Citing References

(based on the University of Bath and The Pennsylvania State University Graduate Students Handbook)

HOW SHOULD I MAKE USE OF LITERATURE IN MY ACADEMIC WRITING?

Some of the more common uses include:

Supporting descriptive writing. For example, you may wish to say:

During my role as observer of a primary 5 class I noted that the teacher asked
questions of the boys more frequently than of the girls. This tendency has also
been reported by Jon (1989).

Notice that in this case, the writer is paraphrasing the author, hence, the page number is not
necessary, but the year of publication of the work is.
However, when you quote verbatim, the page number should be included following a colon after
the year of publication.

Establishing definitions. For example, you may wish to discuss reliability by first establishing a
definition, e.g.:
Reliability is the agreement between two efforts to measure the same trait
through maximally similar methods (Campbell and Fisk 1967:277).

Supporting an argument. For example, you may wish to justify the use of questionnaires by
making a statement such as the following:
I chose to collect data by questionnaire as collecting data by interview would
be too time consuming and thus cause me to reduce the sample size. This is
discussed in more detail by Smith (1987).

Often different authors will offer different definitions of the same thing. Quoting each author
and definition will enable you to discuss the relative merits of each definition.

Note
Quotations in your assignment should be in a different type-face, e.g. italics.
HOW CAN I INDICATE DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOURCES USED?
If at all possible you should try to use original sources. This may be official documentation, books
and articles on educational theories and practice or data from your own experience.
For example:
The Equal Opportunities Commission (1981:82-86) have shown that invariably
the apparently better examination results of girls in all-girls compared with girls
in mixed schools is actually an attribute of their superior intake and not due to
their organisation. They clearly believe that academically all-girls schools have
no advantages and thus support mixed schools on social grounds.
This information came directly from official literature.

Sometimes it is not possible to obtain original source materials and you have to rely on quotations
of sources found in literature. For example:
Three solutions may thus be applicable. The first of these is to make science
girl-orientated. This has been discussed by Bottomley and Ormerod, and Ebbutt
and is quoted in Smail (1987: 81). They suggest that girls like Biology when it is
nurturative - caring for plants and animals - rather than analytical.
The findings here were from work by Bottomley, Ormerod, and by Ebbutt, but these findings have
been read by the assignment writer in an article by Smail. You would thus include Smail in your
references and not Bottomley and Ormerod or Ebbutt.
A more economic alternative would be:
Three solutions may thus be applicable. The first of these is to make science girl-orientated.
(Bottomley and Ormerod, 1983, in Smail 1987: 81).

Special Points to Note

Acknowledge where secondary sources are cited and the original not looked at by yourself.
Do not rely on all secondary information taken from just one book.
Do not rely upon too much secondary information.
Quotes must be put in quotation marks and acknowledged.
Failure to acknowledge quotes is plagiarism.
Plagiarism is a serious offence.
HOW DO I DEAL WITH REFERENCING WITHIN THE MAIN TEXT OF THE ASSIGNMENT?
Within the main text of your assignment references should appear thus:
General references:

Ormerod (1975)
NB: References which refer generally to ideas in a book or article do not require a page
number.

Specific quotation or points:

Ember & Ember (1973:5)

NB:References which are specific, and particularly where these include quotations, do
require a page number or numbers.

For example:
Ormerod (1975) showed that, in certain respects, single-sex schools show less
sex stereotyping than mixed schools with regard to subject choice.
Another definition is that by Ember & Ember (1973:5) who say To an
anthropologist the term culture generally refers to customary ways of thinking
or behaving of a particular population or society.

Long quotations or definitions (longer than two lines):

When you are using a quotation or definition which is longer than two lines, the text should be
indented and written in italics.
To an anthropologist the term culture generally refers to customary ways of
thinking or behaving of a particular population or society. (Ember and Ember,
1973:5)
WHERE SHOULD THE REFERENCES BE LISTED ?
You must include under references everyone who is referred to in the text. They must be listed in
alphabetical order and set out at the end of your assignment thus:
Books:
authors surname, initial, year, title of book (different type-face or underlined), where published,
publisher.
Chapters in Books:
(i) authors surname, initial, year, title of article, In, title of book (different type face or underlined)
ed by, editors name where published, publisher, or
(ii) authors surname, initial, year, title of article, In, editors name (Ed), title of book (different
type-face or underlined), where published, publisher.
Articles in Journals:
authors surname, initial, year, title of article, journal (different type-face or underlined), number of
journal, pages of the article
Webpages:
Authors name (if available), year, title of webpage, place uploaded, publisher, access date with the
word Retrieved preceding it, URL
For example:
Book:
Byrne R (1978) The Secondary School London, Heinemann Educational.
Chapter:
Smail B (1987) Organising the curriculum to fit girls interests in Kelly, A (Ed) Science for Girls Milton
Keynes: Open University

Article:
Butcher H J and Pont H B (1968) Opinions about Careers among Scottish Secondary School Children
of High Ability, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 38, pp 28-42.

Webpage:
Peyton, J. K. (1993). Dialogue journals: Interactive writing to develop language and literacy.
Washington, DC: National Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education. Retrieved May 4, 2003,
from http://www.cal.org/ericcll/digest/peyton01.html