DOCUMENTING RESEARCH

The Fundamental Principles of Good Writing: Documentation

borrowing

information from various sources is not only an option it is a necessity walks the fine line between the proper documentation/attribution of sources and plagiarism

one

Plagiarism the act of passing off as ones own the ideas or writings of another
(http://www.georgetown.edu/honor/plagiaris m.html)

Why document sources?

To

establish the validity of findings and facts included in the report To give proper credit to the creator of the information To provide the audience with information s/he might need or want about the subject matter that you have borrowed or obtained from another source

What should be documented?

If

you used someone elses ideas cite the source If you received specific help from someone in writing the paper acknowledge their inputs If you quoted someones words in your own reportattribute in full

What should be documented?

*** If you quote verbatim 250 or more successive words from a published source, you must obtain formal permission to use that material.
(Weisman, 1985)

How do you document?

Internal

referencing at the point of use Full bibliographic referencing at the end of the text ...the American Psychological Association (APA) Style is preferred in the social sciences and business

What does APA regulate?

Stylistics In-text

citations References (a list of all the sources used in the paper)

APA Stylistics: Basics

USE: the third person point of view rather than using the first person point of view or the passive voice; e.g., The study showed that, NOT I found out that.

the

voice; e.g., The participants responded, NOT The participants have been asked.

active voice rather than passive

For clarity, be specific rather than vague in descriptions and explanations. Unpack details accurately to provide adequate information to your readers so they can follow the development of your study.

Example:

POOR: "It was predicted that marital conflict would predict behavior problems in school-aged children.
BETTER:

"The first hypothesis stated that marital conflict would predict behavior problems in school-aged children. The second hypothesis stated that the effect would be stronger for girls than for boys. The third hypothesis stated that older girls would be more affected by marital conflict than younger girls."

To be more concise, particularly in introductory material or abstracts, you should pare out unnecessary words and condense information when you can.

"The authors wanted to investigate whether marital conflict would predict behavior problems in children and they wanted to know if the effect was greater for girls than for boys, particularly when they examined two different age groups of girls."

Word choice

Use terms like "participants" or "respondents" (rather than "subjects") to indicate how individuals were involved in your research Use terms like "children" or "community members" to provide more detail about who was participating in the study Use phrases like "The evidence suggests ..." or "Our study indicates ..." rather than referring to "proof" or "proves" because no single study can prove a theory or hypothesis

Avoid poetic language

Therefore, you should: minimize the amount of figurative language used in an APA paper, such as metaphors and analogies unless they are helpful in conveying a complex idea avoid rhyming schemes, alliteration, or other poetic devices typically found in verse use simple, descriptive adjectives and plain language that does not risk confusing your meaning

Avoid bias in language

Make adjustments to label Avoid gendered pronouns

APA does not recommend replacing "he" with "he or she," "she or he," "he/she," "(s)he," "s/he," or alternating between "he" and "she" because these substitutions are awkward and can distract the reader from the point you are trying to make. The pronouns "he" or "she" inevitably cause the reader to think of only that gender, which may not be what you intend.

To avoid the bias of using gendered pronouns: Rephrase the sentence Use plural nouns or plural pronouns - this way you can use "they" or "their" Replace the pronoun with an article - instead of "his," use "the" Drop the pronoun - many sentences sound fine if you just omit the troublesome "his" from the sentence Replace the pronoun with a noun such as "person," "individual," "child," "researcher," etc.

Language in an APA paper is...

explanations

clear: be specific in descriptions and

you can

concise: condense information when plain: use simple, descriptive adjectives

and minimize the figurative language

General Document Format Guidelines (APA Style)

Margins

1 on all sides Font 12 pts. Times New Roman, Courier or Arial Spacing double Alignment flush left Paragraph indentions 5 to 7 spaces Pagination 1 from the rightmost edge; first line

On standard size paper 8 x 11 Include a page header (short title & page number) in the upper right-hand of every page

Types of APA Papers

the literature review

--i.e. the summary of what the scientific literature says about the topic of your research includes title page, introduction, list of references --i.e. the description of your experimental research-includes title page, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, references, appendices, tables & figures

the experimental report

 If

your paper fits neither of the categories mentioned

follow

the general format

consult

an instructor consult Publication Manual

Your paper should include five major sections:

