Unit 3 Academic Referencing
Unit 3 Academic Referencing
Unit 3 Academic Referencing
3.1 Introduction
Academic referencing defines aspects of academic writing. Different forms of write-ups are
produced in university learning, the common being essays/assignments, reports, thesis/theses
and research papers. In most cases these rely on published or unpublished documents.
Following good academic practice, students and any producers of such write-ups are
expected to appropriately acknowledge any ideas, borrowed from unpublished and published
sources. This entails that when creating authentic pieces of academic write-ups, we are
expected to;
When writing essays/assignments, it is a norm to use other people’s words, work, thoughts,
ideas etc. to agree or demonstrate divergent thinking. In doing so, it is vital that we indicate
whose words and work/ideas or line of thinking we are using/not using or have used. Any
reader benefits from seeing just how the other person’s work contributes to ours.
TASK:
a. From the lists above, which information about a source is used in academic
referencing?
b. Where within a source would you find the information listed in (a) above?
Task:
i. Establish the difference between the five sources above. Which two types of
sources would you want to use more often and why?
i. Author-date or name-date
ii. Notational or numeric
The following are examples of some of the prominent referencing types usually
recommended
a. Harvard
b. American Psychological Association (APA)
c. American Medical Association (AMA)
d. American Political Science Association (APSA)
e. American Sociological Association
f. Chicago
g. IEEES
h. Modern Languages Association (MLA)
i. Oxford Standard Citation of Legal Authorities (OSCOLA)
j. Vancouver
You will be expected to master a referencing system, without excuse, recommended in your
area of study.
i) The following are examples of End text referencing and appearances for name/ date
system:
Ashworth, G and Graham, B. 2005. Sense of place: Sense of time, New York:
Ashgate.
Bosso, H. K. 1996. “Wisdom sits in Place: Notes on a Western Apache Landscape”,
in Feld, S. (editor) Sense of Environment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Moyo, F. 2020. “The Classic University Overseas” The Citizen, 5th October, page 3.
Chihera, H. 2018. “The Stupidity of Women” Gender and Feminism Journal, Volume
5; Issue 2, pp 305-310.
ii) The following are examples of End text referencing and appearances for numerical
system:
3. Duan N, Bhaumik DK, Palinkas LA, Hoagwood K. Purposeful sampling and optimal
design. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services
Research. this issue.
4. Glaser BG. Theoretical sensitivity. Sociology Press; Mill Valley, CA: 1978.
5. Morgan DL. Focus groups as qualitative research. Sage; Newbury Park, CA: 1997.
Task:
Compare and contrast a name-date referencing model and a numeric one.
Which of the above referencing models is recommended in your area of
study? State whether it is a name-date or numeric and why?
To reference you need to practice doing so noting the various formulations for in text and
end text referencing using various sources chosen. Please note, as you practice, your
abilities are not to answer questions asked for this module but your abilities should be
reflected each time you write an assignment in your area of study. Never submit an
assignment to your lecturer without citations both in the in text and in the end text. Be
truthful all the time and cite sources which you have READ not seen cited by your
homie or bestie.