WIUT Citation and Referencing Guide



Referencing

This page provides you with detailed information about citing and referencing practices. You will get guidance on reference management softwares recommended at Westminster International University in Tashkent: Mendeley, Zotero and MyBib to generate a quick referencing list and for managing your resources.

At the WIUT, unless it is specified by module leader, we use Westminster Harvard style for citing and referencing. Please look into the detailed PDF guide here.

Other than Westminster Harvard style, we also use the following referencing styles:

OSCOLA for Law.

APA for MSc in Public Health Science.

Please remember, every university uses different referencing styles. Therefore, it is advised to read course handbook carefully for specific requirements on referencing.

About Westminster Harvard style

There are various systems as APA, Chicago, Harvard, MHRA, OSCOLA, Oxford and etc. in use for citing references, but most departments at WIUT use the Westminster Harvard style. An essential element of your academic writing is to include citations and references. Your references should be consistent and follow the same format. Westminster Harvard citation and referencing style uses author-date in-text citations. This means, that the author's surname and date of publication are provided inside of  round brackets to mark the in-text citations, along with a page number if a direct quotation is used or if a paraphrase follows closely the author's sense.

Example:

(Mankiw, 2014)

Or

(Mankiw, 2014, p51)

The in-text author-date citation is paired with the item to which it refers in the list of references provided at the end of the text. For example, the in-text citation (Mankiw, 2014, p51) is accompanied in the reference list by the following entry:

Mankiw, G. (2018). Macroeconomics. New York: Worth Publishers.

The list of references, which is presented in an alphabetical order, provides descriptions of the texts or other resources from which the citation is taken, starting from the author and the date and going on to include title, place of publication and publisher, in the case of a book, or, in the case of a journal article, article title, journal title, volume number, issue number and page numbers. If several items are cited from the same author, they are listed in date order of publication, earliest date comes first.

As an example, a list of references will look like this: 

Gujarati, D.N. and Porter, D.C. (2017). Basic econometrics. USA: Mcgraw-Hill/Irwin.

Kotler, P. and Armstrong, G. (2018). Principles of marketing, 17th ed. Hoboken: Pearson Higher Education.

N Gregory Mankiw. (2018). Principles of economics, 9th ed. Boston, USA: Cengage Learning.

Sloman, J. (2019). Economics for business, 8th ed. Harlow, England: Pearson.

The Economist. (2022). There is a better way to help poor countries fight climate change. The Economist. Available from https://www.economist.com/leaders/2022/11/17/there-is-a-better-way-to-help-poor-countries-fight-climate-change [Accessed 22 November 2022].

Waluszewski, A. (2016). What’s ‘knowledge management’ when resources are unknowable and deals negotiated?. IMP Journal, 10 (1), 107–128. Available from https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1108/IMP-07-2015-0037 [Accessed 22 November 2022]


Mendeley

Referencing made easy with online tools!

Mendeley is a free reference manager that can help you store, organise, note, share and cite references and research data. It offers a free account with 2GB of storage space when you register and install the desktop version from Mendeley home page  . Mac or PC are also available to download from that page. Moreover, WIUT LRC has developed an extensive guide on installing the software and its use. Please check out the detailed instructions here:   

Step1. What is Mendeley?

Step 2. Creating an account in Mendeley and Installing Mendeley Desktop.

Step 3. Install necessary plugins to work with Mendeley.

Step 4. Adding sources to Mendeley library.

Step 5. Generate citations and reference list by using Westminster Harvard referencing style.

Please note, when going through the registration process to create a Mendeley account, it’s not advised to use your WIUT email address. Because your personal email will have access to your Mendeley resources indefinitely. Create an individual account.

 

Mendeley is currently undergoing a transition period and it offers two different software versions:

  1. Mendeley Desktop - the old product which has full functionality although is no longer being updated, and will eventually be decommissioned (with all users moved on to the new product). Mendeley Desktop works with Mendeley Cite-O-Matic plugin only.
  2. Mendeley Reference Manager - the new product which is still under development, so it does not yet have full functionality yet. Mendeley Reference Manager works with Mendeley Cite plugin only.

Which product you should choose to use will depend on the following factors:

  1. Your operating system - this is because Mendeley Desktop is not compatible with Mac OS 
  2. What functionality requirements do you have - Currently, Mendeley Desktop has better functionality than Mendeley Reference Manager, but you can download the latest beta release of Reference Manager  for the newest updates
  3. Your word processor  - Mendeley Cite-O-Matic (for use with Mendeley Desktop) can be installed via the Tools tab within the software, and can be used whilst signed in to MS Word.

Zotero

If you don’t want your reference list to work against you, refer only to the trustworthy resources!

