Bibliography and Citing References
Creating a Bibliography and Citing References
It is important whenever you carry out a piece of research for an essay, project or an assignment to include details of any sources of information you have used. Whenever you quote from or paraphrase work written by another author, you must acknowledge that you have done so. The process is made up of two parts:
1. Citation: the acknowledgement in your text, giving brief details of the work (e.g. Jones, 2008, p.10). The reader should be able to identify or locate the work from these details in your reference list or bibliography.
2. Reference list: the list of references at the end of your work. These should include the full information for your citations so that readers can then easily identify and locate each piece of work that you have used. It is important that these references are consistent, correct and complete.
Why do we need to cite references?
· To acknowledge debts to other writers.
· To demonstrate the body of knowledge upon which your research is based.
· To show how widely you have researched your topic and on what authority you have based your arguments or conclusions.
· To enable all those who read your work to locate your sources easily.
· To avoid being accused of plagiarism i.e. passing off someone else‟s work as your own.
When should you cite sources?
· Cite sources when you quote directly from another text.
· Cite sources from which you paraphrase or summarize facts or ideas.
· Cite sources for ideas or information that could be regarded as common knowledge but which you think your reader might still find unfamiliar. (Common knowledge is facts that are generally considered as known)
· Cite sources that add relevant information to the particular topic or argument of your work.
· Cite sources for materials that you might not normally consider as „texts‟ because they are not written.
· If in doubt about whether or not to cite a source, cite it.
How to cite references?
When making references to other people‟s work in your writing, there are many different styles. The Harvard system is one of the most frequently used in Higher Education. Teesside has a recommended version of the Harvard style in operation.
Harvard (Author, Date style)
When you mention or refer to the work of another author in the main body of your essay or report then the author must be acknowledged by inserting the surname of the author into the text, together with the date of publication of the book or article to which you have referred.
Disruptive technologies can be difficult for a company to invest in, (Norman, 1999, pp. 21-24) if the level of investment in existing technologies is high.
OR
Norman (1999, pp. 21-24) states that it can be difficult for a company to invest in disruptive technologies.
If you are quoting directly you must include the page number(s) in your citations (Pears and Shields, 2010, p. 4). Insert p. for one page and pp. for a page range.
If your citation refers to a complete work or to ideas that run through an entire work, your citation would simply use the author and date details.
Your list of references or bibliography at the end of your piece of work would be presented in alphabetical author order.
Whichever way you refer to publications in a text, it is important to provide full references in your reference list. There are minimum requirements for all bibliographical references. It is important that they are consistent (in method and style), correct and complete. There is no point in making a bibliographical reference if the reader cannot identify exactly the work referred to.
A bibliography (as opposed to a reference list) will demonstrate the full range of your reading for a particular piece of work and will include books etc. that you may not have cited in your work.
Examples:
Based on the Harvard citation style from Pears & Shields, 2010.
Books
