References and Appendices
References refers to a list of all intext cited works.
The researcher is supposed to develop a reference list at the end of your proposal. This list enables the reader or user of this proposal to conveniently retrieve each of the sources of information that the researcher reviewed.
Whenever you use someone else’s words or ideas in your research paper, you must indicate that this information is borrowed by quoting the source of information in the paper itself (in text referencing), and at the end of the paper (reference list). This applies to written sources you have used such as books, articles web pages, e.t.c
Reference is used to tell the reader where ideas from other sources have been used in the research paper.
Referencing is a crucial part of successful academic writing, avoiding plagiarism and maintaining academic integrity in your assignments and research.
Purpose/Importance of Referencing: WHY DO WE REFERENCE?
- Giving Credit to Others: Referencing is a way of acknowledging and giving credit to the original authors or creators of ideas, theories, and works that you incorporate into your own writing. Example: If you use a quote from a book in your research, proper referencing indicates who wrote that quote originally.
- Enhancing Credibility and Authority: By citing reputable sources, referencing lends credibility and authority to your arguments. It shows that your ideas are supported by established knowledge and research. Referencing gives your argument evidence, credibility and authority. Example: Referring to well-known studies or academic papers in your field strengthens the reliability of your statements.
- Providing a Trail to the Original Source: References act as signposts, guiding readers to the original works. This allows interested readers to move deeper into the topic by exploring the sources you used. Example: A reader who gets interested in your work can trace it back to the specific research study through your references.
- Avoiding Plagiarism: Failure to acknowledge the work of others may lead to plagiarism. Proper referencing is essential to avoid unintentional or intentional plagiarism, demonstrating academic integrity. Example: Copying and pasting a paragraph from a source without proper citation is considered plagiarism.
- Distinguishing Your Ideas: Referencing allows you to differentiate your original thoughts from those borrowed from external sources. It is a way of distinguishing your ideas from those of other sources.
- Facilitating Fact-Checking: Proper referencing enables others to fact-check your work. Interested readers or researchers can verify the accuracy of your statements by consulting the original sources. Example: Including page numbers in your citations allows readers to locate specific information in the referenced source.
Referencing styles
A referencing style is a set of rules on how to acknowledge the thoughts, ideas and works of others in a particular way.
In your document, referencing is done at two levels; first you need to give a brief reference in the body of text called “in-text citation”, and secondly a detailed reference is provided at the end of the document in the form of a list.
Types of referencing styles
The two commonest styles used are;
- APA (American psychological Association) style.
MLA (Modern Language Association) style.
Other styles are;
- Vancouver style / author-number system)
- Chicago style
- Turabian style
APA STYLE OF REFERENCING
APA style uses the author/date method of citation in which the author’s last name and the year of the publication are inserted in the actual text of the paper. It is the style recommended by the American Psychological Association and used in many of the social sciences
It is the Author Prominent Style of Referencing
General Rules for In-text Citation:
- In-text citation utilizes the last name (surname) of the author, followed by a comma and the year of publication. Example:
(Ghaznavi, 2003).
2. If a page number follows the publication year, a comma is added. Example:
(Ghaznavi, 2003, p. 40).
3. Alternatively, the author’s name can be written outside the bracket. Example:
Ghaznavi (2003, p. 40) observes…
4. Punctuation marks come after the citation, not before.
When you provide an in-text citation in the body of your writing, any punctuation marks, such as commas or periods, should come after the citation.
For example:
- Correct: “This is an important point (Smith, 2021).”
Incorrect: “This is an important point, (Smith, 2021).”
In the correct example, the period is placed after the citation within the parentheses/brackets. This is to ensure that the citation is clearly associated with the information it is referencing, and punctuation does not interfere with the citation’s structure.
General Rules for APA Reference List
- Detailed references are listed on a separate page titled ‘References,’ centered and in bold.
2. Only sources cited in the work are listed.
3. Double line spacing is used between each entry.
4. Each reference has a hanging indent, where the first line is flushed to the left margin, and remaining lines are indented.
Additional Referencing Rules:
- The list is alphabetically arranged based on the first author’s surname or the first significant word of the title.
- If sources from the same author have different publication years, references are listed alphabetically by the first author’s name and then chronologically.
- Titles of larger sources (books, journals) are italicized, while titles of parts within a larger work are enclosed in double quotation marks without italics.
- Unused but consulted sources can be mentioned under “Bibliography” on a separate page.
In-text Citation and Reference List Entry for Two Authors:
- In the in-text citation, only the surnames of the two authors are used, separated by ‘&’. Example:
(Alvi & Zaidi, 2009).
- In the reference list, both the surname and initials of the two authors are used, separated by ‘&’. Example:
Alvi, M. H. & Zaidi, R. (2009).
In-text Citation and Reference List Entry for Three to Five Authors:
- In the in-text citation, only the surnames of the three authors are used, first two separated by a comma (,) and the last two by ‘&’. Example:
(Alvi, Ghaznavi, Hashmi, Siddiqui & Zaidi, 2009).
