Marita McComiskey
Different disciplines have different forms of referencing. For this course all papers and e-mail messages, when appropriate should be referenced according to sociological research standards. Do not use footnotes or end notes for references. Reference within the text immediately after the quoted or paraphrased material. At the end of your paper include a 'Reference Page' in which the sources are fully referenced. What follows are guidelines that may be a review for some and new information for others.
(This guide, including some examples, is based on guidelines for contributors in Teaching Sociology, a publication of the American Sociological Association.)
REFERENCES AND CITATIONS have two purposes. One is to refer the reader to more elaborated discussions, primary sources of data, and other information which would be useful to the reader in pursuing the subject further and in evaluating your thesis. In this sense, your references are important extensions of your thesis. They also provide the absolutely essential means for others to evaluate the adequacy of your descriptions, analysis, and conclusions.
The most important use of citations is to give credit to authors whose works you use. You must always credit both quotations and paraphrases. In sociology, the preferred format is the in text citation. A "citation" is the in-text referent to the material you used, contained in the list of references.
QUOTATIONS: When you repeat a passage or statement word for word you are quoting another person. Quotations must be designated as such, usually by placing quotation marks around them. Longer quotations (more than three lines) should be single spaced and indented. All quotations must be repeated exactly and cited exactly. To avoid plagiarism you must include both the quotation marks and the citation.
PARAPHRASING: When you restate a passage, keeping the essence or central idea of the passage intact while altering its form or substituting other words, you are paraphrasing. When you translate the original in order to clarify (or obscure) an idea or concept, you are paraphrasing. If the idea or statement is presented as your own, or if you do not properly cite the source, it is plagiarism.
PLAGIARISM: Using materials or ideas without proper citation is plagiarism. It is lying, cheating, and/or stealing. The usual penalty for plagiarism is a failing grade for the course. Students may be expelled from UConn for plagiarism. Note that the act of taking and using ideas or words of another is plagiarism---motivation is not relevant. Ignorance or sloppiness is no excuse.
WHOM TO REFERENCE: Reference the person whose ideas and/or words you are using. This can be confusing for students when an article is in a book written or edited by another author, or when an author quotes material from someone else. If a whole article is printed, cite the author of the quote in the work where you found it--(MacKinnon in Tavris 1992:151). There should then be a reference for Tavris, 1992 in your reference list. See examples below.
REFERENCE FORMAT
In-Text Citations
Identify each source at the appropriate point in the text by the last name of the author or authors, year of publication, and pagination (if needed). Examples: Page numbers are always necessary when quoting or paraphrasing.In the first in-text citation of items with three or more names, use the first author's last name plus the words "et al." List all names only when "et al" would cause confusion. In citations with two authors, list both the authors last names.When two authors in your reference list have the same last name, use identifying initials, as in (J. Smith 1990).For institutional authorship, supply minimum identification from the beginning of the reference item, as in (U. S. Bureau of the Census 1994:123).When you cite more than one source, alphabetize citations within parentheses, as follows:
Ampersand (&) should not be used as a substitute for "and" in citations and references. When citing work quoted in another author's text, cite the author of the quotation "in" the work where you found it. For example:
Reference List
In a section headed REFERENCES, list all items alphabetically by authors. If you include more than one item by any author, list those items in chronological order. Do not number references.The references section must include all sources cited in the text. Name every author in each source; "et al" is not acceptable in the reference list. The title of a book, journal, or periodical should either be underscored or italicized. The title of an article should appear in "quotation marks".For a journal article, the volume number should appear following the title of the journal (or other periodical) followed by a colon and the page numbers on which the article appears. Example:
Examples:
Book References:
Items in edited volumes:
Use authors' first names, not initials. List publisher's name as concisely as possible without loss of clarity, for instance, use "Wiley" for "John A. Wiley and Sons."If the item has been accepted for publication but it is still unpublished, use "forthcoming" where the year would normally appear.Type the first line of the reference flush to the left margin. Indent any subsequent lines at least three spaces.Single space references with a space between reference entries. Do not insert a space after a colon connected with a volume number. Example of correct form: Changes 19:200-33.
Citing Electronic Information
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Introduction to Women's Studies
mccomisk@uconnvm.uconn.edu
University of Connecticut
Women's Studies Program
Last Updated: 1/97
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