Title page

References
Conclusion Main Body

Introduction

Page header:
(use Insert Page Header)

Fantasy Theme Analysis1

2-3 words of the title+ 5 spaces +page number

It All Started with a Playful Kiss: A Fantasy Theme Analysis of Itazura Na Kiss as Plotline of Online Fan Fictions

Title Page
A Library Research Paper Presented to the Faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences Manuel S. Enverga University Foundation Lucena City

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Bachelor of Arts in English Language

Jahzeel A. Luna-Sarmiento Enverga University

October 2012

Center the title References-- at the top of the page Double-space reference entries Flush left the first line of the entry and indent subsequent lines

Order entries alphabetically by the authors surnames

Main Body (Text)

The first text page is page number 2 Type the text double-spaced with all sections following each other without a break

Identify the sources you use in the paper in parenthetical in-text citations

APA Citation: Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, E.g., (Jones, 1998), and a complete reference should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper. If you are referring to an idea from another work but NOT directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference.

In-Text Citation Capitalization, Quotes, and Italics/Underlining

Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source: Permanence and Change. Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs: Writing New Media, There Is Nothing Left to Lose. (Note: in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized: Writing new media.)

When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word: Natural-Born Cyborgs. Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's Vertigo. Italicize or underline the titles of longer works such as books, edited collections, movies, television series, documentaries, or albums: The Closing of the American Mind; The Wizard of Oz; Friends.

 Put

quotation marks around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles, articles from edited collections, television series episodes, and song titles: "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds"; "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short Quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and the page number for the reference (preceded by "p."). Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses. According to Jones (1998), "Students often had difficulty using APA style, especially when it was their first time" (p. 199). Jones (1998) found "students often had difficulty using APA style" (p. 199); what implications does this have for teachers? If the author is not named in a signal phrase, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation. She stated, "Students often had difficulty using APA style," (Jones, 1998, p. 199), but she did not offer an explanation as to why.

In-Text Citations (Basics)

Whenever you use a source, provide in parenthesis: the authors name and the date of publication for quotations and close paraphrases, provide a page number as well

In-text citations help readers locate the cited source in the References section of the paper.

In-Text Citation: Format for a Quotation

When

quoting, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase. Make sure to include the authors name, the year of publication, the page number, but keep the citation briefdo not repeat the information.

In-Text Citation: Format for a Quotation

When

quoting, introduce the quotation with a signal phrase. Make sure to include the authors name, the year of publication, the page number, but keep the citation briefdo not repeat the information.

Example of format for a quotation

Ball (2001) posited that the Symbolic Convergence Theory which was introduces at the University of Minnesota in the 1970s, takes its roots from both rhetoric and social science combining the analysis of language used in texts with the enculturation of the societal context in which it is created(p.18). Bruns Theory of Produsage specifically discusses the production and consumption of content in the context of a society now infiltrated by new medis, where users are now also producers (Braga, 2011, p.37).

Format for a summary or paraphrase

There are several formats for a summary or paraphrase:

provide

the authors last name and the year of publication in parenthesis after a summary or a paraphrase, e.g.

Typically, fantasy types are represented by comments that are more abstract, cryptic, or more general than what has initially been characterized as a fantasy theme (Shields & Preston, 1985).

 include

the authors name in a signal phrase followed by the year of publication in parenthesis, e.g.
Recently, the history of warfare has been significantly revised by Higonnet et al (1987), Marcus (1989), and Raitt and Tate (1997) to include womens personal and cultural responses to battle and its resultant traumatic effects.

 when

including the quotation in a summary/paraphrase, also provide a page number in parenthesis after the quotation, e.g.
According to feminist researchers Raitt and Tate (1997), It is no longer true to claim that women's responses to the war have been ignored (p. 2).

In-Text Citations: Signal Words

Introduce

e.g.

quotations with signal phrases,

According to Preston (2008), . (p.3).

Preston (2008) argues that (p.3).

