REFERENCING AND REFERENCING STYLES

Abstract [English]

Generally any research work follows following steps: Introduction, Review of Related Literature, Research Methodology, Data Analysis and Interpretation, Conclusion, Suggestions and finally Reference Section. Writing an academic paper or thesis, requires citation of all sources of information that has been used or referred to in the work. Referencing is how one acknowledges the source of the information that has been used (referred to) in the work. It helps to make clear to the reader how one has used the work of others to develop one’s own ideas and arguments. There are many reasons to reference sources correctly in the work. There are many different conventions, or approaches, to effective referencing, depending on the referencing style being used, and these can be separated into three standard systems for citing sources:
• Author-date system, e.g. Harvard.
• Numeric system, e.g. Vancouver.
• Notes and bibliography system, e.g. MHRA.
The citation style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. Total 20 styles of referencing have been mentioned in this paper, out of which five referencing styles i.e. APA, MLA, Chicago, Harvard and Vancouver have been discussed with examples.