Referencing in context

©The Learning Quality Support Unit, 2013

LQSU

- beyond the basics

Outline of the session

• Why is referencing important?

• Common issues with referencing

• APA 6th referencing format

• When is a citation required?

• Where should the citations go?

• Using secondary sources

• Use of more than one source as evidence

• Selection of appropriate sources

• Further resources & exercises

Why is referencing important?

• Shows the breadth of your research and your understanding of a topic

• Identifies relevant published evidence to support the ideas/arguments presented

• Allows the reader to trace the information sources

• Acknowledges the intellectual property of the work of others and avoids the issue of plagiarism

• For assignments – it is part of the mark scheme

Common problems with referencing

• Incorrect referencing format

– in the citation or in the reference listed at the end of the assignment

– full details of citations not present in reference list (or vice versa)

– names/date in citation list does not correlate with details in the reference list

• Lack of citations – this may lead to plagiarism

• Unclear which information the citation relates to

• Incorrect referencing of secondary sources

• Format for inclusion of multiple citations

• Academic integrity of the sources used

APA 6th Referencing• Citation

– this is included in the body of the academic work to provide a brief acknowledgement of the author and date for the information presented.

• Reference

– this provides full details for the source of the information.

– references for the citations in the body of the academic work are presented at the end of the academic work in the form of a single reference list which is arranged alphabetically by author surname.

Remember - check that full & correct details are presented for all the citations in the text

Use the APA referencing guides available at: http://hud.libguides.com/referencing

When is a citation required?Example yes no

Inclusion of a directly quoted definition from a published source

Use of an adapted diagram from a website, but there is no named author of the original illustration

Summary of the key viewpoints and reasoning of a particular author

Description of the principles of widely known theories or facts

Use of published statistics/data which are available on a publically accessible website

Explanation of evidence to support the application of a particular point or viewpoint

A summary of the ideas of a key author taken from a general reference book edited by a different author

Ideas presented by an invited speaker in a public debate which you consider offer original insights into a theory

A summary of the key points discussed and referenced in the main body of an assignment

Where should the citations go?

Historically, language was largely considered to be a reflection of

individual cultures. This is exemplified within the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

– all languages are culturally diverse; they are an infinite ‘pattern-

system’. Therefore, language is grounded in each culture’s historical

heritage due to sustained cultural usage. It has a deep-seated

uniformity; whereby geographical borders of ‘lexical items represented

the boundaries of speech communities’. Importantly, it is necessary for

language to reflect the culture in which it derives, in order for there to

be understanding regarding the meaning of language within a particular

culture. Consequently, it is apparent that language necessarily reflects

culture. On the other hand, it may be argued that this is not the case;

that language is a more dynamic process which co-constructs the

culture from which it originates.

Format for Citations

• Beginning of the sentence:Smith (2012) state that ……….

• Middle:When considering the ……….., Smith (2012) identify that…….

• End:Parkinson’s disease is progressive neurological condition (Smith, 2012).

Try to vary the use of these to add diversity to your writing.

Consider also which provides a clearer overall ‘flow’ of the information

Using secondary sources

You read an article by Bloggs (2013) who summarise the views of Smith et al (2009). You wish to include the ideas of Smith et al in your assignment – which source do you cite & reference?

• This is an example of secondary referencing

• Ideally try to find the article by Smith et al (2009) which is the primary

source of the information you need

• If you are unable to obtain and read the article by Smith et al, the citation

in the text must clearly indicate that you are using a secondary source

– Smith et al (2009, cited in Bloggs, 2013, p.41) suggest that ………

• In the reference list at the end of your assignment, you would provide

full details for the source you obtained the information from

– Bloggs, J.B. (2013) Understanding referencing. Journal of Education. 64 (2), 41-43. Doi: abcde12345

Use of more than one source as evidence

• Using more than one reference to support the information you are presenting can add academic credibility to your work.

• In such cases, cite all sources in one bracket in alphabetical order, separating each source with a semi-colon:

Recent studies (Brown, 2008; Jones et al., 2009; Smith, 2007) show that …..

• If there are two or more citations by the same author, name the author once then list the yearsin date order:

………… (Brown, 2008, 2010).

Selection of appropriate sources

• When selecting sources to support your work, particularly information from websites, it is important that you consider the following points:

– the academic quality of the source• is the information intended for an academic audience?

• does it refer to other sources or research?

• is the author an authority of the field?

– when the information was published• is there a publication date?

• how recent is the information?

Further Resources & Exercises

Try the following resources available at the link below to check your understanding and develop effective use APA referencing.

• Citing in the text activity (APA style)

• Compile the references activity (APA style)

• Avoiding Plagiarism exercise

• Is it plagiarism quiz

• When to cite exercise

• Web page evaluation checklist

https://ilrb.cf.ac.uk/bank_type/quizzes.html