Signal phrase used to introduce a short quotation, paraphrase, or summary, mention the author's name either in an introductory signal phrase or in a parenthetical reference immediately following the signal phrase and containing the publication date

Use such signal verbs as: acknowledge, contend, maintain, respond, report, argue, conclude, etc.. Use the past tense or the present perfect tense of verbs in signal phrases, e.g. Jones (1998) found or Jones (1998) has found...

In-Text Citations: A work with two authors

when citing a work with two authors, use and in between authors name in the signal phrase yet & between their names in parenthesis, e.g.
According to feminist researchers Raitt and Tate (1997), It is no longer true to claim that women's responses to the war have been ignored (p. 2). Some feminists researchers question that women's responses to the war have been ignored (Raitt & Tate, 1997, p. 2).

In-Text Citations: A work with 3 to 5 authors

when citing a work with three to five authors, identify all authors in the signal phrase or in parenthesis, e.g.
(Harklau, Siegal, & Losey, 1999)

In subsequent citations, only use the

first author's last name followed by "et al." in the signal phrase or in parentheses, e.g.

In-Text Citations: A work with 6 and more authors

when citing a work with six and more authors, identify the first authors name followed by et al., e.g.
Smith et al. (2006) maintained that. (Smith et al., 2006)

In-Text Citations: A work of unknown author

when

citing a work of unknown author, use the sources full title in the signal phrase and cite the first word of the title followed by the year of publication in parenthesis. Put titles of articles and chapters in quotation marks; italicize titles of books and reports; e.g. According to Indiana Joins Federal Accountability System (2008),
(Indiana, 2008)

or

In-Citations: Organizations
when citing an organization, mention the organization the first time when you cite the source in the signal phrase or the parenthetical citation; e.g., The data collected by Federal Drug Administration (2008) confirmed that If the organization has a well-known abbreviation, include the abbreviation in brackets the first time the source is cited and then use only the abbreviation in later citations; e.g., Federal Drug Administration (FDA) confirmed ... FDAs experts tested

In-Text Citations: The same last name/the same name

when citing authors with the same last names, use first initials with the last names, e.g. (B. Kachru, 2005; Y. Kachru, 2008) when citing two or more works by the same
author published in the same year, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) with the year of publication to order the references, e.g. Smiths (1998 a) study of adolescent immigrants

In-Text Citations: Personal communication

when citing interviews, letters, e-mails, etc., include the communicators name, the fact that it was personal communication, and the date of the communication. Do not include personal communication in the reference list, e.g.
A. P. Smith also claimed that many of her
students had difficulties with APA style (personal communication, November 3, 2002).
or

In-Text Citations: Electronic sources

when citing an electronic document, whenever possible, cite it in the author-date style. If electronic source lacks page numbers, locate and identify paragraph number/paragraph heading; e.g.
According to Smith (1997), ... (Mind over

Matter section, para. 6).

Citing Indirect Sources

If you use a source that was cited in another source, name the original source in your signal phrase. List the primary source in your reference list and include the secondary source in the parentheses. Johnson argued that...(as cited in Smith, 2003, p. 102).

Note: When citing material in parentheses, set off the citation with a comma, as above.

References: Basics

Invert authors names (last name first followed by initials).

Ayala, C. O. J. (2009). Communicare. Lucena City: Lucena Quality Printers.

Alphabetize reference list entries the last name of the first author of each work.

Capitalize all major words in journal titles. Italicize titles of longer works such as books and journals.

Do not italicize, underline, or put quotes around the titles of shorter works such as journal articles or essays in edited collections.

Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of a title and subtitle, the first word after a colon or a dash in the title, and proper nouns. Do not capitalize the first letter of the second word in a hyphenated compound word.
communication. Lucena City: Lucena Quality Printers.

Ayala, C. O. J. (2009). Communicare: A manual in speech and oral

Reference List: Author/Authors

Single Author Last name first, followed by author initials. Berndt, T. J. (2002). Friendship quality and social development. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 11, 7-10.

Two Authors List by their last names and initials. Use the ampersand instead of "and." Wegener, D. T., & Petty, R. E. (1994). Mood management across affective states: The hedonic contingency hypothesis. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 66, 10341048.

Three to Six Authors List by last names and initials; commas separate author names, while the last author name is preceded again by ampersand.

