Contemporary art: Citing, referencing and avoiding plagiarism

The library has an online guide to citation and referencing, and a printed booklet, Referencing your work; using Westminster Harvard, which is available in the library. 

For sources not covered by these guides, consult either one of the first two books listed below.  The first one is an ebook.

Referencing workshops are provided as part of a programme of study skills support.  See the Study Skills and Training webpage for more information.

Read this extract of a student's essay to see what Harvard referencing looks like in practice. 

Look at:

• the in-text references (citations)
• the list of references
• the balance between direct quotation and paraphrase/summary

It is clear in this extract which ideas are original to the student, and what has come from their research.

If you wish to do a bit more work in this area, print out Appendix 1 from How to use your reading in your essays, and highlight the information and ideas the student has used from their research. Make a note of the differences between the version of Harvard used here, with what is recommended in the library's printed guide.

What is plagiarism and what are the penalties?

In the University’s Handbook of Academic Regulations, plagiarism is discussed in two contexts: using others' work without acknowledgement; and submitting work which you have previously submitted for assessment, that is, self-plagiarism.  The relevant section is 10.39.

The penalties for plagiarism are set out in the appendix of section 10 of the regulations.  They differ according to:

• the level of study
• the number of offences
• the extent of plagiarism 
• whether the plagiarism is verbatim copying or paraphrasing

Avoiding plagiarism

As the academic regulations make clear, "it is not an offence for a student to draw upon the work or ideas of another person where this is appropriately acknowledged." Plagiarism can be avoided by using in-text references (citations), quotation marks for direct quotations, and a list of references at the end of your work.  

When paraphasing or summarising other people's ideas, you need to (a) reference it, and (b) do more than change a few words.  The words and structure need to be your own, even though you are citing another source.  See here for some examples of plagiarism.

In many assignments in visual arts subjects, you will  be expected to include illustrations.  Check with your lecturer what is required, but the standard practice is to:

• Caption each image
• Provide a list of illustrations at the start of your assignment, arranged in the order in which they appear
• Include the sources of your illustrations in the references list
• Refer to the figure number in your essay.

The caption

Include name of artist, Title of artwork, date. [medium], collection where the work is held

Fig 1 William Henry Fox Talbot (c.1842-3). An oak tree in winter [photograph], Getty.

List of figures

Include the same information as in the caption, plus the page in your work on which the image appears

Fig 1 William Henry Fox Talbot (c.1842-3). An oak tree in winter [photograph], Getty......... Page 2

References

Fox Talbot, W. H. (c. 1842-3).  An oak tree in winter [photograph].  Getty. Available from: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/45241/william-henry-fox-talbot-an-oak-tree-in-winter-british-probably-1842-1843/?dz=0.5000,0.7913,0.98 [Accessed 26th March 2019]

In text reference

Refer to the figure number (fig.1)

Image used with permission: William Henry Fox Talbot (English, 1800 - 1877) [An Oak Tree in Winter], probably 1842–1843, Salted paper print from a paper negative 19.4 × 16.6 cm (7 5/8 × 6 9/16 in.), 84.XM.893.1 The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles