Citing Your Sources
Proper citation acknowledges the work of others, strengthens your arguments, and helps readers locate your sources. UNZA Library provides guidance on major citation styles used across the university's faculties.
Citation Styles by Faculty
| Style | Commonly Used In | Key Features |
|---|---|---|
| APA 7th Edition | Social sciences, education, business | Author-date in-text; reference list at end |
| Harvard | Humanities, general arts programmes | Author-date; widely used at UNZA |
| Vancouver / ICMJE | Medicine, health sciences | Numbered citations; reference list by order of appearance |
| Chicago (Notes-Bib) | History, some humanities | Footnotes or endnotes with bibliography |
| IEEE | Engineering, computer science | Numbered square-bracket citations |
| OSCOLA | Law | Footnotes for legal authorities |
Citation Management Tools
Free tools help you collect, organise, and format references automatically:
- Zotero — Free, open-source; excellent for web capture and PDF management
- Mendeley — Free with Elsevier account; good for PDF annotation and collaboration
- EndNote — Available through UNZA site licence for staff and postgraduates
Attend our monthly Zotero workshop — see User Training for dates.
Avoiding Plagiarism
Always cite direct quotations, paraphrased ideas, images, data, and any material that is not common knowledge. When in doubt, cite. UNZA's academic integrity policy applies to all submitted work. Librarians can review your referencing approach during a consultation — book via Contact Us.