ABS Law School

REFERENCING GUIDE
PG Dissertation
2014-15

Law School
Aberdeen Business School
The Robert Gordon University
Garthdee Road
Aberdeen AB10 7QE

September 2014

Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................... 3
1. The importance of referencing coursework .............................................................. 5
2. Plagiarism ................................................................................................................... 5
3. Referencing system and footnotes ............................................................................ 6
4. Bibliography ............................................................................................................... 7
5. Some Frequently Asked Questions ............................................................................ 8
6. Information which may not be included in OSCOLA ................................................. 9

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Introduction
This referencing guide contains guidance on how to reference properly in accordance
with the referencing system used in the Law School; as such, it is to be followed in
when writing your PG dissertation, regardless of whether you are aiming for an MSc
or an LLM. The referencing system used in the Law School is the Oxford University
Standard for the Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA), 4th edition, which can be
found at
http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_4th_edn_Hart_2012.pdf accessed 25
September 2014; this document is also available on Moodle in the Referencing
Information section. Further guidance with reference to relevant examples can
be found in the appendix to this guide and the guidance document provided by
RGUs library (both to be found on Moodle in the Referencing Information section).
PRACTICAL TIPS:
Please read this Guide and the OSCOLA guide carefully, but more importantly,
either print them off or save copies in some format so that you can keep
going back to them to check that you have followed the style of referencing
properly. No one expects you to learn the contents of the OSCOLA off by
heart, but there is no excuse for not following referencing conventions
properly when you have access to the correct format to copy and are working
on your dissertation. Keep OSCOLA with you when you are writing footnotes.
For a useful aide memoire showing you how to reference an example of most
sources see the appendix to this guide as well as the OSCOLA Quick
Guide https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_Quick_Reference_Guide
_001.pdf accessed 3rd September 2014
Dont panic if you cant figure out the logic of how the referencing
conventions work, when to put tiles in italics and when to use single
quotation marks, when you put the surname first followed by initials e.g.
Sharp L. And Ross M, and when it is the other way round, e.g. L. Sharp and M.
Ross. This guide and OSCOLA will show you how to get it right and to
reference your sources accurately and with confidence.
If you consult the grading grids posted on Moodle for the PG Dissertation module,
you will see that referencing features as one of the areas on which the grade for your
dissertation is awarded. This means that
poor or inaccurate referencing in your footnotes and/ or your bibliography
will lose you marks in your dissertation. However, with the help provided by
this guide and the other related guidance documents on Moodle, there is no
reason for you to lose marks unnecessarily.

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Please also note the passages in the module handbook referring to referencing
issues. This means that BOTH the module handbook and this guide (including
appendix) are relevant for dissertation presentation purposes. Essentially, while the
module handbook refers to the physical presentation of your dissertation, this guide
applies to the referencing of your dissertation. For these purposes, where this guide
refers to coursework, it should be taken as referring to both coursework and
dissertations.
If there are any questions on referencing that are not answered in this guide, please
get in touch with your supervisor (once allocated) or the module co-ordinator (at the
research proposal stage).

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1. The importance of referencing coursework

It is essential to reference your coursework according to the conventions set out in
OSCOLA. The reasons that referencing is so important are threefold:
1. Proper use of appropriate referencing enhances your coursework and will
ensure that you do not lose marks unnecessarily.
2. As you will see in the introduction to OSCOLA, consistency in referencing is
very important. It makes your work look more professional and can make it
easier to follow of for the reader.
3. Failure to reference material taken from another source could amount to
plagiarism.

2. Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the presentation of thoughts or writings of others as your own original
work, without properly identifying and referencing the source.
Plagiarism, falsifying or fabricating data, copying from another students work, etc.
are unacceptable behaviour. Any allegations of such cheating in assessments will be
reported to one of the Associate Deans of the Aberdeen Business School, and dealt
with as academic misconduct in accordance with the Universitys Academic
Regulations. Aiding and abetting another student to commit academic misconduct
will be dealt with in the same way. The Associate Dean has the authority to apply a
range of penalties in proven cases.
The following is extracted from the Universitys Academic Regulations, A3 Section 2,
regulation 6 (1):
Plagiarism. The University defines this as the practice of presenting the
thoughts, writings or other output of another or others as original,
without acknowledgement of their source(s) at the point of their use in
the students work. All materials including text, data, diagrams or other
illustrations used to support a piece of work, whether from a printed
publication or from electronic media, should be appropriately identified
and referenced and should not normally be copied directly unless as an
acknowledged quotation. Text, opinions or ideas translated into the
words of the individual student should in all cases acknowledge the
original source.

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At university you will be exploring the literature of, and be exposed to, many
academic influences. In order to take advantage of these without plagiarising you
should:

Ensure that you acknowledge and reference the sources which you have
used;
If you want to paraphrase, make sure that you refer to it as, e.g. As view of B
is
If you want to use the exact words, use a quotation.

Expressing ideas from someone elses work in your own words and acknowledging
the source is known as paraphrasing. This is acceptable practice. Expressing someone
elses ideas and presenting them as your own is plagiarism. Many sources can be
found on line but extra care must be taken to avoid simply copying and pasting
extracts from on line resources as this can lead to inadvertent copying of anothers
work. Even this can be judged to be plagiarism.

