Process your results
Introduction
You may use any information found in other publications for your studies. Not only information from books and articles, but also information from websites. If you do this, it is important that you acknowledge sources.
Source citation
What is source citation?
- In the source citation (also called literature reference or reference) you indicate where you found the information: in which book or journal article, or on which website.
- Always use a citation style such as APA, Chicago or Vancouver.
Why cite sources?
- It should be clear what your own ideas are and what you have read from someone else. See also plagiarism.
- The reader should be able to check where you got the information.
- The use of appropriate sources increases the quality of your report and therefore its credibility.
How do you incorporate a source?
- In your text, include a brief reference to the source. This consists of: author name, year of publication and sometimes page number.
- Referring in the text itself can be done in two ways: quoting or paraphrasing. Quoting is a literal copying of a text. Paraphrasing is representing a text in your own words.
- At the end of your report, include a list of all the sources you used: the bibliography or reference list.
- The bibliography contains at least the following items for each publication: author + year + title. See further Literature List.
Examples (APA style):
Quotation:
“Since 2001, the number of girls that follow a technical education has increased.” (Jansen, 2004, p.32).
Paraphrase:
Jansen (2004) writes that since 2001 an increasing number of girls partake in a technical education.
Put a full acknowledgement of this source in your bibliography:
Jansen, N. (2004). Trend analysis of gender in higher technical education. Amsterdam: VHTO.
Copyright
What is copyright?
A creator of a publication is the owner of the ideas it contains. He owns the intellectual property and the right to distribute those ideas: copyright.
Copyright is the right of the creator of a work of literature, science or art to determine how, where and when his work is published or reproduced.
(Source: Wikipedia, April 11, 2011)
What is allowed? What is not allowed?
You must respect the rights of the creator. So if you want to use someone else's ideas, you must have permission to do so.
But you don't always have to ask permission. Sometimes you automatically have permission if you clearly state whose thought or idea it is. For example:
- You may use short passages from other texts in your own text: quoting.
- You may retell short passages from other texts in your own words and use them in your own text: paraphrasing.
Images
Notice! Copyright also applies to images. You may not just use images of others. To use images you also need the permission of the creator. And you must mention the source.
Sanctions
If you violate someone else's copyright, for example by not citing sources, you run the risk of having your report rejected.
If you pretend to have thought of something yourself when it is someone else's text, you are committing plagiarism. This is punishable. Again, you can expect sanctions. See also plagiarism.
Your own copyright?
If you have published your own text, you own the copyright. Others may use your text, but only under certain conditions.
You automatically own the copyright when your text is published. Your name must appear clearly in the text, but the use of the copyright symbol © is not obligatory.
Rights (and obligations) of authors
A comprehensive website with information about copyright in higher education can be found here: SURFdirect.
Nice to know: CC - Creative Commons
Many authors choose to release their copyright: anyone may use the material without asking permission. This form of information sharing is known as Creative Commons.
However, there are usually conditions attached. For example, in most cases you still have to mention the source, depending on the license the creator has chosen.
See further Creative Commons.
Portrait rights
If you use images that depict people recognizably, you have to deal with portrait rights:
"Portrait law gives individuals the right to oppose publication of their portrait."
(Source: Wikipedia, April 13, 2011)
This includes images in all forms: photographs, drawings, paintings, but also film footage.
So you have to ask permission from the person depicted before you can use the picture.
Rights (and obligations) of authors
A comprehensive website with information on copyright in higher education can be found here: SURFdirect. LOOPT DOOD
Plagiarism
What is plagiarism?
Plagiarism is using someone else's material and pretending you created it yourself.
Two examples:
- You submit someone else's report and pretend that you are the author.
- You copy someone else's ideas into your own report, and you pretend the ideas are yours.
Plagiarism can also happen by accident. Example: You copied a piece of text from an article or a newspaper and you forget to mention the source. Although this is accidental, it is still plagiarism. So you remain responsible for this.
Not everything is plagiarism. Some things are common knowledge and it is not (or no longer) clear who the originator is. For example, "The earth rotates on its own axis in 24 hours."
