A citation style defines the necessary information for a citation, how the information is ordered, and what format citations should follow. If you're not sure, check with your instructor. In PolyU, citation styles commonly used by various disciplines are listed below:
A citation is a way of identifying and giving credit to others' published works that you used to support your own research. Other than facilitating researchers to locate sources of works, including citations in a paper also helps avoid plagiarism.
A citation consists of two parts: in-text citation and reference list. In-text citations are brief references of sources within the text of the paper, while reference list is a complete list of references at the end of the paper.
Note that there can be slight variations in the reference styles offered by different universities. Always check with your supervisor or journal editor on the requirement before you adopt any reference style.