Referencing and Research Skills

It is important to discuss citation expectations with your students, and not assume they know how to cite. Instructors should provide information on how to credit academic sources, and refer students to resources for additional support (e.g. liaison librarian, citation style guides, citation management software, etc.).

Ensure all of your teaching materials properly acknowledge all sources (including course notes, charts, data, tables, figures, maps, PowerPoint presentations, etc.) so that you lead by example.

Resources for your students

Citation Guides

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University has examples of formatting, in-text citations, footnotes/endnotes and Works Cited for different citation styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago.

The Library has links to a number of Citation/Style Guides, including APA, Chicago, MLA Style, Legal Style, Medical Style, Oxford Style, and Turabian Style.

Citation Management Software

Citation management software can help students collect, format, organize, and insert in-text citations, footnotes, and bibliographies.

RefWorks is free to use at the University of Waterloo, and is supported by the Library.

For help setting up and using RefWorks:

Read the RefWorks Guide
Attend an upcoming Refworks workshop
Contact a RefWorks Librarian.

Paraphrasing

To practice paraphrasing, students can:

Attend an upcoming WCC Workshop Say it in Your Own Words: Paraphrase & Summary
Book an appointment or attend a drop-in session with the Writing and Communication Centre
Review Paraphrasing by Purdue Owl for steps and examples

Finding and using research

Use Library Find and use resources and Quick Start Guide
Review the Writing and Communication Centre or Purdue Owl resources on how to quote, paraphrase, and summarize
Use WriteOnline resources for writing case studies, reflective essays, literature reviews, & lab reports