References: Definition, Purpose, Source, Type-, and Examples

References are information used as a reference or guide to support a claim. References are always found in literary works, especially those that are scientific in nature and require support or theory.

Then how do you write a good reference? Check out the full review below.

Reference Definition

References are sources used in various fields. Reference is taken from the word reference in English.

In the Big Indonesian Dictionary (KBBI), references can mean books recommended by lecturers for students to read or books in the library that cannot be checked must be read in the space provided.

The library sector has reference services provided by librarians. Quote from Pawit M. Yusuf's reference service in Information, Communication, and Library Science (2009), is a process in which librarians provide answers to users' questions whose answers can be found in the information resources owned by the library.

Reference Purpose

Susari Nugraheni in the book Mastering Academic Writing mentions five reference purposes, namely:

• Provide information to readers that the writing is based on true and reliable sources.
• Demonstrates that writers can find and use strong sources.
• Strengthening the author's argument.
• Appreciate the work of others cited as a reference.
• Avoid plagiarism.

Reference sources

There are three groups of reference sources, including:

• Primary sources such as monographs, dissertations, manuscripts, reports on the results of seminars/workshops, and so on.
• Secondary sources include encyclopedias, dictionaries, handbooks, indexes, yearbooks, biographies, abstracts, bibliographies, indexes, and geographic sources.
• Tertiary sources, namely applicable materials from primary sources that are text books.

Reference Types

1. footnote

Footnotes are information at the bottom of a book page designed to help readers find explanatory information in a paragraph or page.

2. Quote

Quotations are a type of reference made by copying sentences from other authors' opinions or oral statements from an expert about a scientific work. Quotations are used to support claims or assumptions that the author builds in his writing. 

3. Bibliography

A bibliography is a list of books or essays used as a reference source for an article or essay on a scientific topic, the purpose of which is to describe general information about the reference sources used in writing scientific publications.

Examples of References in Writing Work

Well, that's about the references that we can review for you. Hope it is useful!