Citing Sources in Research Writing

1
Citing Sources in Research Writing

• APA style requires two elements for citing
  outside sources
• 1. Parenthetical References (in-text)
• 2. A References List
• Together, these elements allow your reader to
  find the sources you consulted.

• For the system to function, all authors cited in
  the text must appear in the references list, and
  all authors listed in the references list must
  have been cited in the text.

2
Using APA Style Citations

• Why we do it
• When we do it
• How to include in-text citations in your paper
• What in-text citations look like

• How we format a References page
• What the References page looks like
• Citing electronic sources
• General formatting rules

3
Why We Use Citations

• Give credit where its due. The authors whose
  works you consult have put great effort into
  producing the information, and failing to
  properly acknowledge them is not only poor
  writing style but is unethical.
• Show that you have done thorough research and are
  knowledgeable about your subject. A solid
  reference list gives your paper credibility.
• Allow your readers to seek out additional
  information. If a reader wants to learn more
  about your topic, he or she will depend on your
  reference list.

4
Why We Use Citations

• Provide a way to resolve disputes and correct
  errors. A controversial or incorrect statement
  can only be tracked to its source if you provide
  a citation for it.
• Help yourself remember where you got a certain
  fact. While revising the paper, or writing
  another paper on a similar topic, you will often
  need to refer back to your sources. In this case
  your own citations will be very useful!

5
When Do We Cite Sources?

• ALWAYS CITE
• 1. Direct quotes, if longer than a few words.
• 2. Graphs or figures that you have cut-and-pasted
  from another source, e.g. Internet.
• 3. Very specific information that no one would
  recall from memory, for example In a study of
  711 sib-pairs affected with type 1 diabetes, the
  observed sharing of 2, 1, and 0 parental alleles
  was 52, 40, and 8.

6
When Do We Cite?

• Usually Cite
• 1. A paraphrase or summary of another authors
  ideas. This is true even if you change the
  wording substantially. If you are wondering
  whether to cite a particular piece of
  information, ask yourself
• Did I know this before I started the research
  project?
• Have I seen this information in many different
  places?
• If the answer to both questions is No, you
  should definitely provide a citation.
• Graphs or figures that you have redrawn, even if
  you have significantly modified or simplified
  them.
• 3. Definitions of terms. Any definition that you
  need to look up is probably sufficiently obscure,
  ambiguous, or controversial to require a citation.

7
When Do We Cite?

• Dont Usually Cite
• 1. Statements that are too broad or too obvious
  to be disputed, for example
• Evolution has led to an amazing diversity of
  life.
• Species depend on each other for survival.
• 2. Information that is general knowledge and/or
  easily obtainable from standard reference
  sources, for example
• Physical or geographical constants (e.g. the
  land area of the Earth)
• Geologic time periods

8
When Do We Cite?

• Dont Usually Cite
• 3. Specific facts that would be known or could
  easily be observed by a non-expert
• Fish and marine mammals possess many
  morphological similarities.
• Fog droplets accumulate on redwood leaves and
  drip to the ground.
• 4. Your own original summary of, or opinion
  about, information you have gathered
• There seems to be considerable disagreement
  about X.
• These studies suggest X, but another
  interpretation is possible.

9
How Do We Cite Sources in APA Style?

• Parenthetical Citations (in-text citations)
• Researchers have pointed out that the lack of
  trained staff is a common barrier to providing
  adequate health education (Baxter, 1997) and
  services (Weist Christodulu, 2000).
• Reference Page (following the paper)
• Baxter, C. (1997). Race equality in health care
  and education. London Cambridge University
  Press.

10
Rules for In-Text Citations

• The APA style calls for three kinds of
  information to be included in in-text citations.
  Separate the parts by commas.
• The author's last name must always appear.
• The work's date of publication must always
  appear. (These items must match exactly the
  corresponding entry in the references list.)
• The page number appears only in a citation for a
  direct quotation.

11
Rules for In-Text Citations (contd.)

• Place citations in sentences and paragraphs so
  that it is clear which material has come from
  which sources.
• When a source has no author, use the first few
  words of the title (in quotation marks for
  article or chapter, in italics for self-contained
  item like a book).
• When a source has editor(s) but no author, use
  the editor(s) name in the author position.

12
What Do Parenthetical Citations Look Like?

• Sample (Author Last Name, year)
• (Hancock, 2005)
• Sample, No author (Short Title, year)
• (International Collaboration, 2004)
• Sample, Multiple authors(Name Name, year)
• (Grimm Hancock, 2005)
• Sample, direct quote (Author, year, p.)
• (Hancock, 2005, p.2)

13
Rules for Electronic Sources

• When using and citing Internet sources,
  observe the following two guidelines
• Direct readers as closely as possible to the
  information being cited whenever possible,
  reference specific documents rather than home or
  menu pages.
• Provide addresses that work.

14
Rules for Electronic Sources

• At a minimum, a reference of an Internet source
  should provide
• a document title or description
• a date (either the date of publication or update
  or the date of retrieval)
• an address (a URL).
• Whenever possible, identify the authors of a
  document and the creation or last updated date as
  well.

15
General Form for Electronic Sources

• Online document
• Author, A. A. (2000). Title of work.
• Retrieved month day, year, from source.
• Online periodical
• Author, A. A., Author, B. B., Author, C. C.
  (2000). Title of article. Title of Periodical,
  xx, xxxxxx. Retrieved month day, year, from
  source.

16
References

• APA documentation. (2004). Retrieved November 27,
  2005, from University of Wisconsin-Madison
  Writing The Writing Center website
  http//www.wisc.edu/writetest/Handbook/DocAPARefer
  ences.html.
• APA style for electronic resources. (2003).
  Retrieved November 27, 2005, from American
  Psychological Association, APA Style Web site
  http//www.apastyle.org/styleelecref.html.
• Citations in Text of Electronic Material. (2003).
  PsychNET. American Psychological Association
  http//www.apastyle.org/electext.html.
• Fong, J Kerr, A. (2004) Guide to Effective
  Citations in Scientific Writing. Biology 1B,
  Fall Retrieved on-line November 23, 2005.
  http//ist-socrates.berkeley.edu/
  b0708/bio1b/handouts.html