THE ‘WHAT’ AND ‘WHEN’ OFREFERENCING

THE ‘WHAT’ AND ‘WHEN’ OFREFERENCING

1. the range of sources that can be referenced, and about the criteria for evaluating them, particularly Internet sources.

   • What to reference
     • Most information or other forms of communication, including performance and visual arts,
       • that have been
         • into the public domain in some way to others can potentially be used
         • written
         • recorded
         • filmed
         • presented
   • When to reference
     • Knowing when to reference is as important as understanding how to reference; this can establish your credibility with your tutors.
       • You should reference evidence in assignments in the following situations:
         • 1 To inform the reader of the source of tables, statistics, diagrams, photographs and other illustrations included in your assignment
         • 2. When describing or discussing a theory, model, practice or example associated with a particular writer; or using their work to illustrate examples in your text (this links specifically to the next two items)
         • 3 To give weight or credibility to an argument supported by you in your assignment
         • 4 When giving emphasis to a particular theory, model or practice that has found a measure of agreement and support amongst commentators
         • 5 To inform the reader of the sources of direct quotations or definitions in your assignment
         • 6 When paraphrasing another person’s work, which is outside the realm of common knowledge, and that you feel is particularly significant, or likely to be a subject of debate.
       • the importance of making notes
         • At one of the research workshops a student complained bitterly of the time referencing had taken her
           • Note-taking and note-making serve a number of purposes
           • Notes act as a summary or reinforcement of the main points of what you saw, heard or read
       • using referencing management software
         • Referencing management software can help you to manage your referencing in a timeefficient way.
           • information retrieval and in organizing the citation and full referencing in an assignment

2. The important point to bear in mind in selecting evidence for use in assignments is about

   • credibility
   • reliability,
   • distinguishing between
     • primary resource
       • comes directly from the people involved in the event or phenomenon in question.
       • include
         • theories
         • models
         • ideas
         • interpretations
         • definitions
         • practices
       • Try and use primary sources whenever possible in your assignments for your central definitions, main descriptions
     • secondary sources.
       • include
         • material produced about the event or phenomenon
         • including the commentary or interpretation of others about theories
         • models
         • definitions
         • practices
         • reference books and on the Internet
       • for lesser definitions, factual information, illustrative examples, and supporting points

3. Choosing sources

   • There are four main sets of questions you can ask of any source, concerning:
     • Relevance and bias
     • Currency
     • Accuracy
     • Coverage.

4. References and bibliographies

   • At the end of your assignment you will produce a list that is headed either
     • References or Works cited
       • are the items you have read and specifically referred to (or cited) in your assignment.
     • Bibliography or Works consulted
       • is a list of everything you read in preparation for writing an assignment.
         • A bibliography can give a tutor an overview of which authors have influenced your ideas and arguments

5. When you do not need to reference

   • there are four situations when you do not need to reference sources. These are:
     • 1 When presenting historical overviews
       • information drawn from a variety of sources to summarize
     • 2 When presenting your own experiences
       • you should make it clear that these are your own
     • 3 In conclusions, when you are repeating ideas previously referenced
       • if pulling together a range of key ideas that you introduced and referenced earlier in the assignment
     • 4 When summarizing what is regarded as ‘common knowledge’.
       • there can disagreement among academics on what constitutes common knowledge.