Citing Sources

Correctly

Name: ______________________________
Class/Tutor Group: ____________________

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 Contents
Pag
e
3 Introduction
4 Finding Sources
The Internet
Wikipedia
Search Engines
Data Bases
5 Images
Books And Journals
6 Is It Trustworthy?
The Internet
7 Books And Journals
8 Credit Where Credit Is Due
9 Citation
The Internet
Books
Journals
References And Bibliographies
The Internet
Single Author Books
Numerous Author Books
10 Chapter In A Book
Journal
Electronic Version Of A Journal
Film
Music
11 Notes

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 Introduction
In the majority of subjects you will need to carry out assessed work known as coursework or
controlled assessments (henceforth referred to as papers). These will consist of essays,
investigations, projects or performance work and count towards your final mark.

Within these you will need to research information from a variety of sources such as books,
encyclopaedias, journals, TV, radio programs and the internet. Any information you take
from these and include in your work must be referenced; otherwise you can be accused of
plagiarism. This is when you try to pass someone else’s work off as your own.

This booklet contains important information, hints and tips to help you avoid being accused
of plagiarism…

Source:
These are documents, books, people, or
other material which you can find
information related to the topic you are References:
discussing in your paper. Reliable sources This indicates in your paper the information
are critical as they help to prove the which you have taken from a source and
information you are using is accurate. When gives an account of where this exact source
you have conflicting information, it is much can be found for verification.
easier to decide which source is more
reliable if you know where your information
is from.

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 Finding Sources
Today, the internet is frequently the first point of call for research. This is fine, but be sure
to check whether you need a certain number of sources from here, books, or elsewhere
with your teacher or lecturer.
Here are a few tips to consider when searching within different types of sources:

The Internet:

The internet is an excellent resource for finding all sorts of things, some reliable and some
not quite so, unfortunately it takes hard work, time and patience to find the reliable ones.
Some of the things you need to be aware of are:
◊ There are no limits or laws stopping anyone publishing on line
◊ Due to this some sources may be bias, untrue and inaccurate
◊ The relevance of the article to your paper

Wikipedia:
Sites such as Wikipedia can be a good starting point for research however on no account
should this be used as your only port of call. The site ‘The free encyclopaedia [sic] that anyone can
can be edited by anyone, meaning it can be biased, edit’ (Wikipedia, 2009)
untrue or inaccurate. If you are unsure about the
information in a ‘Wiki’ article there are a few things
you can check:
◊ The referenced articles for further research
◊ Further research to find referenced articles
◊ The discussion and history pages associated with an entry to help evaluate whether the
information can be trusted
◊ http://schools-wikipedia.org for pre-checked articles targeted around the national
curriculum

Search Engines:
Search engines including Google or Yahoo can be good starting points also but you need to
refine your searches by:
◊ Searching your key term
◊ Using a thesaurus to help create synonyms
◊ Using the search engines advanced options e.g. Google Scholar/Books
◊ Using quotation marks which allow for a more specific search e.g. “climate change”

Databases:
Many schools and libraries subscribe to databases such as Encyclopaedia Britannica. These
are trustworthy as they have been written and revised by experts.

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Images:
When including images in your papers you must remember to say where you have got these
from, as these too will belong to someone, be it from the internet or from a scan from a
book.

It may not always be obvious where the image has come from (For example on Google) so
you will need to click on the image to enter the web page itself to find out.

Books And Journals:

These could possibly be the most reliable sources to use. However there are lots out there
from many years ago. Depending on the topic of your paper it is certainly not thought good
practice to use books for journals that are over ten years old from the year of your writing
your paper.

Sometimes with books and journals you will need to slog through a number of pages or
chapters to find that perfect quote or nugget of information, however it will be worth it in
the end. You then must be sure you acknowledge these correctly in the references, which
you will be shown later on.

Is It Trustworthy?
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Checking whether your chosen source is reliable or not is quick and simple, you just need to
answer the following questions to make a judgement:

Why was it
written?

Who wote When was

it? it written?

Is It
Trustworthy?

Does it Where was

help me? it written?

What level
is it written
for?

If you struggle to find the answers to any of these questions you may want to think twice
about using that particular source.

Remember not everyone writes impartially so make sure you check your sources properly to
check for bias. Think about whether the author has something to gain by their article and be
aware of the way they may write. For example when researching controversial topics such
as climate change and global warming there are many people and organisations that will
have conflicting viewpoints. Consider what the following would have to say on the subject:
◊ A scientific research council
◊ A personal blog from a climate change protester
◊ A company offering carbon neutral flights

The Internet:

There are many sites out there that have a reputation which precedes them such as the
BBC, Met Office, and Hansard for parliamentary proceedings. This is because they give
unbiased view points and have been produced by experts with authoritative status on the
topic being covered.
Journals And Books:

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 Often your teacher or lecturer will give you a suggested reading list to aid you with your
paper. These will be trustworthy and can occasionally be found on the internet which will
prevent you having to trudge through a library to find them, just to be told the last copy was
taken out ten minutes before. Nonetheless caution is still needed here. Sites such as Google
Scholar are reliable, other sites may have doctored or edited some of the information so it
looks legitimate to meet their own needs.

Credit Where Credit Is Due

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 There is nothing wrong with including others ideas in your paper, in fact it’s actively
encouraged to show that you have researched the topic using authoritative sources.
Nevertheless these are other people’s ideas and they will have spent a considerable amount
of time researching and producing article you choose to use.