- If the same source is cited again in the text, it will appear like this: Example:
(Alvi et al., 2009).
- In the reference list, both the surname and initials of all the authors are used, the last two separated by ‘&’, and the remaining by commas. Example:
Alvi, M. H., Ghaznavi, K., Hashmi, M., Siddiqui, D. & Zaidi, R. (2009). <title>.
In-text Citation and Reference List Entry for 6 to 7 Authors:
- In the in-text citation, only the surname of the first author is written, followed by ‘et al.’ Example:
(Alvi et al., 2009).
- In the reference list, both the surname and initials of all the authors are used, the last two separated by ‘&’, and the remaining by commas. Example:
Alvi, M. H., Ghaznavi, K., Afridi, S., Zaidi, R., Hashmi, M. & Siddiqui, D. (2009).
In-text Citation and Reference List Entry for 8 or More Authors:
- In the in-text citation, only the surname of the first author is written, followed by ‘et al.’ Example:
(Alvi et al., 2009).
- In the reference list, write the names of the first six and the last author. The last two names are separated by “……..,” and the remaining by commas. Example:
Alvi, M. H., Ghaznavi, K., Afridi, S., Zaidi, R., Hashmi, M. & Siddiqui, D.,…., Qureshi, T.R. (2009).
Harvard Style of referencing
- Harvard is actually a generic term refers to all the referencing styles that are “author date” based style
- This style is most commonly used in U.K and Australia
- Developed by Harvard University in the UK and published by the Harvard Law Review Association.
- The Harvard style and its many variations are used in law, natural sciences, social and behavioural sciences, and medicine.
Harvard Style of referencing-General Rules, citation
- In in-text citation only the last name (surname) of the author is used, author’s name and year of publication are not separated by a comma (,). For example: (Ghaznavi 2003)
- A comma (,) is put after the publication year if a page number is mentioned after it. (Ghaznavi 2003, p 40)
- It is also allowed to write the author’s name out of the bracket. For example: Ghaznavi (2003, p 40) observes ………..
- Punctuation marks such as comma or full stop are used after the citation and not before them.
General Rules- Harvard Style referencing
- Detailed references are listed on a separate page at the end of the document.
- The title ‘References’ is given to the list, placed in center and in bold font.
- Only those sources are to be listed that has been cited in your work.
- No reference carries hanging indent.
- Author’s name and the year are not separated by a comma or a full-stop.
- Each reference ends up with a full stop (.).
- If you have used the sources of the same author/s with different years of publication, the references are alphabetically listed first by the first author’s name then chronologically by publication year.
- In the reference list, the name of an author is written in a way: last name is written first and afterwards initials of the first name/s are written; no full stop is put after the initials.
- For Example:
Khalid Ghaznavi is written as Ghaznavi K
Mohsin Hasan Alvi is written as Alvi MH
- The names of the authors are usual presented in capital letters
Revision Questions
1. What are the similarities between APA an Harvard styles of referencing?
2. What are the major differences?
3. Examine the differences between list of references and bibliography?
Similarities between APA and Harvard styles of referencing:
Purpose: Both APA and Harvard styles aim to provide clear and consistent guidelines for citing sources in academic writing. They help to ensure that readers can easily identify and locate the sources used in a research paper or other academic work.
Author-date system: Both APA and Harvard styles utilize the author-date system for in-text citations. This means that the author’s last name and the year of publication are included in parentheses within the text to indicate the source of the information.
Alphabetical arrangement: Both APA and Harvard styles require that the reference list or bibliography be arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name. This makes it easy for readers to find the full bibliographic information for each source.
Major differences between APA and Harvard styles:
In-text citations: APA and Harvard styles differ in the specific format for in-text citations. APA uses the author-date system with parentheses around the author’s last name, the year of publication, and the page number (if applicable). Harvard style omits the parentheses and uses a comma after the author’s last name, followed by a period, the year of publication, and a colon before the page number (if applicable).
Reference list vs. bibliography: APA uses a reference list, which includes all sources cited in the paper, whether they are books, articles, websites, or other formats. Harvard uses a bibliography, which includes only sources that are referred to or mentioned in the paper.
Formatting: APA and Harvard styles have different formatting requirements for the reference list or bibliography. APA uses specific indentation rules, double spacing, and a hanging indent for each entry. Harvard uses a consistent indentation for all entries, single spacing, and no hanging indent.
5 differences between list of references and bibliography:
Scope: A list of references includes all sources that are cited in the paper, while a bibliography includes only sources that are referred to or mentioned in the paper.
Completeness: A list of references should include complete bibliographic information for each source, while a bibliography may include abbreviated or incomplete information, depending on the style guide.
Purpose: A list of references is primarily used to provide a record of the sources used in the paper, while a bibliography may also serve as a guide for further reading or research.
Ordering: A list of references is normally ordered alphabetically by author’s last name, while a bibliography may be organized differently, such as by topic or chronology.
Labeling: A list of references is labeled as “References,” while a bibliography may be labeled as “Works Cited,” “Bibliography,” or “Literature Cited.”