Citing, Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism Workshop

Transcription

1 Citing, Referencing and Avoiding Plagiarism Workshop This workshop will: Explain what plagiarism is and how it can be avoided Cover the basics of numeric and author-date (Harvard) referencing systems Demonstrate how citation takes place within a written assignment and give tips on where to place citations.

2 Do you get anxious and confused about referencing? If so, you re certainly not alone many students struggle to reference their work accurately. They don t know when, where or how to indicate their sources, and can waste valuable time and energy considering these questions, without ever really arriving at satisfactory conclusions. Why not find out once and for all when, where and how to reference, and use the time and energy you save for more productive or enjoyable activities? Continue to read, and by the end of this booklet referencing will seem a far more straightforward process than you ever thought You Will Learn What is meant by plagiarism That there are different referencing methods How to use the Harvard system of referencing That there are different ways of referencing different types of material The Plan 1. Why reference? 2. The Numeric system 3. The Harvard system 4. Latin in referencing 5. Tricky references Why Reference? Before we look at why referencing is important, here are the different forms that it can take. A reference can be: An extract from a source, either word for word or a statement of your own that relies heavily upon, or simply rephrases, the original material (paraphrase) An insertion into the text, known as a citation, that directs the reader to full publication or bibliographic details of the source

3 A comprehensive list of all sources used together with their publication details (Reference List/Bibliography) So, why should we reference? To avoid plagiarism, which means presenting the work of others as your own As a matter of courtesy to the academics from whose work we have derived information and concepts So that both we and others can crosscheck facts and ideas, and pursue further reading if we wish Because it shows readers that we have been thorough in our research, and this gives them confidence in what we have written Some students are unsure what constitutes plagiarism and what doesn t. Have a go at the following quiz to see how clear you are about it. Look at the scenarios below and decide whether or not the situation described amounts to plagiarism. Is this plagiarism? Yes No 1. You see a quotation in a book and copy it word for word into your assignment without citing the source. 2. You see a quotation in a book and copy some of it into your assignment, adding other words of your own. Again, you don t cite the source. 3. You see an interesting summary of different approaches to a subject on an internet website. No author s name is shown. You don t copy and paste, but paraphrase in your own words the summary into your assignment. You don t mention the website source in your assignment. 4. You are part of a study group of four or five and you all discuss an assignment. You all agree on the approach and arguments you will use in the assignment. One of the students, with a little help from another, writes it. All the members of the group submit the assignment individually. 5. You want to give a historical overview of something that has happened over a long period, for example, an employment trend. You read three or four general textbooks on the subject. They all say much the same thing, so you summarise in your own words and don t cite the sources. 6. You and your friend are on the same degree course. You both have to write an assignment on the same topic and submit it as individual work. You both discuss the assignment topic and you help your friend gain a better understanding of the subject. Your friend is grateful and writes the assignment. You copy most of it, although you add additional comments and change the wording here and there to suit you and your

4 perspectives on the topic. Now see how your answers compare with the correct ones below. Is this plagiarism? Yes No 1. You see a quotation in a book and copy it word for word into your assignment without citing the source. 2. You see a quotation in a book and copy some of it into your assignment, adding other words of your own. Again, you don t cite the source. 3. You see an interesting summary of different approaches to a subject on an internet website. No author s name is shown. You don t copy and paste, but paraphrase in your own words the summary into your assignment. You don t mention the website source in your assignment. 4. You are part of a study group of four or five and you all discuss an assignment. You all agree on the approach and arguments you will use in the assignment. One of the students, with a little help from another, writes it. All the members of the group submit the assignment individually. 5. You want to give a historical overview of something that has happened over a long period, for example employment trend. You read three or four general text books on the subject. They all say much the same thing, so you summarise in your own words and don t cite the sources. 6. You and your friend are on the same degree course. You both have to write an assignment on the same topic and submit it as individual work. You both discuss the assignment topic and you help your friend gain a better understanding of the subject. Your friend is grateful and writes the assignment. You copy most of it, although you add additional comments and change the wording here and there to suit you and your perspectives on the topic. However, be cautious when doing this and always try to establish the name of the original author. If an author s name is shown, this must be cited. If the idea is an original one, though (as opposed to interesting ), it would be wise to cite the website if no author s name is shown. It is not plagiarism to summarise in your own words historical or general overviews of situations where there is unlikely to be any significant argument or dispute with what you say. However, if you copy extracts from books the author(s) must be cited and referenced. The Numeric System There are two main methods of academic referencing, and you will no doubt have encountered both during your reading. The first, and less used, method is known as the Numeric system. This involves reference both in the text and

