Developing referencing skillsThe University of YorkKaty Mann

This session will cover:

Why you need to reference

How to reference using Harvard style

How to reference with style

Why bother with referencing?

Why do you need to reference? How do you feel about referencing?

Discuss in pairs

Learn Higher Study

A recent study of 278 UG students drawn from 14 UK institutions of higher education has identified that many find referencing a time-consuming and difficult experience (Neville, 2009).

The HE sector and academic writing

A Nuffield review survey of 250 academics at 21 UK universities found widespread concern about the writing skills of new undergraduates (Wilde et al. 2006).

Why do we reference work in academic writing? Which are the most convincing reasons? Rank 1-3 1= very imp 2= quite important 3= not so important

a/ to demonstrate to a tutor the range of readingb/ to acknowledge the source of any evidencec/ to conform to institutional norms and tutor expectations in

regard to academic writingd/ to provide information that allows a reader to find the

same source you citede/ as a means to challenge ideas, e.g. by citing evidence that

challenges a particular ideaf/ to support your opinions, assertions or argumentsg/ to avoid accusations of plagiarismh/ to trace and show the development of ideas over a period

of timei/ to show who or what has influenced your thinking and

argumentsj/ because I feel my own opinions do not count with tutors.j/ other……………………………………………………………………..

Higher order skills & referencing

Why reference? Egan (1978) notes

a) provide evidence of your knowledge of the relevant  literature;b) draw attention to the perspectives, methodologies, techniques, 

findings, or opinions of writers in the field;c) discuss the work of writers in the field;d) enable the reader to identify the scholarly background which  has

informed your writing;e) defend, agree or refute an important point that you wish  to make

about how to understand or make sense or interpret an issue f) give credit to the intellectual links between your work,  and the

work of writers in the field;g) provide evidence to support a different or new interpretation of an

issue;h) demonstrate that your coursework is produced using the 

conventions of an academic tradition and community;i) enable the reader to track down the original work so  they can read

it for themselves or check its validity;

High Order skills

Reading to writing

5 point checklist for effective paraphrasing and avoiding plagiarism

1. Have I changed the vocabulary?2. Have I changed the word order?3. Have I changed the grammar?4. Have I summarised/ synthesised

sources?5. Have I acknowledged the authors

in the text and in the references/ bibliography?

In text name referencing styles

In-text name referencing styles

Author-date(Harvard) style

American PsychologicalAssociationAPA style

Modern LanguagesAssociationMLA style

Harvard referencing

When to reference 6 scenarios ( Neville, 2007 p. 14):

1. To give the reader the source of tables, statistics, diagrams, photos and other illustrations in your assignment.

2. When describing or discussing a theory, model or practice associated with a particular writer.

3. To give weight or credibility to an argument supported by you in your assignment.

4. When giving emphasis to a particular theory, model or practice that has found a measure of support among commentators.

5. To inform the reader of sources of direct quotations or definitions in your assignment

6. When paraphrasing another person’s work, which is outside the realm of common knowledge, and that you feel is particularly significant or likely to be a subject of debate. This can also include definitions

Look at this paragraph and identify what functions the references serve;

Occupational stress in the nursing profession has been the focus of much research over the last 20 years ( Gray, 1981; Packhard and Motowidlo, 1987 Foxwall et al) (1). However , Dunn and Ritter (1995)have noted that relatively few studies have investigated mental health nurses(2).

The hidden discourse in references

1.Grouped references/ seminal workMuch research…/ Several studies have noted that…….

This signals to the reader that there have been many studies coming to similar conclusions

2.Noted-this reporting verb attributes the source to the writer but contains no explicit evaluation from the writer

Reporting verbs functions and meaning

Tentative/ hedges Agreement Disagreement/ questioning/ revisiting Neutral/ objective Adding to previous research

The amount of each verbs from each category varies from subject to subject and which section of the writing you are doing.

In general evaluation in reporting verbs occurs from 5-25%, thus the majority are objective/neutral.

