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Active reading

Why reference?

Any article you use in your assessment needs to be acknowledged and referenced.

Why do you need to reference? Click on the flipcards to learn more:

 

 
Acknowledges original author
It acknowledges the original author of the article and ideas you have used. This helps you to avoid plagiarism.
 
Academic integrity
Referencing is good practice. It’s a critical part of demonstrating academic integrity.
 
Allows follow up
It allows readers to follow up on sources you have referred to.
 
Demonstrates breadth
It reflects the breadth of reading and research undertaken for your assessment.

 


Anatomy of a reference

Below is a reference for a journal article in APA style; if you haven’t been told what style to use this is a good option. The reference contains different parts arranged in a set order. Knowing the names of these will help you track down articles for your research. It will also help you reference correctly.

Drag the slider below to discover the names for the different parts of this reference.



Anatomy of a reference

This interactive activity shows a reference as follows:

Adams, M. A., Brazel, M., Thomson, R., & Lake, H. (2021). The mental health of Australian medical practitioners during Covid-19. Australasian Psychiatry, 29(5), 523-528. https://doi.org/10.1177/10398562211010807

The interactivity

A vertical bar appears across the top of the reference and the user can drag the bar right and left to reveal and hide highlighted parts of the reference with labels describing each part.

List of labels and highlighted content

Author names(s)

Adams, M. A., Brazel, M., Thomson, R., & Lake, H.

Year

2021

Title of article

The mental health of Australian medical practitioners during Covid-19

Journal title

Australasian Psychiatry

Volume

29

Issue

5

Page numbers

523-528

DOI

10.1177/10398562211010807

 


Tools for referencing right

Helping you reference right guide

There are different referencing styles which you may be asked to use in your assessments. The Deakin Referencing Guide provides detailed instructions and a digital tool to help figure out the how to reference need you have. If you need more help, ask Study Support, your referencing experts at Deakin.

Cite function + you checking for accuracy

Whether you are searching in the Library collection or on a search engine like Google Scholar there is often a "Cite" button you can click on to auto-generate a citation. But always check the details and format of the citation because the machine-generated data can be wrong or missing pieces.