Library Guide for Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering

Why cite and reference your sources?

As you write your essays, it's important that you acknowledge the books, journal articles, and any other sources you consult in the course of your research. You do this to show your lecturers what you've read, and most importantly to respectfully nod to the work and ideas of other people; this is a matter of academic integrity. Failure to acknowledge your sources implies a) that you haven't done any background reading or research, and b) that all of the ideas you put forward are your own. If you consult sources and draw on the ideas of other people but don't acknowledge them, it's plagiarism. Always, always cite and reference your sources.

The recommended style of citing and referencing for the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering in DCU may be either IEEE Style or ASME Style which is usually recommended for literature reviews.

The IEEE style guide can be found in Cite Them Right Online

Cite Them Right is accessed on and off campus via the A-Z Databases link on the library homepage. Providing the most up to date and accurate information, this is a really important resource for all your referencing needs. You can:

1. create a reference for a wide range of source types
2. build your reference on screen to make sure it is correct
3. cut and paste the created reference into your assignment

Cite Them Right Guidelines for using the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) referencing style.

The ASME style guide can be found on the ASME website 

As ASME primarily uses the Chicago Manual of Style for reference format. You may find it helpful to refer to the Chicago reference style covered in Cite Them Right

Cite Them Right Guidelines for using the Chicago referencing style.