Abstract Most guides treat thesis #referencing as a clerical task: collect your sources, pick a #citation_style, and tidy the list at the back. This article takes a different view. It reads referencing as a social act that signals who you are, where your work sits, and which #academic_field you are trying to enter. Using an integrative review of guidance manuals and empirical studies published between 2019 and 2025, the paper synthesises practical instruction with three socio