In developing project topics, it is essential to understand and effectively reference your research. In tertiary institutions, it is also important to note that referencing is a major component of every post graduate research. Most graduating students find it difficult to know which type of reference or citation pattern to deploy.

Reference can simply be defined as a page is the last page of an latest research, listing It lists all the sources used you've used in your research project. The basic reason for referencing is so readers can easily finds what you've cited.

In other to properly reference any latest project work, one must also understand what reference styles are available and which is appropriate for which or what kind of research work being carried out.

Referencing style in research can be said to dictates the research information necessary for a reference and how the research information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.

HOW TO CHOOSE A REFERENCING/CITATION STYLE WHEN DEVELOPING PROJECT TOPICS

To effectively reference a research, one must understand that there are many different ways of citing or referencing resources from your latest final year research. The citation or reference style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. Below are examples of referencing styles, when and how to use them during research:

1. THE APA(American Psychological Association) REFERECNING/CITATION STYLE

The APA referencing style is a kind of referencing that is using used when developing education latest final year project topics, Final year Psychology project topics and some other natural sciences. This is the most common type of referencing used in tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The APA referencing style calls for three kinds of basic/essential information to be included in in-text citations namely; the author's last name and the date of publication of the work being referenced, and these items must match exactly the corresponding entry in the references list.

Below are Examples of APA Referencing List

When referencing A book in Print;

Baxter, B. (2007). Gender equality in Schools and colleges. Philadelphia: Ballière Tindall.

When referencing An article in a journal;

Scholes, M. W. (2009). How children change their minds: Strategy change can be gradual or abrupt. Journal Developmental Psychology, 35, 127-145.

When Referencing Professional or personal websites

The Famous Final Year research Site. (2010, July 7). Retrieved January 5, 2018, from https://eduprojects.ng/economics/latest-project-topics-materials-and-research-ideas-for-students

2. THE MLA (Modern Language Association) REFERENCE STYLE

The MLA reference style is majorly used by the humanities especially in language and literature. Final year students who are developing latest final year project topics in mass communication, languages and communication project topics, theater Arts research topics, History and international final year project topics, Media and communications studies latest final year project topics are advised to use the MLA in referencing their research.

If you're referencing a source using the MLA reference style, such as a chapter in a book, a song on an album, or an article in a journal or website, then ensure that you place the title of the piece in quotations and add a full stop afterwards. Follow it with the title of the full research source, in italics, and then add a comma. This second portion is called the container. Containers are key in MLA referencing as it hold the sources.

Below are Examples of MLA Referencing List

When Referencing a Song (Container: Album)

Cardy B. "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)." I am...Sasha Fierce, Sony, 2009, track 2.

When referencing a book (Container: Book)

Wole, Soyinka. "I'm Drifting." An Anthology of Modern Indonesian Poetry, edited by Burton Raffel, State University of New York Albany, 1965.

When referencing Online Journal Articles

Snyder, Vivian. "The Effect Course-Based Reading Strategy Training on the Reading Comprehension Skills of Developmental College Students." Journal of Research and Teaching in Developmental Education, vol. 18, no. 2, Spring 2002, pp. 37-41. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/42802532.

When referencing An Article (Container: Website or Periodical)

Vance, Erik, and Erika Larsen. "Mind Over Matter." National Geographic Magazine, Dec. 2016, pp. 30-55.

3. THE CHICAGO/TURABIAN REFERENCE STYLE

The Chicago/turabian Reference style is generally used by students in Business, History, and the Fine Arts disciplines.

The notes and bibliography style is preferred by many students and researchers in the humanities, including those in literature, history, and the arts. This style presents bibliographic information in notes and, often, a bibliography.

When Referencing a Book in Print

Note Style:  1. Michael Pollan, The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals (New York: Penguin, 2006), 99–100.

Duplicate Note:  2. Pollan, Omnivore's Dilemma, 3. 

Bibliography: Pollan, Michael. The Omnivore's Dilemma: A Natural History of Four Meals. New York: Penguin, 2006.

When Referencing an Article in  a print journal

Note Style: 1. Joshua I. Weinstein, "The Market in Plato’s Republic," Classical Philology 104 (2009): 440.

Duplicate Note: 2. Weinstein, "Plato’s Republic," 452–53.

Bibliography: Weinstein, Joshua I. "The Market in Plato’s Republic." Classical Philology 104 (2009): 439–58.

When Referencing an Article in  an electronic journal

Note Style: 1. Gueorgi Kossinets and Duncan J. Watts, “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network,” American Journal of Sociology 115 (2009): 411, accessed February 28, 2010, doi:10.1086/599247.

Duplicate Note: Kossinets and Watts, “Origins of Homophily,” 439.

Bibliography: Kossinets, Gueorgi, and Duncan J. Watts. “Origins of Homophily in an Evolving Social Network.” American Journal of Sociology 115 (2009): 405–50. Accessed February 28, 2010. doi:10.1086/599247.

When Referencing a website

Note Style: 1.“Google Privacy Policy,” last modified March 11, 2009, http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.

Duplicate Note: “Google Privacy Policy.”

Bibliography: Google. “Google Privacy Policy.” Last modified March 11, 2009. http://www.google.com/intl/en/privacypolicy.html.