Citing Sources in Research

Writing

ALYSOUN TAYLOR-HALL

May 11, 2011

 About Me

—  BA in English w/Concentration in Professional

Writing
—  Certificate in Technical Writing
—  MBA
—  Program Coordinator for Ph.D. in Engineering
Program
—  Technical Writer/Editor for CEPRO research group
 Citing Sources in Research Writing

—  Why to cite

—  When to cite
¡  When citations are not needed
¡  To cite or not to cite?
—  Types of material to cite
¡  Notes on web-based content
¡  Common sense tests
—  How to cite
¡  Types of citations
¡  Style guides
¡  Tips
—  Resources
 Why to Cite

—  Gives credit to those whose work you are using

—  Allows your readers to verify your work
—  Points your readers toward more information
—  Protects you from charges of plagiarism
 When to Cite

Always provide citations for original material that is

not your own:
¡  Wording
¡  Concepts

¡  Data

¡  Figures, Pictures, Charts you did not create

 When Citations Are Not Needed

Information that is readily available:

¡  Chicago is a city in Illinois
¡  Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit

¡  It snowed yesterday

Information that is considered general knowledge

within your field:
Example: The 10-bar truss problem for ME
students
 To cite or not to cite?

Depends on Context:
¡  Who is your audience?

Example:
“Chicago is a city in Illinois”

Writing in U.S. for adult readers

vs.
School child in India writing a report for a teacher
 To cite or not to cite?

Depends on Context:
Is it important, relevant, or precise?
¡ 

Example:
“It was 32 degrees in Dayton”

Creative writing
vs.
Experimental condition in which ambient temperature is an
important factor
÷  If you took the measurement yourself, you should say so
÷  If you used someone else’s environmental data, you need to
provide a citation
 To cite or not to cite?

Important
Quoted material must ALWAYS be cited, regardless of content
¡  Dictionary definitions

Even if the concept is general knowledge, you must still credit

the wording

Figures from textbooks (example: 10-bar truss)

¡ 

Even if the concept is general knowledge, you must still credit

the figure
 Types of Material to Cite

—  Summaries
—  Paraphrases
—  Quotations
—  Charts, figures, graphs, pictures
—  Works consulted
 Summarizing

—  The most common type of citation in engineering

papers
—  You refer to another writer’s work, but you do not
reproduce it
—  Summary must be in your own words
—  Reader must be able to tell where the summarized
material starts and stops
 Summarizing

—  Can be comprehensive or brief:

Brief: “Jones investigated using Latin Hypercube Sampling”
¡  Frequently occurs in literature reviews

Comprehensive: An actual summary of some portion of the

content of a previous work
¡  Frequently occurs in introductions

¡  May recap previous work or introduce necessary concepts

 Paraphrasing

—  More specific and/or detailed than a summary

—  Reproduces specific points (example: conclusions)
—  Original writer’s comments are restated in your own
words

Example:
“Jones found that Latin Hypercube Sampling could
be used effectively”
 Paraphrasing

Important:
A paraphrase MUST be in your own words:
—  Both words and sentence structure must be substantially
different from the original source
—  If a paraphrase closely resembles wording from the
original document, use a quotation instead

For examples of good, bad, and plagiarized paraphrases, please

visit this Purdue University website:
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/02/
 Quoting

—  Reproduces the original writer’s exact words

—  Should be brief
—  Use quoted material sparingly
—  Rewrite long passages in your own words
(paraphrase or summary instead of quote)

More on summarizing, paraphrasing, and quoting:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/563/1/
 Charts, Figures, Graphs, Pictures

—  You must give credit unless you created the content
yourself
¡  If you did create it yourself, let the reader know
—  Credit can be given within the graphic or in the
accompanying caption
¡  Disclose any significant alterations you made to the graphic
Example:
Figure 1: Geographic Distribution of Automotive Plants in Ohio
(Ohio Department of Development; legend items added)
¡  In academic writing, avoid phrases like “used by permission,” which
are more appropriate for commercial use
 Charts, Figures, Graphs, Pictures

—  In Engineering, credit for graphics is usually

separate from in-text citations:
¡  In some cases, such as a map or a picture, credit for the
graphic is all that is needed
¡  If you refer to the graphic or its contents in your text, you must
also include a citation within the text
—  In other disciplines, you may be required to include
the source of your graphic material in the same
manner as any other reference
 Works Consulted

Used when your paper draws on an important source,

but you don’t explicitly refer to that source in your
paper.