3. Referencing system and footnotes

The referencing system which should be adopted is set out in OSCOLA, the 4th
edition of which is posted on Moodle and can be downloaded
from http://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_4th_edn_Hart_2012.pdf The
supplementary OSCOLA Quick Reference Guide can be downloaded
from https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/published/OSCOLA_Quick_Reference_Guide_001.pd
f. Both documents are also available on Moodle.
You must insert numbered footnotes in the text of your coursework which refer to
notes containing details of the reference which appear at the foot of the page. This is
done in Word by clicking insert, reference, footnote and then accepting the default
setting and clicking insert. Alternatively you can use the function keys Ctrl, Alt, f.
You should use footnotes, not endnotes. The footnote marker should appear after
the relevant punctuation in the text (if any) and normally at the end of a sentence. It
may sometimes be necessary, for the sake of clarity, to put the footnote after the
word or phrase to which it relates.
Footnotes should end with a full stop (or, if appropriate a question mark). Where
more than one citation is given in a single footnote, they should be separated by
semi-colons.
The details required for different types of reference (books, articles, URLs etc) are
itemised in OSCOLA and the Quick Guide. In addition, when you include a reference

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in a footnote you must include page numbers/paragraph numbers where

appropriate.
Where a case name is given in the text, it is not necessary to repeat it in the footnote
but the citation should be included in the footnote.
This system means that each reference is given a different number. Multiple
citations of the same item receive separate numbers. The first time that an item
appears in a footnote the full bibliographic details should be given (including page
numbers if appropriate). If further references to the same item are made it is
possible to avoid a full re-citing of the document by using the following terms:
ibid (Ibidem the same) can be used if successive references are made to the same
document. Each use of ibid should be followed by the page number.*
op.cit. (Opere citato in the work previously cited) where the document has been
cited at an earlier point, but not immediately before this reference. The authors
name and page number are required. The original citation should contain full
bibliographic information. OSCOLS discourage use of op cit so use their suggested
alternative.*
* However OSCOLA avoids, where possible, the use of Latin terms, so while you
may see ibid and op cit used elsewhere, follow the guidance in OSCOLA when you
are writing.

4. Bibliography
At the end of a piece of coursework you must always include a bibliography. Failure
to do so will normally lead to 10 percentage points being deducted from the grade
given to that piece of coursework.
A bibliography is a list of books, journal articles, reports, theses, URLs or any other
secondary sources of information consulted during the preparation of a piece of
research. All the items included should have been of positive use to you. You should
not list items which you have not consulted.
The items should be listed in alphabetical order of the authors surname. If the
references start with the authors surname they should appear as described in the
References section in a footnote but should be turned around (e.g. Walker DM) for
listing in a bibliography.
Primary sources of information (such as cases and statutes) should not be included
in a bibliography.
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The purpose of a bibliography is to:

Acknowledge the sources which have been consulted;
Enable readers of the research to access the material;
Provide examiners with an indication of the soundness of your research.
For an example of the use of a bibliography, see the appendix.
Points to note:
1. When referring to a source you should always reference the source you
actually used. If you did not use the primary source but instead e.g. looked at
a case in a casebook or an excerpt of an article in a collection of shortened
versions then you should acknowledge this. This means referring to it e.g. JF
DiMento, Can Social Science Explain Organisational Non-compliance with
Environmental Law? (1989) 45 (1) Journal of Social Issues 109-132 in BM
Hutter, A Reader in Environmental Law (OUP, Oxford 1999) 218.
2. Where legal material is available in both electronic and papers formats you
should cite the paper source. This means that if you have used an article e.g.
from Westlaw, you should not state that you have accessed it via the
particular database instead you should reference it in the same way as if you
had looked at the paper version. The paper version citation details will always
be shown in the on line source. (e.g. 2009 S.C.L.1)
3. You should never include databases such as LexisLibrary or Westlaw in your
bibliography. This would be the equivalent of attributing the University
library which is also inappropriate.
4. You should never include your lecture notes or course handouts in your
bibliography or in footnotes. They are not sufficiently authoritative sources
and will be derived from the primary sources you should be using in any
event.

5. Some Frequently Asked Questions

Why do footnotes vary in my textbooks and in some journal articles?
This is a frequently asked question. Each publisher has its own so-called house style,
and so there may be subtle variations between the styles used by, for example,
Bloomsbury Professional and W Green or the Edinburgh Law Review. Even so, what
you will find is that the same conventions are followed throughout each book or
article. Consistency is key and to ensure consistency in your work we want you to
use OSCOLA.
Are there any major differences between other referencing styles and OSCOLA?
The ones that immediately spring to mind are:
Less punctuation- follow OSCOLA for essentials that must be included
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Fewer Latin terms- and others instead of et al for example

No need for the place of publication of textbooks; just the edition the date
and the publisher.

6. Information which may not be included in OSCOLA

One example which may not be included in OSCOLA is The Laws of Scotland: Stair
Memorial Encyclopaedia. The style of reference to the Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia
depends on whether the material is from one of the original volumes or a reissue:

Material in a title in one of the original volumes should be styled: The Laws of
Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia, vol 6, paras 896-922

Material in a title that has been reissued should be styled: The Laws of
Scotland: Stair Memorial Encyclopaedia Criminal Procedure Reissue, para 183

There is no need to cite the date of publication given that this encyclopaedia is
updated on an ongoing basis.

September 2014