Using Sources and Referencing

Student Learning Advisory Service

Gina May

What is Plagiarism?

“Academic misconduct”Presenting other people’s work as if it

were your own. Cheating and Deceiving.

www.kent.ac.uk/registry/quality/credit/creditinfoannex10.html

True or False ?1. Submitting the same work, or section, for

more than one module constitutes plagiarism.

True2. Plagiarism may occur in oral or graphic work as well as in written work.

True3. There is no need to cite well-known facts.

False, this depends on the context4. Within a group or pair work project students can hand in the same work without worrying about plagiarism.

False, this depends on the instructions and marking criteria

True or False ?5. Submitting the same work, or section, for more than one module constitutes plagiarism.

True6. Plagiarism may occur in oral or graphic work as well as in written work.

True7. There is no need to cite well-known

facts. False, this depends on the context

8. Within a group or pair work project students can hand in the same work without worrying about plagiarism.False, this depends on the instructions and marking criteria

True or False ? 8. In source A, source B is quoted. When

using this quote in my essay I need only acknowledge source A. False

9. I am allowed to change a quote to make it fit grammatically into my own writing. True, but you need to indicate the changes

10.When finding information or ideas in several sources, I need to cite all of them.

False, this depends on what you are hoping to demonstrate

Causes of PlagiarismLack of confidenceInsufficient English language skillsInadequate essay writing skillsInadequate note-taking techniques Ignorance of academic conventions Incorrect/ inadequate referencing Time pressure Intention to deceive

How to Avoid Plagiarism

The best (only) defence against plagiarism is proper referencing

Why do you need to Reference?To develop good academic

practiceTo show which ideas are not your

own To demonstrate your

reading/research To demonstrate understanding of

the topic To let the reader know where the

facts and ideas have come fromTo allow tutor to check detailsTo avoid the problem of

Plagiarism!

What Do I Need to Reference?

Basically, everything....

Any idea, fact, concept, theory, opinion, snippet, etc...

It does not have to come from a book

You MUST show where everything has come from

Always acknowledge the work of other people

Elements of Referencing

author date of publication place of publication full title page numbers or line numbers

HarvardBasic approach1. In the main body of the text:- Author’s name- Date of publication- Page numbers2. In the bibliography:- Author’s name- Date of publication- Full title- Place of publication & publisher

HarvardIn text:

Under the states of emergency, however, the police detained many labour leaders, and in February 1988 Cosatu was prohibited from engaging in political activities (Baskin, 1991, p.59).

In-text citationsIf author’s name occurs in the sentence:

Cottrell (1999, p23) claims that students should always engage in correct academic

practice.

If the name does not occur in the sentence:

Students should always engage in correct academic practice. (Cottrell, 1999, p23)

Secondary CitationsSecondary citations:

There was clear evidence in the research of genetic mutations appearing in the plant (White, 2001, cited in Murray and Saint, 2007, p.182).

Whole Book or Chapter

Kaplan and Jones (2005) studied the effect of pollution in five major cities.

Direct Quotation

‘Family crisis intervention has to be on a twenty-four hour basis’ (Ward & Hicks, 1997, p.6)

With no obvious author

The number of dementia sufferers in the UK has been recently estimated at 570,000 (Department of Health, 2008).

Web CitationsKnown author shown on website

It is clear that the economy is failing (Grice, 2012).

No named author shown on website: use the name of the whole website:

It is clear that the economy is failing (BBC, 2012).

Footnote Style

Under the states of emergency, however, the police detained many labour leaders, and in February 1988 Cosatu was prohibited from engaging in political activities.¹ ___________________1. Jeremy Baskin, Striking Back: A History of Cosatu (Johannesburg: Ravan, 1991), p.59.2. Baskin, Striking Back p.90

Terms explainedCiting: formally recognising, within

your text, the resources from which you have obtained information.

Reference: the detailed description of the item from which you have obtained your information.

Bibliography: the list of sources you have used.

Using other people’s workQuotation: exact reproduction

of an expression, part of sentence, sentence or paragraph. “Use inverted commas”.

Citation: summarised/paraphrased reporting of an idea, concept etc.

Use sparinglyQuotations:Avoid long quotationsMake sure quotations fit

grammatically

Citations:Be sure to use your own words.Indicate (in the text) where ideas are

from somewhere/someone else.

Inserting the quotationIntegrate short quotations into your

sentence & use quotation marks. e.g.

Turner (2007, 14) suggests that you should work 'better not longer'. For a longer quotationbegin on a new line

indent the whole quotation use the exact wording and punctuation

Changing the quotation- use … if you omit words and [ ] if you add words of your ownWorking better not longer is an important concept for everyone in industry and advises that everyone should learn to work more effectively in the time available during the working day rather than working longer hours (Turner, 2007, 14).

Working better not longer is an important concept … [you should] learn to work more effectively in the time available … rather than working longer hours (Turner, 2007, 14).

Always referenceDirect quotes

Paraphrases or summaries

A map, graph, or diagram taken from another source

Someone else's idea explained in your own words

Do not include a reference for:

Statements that are common knowledge, either generally or within your topic. e.g.

The sun rises in the east and sets in the west. or Descartes' cogito illustrates the notion of philosophical doubt.

Your own ideas and arguments

Your analysis or criticisms of other people's ideas

QUESTIONS?