SOURCING

One of the most important aspects of academic writing is

making use of other peoples ideas. This is important as a
writer needs to show understanding of the materials used
and that the writer can use their ideas and findings in
his/her own writing. One of the most essential activities
that a researcher can engage in is the complex activity to
write from other texts, which is a major part of their
academic experience. In writing, however, the main voice
should be the writers own and the writers point of view in
relation to the topic should be clear.

Sourcing refers to the explicit attention of writers to source

information, their use of source information in interpreting a
documents content or judging its trustworthiness, and their
citing of sources in written essays

Sourcing

implies actions taken by readers to identify the

source of a message and use source information in

interpreting and evaluating a text.

Sourcing

implies justifying a statement by

source

information and following academic conventions in giving

credit to the source of a particular message.

IDENTIFIENG SOURCES
When researching a topic for academic writing, academic
sources are preferred over other types of writing. They carry
more weight and authority, and are likely to be more
convincing.

Academic sources are:

Authoritative: academic sources identify the qualifications
and expertise of the writer. A source written by a recognized
expert in a field is more likely to be trustworthy.

 Sourced: academic writing is careful to credit the origins of

information and ideas, usually by means of a reference list
or bibliography.
Peer-reviewed: other academics have read the source and
checked it for accuracy. Before publication in an academic
journal, for example, an article is checked by a panel of
referees. Academic books are checked by editors and other
reviewers.

Objective: academic sources aim to examine a topic fairly.

This does not mean that they never take a side, but that the
source does not ignore alternative positions on the topic.

 Written for academics: academic sources target university

lecturers, students, and professionals interested in the
theoretical side of a topic.

TYPES OF ACADEMIC SOURCES

The most common forms of academic source are:
Books
Journal articles
Published reports
Internet

Sources such as newspaper articles, magazine articles,

opinion pieces, and websites are not commonly academic,
although there are some exceptions. Many journal articles
and reports can be found online, for example.

PRIMARY AND SECONDARY SOURCES

Primary sources

present original and direct evidence.

They are usually created by someone with personal

experience of something. Common primary sources are
historical documents raw data from an experiment, or
demographic records.

Secondary sources draw on primary sources. They may

comment on primary sources, or use the evidence from
primary sources to construct an argument. Books or journal
articles that analyse, critique, or synthesise a range of
sources are examples of secondary sources.

CITING SOURCES

It will always be assumed that the words or ideas are the

writers own if the writer does not say otherwise. When the
words or ideas a writer is using are taken from another
writer, it must be made clear. Using another person's words
or ideas as if they were the writers own is plagiarism and
plagiarism is regarded as a very serious offence.

The ideas and people that a writer refers to need to be made

explicit by a system of citation. A writer needs to
acknowledge the source of an idea unless it is common
knowledge in the writers subject area. The object of this is
to supply the information needed to allow readers to find
the source.

FORMATS OF CITING SOURCES

American Psychological Association (APA):

refers to the rules and conventions established by the
American Psychological Association for documenting
sources used in a research paper. APA style requires
both in-text citations and a reference list. For every intext citation there should be a full citation in the
reference list and vice versa.
Example:
from theory on bounded rationality (Simon, 1945)
as has been shown (Leiter & Maslach, 1998)

 Modern Languages Association MLA:

citation

style uses a simple two-part parenthetical documentation

system for citing sources: Citations in the text of a paper
point to the alphabetical Works Cited list that appears at
the end of the paper. Together, these references identify
and credit the sources used in the paper and allow others
to access and retrieve this material.
Example:
Dover has expressed this concern (118-21)
Williams alludes to this premise (136-39, 145)

REASONS FOR CITING SOURCES

A writer needs to show that he/she is aware of the major areas
of thought in his/her specific subject. This allows a researcher
to show how his/her contribution fits in, by correcting
previous research, filling gaps, adding support or extending
current research or thinking.
A writer needs to support the points he/she is making by
referring to other people's work. This will strengthen a
writers argument. The main way to do this is to cite authors
that agree with the points the writer is making. A writer can,
however, cite authors who do not agree with the writers
points, as long as the writer explains why they are wrong.
If the writer is a student, the writer needs to show that he/she
have read and understood specific texts. The writer needs to
show he/she have read around the subject.
A writer must not use another person's words or ideas as
his/her own.

REFERENCES

Identifying academic sources. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from

http://owll.massey.ac.nz/academic-writing/identifying-academicsources.php
Citing sources. Retrieved December 12, 2015 from
http://www.uefap.com/writing/citation/citing.htm#intro
APA citation style. Retrieved December 14, 2015 from
https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/apa
MLA Citation Style. Retrieved December 14, 2015 from
https://www.library.cornell.edu/research/citation/mla
Number system: In-text citation. Retrieved December 14, 2015 from
https://www.e-education.psu.edu/styleforstudents/c5_p12.html