As you are writing your PhD thesis, it is important to ensure you are referencing the sources you use properly.
This allows you to demonstrate the breadth of your research, to show the strong foundations upon which your work is based, and your understanding of the field you are contributing to.
You should make sure you choose the referencing style appropriate to your field of study. While Harvard is used in a range of subject areas, some subjects will choose others, such as APA 7th (Psychology), Oscola (Law), Chicago (some humanities disciplines). Agree early on with your supervisor which referencing style you will use throughout your work.
Use our referencing guide to help you and the Cite Them Right tool provided by the library.
Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct and is linked to the notion of research integrity.
Plagiarism is when you do not acknowledge properly the work of others in your own work. Learning to reference properly is a good way to avoid plagiarism. This is why understanding the rules of referencing is key.
Note that there is such a thing as self-plagiarism when you re-use your own work without acknowledging that it was used somewhere else (either in another assignment or in a publication).
For some guidance, have a look at our avoiding plagiarism section in our transitioning to university guide or the section on what is plagiarism in our referencing guide.
These tools that can help you with referencing. The university offers support for a range of these tools:
They can be real time savers if you use them properly as they help generating in text references/ footnotes and reference lists/ bibliographies.
To learn to use them, check out our library guide on reference managers.