Example:
You started from one paper, but then you went back
to find a primary document. You end up citing the
primary document but not the first paper. List the
first paper as a work consulted.
 Notes on Web-based Content

—  Always be careful when using content obtained from

a website
—  The value of web content depends entirely on the
credibility of the source
Examples of credible web resources:
¡  University Library Databases
÷  Electronicaccess to journal articles
÷  Generally provide pre-formatted citations, including stable URLs

¡  Informational/instructional sites maintained by Universities

¡  Government/scientific sites, such as NOAA and NIH
 Notes on Web-based Content

—  Articles found on websites must be traced back to

their original sources: Do not use content from
websites that merely repackage content from other
sources
—  A hyperlink alone is not sufficient to document web-
based content
—  When quoting from a website, you must provide
reference information that will persist even after the
website itself is taken down
 Common Sense Tests

Do I need to cite? Ask yourself . . .

—  How did I obtain this information?
—  Can a person with my background in my field of
study reasonably be expected to know this material
without referring to a source?
—  Am I using my own words or someone else’s?
—  Does this work extend someone else’s work?
 Common Sense Tests

Sample case: Should I include references for this presentation?

—  I created the content in my own words without consulting sources
—  I include hyperlinks to resources, but I don’t quote any content from
those sources
¡  The hyperlinks point the reader to additional resources but do not
reproduce any web-based content
—  I have the necessary expertise to write this content myself, as
demonstrated by the credentials listed in my opening slide
—  If I inadvertently duplicate phrasing, it would be reasonable, given my
credentials, to assume that minor duplications are coincidental

Conclusion: References are not required to avoid a charge of plagiarism

Even so, providing references can strengthen a presentation, make it

more authoritative, and point readers toward additional resources
 How to Cite

—  Students generally find the mechanics of citing to be

difficult at first, but . . .
—  Knowing when to cite is far more important than the
specific format of the citation

Failing to cite is plagiarism!

—  A citation that includes the correct material but is
formatted incorrectly is just a formatting error
¡  You may lose points, but you won’t be disciplined for plagiarism
—  Do your best to meet the spirit and intent of citations
—  Formatting citations gets easier with practice
 Types of Citations

—  Parenthetical citations

¡  In text: The name of the author cited appears within the text in
close proximity to the content cited
¡  Most common form of citation in research writing

—  Footnotes or Endnotes

¡  Usually numeric

¡  Only the number appears in the text: The name of the author
appears at the bottom of the page (footnotes) or at the end of
the paper (endnotes)
—  The type of citations used is determined by the style
in use for your discipline
 Style Guides

How do you know what format to use for your

citations?
Style guides provide specific guidelines:
—  Examples: MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian
—  Provide specific guidance on many style issues,
including citations
—  Many disciplines have a standard style
¡  Examples: Psychology uses APA; English uses MLA
—  Unfortunately, Engineering does not have a
standard style guide
 Engineering Styles

What style should you use?

—  Check the University Libraries website to find style
guides for your discipline:
http://guides.libraries.wright.edu/content.php?pid=59883&sid=0

—  Check publications in your discipline and follow their

format
—  Ask your professor or advisor
—  Ask the University Librarian
—  Use a software resource, such as RefWorks
 Tips for Citations

—  Place citations as unobtrusively as possible, so long

as the citation is clear:
Jones used Latin Hypercube Sampling to obtain a random sample
(11).
—  If more than one author is cited, place the citations
such that credit is clear:
This optimization scheme was first proposed by Smith (11), and
Jones (12) and Miller (13) added sampling methods.
 Tips for Citations

—  For extensive summaries or paraphrases, you can

bracket the cited text by using the author’s name at
the beginning and the rest of the citation at the end:
In 1998, Jones developed an algorithm incorporating Latin Hypercube
Sampling. This allowed . . . .
. . . . . However, Jones was unable to solve one aspect of the problem (11).

—  With practice, you can learn to include appropriate

citations without interrupting the flow of your
writing
 Tips for Citations

—  Remember, the intent is to clearly identify all

content that was created by other authors
—  Regardless of the format used, the reader must be
able to:
¡  Distinguish between your own original content and cited
content
¡  Match cited content to the original author

—  For hands-on help with your citations, visit the

University Writing Center:
http://www.wright.edu/uc/success/services/writing-center.html
 Resources

Useful web resources for research writing:

The School of Graduate Studies Thesis and Dissertation Handbook:
http://www.wright.edu/sogs/thesis/index.html
University Libraries:
http://www.libraries.wright.edu/
University Writing Center:
http://www.wright.edu/uc/success/services/writing-center.html

Other University-based Writing Websites:

Purdue Online Writing Lab: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/
The Writing Center @ Rennselear:
http://www.rpi.edu/web/writingcenter/wc_web/school/index.htm
 References

Works Consulted:

Bullock, Richard H. 2006. The Norton field guide to writing. New York:
W.W. Norton & Co.

Finkelstein, Leo. 2008. Pocket book of technical writing for engineers

and scientists. McGraw-Hill's BEST--basic engineering series and tools.
Boston: McGraw-Hill Higher Education.

Gibaldi, Joseph. 2009. MLA handbook for writers of research papers.

New York: Modern Language Association of America.

Note: These references are formatted in the Chicago citation style