5 either at the foot of the page or at the end of the document, depending upon the individual author s preferred style. The Numeric system in the text In the numeric system, each source to which you refer is followed by a number (starting at 1) enclosed in brackets. So, if the first author you mention is Baker, and the second Jones, Baker would be (1) and Jones (2). For example: Baker (1) has suggested that government intervention in the economy limits productivity. However, an alternative view has been advanced by Jones (2). If you need to make your references more specific, you can add page number(s), as in the following: Baker s argument (1: 25) that intervention hinders economic growth is addressed in detail by Jones (2: 45-65). Although you may refer to the same source repeatedly throughout an assignment, you only use a single number when referring to it (unlike the Running-notes or Footnotes style of referencing, in which a different number is attached to a single source each time it is referred to in the text). The Numeric System: Bibliographic Reference Each number refers to a full bibliographic reference of the source in the list of References at the end of the document (references may also appear at the foot of each page). These references are listed in the numerical order in which they appear in the text, not alphabetically. References should take the following form: Author s or editor s last or family name Author s or editor s initials Title (in italics) Volume or edition number (if applicable) Place of publication Publisher Year of publication

6 Horwill, H.W. A Dictionary of Modern American Usage. 2 nd ed. Oxford: Oxford University Press, Note: if you are unsure of place of publication, just put the publisher. The Harvard System The Harvard System in the Text The Harvard system of referencing is the one in most common usage. It too involves reference both in the text and at the end of the document. It may be that your academic department, school or faculty requires that you use a particular system of referencing, but it is worth remembering that otherwise it is not really important which system you choose, but rather that you use one system consistently. The Harvard system involves inserting the last or family name of a source s author and its year of publication into the text. This insertion is known as a citation, and can be done in either of two ways, as in the following: In a recent study (Smith 1996) the solution was shown to be OR In a recent study Smith (1996) argued that Again, if you need to make your references more specific, you can add page number(s): A recent study (Smith 1996, p.51) found that 10% of people had experienced OR A recent study by Smith (1996, p.51) found that 45% of people disliked Note: If there are two authors, both of their names must be cited; for example, Davison and Grimes (1976) or (Davison & Grimes 1976). However, if there are more than two authors, only the first need be cited, followed by et al., which means and others. Remember, though, that all the authors need to be included in the bibliographic reference. The Harvard System: Bibliographic Reference Each citation refers to a full bibliographic reference of the source in the list of References at the end of the document. These references are listed alphabetically in order of authors first or family names.

7 Note: your list of References should contain only those sources to which you have specifically referred during the course of your work, whereas your Bibliography should list all the books and other sources with which you have engaged during your research, whether you have mentioned them specifically or not. A list of references should be included at the end of any piece of academic work, whilst an additional bibliography is only required in lengthy pieces, such as substantial reports and theses. References (in both reference lists and bibliographies) should take the following form: Author s or editor s last or family name Author s or editor s initials Year of publication (in brackets) Title (in italics) Volume or edition number (if applicable) Place of publication Publisher Banks, S. (2001) Ethics and values in social work. 2 nd ed. Basingstoke: Palgrave. Note: again, if you are uncertain of the place of publication, just put the publisher. Journal Articles Citations for journal articles are the same as for books. So, any insertion in the text referring to On Telling and Trusting by Paul Faulkner, a journal article published in 2007, would be as follows: Collins (2007) or (Collins 2007). However, bibliographic references to journal articles are slightly different from those to books. They take the following form: Author s last or family name Author s initials Year of publication (in brackets)

