Referencing guides and resources
On this page you'll find a selection of useful tools to help you with the referencing process.
Click below to expand the boxes and find out more information about referencing support, advice and resources available to Queen Mary students and staff.
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This QMplus module created by the Library Learning Support and Engagement Team gives a concise introduction to the skills needed to find, use and reference information effectively.
Cite Them Right Online is an online tool that can help you to formulate citations and references in a range of styles and for a range of source types. It provides comprehensive information to help you produce accurate references, and is regularly updated to ensure it is up to date.
Queen Mary Library Services provides access to Cite Them Right Online to all students and staff.
The Cite Them Right Online Tutorial is a great starting point for anyone wanting to learn more about referencing.
Endnote
EndNote is a reference management software which can automate some of the processes of collecting, managing and using references.
Queen Mary provides access to the desktop version of EndNote for students and staff, both on networked PCs on our campuses and also to download onto your personal devices. Queen Mary students and staff can also access an enhanced online version of EndNote.
The Library Learning Support and Engagement Team have produced user guides and bite-sized videos to support your use of EndNote.
You can access these using the links below:
Mendeley
Mendeley is another popular reference management software which can automate some of the processes of collecting, managing, using references and research team work.
Queen Mary does not subscribe to Mendeley. However, a free software is available for download. Users are asked to pay a subscription fee for extended storage space and if they want to collaborate with a bigger group of colleagues.
The Library Learning Support and Engagement Team has created/is in the process of creating user guides to support your use of Mendeley. We also run webinars for both taught and postgraduate students.
Please access our completed Mendeley Guide.
Other reference management tools
In addition to Endnote and Mendeley there are many other reference management tools available. Many are freely available, with a diverse range of functionality. If neither Endnote and Mendeley are meeting your needs, please do look around. These reference management tools would all have their own support pages and communities supporting their users. The Library Learning Support and Engagement Team will most likely not be able to support you with these other software.
Because many reference management tools allow export and import of whole libraries to and from other software, some users choose to work with more than one reference management tool depending on their specific needs.
The practicalities of referencing generative AI.
This guide does not tell you whether you should use generative AI in your work. However, where people do use content from generative AI in their work, they should acknowledge it. This means referencing it in some way.
Queen Mary Library Services promote the use of Cite Them Right Online (login required) as a tool to support Queen Mary students and staff in their referencing. Cite Them Right now provides instructions as to how to cite generative AI in the following referencing styles: APA 7th, Chicago, Harvard, IEEE, MHRA, MLA 9th, OSCOLA, Vancouver.
The response of academia to generative AI is still developing and evolving. Here are some resources which give a wider perspective on referencing and AI:
APA – have produced specific advice for referencing generative AI in APA.
Chicago – have produced specific advice for referencing generative AI in Chicago.
Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) - this style is not covered by Cite Them Right. The consensus appears to be to reference generative AI as ‘personal communications’ in RSC. However, the RSC instructions on the Royal Society of Chemistry website do not appear to include instructions for referencing personal communications. The University of Bath offers some advice on referencing personal communications in RSC.
The library services of a number of Australian universities, were some of the first to produce extensive advice on referencing generative AI. See The University of Queensland, Southern Cross University, The University of Western Australia, Murdoch University as examples.
Remember that the final arbiters on referencing will always be the people or bodies to whom you submit your work. They should be able to tell you how they want you to reference.
For students, these arbiters will usually be people such as your tutors or supervisors.
For academics, the arbiters will usually be people or groups such as your book editors or journal editors. See Royal Society of Chemistry journals and Science journals as examples.
Last updated March 2024.