REFERENCING GUIDELINE

This guideline has been produced to help you comply with the legislation around plagiarism
and copyright.

We recommend that you follow the guideline when you are conducting research, and when
using images or material that are not your own. You are to acknowledge the source of the
content and owner of the images.

WHAT IS COPYRIGHT?

Copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive right to make
copies of a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary,
artistic, educational, or musical form.

HOW CAN YOU COMPLY TO THE COPYRIGHT LAW?

As a student, you are not required to seek permission from the copyright owner to use their
images or material for the purposes of research or study. You are required to acknowledge
the owner of the material and/or images that you use as part of any of your submissions
throughout the course.

WHAT IS PLAGIARISM?

The Webster Online Dictionary defines plagiarism as follows:

■ To steal and pass off (the ideas or words of another) as one’s own

■ To use (another’s production) without crediting the source

■ To commit literary theft

■ To present as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

HOW CAN YOU AVOID COMMITTING PLAGIARISM?

All work submitted as your own must be written in your own words, and when you are
conducting research, you are to read the material, then write it in your own words. You
are not allowed to directly copy and paste any text and use this for any part of your
assignments. You are also required to acknowledge all written work and ideas of other
people appropriately.

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HOW TO REFERENCE IMAGE SOURCES

To comply with copyright law, you are required to acknowledge the owner of the image that
you intend to use.

It is important to note that it is the owner that needs to be acknowledged along with the
source of the image.

If you are using an image from a magazine or book, the owner of the image will be referenced
in the publication.

If you are using an image sourced from a website, this can prove to be more difficult, and
you will likely need to conduct further research to source the actual owner of the image.

Some websites such as Pinterest or Google Images are essentially a library of images and
therefore not the owner of the image.

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TIPS ON HOW TO SOURCE INFORMATION ON THE OWNER OF
THE IMAGE USING PINTEREST

Example 1:

The owner has been named in the text, and a website (of the same name) has been provided
for you to confirm they are the owner of the image.

You would reference this image as:

Owner - Nood Co Concrete

Source - noodco.com.au

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Example 2:

In this example, the owner has been named, but the website is different from the owner.
Further research will need to be conducted, and a good place to start would be a Google
Search on the owner, i.e. Sunny Circle Studio - Erin Wheeler, which results in a website for
Sunny Circle Studio.

You would reference this image as:

Owner - Sunny Circle Studio

Source - sunnycirclestudio.com

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Example 3:

Commonly with websites like Pinterest, you will find that you are unable to source the actual
owner of the image from the text, and the best thing that you can do is follow the web site
link shown, i.e. decor8blog.com, in the hope that the owner has been referenced.

In this instance, the owner of the image, Studio David Thulstrap, was listed in the blog, and
you would reference the image as:

Owner - Studio David Thulstrap

Source - studiodavidthulstrup.com

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WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU CANNOT SOURCE THE OWNER
INFORMATION?

There are times that you will not be able to source the owner of the image, and in this
situation, you are to reference the image in this way:

Owner - Unknown
Source - (website that you sourced it from)

Note: This option is to be used as a last resort, and you are required to conduct research
beforehand to try and source this information on the owner. If you do choose this option,
your tutor will check the validity of your source, and if it is found that incorrect research has
been undertaken, your assignment result could be negatively affected.

HOW TO REFERENCE RESEARCH MATERIAL

At the end of your written assignment, you are to reference all material sources you have
used to study for and complete the task. The information required will differ depending on
the format of the content.

Published Materials (Magazines, Journals and Books)

■ Author

■ Title of Source

■ Publisher

■ Publication Date

■ Location

Websites

■ Author (if known)

■ Page Title

■ Website

■ Publisher or Company

■ Medium (i.e. website)

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Website Example:
Author: Unknown
Page Title: Colour Forecast
Website: dulux.com.au
Publisher or Company: Dulux
Medium: Website

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