Grouped references

A number of researchers have reported that……. A number of scholars have sought to…….. A considerable amount of literature has shown that….. Many surveys have reported/ found that……….. Empirical studies have demonstrated that…… Much evidence suggests that…… Several scholars have found that……. A body of literature exists that shows that… Numerous studies provide evidence for……. A number of researchers have sought to show….. Recent evidence suggests Recently investigators have examined the effects

What impact do these references have on you? Why? Morley(2000) Academic Phrasebank project

Strong paragraphs with references

(P)Reflection has been identified as a useful skill for nurses ( Durgahee, 1996; Mountford & Rogers, 1996).(E)Schon ( 1991), for example, defines reflection as learning from events during a practical professional experience. (E)Following Gibbs’(1988) cycle of reflection………

Why should you PEEEEEE in academic writing?

What effect does this have on your reader?

PEEEEEEEE

Point Explain exactly what you mean Empirical evidence Examples/ case studies Evaluate and present counter

empirical evidence Experience

Reporting your evaluation and reading

Agreement-you find the research/ literature convincing and in turn you want to convince your reader so you may use….

X establishes , X shows X finds X demonstrates X discovers X validates, X verifies, X reveals, X argues convincingly, X makes a convincing case for, X innovates, X makes clear that, X throws light on

You doubt/ disagree/ question the reading

X claims, X asserts, X alleges, X presumes, X attempts to, X fails to, X maintains,

X neglects to mention,

X insinuates, X has not taken

into account, X overlooks, X refuses to

acknowledge, X

underestimates/overestimates,

You want to express tentativeness

X endeavours X estimates, X holds that, X hypothesises, X intimates that X moots that, X puts forward , X postulates,

X proposes, X propounds, X predicts, X seems to/

appears to, X conjectures, X professesX seeks to, X indicates, X suggests,

Neutral reporting verbs-Objectivity

writes, states, comments, traces, discusses, describes, examines, explains,

explains, focuses on, highlights, outlines, points out/to, studies, illustrates, carries out,

Building on

X draws on the research of… Y builds on… X synthesises and develops….. X refines, revisits….

Evaluate in other ways

A comprehensive review A longitudinal/pilot/ seminal study A large /small scale project Conclusively, weakly, convincingly Indeed, Moreover, Not only…but

also Peer-reviewed/ meta-analysis

Quoting

How many quotes should students use in your opinion?

What are common headaches student writing and quotations?

Common quoting errors

A mistake academic writers often make is to use quotes too much.

Another mistake is to use a very long quote in quotation marks not to use block

Another common error is to use single quotation marks

The general advice on quoting in academic writing is to use quotes ‘sparsely’, after all they are someone else’s words and you must have a specific reason for quoting.

Quotation example

As Neville (2007) emphasises, “ you should cite all sources and present full details of these in your list of references” ( p.36)

Referencing patterns within text

Integral e.g. Jones (1990) states…..

Non-integral e.g.Occupational stress in the nursing profession has been the focus of much research over the last 20 years ( Gray, 1981; Packhard and Motowidlo, 1987 Foxwall et al)

Why would one type be used more than another? What effect would using only one pattern have on your reader?

Integral and non-integral

Integral = focus on the author as subject, the author is important in your argument

Non-integral= focus on the research as subject, the research is important in the argument.

Reference List/ Bibliography

What is the difference?

What details go in a reference/ bibliography list?

Originality

Originality and creativity is a very important quality in Higher Education.

What does the word ‘ Originality’ mean in terms of academic writing?

Originality

What is originality? Murray (2007) describes it as: You say something no one has said before. You do empirical work that has not been done before. You synthesise things that have not been put together before You make a new interpretation of someone else’s

material/ideas. You do something in this country that has only been done

elsewhere. You take an existing technique and apply it to a new area. You work across disciplines, using different methodologies. You look at topics that people in your discipline have not

looked at. You write down a new piece of information for the first time. You give a good exposition of someone else’s idea. You continue an original piece of work.