Kernis, M. H., Cornell, D. P., Sun, C. R., Berry, A., &

Harlow, T. (1993). There's more to self-esteem than

whether it is high or low: The importance of stability of self-esteem. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 1190-1204.

More Than Six Authors

If there are more than six authors, list the first six and then "et al.," which stands for "and others." Remember NOT to place a period after "et" in "et al.
Harris, M., Karper, E., Stacks, G., Hoffman, D., DeNiro, R., Cruz, P., et al. (2001). Writing labs and the Hollywood connection. Journal of Film and Writing, 44(3), 213-245.

Organization as Author

American Psychological Association. (2003).

Unknown Author

Merriam-Webster's collegiate dictionary (10th ed.).(1993). Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster.

NOTE: When your essay includes parenthetical citations of sources with no author named, use a shortened version of the source's title instead of an author's name. Use quotation marks and italics as appropriate. For example, parenthetical citations of the two sources above would appear as follows: (Merriam-Webster's, 1993) and ("New Drug," 1993).

 Two

or More Works by the Same Author Use the author's name for all entries and list the entries by the year (earliest comes first). Berndt, T.J. (1981). Berndt, T.J. (1999).

When an author appears both as a sole author and, in another citation, as the first author of a group, list the one-author entries first.

Berndt, T. J. (1999). Friends' influence on students' adjustment to school. Educational Psychologist, 34, 15-28.

Berndt, T. J., & Keefe, K. (1995). Friends' influence on adolescents' adjustment to school. Child Development, 66, 1312-1329.

Articles in Periodicals
Author, A. A., Author, B. B., & Author, C. C. (Year). Title of article. Title of Periodical, volume number(issue number), pages.

Article in Journal Paginated by Volume

Journals that are paginated by volume begin with page one in issue one, and continue numbering issue two where issue one ended, etc.

Harlow, H. F. (1983). Fundamentals for preparing psychology journal articles. Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology, 55, 893-896.

Article in Journal Paginated by Issue

Journals paginated by issue begin with page one every issue; therefore, the issue number gets indicated in parentheses after the volume. The parentheses and issue number are not italicized or underlined.

Scruton, R. (1996). The eclipse of listening. The New Criterion, 15(30), 5-13.

Article in a Magazine

Henry, W. A., III. (1990, April 9). Making the grade in today's schools. Time, 135, 28-31.

Article in a Newspaper

Unlike other periodicals, p. or pp. precedes page numbers for a newspaper reference in APA style. Single pages take p., e.g., p. B2; multiple pages take pp., e.g., pp. B2, B4 or pp. C1, C3-C4.

Schultz, S. (2005, December 28). Calls made to strengthen

state energy policies. The Country Today, pp. 1A, 2A.

Article from an online periodical

Bernstein, M. (2002). 10 tips on writing the living Web. A List Apart: For
People Who Make Websites, 149. Retrieved May 2, 2006, from http://www.alistapart.com/articles/writeliving

Kenneth, I. A. (2000). A Buddhist response to the nature of human rights. Journal of Buddhist Ethics, 8. Retrieved February 20, 2001, from http://www.cac.psu.edu/jbe/twocont.html

Online Newspaper Article

Parker-Pope, T. (2008, May 6). Psychiatry handbook linked to drug industry. The New York Times. Retrieved from

http://www.nytimes.com

Electronic Books
Electronic books may include books found on personal websites, databases, or even in audio form. Use the following format if the book you are using is only provided in a digital format or is difficult to find in print. If the work is not directly available online or must be purchased, use "Available from," rather than "Retrieved from," and point readers to where they can find it.

De Huff, E.W. Taytays tales: Traditional Pueblo Indian tales. Retrieved from

http://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/dehuff/taytay/
taytay.html Davis, J. Familiar birdsongs of the Northwest. Available from http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/biblio?inkey=19780931686108-0

APA is a complex system of citation, which is difficult to keep in mind. When compiling the reference list, the strategy below might be useful:

Identify a type source: Is it a book? A journal article? A webpage?

Mirror the sample. Make sure that the entries are listed in the alphabetical order and the subsequent lines are indented.

Thank you!