Doctoral

Development

Programme.

Referencing: why and how

The presentation aims…

• …to explain why referencing matters

• …to introduce the main styles of referencing and outline the differences

• …to introduce sources of guidance about referencing to help you get it right

• …to discuss the role of reference management software

• …highlight common errors and problems

Why do we reference sources?

• Demonstrates the scope of your literature search and reading and helps others to find the sources you refer to

• Gives context to your research, showing what has already been done

• Gives credit to the work of others

• Helps you to avoid the risk of plagiarism and unfair means

• It’s considered good academic practice

Referencing systems

• There are essentially three major systems of referencing:

– Author/date (often referred to as Harvard)

– Numeric

– Footnotes

• However, within these systems there are different style guides and variations

Referencing styles: author/date

• Often referred to as Harvard style

• Author surnames and year of publication are given in the text

• Full publication details are given in a reference list at the end in alphabetical order by author

• American Psychological Association (APA) is an example of a name/date style

• For an example see the Journal of Experimental Psychology

Referencing styles: numeric

• References in the text have numbered markers, and the full details are provided in a list at the end. There are two methods:– The numbers in the text are sequential, and the

reference list follows that order. For an example, see the IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering volume 39 number 4 p.592 10.1109/JOE.2013.2278786

– The references at the end are arranged in alphabetical order by author and then numbered, so the in text number markers are not in numerical order. For an example see IEEE Transactions on Engineering Management volume 61 issue 4 p.656 10.1109/TEM.2014.2354693

Referencing styles: footnotes

• References in the text are numbered

• Full details of the publications are given in footnotes at the end of the page where the numbered marker appears

• Modern Humanities Research Association and OSCOLA are examples of footnote styles

• For an example see Cambridge Law Journal http://www.jstor.org/stable/25166441

Which style should I use?

• Talk to your supervisor and colleagues about appropriate styles for your discipline and any department specific guidance

• University Library Information Skills Resource referencing tutorials http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/

– Not every department is included

– Aimed primarily at taught course students, but could provide an overview of reference styles in your subject area

Getting it right: style manuals

• Scholarly organisations often produce style manuals. These may cover guidance on writing generally, as well as information about referencing.

• Several examples are shown below, but the list is not comprehensive– American Psychological Association Publication Manual.

Copies are available in the Library. Basic information online at http://www.apastyle.org/index.aspx

– Citing Medicine: the National Library of Medicine (NLM) Style Guide http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7256/

– Modern Humanities Research Association (MHRA) Style Guide http://www.mhra.org.uk/Publications/Books/StyleGuide/download.shtml

Journal style guides

• Look at the referencing styles in the leading journals in your field. The publisher web sites will often include author guidance pages. The following links are examples only, there are many others

– IEEE author toolbox and link to style manual http://www.ieee.org/web/publications/authors/transjnl/index.html#article

– Cambridge Journals instructions for contributors http://journals.cambridge.org/action/browseJournalsIfc

Reference management software

• Used to download and store references from bibliographic databases, and incorporate them into documents formatted according to different referencing styles

• EndNote Online is available free of charge at Sheffield, and is available via Web Of Science

• For more information see http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/refmant/refmant

• http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/shef-only/research/endnote/endnote_online.html

• Other reference management software is available

Reference management software

• You should always check the output from Endnote (or any other software) carefully – it isn’t infallible!

• References imported from databases may need editing e.g. information may download in capitals

• If using the style of a specific journal, check the journal web site for author guidance to ensure it matches EndNote output.

A few common referencing problems

• References quoted in the text missing from the reference list or footnotes

• Not following the style guide e.g. putting author initials in front of the family name instead of after

• Inconsistent use of a style e.g. some journal titles abbreviated, others given in full

• Incomplete information e.g. page numbers, journal volume numbers missing from reference

• Inappropriate use of lengthy or unstable urls

Some related links…

• Library Information Skills Resource for Researchers http://www.librarydevelopment.group.shef.ac.uk/research.html

• Writing Advisory Service http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/eltc/languagesupport/writingadvisory

• Student Skills and Development Centre http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/ssid/301