Academic Integrity and Responsible Use Policy

Referencing is not a decorative final step. It is part of honest academic communication.

Harvard Reference Generator is designed to help users acknowledge sources and organise citation information. It must not be used to create a false impression of research, reading or authorship.

Users should:

• cite sources that they have genuinely consulted;
• distinguish their own analysis from another person's ideas or words;
• use quotation marks and page numbers where required for direct quotations;
• paraphrase by expressing an idea independently, not by changing a few words;
• ensure every in-text citation has the required reference-list entry;
• check whether personal communications belong in the reference list under their institutional style;
• keep sufficient notes to locate and verify each source;
• disclose the use of AI tools where required; and
• follow the current academic-integrity policy of their institution or publisher.

The service must not be used to:

• invent references or publication details;
• cite sources that do not support the claim made;
• generate a bibliography designed to make unperformed research appear complete;
• conceal copied writing or contract cheating;
• falsify page numbers, quotations, data or authorship;
• misrepresent AI-generated material as independently researched work; or
• evade an institution's assessment rules.

Policies on generative AI differ by institution, course and assessment. A citation to an AI tool does not itself make the use of AI permitted.

Before using or citing an AI system, users should check:

• whether the assessment allows it;
• whether disclosure is required;
• whether prompts or outputs must be included in an appendix;
• whether AI output is considered a recoverable source;
• whether confidential or personal information may be entered; and
• whether factual statements have been verified against reliable sources.

The generator can help arrange bibliographic details into a chosen pattern. It cannot determine whether a source is credible, whether an argument is sound, whether a quotation is accurate, or whether the use of a source complies with an assessment brief.

Academic judgement remains with the user.