BU YADYOK P4

Spring 2020-2021 Week 4

Citations and References1

Citations

Citations provide information, in brief, about the source of the original material. There are
two general types of citation systems: numbered and author-date.

When a numbered system is used, you will find a small number within the text (usually at the
end of a sentence). Each number corresponds to a numbered entry in a Notes section at the
end of the text. You can find all the sources listed there.

An example of a numbered system. The

numbers in brackets are circled.

Here is the Notes section with all

four sources listed.

When an author-date combination is used, you will see the author and date of publication
written in parentheses (usually) within the text. This is called an in-text citation. You will
also see a page number if a direct quotation is used. You can find all of the sources at the end
of the text in a References or Works Cited section.

1
Adapted from Williams, Julia; Leap 4: Advanced Reading and Writing; Pearson ELT, 2013

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An example of an author-
date combination. Notice
the different ways you can
include the author(s)’
name and year (more
about this later).

Here is the References list.

Notice that you write a
source one time even though
you may have multiple in-
text citations for that source.

References, Works Cited and Bibliography

A References or Works Cited section lists all the sources that are cited in a text. A
Bibliography lists all the sources that are cited as well as those the writer used for background
information but did not cite. You will include a References section in your research paper
with at least 3 sources. A References, Works Cited or Bibliography contains more detailed
Information so that the reader can find the original source. Entries include the author’s name,
date of publication, title of the work, page number, publisher, location of publisher (if a
book), issue and volume number (if a journal, magazine or newspaper article) or URL (if
found on a website). Entries are listed in alphabetical order according to the author’s last
name. See above for an example.

Task 1: Go to Google Scholar and find 3 journal articles that interest you. Scroll through the
texts to answer the following questions in the chart below:

1. Which citation system is used – numbered or author-date?

2. On average, how many in-text citations do you see in one paragraph?
3. How many entries are there in the Notes, References/Works Cited, or Bibliography?
4. Are you surprised by the number of citations and sources used?
__________________
Citation Number of
Number of Sources
System In-text Citations

Article 1 numbered none 91

Article 2 Author date 6 70

Article 3 numbered none 27

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Note: You will need one of the articles for task 3, so keep at least one of the article open
on your screen.

Citation Styles or Systems

Within each citation system (numbered or author-date) there are a number of different
citation styles, each of which uses slightly different formats for information order and
punctuation. If you look closely at citations, you will see that they each contain information
arranged in a similar order for similar sources, with very specific punctuation and use of
italics.

When you cite sources in your writing, you need to give information in the correct order and
follow the rules of punctuation, according to the citation style you use.

The citation style will depend on your field of study or the preferences of your instructors. If
you are not sure which citation style to use, ask your instructor or a librarian. For your
research paper, you will be using American Psychological Association (APA) 7th edition.

Below is a chart of different disciplines and the citation style and system they often use.

DISCIPLINE OR
CITATION STYLE CITATION SYSTEM
FIELD OF STUDY
MEDICINE, HEALTH, American Medical Association
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Numbered
(AMA)
PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATION,
American Psychological
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND Author-date
ENGINEERING Association (APA)
HISTORY (AND OFTEN USED IN
Chicago Manual of Style
NEWSPAPERS, MAGAZINES AND Numbered or author-date
TEXTBOOKS) (CMS)
Council of Science Editors
SCIENCES AND MATH Author-date-page number
(CSE)
Institute of Electrical and
ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING Numbered
Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
LITERATURE, ARTS AND THE Modern Languages Association
HUMANITIES Author-page number
(MLA)
Numbered or author-date-
ALL DISCIPLINES Turabian
page number

Task 2: Look at the chart comparing APA and MLA citation styles below to cite sources in
the References section. What differences do you see? List three things here.

1. _____________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________

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Citation Formatting Made (Relatively) Easy

In the past, writing citation information accurately according to the citation style used in your
discipline required a great attention to detail. While that is still important, it is now relatively
easy to generate accurate references. You can use one of the following methods.

• Citation Machine is available for free online. Click the citation style you wish to use
(APA 7th edition), choose your source (book, journal, website, etc), type in the title,
and the software will format the information for you. If the database lacks
information, you need to provide it so that the citation is accurate.

• EndNote Web is an example of a citation management software package that is

available for free through the BU Library. Ask the librarian for help.

• Library databases may provide a link to citation software when you search and
find library items. Click on Cite and select your preferred citation style.

• Current versions of Microsoft Word help format citations. Find the Document
Elements tab and click on References.

• The associations that have developed citation systems publish style manuals and
style guides that provide examples of citations. Many of these are online, or the
library will link to them through its website. There are also paper copies of these
manuals available through the library.

Although writing citations is easier than ever, it is still a good idea for you to know the rules
so that you can make sure your citations are correct. A great resource is the Purdue Online
Writing Lab. They give detailed information and examples of different citation styles as well
as an example research paper. An APA style poster that they created will be shared with you.

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Remember, in order to cite properly, you need the author’s name, date of publication, title of
the work, page number, publisher, location of publisher (if a book), issue and volume number
(if a journal, magazine or newspaper article) or URL (if found on a website). The following
images show you where you can find the necessary information to cite a book, a journal
article, and a website.

Book

Journal Article

Website

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Task 3: Choose one of the articles that you found earlier and write the citation here
using APA 7th edition.

___________________________________________________________________________
What to Cite and Reference, and What Not to Cite

Citing sources allows readers to go to the original source in case they want further
information on the subject. Knowing what information to cite will help you avoid plagiarism.
Plagiarism is copying another writer’s words or ideas without giving credit to the original
author. So, what do you need to cite?