8 Title of article Title of journal (in italics or underlined) Volume, and issue or part Page number(s) of article Take a look at the following example. Faulkner, P. (2007) On Telling and Trusting. Mind, Volume 116, Issue 464, pp Internet Sources References to internet documents should take the following form: Author s or editor s last or family name (where identifiable) Author s or editor s initials Year of publication (in brackets) Title of document (in italics or underlined) [online] Place of publication Publisher Available from: followed by the URL Accessed, then the date the document was accessed [in square brackets] Tidswell, P. (1997) Citing and referencing with the Harvard System [online]. Bradford: University of Bradford. Available from: [accessed 14 August 1998] Latin in Referencing It is conventional in published academic literature to employ abbreviations of Latin words

9 and phrases in place of the full reference after its first use. This means that the text isn t cluttered with the same citation repeated frequently. These abbreviations are listed below. ibid. (ibidem) This means in the same book, chapter, passage, etc., in the reference immediately preceding. It is used in successive references to the same work, as a substitute for repeating the full reference. If you use it, provide the relevant page number(s). loc. cit. (loco citato) This means in the passage already quoted. It is only used to refer to the exact passage previously cited, i.e. to the same work, the same volume, the same page. It is therefore never followed by a page or volume number. op. cit. (opere citato) This means in the work quoted. It is used for a further reference to a publication previously cited, but not the immediately preceding reference. If you use it, give some means of identifying the previous reference, such as the author s name. Patents Tricky References One reason why students can become confused and frustrated about referencing is that different sources need to be referenced differently. We have already looked at the differences between references for books, journal articles and web documents. Below are some further, perhaps less common, referencing formats to which you can refer when composing your work. Patentee s first or family name Patentee s initials Title of patent (in italics or underlined) Abbreviated code designating country of origin Serial number of complete specification Date of application Date of acceptance

10 Merrison, D. R. Storage heater control circuit. Brit. Pat Appl. 7 Aug Acc. 7 Nov Films, Videos, Broadcasts Title (in italics or underlined) Material designator (e.g. Film, Video) Directed by, followed by name of director Place of publication Publisher (name of film company) Date of release Location (if only a few copies exist) Macbeth. Film. Directed by Orson Welles. USA: Republic Pictures, Location of 35 mm viewing copy, London: National Film Archive. Conference Papers A reference to a specific paper included in the proceedings of a conference should include full detail of the paper, i.e. author, title, pagination, in addition to the details of the conference. Author s first or family name Author s initials Title of paper Name of conference (with number in series if applicable) Place at which conference was held Date of conference Title of proceedings (in italics or underlined) Editor(s)

11 Place of publication Publisher Year of publication Pagination for the paper Grunewald, P. Car body painting with the spine spray system.international Conference on Industrial Robot Technology, 7th, Gothenburg, Sweden, 2-4 October Industrial Robot Technology Proceedings... edited by N. Martensson. Bedford. IFS, 1984, pp When one book and author uses a source (second-hand referencing) While you are consulting an original work, you may come across a summary of another author s work, which you would like to make reference to in your own document. This is called secondary referencing: Directly reference - Research recently carried out by Brown (1966 cited in Bassett, 1986, p.142) found that In this example, Brown is the work, which you wish to refer to, but have not read directly for yourself. Bassett is the secondary source, where you found the summary of Brown s work. Indirectly - (Brown, 1966 cited in Bassett, 1986, p.142) In this example White is the primary or original source and Black is the secondary source. It is important to realise that Black may have taken White's ideas forward, and altered their original meaning. It is recommended that where possible, you read the original source for yourself rather than rely on someone elses interpretation of a work. White, (1990) as cited in Black (1994), suggests that The reference list at the end of your document should only contain works that you have read. (Source: Anglia Ruskin University (2009) Harvard System of Referencing Guide [online]. Cambridge: Anglia Ruskin University. Available from: [Accessed: 19th March 2010].) Referencing Checklist

12 Remember, you must always: Provide a citation in the text when quoting a sentence or passage from a book, journal or other source Provide a citation in the text when putting into your own words, or paraphrasing, specific material from a specific source Provide a list of references at the end of your work containing full bibliographic details of each of the sources cited in the text Adopt a particular system of referencing (usually Harvard unless directed otherwise) and then use it consistently throughout any particular piece of work Reference different kinds of material (books, journal articles, conference papers, etc.) according to the established Harvard conventions use this booklet as a quick guide when unsure What Next? Check out our website for more learning materials: Come along to a workshop: Contact us for advice and support: learner-development@bradford.ac.uk or