This knowledge is so general that there is no need to mention who ever discovered that the earth rotates on its axis in 24 hours.
Note! When in doubt about whether something is general knowledge, always give the source where you found the information.
Plagiarism Scanner
The UvA uses electronic detection programs (Ephorus, Turnitin, Ouriginal) to check what information you wrote yourself and what information was borrowed from other sources. These plagiarism scanners search websites, scholarly articles and student papers for this purpose.
It is usually okay to use information from other sources, but be sure to include a source statement. If you do not include a source citation, you are committing plagiarism.
Many courses have rules regarding the ratio of your own text to the use of other people's texts, for example, "A report should consist of only 10% citations." Keep a close eye on this ratio while writing. In the report from the plagiarism scanner, the teacher can see the ratio exactly.
Sanctions
The reports you write for your studies should reflect your own ideas and opinions. Of course, you may use the information of others. The condition is that you clearly state your sources (see citing sources) and that most of your report consists of your own text.
If you violate someone else's copyright, for example by not citing sources, you run the risk of having your report rejected. In serious cases, you may even be expelled from the program.
Solutions
You can avoid plagiarism. Make sure you pay attention and think carefully while writing about which ideas are your own, which ideas are common knowledge, and which ideas you borrow from someone else. Are you using someone else's material? Always cite the source.
See also source attribution.
Quoting
What is quoting?
Quoting is taking a portion of a text verbatim. This text is usually written by someone else, but you may also quote from your own publications. You must always indicate where the quote comes from: the source citation.
In the text you make a short reference by mentioning author's name, year of publication and page number. The complete citation should be placed in the bibliography at the end of your report. See also bibliography.
How to build a citation?
You must clearly indicate in your text that it is a citation: put the citation between quotation marks.
For APA style, citations longer than 40 words, should be in a so-called Quotation block, without the quotation marks.
Always reproduce the citation in its original language. You may add a translation of the quote after it if you wish. You may also reproduce a citation in your own words: paraphrasing.
Example (APA style):
Jansen says: "Student satisfaction increases when the library is also open on Sundays" (Jansen, 2004, p.32).
Paraphrasing
What is paraphrasing?
Paraphrasing is representing in your own words what someone else has said or written. The paraphrase should always be phrased in the spirit of the original text. See also quoting. It should be clear what you are saying yourself, what the ideas of others are, and what text the paraphrase is based on: the source citation.
In the text, you make a brief reference by mentioning author's name and year of publication. Unlike quoting, paraphrasing does not require a page number. It is allowed.
The complete source should be mentioned in the bibliography at the end of your report. See also bibliography.
Examples (APA style):
Jansen (2004) says that student satisfaction increases when the library is open on Sundays.
According to Jansen (2004), student satisfaction increases when libraries are open on Sundays.
Student satisfaction would increase if libraries are open on Sundays (Jansen, 2004).
When to paraphrase?
You use a paraphrase, for example:
When the original text is too difficult or long for your readers. You then give a simple representation of the text.
If the original text is in another language. You then give a translation of the text.
References
What are references?
References are references to sources, such as a reference to a book or article on a particular topic. Other words for reference are literature reference and source citation. A reference allows you to find a publication easily.
Collecting references
You can collect references in different ways. You can create your own reference using the information you have about the source you want to use, you can take ready-made references from the bibliography of a book or article, and you can create references using databases and/or reference managers.
Where can you find data you can use for your references?
- in the source you are referring to
- in the bibliographies of books and articles that refer to your source
- in catalogs and databases
Pay close attention and copy the data without error. If there are errors in the reference, the reader will not be able to find the correct source.
Also, make sure your references are uniform. Always use the same order, for example:
Brinkman, J. (2011). Figures speak : Persuading with research and statistics. Groningen etc.: Noordhoff.
Reference managers are programs that allow you to easily collect references and then quickly insert them into your paper. The UvA has a subscription to Refworks and also offers Support for it.
Nice to know: RefWorks
With the reference manager RefWorks, you can:
- Keep track of what literature you've read
- Easily create source citations for your report in the appropriate style, such as APA, Chicago or Vancouver
- Easily switch citation styles in your report
You can find more information about RefWorks on the UvA Library website.
