Referencing methods and approaches

Dr Karen McAulay

A groan or a sigh?

What do we mean by referencing?

• Footnotes • Bibliography • In The Dissertation • … or in articles/books you might write now or

in the future …

Why?

• Why does it matter? • So your examiners/readers can follow up your

sources … books, articles and websites … • … with the minimum fuss!

Input / Output

• 2 distinct stages:- • Collecting • Codifying / Sharing

Input

In preparation

• Don’t start your bibliography when you start writing your text – if you haven’t already started, begin compiling your bibliography now.

• Keep full details of anything you read – especially dates and pages.

• Record place of publication and publishers’ names – you can decide later how much to include depending on the system you choose.

Gathering it all in?

For your own benefit …

• If something you read strikes a particular chord, keep a brief annotation with the reference itself. This won’t go in the bibliography, but might be useful in your literature survey or a footnote.

Embarras de richesses?

French (literally, ‘an embarrassment of riches’). More resources, pleasures, etc., than one knows what to do with. http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1O33-embarrasderichesse.html

Embrace technology

• There are various kinds of software to help you compile your bibliography.

• EndNote and RefWorks are commercially-available software

• We don’t subscribe, but Endnote available with educational discount as an individual, or

• Access Refworks through the University of St Andrew’s.

RefWorks http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/resources/electronic/

Pros and Cons

• EndNote and RefWorks are powerful tools • Synchronise with web-resources like COPAC

and even international library catalogues • Synchronise with Word • Choose citation style and the software does it

for you • But quite complex and does need learning.

Free shareware

• Peggy uses Zotero (pronounced Zo-tair-oh) – requires you to use Firefox not Internet Explorer. Good for keeping citation details.

• For saving favourite websites online, many people use Delicious – but Yahoo is apparently dropping it, so future uncertain.

• Diigo is a new social bookmarking tool which I’m experimenting with – looks quite flexible, and portable.

Social bookmarking and more

• Zotero http://www.zotero.org/ • Delicious http://www.delicious.com/ • Diigo http://www.diigo.com/index

Growing Knowledge

• Take another look at the British Library Growing Knowledge website –more ideas there?

• http://www.growingknowledge.bl.uk/Tools.aspx

Output

How?

• How? • Different referencing systems, eg Harvard,

Chicago, MHRA Style Guide (Modern Humanities Research Association)

• RSAMD prefers Harvard system, as recommended in RSAMD “Writing Essays on Music” guidelines.

• Links on Moodle and via RSAMD library catalogue; also in ‘how to write PhD’ books

• Bottom line – consistency

Rules are for fools? (and the guidance of the wise)

• All citation systems: consistency & clarity • Agree on a system: get rules & stick to them • Basic questions: footnotes or endnotes? • If endnotes, at end of chapter or dissertation? • Different views on how much info to be given.

University of St Andrews

• Citing References – info on St Andrews Uni Library website

• http://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/library/information/furtherhelp/citingreferences/

Harvard system @ Anglia Ruskin University

Anglia Ruskin University

• http://libweb.anglia.ac.uk/referencing/harvard.htm = good online guide to the Harvard system.

Harvard system at Leeds Metropolitan

Leeds Metropolitan University

• http://skillsforlearning.leedsmet.ac.uk/Quote_Unquote.pdf = Quote, Unquote: a guide to Harvard referencing

Bibliography

• Again, decide on a system then stick to it. • I was advised only to include items I’d referred

to in the text. • Ask your supervisor if they require only cited

materials, or additional reading matter too.

Actually Compiling the dreaded Bibliography

My own personal method – 1. Big Master Bibliography from Day One; 2. Started EndNote Bibliography when I began

writing up, to keep details of what I had actually cited;

3. Used that as basis for the Bibliography that went at the end of my dissertation. (But I didn’t use EndNote formatting within Word)

Geekiness

• If you don’t have the page no. of a quotation, GoogleBooks can be invaluable.

• … Search for the quotation and find which page it was on, even if you can’t read the book online. Quicker than going back to the library!

• For accuracy, proofread intensively. • If there are mistakes you regularly make, use

Edit>Find in Word, to ensure you’ve caught and corrected them all.

Practical help

• Look at other people’s dissertations – get an idea of what passes muster, and what might work for you. Talk to people who have ‘been there, done that’.

• If you have any difficulty formatting the dissertation, do speak to IT Trainer Julie Halstead early enough to allow you time to implement any changes/ improvements.

Always darkest before the dawn!

The End

• Thank you

Dr Karen McAulay Music & Academic Services Librarian