When you write an assignment at university, you are required to refer to the work of other authors. Each time you do so, it is necessary to identify their work by making reference to it— both in the text of your assignment and in a list at the end of your assignment. This practice of acknowledging authors is known as referencing.
References must be provided whenever you use someone else’s opinions, theories, data or organisation of material. You need to reference information from books, articles, videos, computers, other print or electronic sources, and personal communications. A reference is required if you:
• quote (use someone else’s exact words)
• copy (use figures, tables or structure)
• paraphrase (convert someone else’s ideas into your own words)
• summarise (use a brief account of someone else’s ideas).
References enhance your writing and assist your reader by:
• showing the breadth of your research
• strengthening your academic argument
• showing the reader the source of your information
• allowing the reader to consult your sources independently
• allowing the reader to verify your data.
Plagiarism is the intentional use of someone else’s ideas, words or concepts in your assignment work. It is considered serious misconduct at University and should be avoided at all times.
The British University in Dubai (BUiD) has a policy on plagiarism and you are strongly encouraged to familiarise yourself with it. The policy is in the student handbook and available on Blackboard within Doctoral Training Centre.
Committing plagiarism can carry very serious penalties for students, including expulsion from a university. Regrettably, students have been known to commit offences of plagiarism by not understanding what acceptable paraphrasing, summarizing or quoting techniques are. This is discussed later in this guide.
The best way to avoid being accused of plagiarism is to acknowledge the resources upon which you have based your ideas.
BUiD Harvard Referencing Guide
This is a referencing guide to the Harvard author-date referencing system. It is based on the following guides:
1. University of Birmingham (UK) Harvard Referencing Guide
2. University of Manchester (UK) Harvard Referencing Guide
3. Cardiff University (UK) Harvard Referencing Guide
4. Central Queensland University (AUSRALIA) Harvard Referencing Guide
LIBRARY SUBMISSION OF DISSERTATION / THESIS
Library submission of your thesis / dissertation must be done to attain your Graduation clearance. Students should submit the final version to BSpace which is the online institutional repository of the British University in Dubai.
If your dissertation has been marked and you have done all the required changes provided by your supervisor, then you are ready for this 'submission process'.
Instruction: How to integrate BUiD referencing style into word using Mendeley
Video tutorial: How to Use Mendeley Desktop (Word Plugin) for Inserting Citations
Referencing in Microsoft Word with Mendeley Desktop