Your bibliography
All publications you use must be listed at the back of your article or report in a bibliography: it is also called a bibliography or reference list. A bibliography is a complete list of publications used. For citations and paraphrases in your text, refer to the bibliography. See also quoting and paraphrasing. In a bibliography, the references used are usually sorted by author's last name (APA, Chicago) or by order in the text (Vancouver).
The program RefWorks allows you to easily generate a bibliography to include in the back of your report.
Why a bibliography?
Using the bibliography, a reader of your report can see at a glance which publications you used. The reader can use the bibliography to check what you came up with yourself and what you borrowed from another writer. See also: plagiarism.
With a bibliography, you can also point the reader to other publications on the same topic.
The reverse also applies, of course. If you are looking for information on a subject yourself, it is always useful to go through the bibliography of a book or article.
Design of the bibliography
A bibliography can be designed in different ways. There are different citation styles for this purpose. Within the social sciences, the APA style is mainly used, and sometimes Chicago or Vancouver.
____
Two examples
1. A bibliography formatted according to the APA style:
References
Donvan, J., Zucker, C. (2016). In a different key: the story of autism. New York: Crown Publishers.
Engelhardt, C. R., Mazurek, M. O., Hilgard, J., Rouder, J. N., & Bartholow, B. D. (2015). Effects of Violent-Video-game exposure on aggressive behavior, aggressive-thought accessibility, and aggressive affect among adults with and without autism spectrum disorder. Psychological Science, 26, 1187-1200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797615583038
2. A bibliography formatted according to the Chicago (author-date) style:
References
Donvan, J. and C. Zucker. 2016. In a different key: the story of autism. New York: Crown Publishers.
Engelhardt, Christopher R., Micah O. Mazurek, Joe Hilgard, Jeffrey N. Rouder, and Bruce D. Bartholow. 2015. “Effects of Violent-Video-Game Exposure on Aggressive Behavior, Aggressive-Thought Accessibility, and Aggressive Affect Among Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder.”Psychological Science" 26:1187-1200. doi:10.1177/0956797615583038.
Examples of references in APA style
In many programs at the UvA, the APA style is used. Therefore, below are some fictitious examples for different types of publications.
Books:
Johnson, J. (2004). The rhetoric of research and statistics. London, University Press.
Robertson, P. (2012). Verbal intelligence: The power of the word. Amsterdam, Scriptum.
May, Y. (2010). History of the world. New York, Contact.
Articles:
McAndrew, F. T., & Jeong, H. S. (2012). Who does what on facebook? Age, sex, and relationship status as predictors of facebook use. Computers in Human Behavior, 28, 23592365. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2012.07.007
Bircher, J. & Wehkamp, K. (2011). Health care needs need to be focused on health. Health, 3, 378-382. https://doi.org/10.4236/health.2011.36064
Appel, M. (2012). Are heavy users of computer games and social media more computer literate? Computers & Education, 59, 1339-1349. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.06.004
Websites:
Rubiera, C. (2022). If anxiety is in my brain, why is my heart pounding? A psychiatrist explains the neuroscience and physiology of fear. Retrieved from https://theconversation.com/if-anxiety-is-in-my-brain-why-is-my-heart-pounding-a-psychiatrist-explains-the-neuroscience-and-physiology-of-fear-210871
How to Remember Things: 21 Memory Techniques (2015). Retrieved from: https://www.magneticmemorymethod.com/how-to-remember-things
More information?
APA style
Publication manual of the American Psychological association (6th edition)
APA style blog
Chicago style
Chicago Manual of Style (16th edition)
Chicago Manual of Style Online
The reference manager software RefWorks enables you to create essays and papers in many different citation styles.
Summary
Searching and finding information you need for your studies is important, but you also need to use the information you find correctly. In this module, you learned how to use (scientific) information correctly.
You learned that you have to pay attention to copyright and how to avoid plagiarism. In addition, you now know how and when to quote and paraphrase information from other sources. And you have learned how to collect and use literature references.