Most schools, colleges and universities use Harvard Standard Referencing and that is what
will be demonstrated for you here. It can look very confusing and scary to begin with but as
soon as you get into the habit of referencing it will be quick and natural. Below is an extract
from an essay discussing global warming:

Global Warming
By Zander Graham-Willson

Carbon dioxide is important when it comes to controlling the Earths

temperatures – an increase warms the atmosphere, while a decrease cools
it (Marshak, 2007, p.716). Anthropogenic aid to global change over the last
two centuries has added sizeable amounts of pollutants (both gases and
aerosols) to the air; this is due to burning fossil fuels (Marshak, 2007, ①
p.616).

② References:
Marshak, S. (2007). Earth: Portrait Of A Planet. New York: W. W. Norton
& Company

③ Bibliography:
Tagliapietra, C (2012). Our Melting Planet. Surrey, England: Barker
Publishing
As well as crediting articles at the end of your paper you will need to highlight where in your
paper you have used others work (①). This is called ‘citation’, here you need to include the
author’s name, the year of publication and, optionally, the page number. Some students can
become easily confused between the references (②) and the bibliography (③). The
difference is simple: the references refer to articles that you have referenced in your paper
whereas the bibliography lists the materials you referred to while writing your paper.

Different materials require didn’t different information to be recorded in the references or

Citation
bibliography. Below are some of the most regularly used:

Internet:

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 What the site said (“Name of site”, date, paragraph) and continue…
E.g.:
…and it follows that research onto eating disorders in men is therefore much rarer (Eating
Disorders”, n.d., para, 4).

Book:
What the author said (Author, year, page) and continue…
E.g.:
…indeed the internet has even been described as a “real bag of tricks” (Kennedy, 2000, p.3).

Journal:
What the author said (year, page) and continue…
E.g.:
Julia Bush (2001, p52) comments that Cecil Rhodes was the subject of “widespread upper
class female hero-worship” and this is reflected in the letters of…

Reference And Bibliography

Internet:
Author, Initials. (year). Title. Retrieved month day, year, from Internet address
E.g.:
Banks, I. (n.d.). The NHS Direct Healthcare Guide. Retrieved August 29, 2001, from
www.healthcareguide.nhsdirect.nhs.uk

Single Author Book:

Author, Initials. (year). Title of the book. (Edition if later than the first e.g. 3rd ed).Place of
publication: Publisher
E.g.:
Gardener, H. (1973). The Arts And Human Development. (2nd ed). New York: Wiley

Numerous Authors Book:

Author, Initials,. Author 2, Initials., & Author 3, Initials. (year). Title of the book. (Edition if
later than the first e.g. 3rd ed). Place of publication: Publisher
E.g.:
Moore, M.H., Estrich, S., McGillis, D., & Spelman, W. (1984). Dangerous Offenders: The
Elusive Target Of Justice. Cambridge: Harvard University Press

Chapter In A Book:

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 Author of chapter, Initials. (year). Title of the chapter. In Initials. Name of Editor/s (Eds.).
Title of book (pp. start and end page numbers of chapter). Place of publication: Publisher
E.g.:
Vygotsky, L. S. (1991). Genesis Of The Higher Mental Functions. In P. Light, S. Sheldon, & M.
Woodhead (Eds.). Learning To Think (pp. 32 – 41). London: Routledge

Journal:
Author, Initials. (year). Title of article. Title of journal, volume number – if there is one (issue
number), start and end page numbers of the article
E.g.:
Lussier, R. N., & Pfeifer, S. (2001). A Cross-National Prediction Model For Business Success.
Journal Of Common Market Studies, 39(3), 228 – 239.

Electronic Version Of A Journal:

Author, Initials. (year). Title of article. [Electronic version] Title of journal, volume number –
if there is one (issue number), start and end page numbers of the article
E.g.:
Lussier, R. N., & Pfeifer, S. (2001). A Cross-National Prediction Model For Business Success.
[Electronic version] Journal Of Common Market Studies, 39(3), 228 – 239.

Film:
Name of primary contributor – the director or producer, or both, Initials. (Role of primary
contributor). (year of original release). Title of film [Motion picture] [Medium of recording –
DVD, Videocassette, etc.]. Place of publication: Publisher. (year of publication of the
recording, if different from the year of release)
E.g.:
Puiu, C. (Director). (2005). The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu [Motion picture[ ]DVD]. [London]:
Tartan Video. (2006)

Music:
Writer/Composer, Initials. (date of copyright). Title of song/composition [Recorded by artist
if different from writer/composer]. On Title of album [Medium of recording: CD, record,
cassette, etc.]. Location: Label. (Recording date if different from copyright date)
E.g.:
Arlen, H. (n.d.) Any Place I Hang My Hat [Recorded by Cleo Laine]. On Cleo at Carnegie Hall
[Cassette]. London: Towerbell Records. (1983)

Notes
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 References For This Booklet:

The Office Of Qualifications And Examinations Regulations (2009) Using Sources: A Guide
For Students: Find It – Check It – Credit It. London: OFQUAL

Images For This Booklet:

Ancester High School. (2012) Library. Retrieved December 4th, 2012, from
http://schools.hwdsb.on.ca/ancasterhigh/library-2/

Borchard, L. (2012) Research Therapy: Citing Your Sources. Retrieved December 4th, 2012,
from http://library.csun.edu/blogs/cited/tag/citing-sources

University Of Toronto. (2012) Citing Sources / Create Your Bibliography. Retrieved December
5th, 2012, from http://guides.library.utoronto.ca/citing