When writing a report or essay, it is assumed that you already know how to properly document your sources. This is very important for academic work, and this brief guide is to remind you how to do it.
Why is it important?
When reading a document that someone else prepares, the reader assumes thatthe words used are those of the author. If you, as the author of the document,were to use a phrase, sentence, or paragraph from a source without documenting it, anyone who is familiar with the source and reads your document would think that you are presenting someone else's work as yourown. In effect, they would think you are a fraud. Also, there are potentiallegal problems that could result.
In academics, we often use one documentto support another. For example, you could write a paper on how the wavelettransform works, then later need to write a paper on image compression usinga wavelet transform. For the second paper, you do not want to re-explainhow the transform works. Instead, you might include a summary of your firstpaper, then tell the reader how he could find your first paper, for more information.
Citing other people's work can be done in a similar fashion. You present,in your own words, a summary of what the other person said. Then you givethe citation, which tells your readers where to go for more. The citationis in the form of a number in square brackets, for example [2], or perhaps in the form of the first author's last name, followed by publicationyear, as in [Weeks99]. I prefer that you use the number in square brackets.At the end of the paper, the reference sectiongives full details about the publication.
Often, you will see more than one author on a paper. If you write a paperthat is good, your professor might want to make you a co-author on somethinghe is working on. If you are listed as a co-author, then it is no problemto use some (or all) of your paper in the joint work. However, if it islater revealed that you copied someone else's work in your paper, there are many repercussions that could result, the least of which would be embarassment. Your professor could also be liable! This is why we takethis issue so seriously.
Citing other people's work is a good idea. It shows the readers that youare familiar with other people's work in the area. Not only have you readabout their work, you understand it, and present what is relavent from it.You are extending or contributing to the subject as a whole. Also, a goodreference section allows someone new to the field to find out where to go to get more information, and what information is important. Suppose you were to search for all documents on a topic, and find 2000 results. You mightnot have the time to read all of them, and would naturally want to knowwhich ones are essential. A good reference section will indicate which onesthat the document's author found to be useful.
What are you NOT allowed to do?
You cannot simply copy someone else's writing and include it in your document.These days, students are tempted to find a source of information on the Internet, then copy and paste this information into their documents/reports.Even if the web-site is included in the reference section, this is stillnot good enough. You must specify exactly what other people said, and (by default) specify exactly what you are saying.
When you present someone else's words as your own, this is called plagiarism.It is considered dishonest (if not illegal), and may be dealt with very harshly.
What are you supposed to do?
1) Quoting a source directly
Direct quotes are usually frowned upon, but there is a process to do this.You should use double-quotes (") around the words that someone else said.Before or after the quote, it is a good idea to say WHO said it. Also,follow the quote with a citation. For example,
Franklin D. Roosevelt was referring to the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor when he called it, "A date which will live in infamy" [3].
By the words "usually frowned upon", I mean that you want to avoid it whenpossible. For an essay or report that will be graded, this means that pointsmay be taken off for this. But this is very minor compared to plagiarism, wherepenalties could be as high as dismissal from the University!Sometimes, people succinctly capture in words an idea, and theirwords are repeated over and over. For example, most of you have heardthe phrase "a date which will live in infamy," and probably knew who saidit, and what he was talking about. This is a good example of when youDO want to directly quote someone.
You may directly quote someone who is an expert in the field. Do not quotesomeone who is not an expert. The label "expert" is somewhat subjective.If you are writing about the second world war, and your brother has an opinion,it is NOT a good idea to quote him. However, if your brother has a Ph.D. in history, then it MAY be a good idea to quote him.
2) Paraphrasing
You are allowed to paraphrase a source. This is where you read the source,then re-state it in your own words. This should also be followed by a citation, showing where you got the ideas. The critical difference here is thatyou are reading a source, understanding it, then explaining it (or anaspect of it) to your audience. If you just quote it, you do not show the same level of work. Yes, it is difficult to re-state somethingusing your own words, but it is part of the assignment! This processdoes get easier with practice. Also, it helps you understand the topic.When you read, it all seems to make sense. But when you can explain thetopic to someone else, you really show your understanding of the subject.
A citation is good to include. When you present something, such as a claimexpressed by someone else, the citation backs up the claim. It is a wayof saying, "This is important. But if you dispute it, you are not just arguing with me, you are arguing with this authority, too."
3) Writing as an authority
When researching a topic, you will read many different documents from manydifferent authors. You will see that certain patterns emerge.These documents will influence the way that you think about the topic, and thiswill ultimately influence the way you write. You will learn much about thetopic, and occassionally, you will read something that makes you see the topic from a different angle. After a while, you will be able to explainthe topic well, on your own. When you commit this explanation to paper,you are re-presenting many ideas that you have read about. Things shouldcome to your mind, such as a figure you remember, or a piece of information.Hopefully, you will be able to recall where you saw these things, and include them in your writing. By continuing to read about the subject, and writing about the subject, you can become an authority on the subjectyourself.
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Last update: September 2017