Difference between revisions of "Referencing"

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All students should be aware of the need for referencing. It is becoming increasingly important.  Some teachers attach enormous importance, time and attention to the subject.
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All students should be aware of the need for '''referencing''' in its most academic sense -- the listing of sources which they cite in their work. (''For a different type of referencing, used in applying for a job, see [[personal reference]]''.)
  
So should you.  It is one of the fundamental disciplines of worthwhile academic study.  All academic work should be able to show that it is based on reasonable deduction from legitimate data.   
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Some teachers place enormous stress, time and attention on the subject of referencing, and so should you.  It is one of the fundamental disciplines of worthwhile academic study.  All academic work should be able to show that it is based on reasonable deduction from legitimate data.  One of the practices it should encourage is that of careful attention to detail.
  
For scientists, the data is often from observation or from experiment.  If it is experimental, then the experiment should be replicable (other scientists should be able to get similar results from doing the experiment again)If it is from observation, the scientist should try to provide convincing evidence of what was seen – photographs or other recordings (seismographic, barometric, or whatever is appropriate.
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For scientists, the data is often from observation or from experiment.  For other subjects, the data may well be from books and written sources.  For worthwhile academic study, you should tell your reader where you got your data.  This is partly a question of your professional training in the skills of [[judgement]]'''Judgement''' is one of the skills that a University - and any worthwhile school - seeks to develop in all its learners.
  
For other subjects, the data may well be from books and written sources: old newspapers in modern history, new newspapers in media studies, Domesday Book in medieval history, Homer’s Iliad in literary or linguistic studies – the list is potentially endless.
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There are many fussy details involved: for a start, every University department has its own rules, and for many departments these are unique. But they can all be viewed as boiled down to four [[Principles of Referencing]], and the system your Department uses will fall into one the more important families of [[systems of academic referencing]].
  
So for worthwhile academic study, you should tell your reader where you got your data. 
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Other teachers will list a different number of 'principles of referencing', and define them in different ways. Read them: the different views and emphases will help you to learn better what you need to do.
 
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[[category:referencing]] [[category:study skills]] [[category:Academic culture]]
There are many fussy details involved.  (For a start, every Department has its own rules, and for many Departments these are unique.)  But they can all be viewed as boiled down to four [[ Principles of Referencing]]
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Latest revision as of 11:27, 19 June 2007

All students should be aware of the need for referencing in its most academic sense -- the listing of sources which they cite in their work. (For a different type of referencing, used in applying for a job, see personal reference.)

Some teachers place enormous stress, time and attention on the subject of referencing, and so should you. It is one of the fundamental disciplines of worthwhile academic study. All academic work should be able to show that it is based on reasonable deduction from legitimate data. One of the practices it should encourage is that of careful attention to detail.

For scientists, the data is often from observation or from experiment. For other subjects, the data may well be from books and written sources. For worthwhile academic study, you should tell your reader where you got your data. This is partly a question of your professional training in the skills of judgement. Judgement is one of the skills that a University - and any worthwhile school - seeks to develop in all its learners.

There are many fussy details involved: for a start, every University department has its own rules, and for many departments these are unique. But they can all be viewed as boiled down to four Principles of Referencing, and the system your Department uses will fall into one the more important families of systems of academic referencing.

Other teachers will list a different number of 'principles of referencing', and define them in different ways. Read them: the different views and emphases will help you to learn better what you need to do.