Zotero is another reference management software as Mendeley that helps you collect, organise, cite and share your research material.

The main benefits of the Zotero:

  • It is a product of a non-profit organisation. It was created and developed by the Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media which is part of George Mason University.
  • It is free to use. You don't have to rely on your institution's subscription on a proprietary software. You use it as an individual, not as part of an institution.
  • It is open source and free to make changes to its code (if you want).
  • Since it is an open source, there is a highly responsive support system that is maintained by expert community members and developers.
  • It is not after your personal data or money (unless you want to buy extra storage space).
  • You can curate items with one click from web pages and academic databases.
  • Once registered, you can use all of its features, which also includes third party developments.
  • Word processor integration for MS Word, Mac Word, LibreOffice and Google Docs.
  • It houses and maintains more than 9000 citation styles.

It constantly develops itself. 


MyBib

Referencing is a way to protect yourself from a serious academic offense such as plagiarism!

 

MyBib is a free online reference manager, which is widely used among WIUT staff and students. The access link to the platform is located here.  MyBib has several standout features:

  • The website of the tool is user friendly and easy to navigate.
  • There are numbers of referencing styles, which can be easily chosen and changed according to the requirements of any organisation.
  • The bibliography is created automatically. The only thing that is needed to be done is to put the link of any source that should be included to the bibliography. Therefore, more effective time management can also be considered as the advantage of the given tool.
  • There can be added an infinitive number of resource links, which will be immediately converted to bibliographic elements with appropriate punctuation which we usually overlook.
  • Many users can work with the tool simultaneously. You just need to share the link of the common account. It is very convenient when, for example, students prepare the team project.
  • The most essential feature among others, is identifying the credibility of the source. Therefore, there is no need to check the status of the source manually, e.g. the website’s. This justifies of the benefits of artificial intelligence for human beings, especially in their educational processes.
  • The information is stored without time restrictions if you have an account, so it is suitable for those who are in the process of writing the paper and want to keep the reference list.

Please check out our instructional video for more details here:


Creative Commons

Be careful with any media source you are using in your assignments!

Creative Commons is an American non-profit organisation and international network devoted to educational access and expanding the range of creative works available for others to build upon legally and to share. The organization has released several copyright licenses, known as Creative Commons licenses, free of charge to the public. These licenses allow authors of creative works to communicate which rights they reserve and which rights they waive for the benefit of recipients or other creators. An easy-to-understand one-page explanation of rights, with associated visual symbols, explains the specifics of each Creative Commons license. Content owners still maintain their copyright, but Creative Commons licenses give standard releases that replace the individual negotiations for specific rights between copyright owner (licensor) and licensee, that are necessary under an "all rights reserved" copyright management.

Here are the best examples of Creative Commons licenses in use.

Please visit the link to learn more on Creative Commons licenses.

Creative Commons licenses give everyone from individual creators to large institutions a standardised way to grant the public permission to use their creative work under copyright law. From the reuser’s perspective, the presence of a Creative Commons license on a copyrighted work answers the question, “What can I do with this work?” 

Please see the detailed information about license type here.


Academic Social Networks

Communicate with like minded researchers online!

In all human endeavors/professions, having supportive social connections is very important. Connecting with people in terms of profession, social status, ideologies, etc. facilitates utilization of (human) resources and maximization of opportunities. For instance, having relevant connections can facilitate employment opportunities and admissions (e.g., through recommendation letters from relevant connections). In recent times, people are now more serious about building and sustaining relevant relationships and connections, be it social, academic/professional, ideological, etc. They call it “human networking”. Thanks to social networking technology, building and sustaining relevant connections are now much easier, making it extremely easy to connect with peers and colleagues, seek out new information and disseminate new ideas to the broader public.

Academia

Academia is a platform for sharing academic research. Academics have uploaded 22 million papers, and 31 million academics, professionals, and students read articles on Academia every month.

Academia has a "Freemium" business model, providing free access to research for everyone and paid premium capabilities to subscribers. Subscribing to Academia Premium gives researchers access to advanced research discovery tools and gives authors the enhanced analytics and impact tracking tools. Academia has 260,000+ premium which subscribers cover the cost of hosting free research and pursuing our mission.

ResearchGate

ResearchGate is the professional network for scientists and researchers. Over 20 million members worldwide use it to share, discover, and discuss research.

The advantages of the ResearchGate

  • Share your publications, access millions of articles and publish your data.
  • Connect and collaborate with colleagues, peers, co-authors, and specialists.
  • Get statistics and find out who has been reading and citing your work.
  • Ask questions, get answers, and solve research problems.
  • Find the right job using our research-focused job board.
  • Share updates about your current project, and keep up with the latest research.

If you still have questions or need specific guidance, please get in touch with library staff here.