If you make use of other people´s thoughts and ideas, it is crucial that you always acknowledge this through a reference.
If you leave out references to the sources used, this can be viewed as plagiarism
There are several ways to include a source:
Direct quote:
”Culture is a web of flows, multiplying, converging and crossing” (Fornäs, 1995, p. 1)
Paraphrase:
Culture is a complex and dynamic concept (Fornäs, 1995)
Referential:
According to Johan Fornäs (1995) culture is not a static but a very dynamic reality.
Reference: Fornäs, Johan (1995): Cultural Theory & Late Modernity. London: SAGE
NB. If you have collected your own empirical data, eg. through interviews or surveys, you should not refer to it by way of an in-text citation and a corresponding reference. Instead leave the data as an appendix and point to this where relevant.
Not only printed sources with an obvious originator need referencing.
Regardless of where you have found inspiration and information for your assignment, whether in a traditional monograph, on a company website, in conversations with informants etc., you should always make sure to mention these sources.
Established truisms (e.g. the Earth is round), however, do not need to be accompanied by a reference.
Quotes should always be identical to what is actually being quoted. It is not okay to retouch ”bad” wording, to correct misspellings in the original document, or to cut short a document, without leaving a trail at least.
There are, however, workarounds, the most common being:
[sic] following immediately after a word or phrase signals that an archaic or incorrect spelling originates in the source document.
Ex. The harwest [sic] was ruined
If you wish to only quote parts of a larger context you may use […] to indicate the bits left out.
Ex. ”One night in a dream a voice, which was to come to him again in later life and bring him back to Ireland, told him that a ship was ready to carry him to freedom” (Lydon, 1998)
”[…] a voice […] told him that a ship was ready to carry him to freedom” (Lydon, 1998)
Reference: Lydon, J. F. (1998). The Making of Ireland: From ancient times to the present. London: Routledge.
As a general rule you should also respect the spirit in which something was said. In this sense it would be considered disloyal to use somebody else´s work to prop up an argument if you know for a fact that that person would not approve of the derived meaning or indeed the context.
What exactly constitute "important information" depends on the reference style of choice and the type of source cited. Just remember that your reader should be able to go out into the world and without equivocation identify the exact source used.
Click for a list of available styles and simply mouse-over the individual alternative to display the "important information" for each one.
Any in-text citation must be accompanied by an entry in the bibliography.
However, only one entry is needed per source, no matter how many times it is mentioned.
