management programs. The University Library does not provide support for these programs.

• EndNote Online
  A web-based reference management system from Clarivate.
  
• JabRef
  JabRef is an open-source reference management program. It works on multiple platforms and is used to collect, organise and search references.
  
• Mendeley
  Mendeley is a free reference management program with features for collecting, organising and sharing documents.
  

AI-assisted referencing

Generative AI can be a useful tool when working with references. For example, it can help you to:

• Compile the details you already have about a source, such as author, year, title and journal, and suggest how to format them in a reference.
• Convert a reference from one format to another.
• Identify possible keywords and English terms that can help you locate the original source.

Be critical!

AI tools may create inaccurate references, confuse sources or reflect limitations in their training data. Always verify the information against the original source. Use the library’s style guides and templates to make sure your references are accurate and consistent.