In most cases, you do not need to cite general or commonly known information in your
discipline. For example, the following sentence does not need a citation.

Entrepreneurs bring creativity and energy to the marketplace in hopes of making money.

This is a general statement about entrepreneurs that is well understood by a wide variety of
people. However, this sentence does need a citation.

In 2009, the top three countries were Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia... Canada ranked
seventh... and North Korea ranked last.

This is specific information; therefore, you must cite the original source so that the reader
knows where the information comes from. This means including an in-text citation (author

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and date of publication) AND the full citation in the references/works cited page. This is how
it would look using APA 7th edition:

In 2009, the top three countries were Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia... Canada ranked
seventh... and North Korea ranked last (Griffin et al., 2011).

REFERENCES

Griffin, R.W., Ebert, R.J., Starke, F.A., & Lang, M.D. (2011). Business (7th Canadian Ed., pp.
108-118). Toronto, ON: Pearson Education Canada

Sometimes, it’s difficult to know what information is considered general or commonly

known, but the more you study and write in your discipline, the more confident you will
become about identifying information that requires a citation. If you’re not sure, it’s best to
reference the information.

Writers must reference:

• exact quotations;
• specific ideas;
• specific facts learned from another source of information;
• specific research results;
• specific statistics;
• specific examples discovered from another source of information.

Secondary Purposes of Citations

Although citations provide essential identifying information to readers about the sources of
the text, writers also use citations to:

• demonstrate how knowledgeable they are;

• show the reader that they can write like other writers in the discipline;
• show respect for other writers;
• support colleagues in the discipline.

Introducing In-text Citations

When you cite sources in your paper, you can introduce the citations with

1. a direct inclusion of the author’s name and a signal phrase, or

2. an indirect inclusion of the author’s name in parentheses

Each way places a different amount of emphasis on the original author(s). In both cases, the
year of publication is included in parentheses. For direct quotations, you will also need to
include the page number in the parentheses.

Here are some common verbs that you can use as a signal phrase when using the author’s
name directly:

Statement Description Theory Analysis Argument

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declare characterize assume analyze argue
inform define believe consider assert
note demonstrate claim estimate challenge
observe depict hold evaluate contend
point out describe postulate examine dispute
report illustrate presume review disclaim
say portray regard study dispute
state relate suggest scruitinize insist

Task 4: Read the sentences below and, as you do, pay particular attention to the presence and
position of the author’s name. Then, answer the questions that follow.2

a) Interest in entrepreneurship among young people has been reported to be growing

(Scarborough et al., 2009), prompting increased research interest in the area (Harris
and Gibson, 2008).

b) This is consistent with Harris and Gibson’s (2008) finding that collectively the
students exhibit similar attitudes but that differences do exist.

c) Using the contingency theory, Gilad and Levine (1986) proposed the “push” and
“pull” theories as possible explanations of entrepreneurial motivation.

A. Which examples emphasize the author(s) most? _________________________________

B. How can you tell? _________________________________________________________
C. Which verb tense is used in each example? _____________________________________
Note: The APA Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the
past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases (for example, Jones (1998) found… or
Jones (1998) has found...).

Putting it All Together

 Use APA 7th edition for your research paper.

 Include in-text citations for ALL specific information taken from a source. If you are
not sure if the information is specific or not, CITE IT!
 An in-text citation for a quotation includes the author’s name, date of publication, and
page number.
 An in-text citation for a paraphrase or summary includes the author’s name and date
of publication.
 In-text citations can either be direct with the author’s name written within the
sentence, or indirect with the author’s name in parentheses. In both cases, the date of
publication and page number (for a direct quote) are in parentheses.
 EVERY source cited in the text must have a corresponding entry in the Reference list.
The entries should be listed alphabetically according to the author’s last name.

2
Check out the task titled Entrepreneurship in our program for more information about entrepreneurs and extra
citation practice.

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Important Note on Plagiarism

Plagiarism means using another person’s work without giving them credit. You must put
others people’s words in quotation marks or paraphrase them in your own words and cite
your source(s) both within your paper and in the reference list at the end of your paper. In
other words, any time you use information from a source, you must cite it!

Ignorance will not excuse a violation. Intentional plagiarism is deliberate copying or use of
another’s work without credit. Unintentional plagiarism can result from not knowing
citation standards (“I thought the Internet was free!”), from sloppy research and poor note-
taking, or from careless “cutting and pasting” of electronic sources.

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Why should you be concerned about PLAGIARISM?

 If you plagiarize, you are cheating yourself. You don’t learn to write out your
thoughts in your own words, and you don’t get specific feedback geared to your
individual needs and skills.
 Plagiarism is dishonest because it misrepresents the work of another as your own.
 Plagiarism devalues others’ original work. Submitting a professional writer’s work as
yours is taking an unfair advantage over students who do their own work.
 It is wrong to take or use property (an author’s work) without giving the owner the
value or credit due. Further, copyright violations can result in fines or damages.

How to avoid plagiarism

 If you repeat an author’s exact words, you must use quotation marks and cite the
source.
 If you adapt a chart or paraphrase a sentence or paragraph, you must still cite.
Paraphrasing means that you restate the author’s ideas, meaning, and information in
your own words. In a summary, you again use the author’s ideas in a condensed
manner, which again requires giving credit.
 Always cite words, information, and ideas you use if they are new to you (learned in
your research).
 You don’t have to cite "common knowledge," BUT the fact must really be commonly
known.
 When in doubt, cite. Better to be safe than not give credit when you should!

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