Referencing (Citing) in Text

When you are researching material for your essays or assignments and to avoid plagiarism*, YOU MUST acknowledge where you got your information from.

*PLEASE REFER TO THE MSC ASSESSMENT GUIDE re MSC PLAGIARISM POLICY

There are 3 main ways to refer to something you have read within your essay or assignment:

1. Quoting

Quotations are identical copies of the original text, used to support your point or argument.

Short quotes
Larsen (1991, 245) stated that "many of the facts in this case are incorrect".

Longer quotes
In general, avoid using too many long quotes.
Example - Wider applications are increasingly being found for many drugs such as invermectin. For example, Crump (2006, 53) confirms that:

Ivermectin - already used extensively in animal health and in eliminating onchocerciasis and lymphatic filariasis, two of the most disfiguring and deleterious human diseases - is now being used commercially for the treatment of strongyloidiasis, mites and scabies.

2. Paraphrasing

Paraphrasing involves putting a passage from the original text into your own words.
You must acknowledge the original source within your essay or assignment with an "in text citation."
When paraphrasing, keep the meaning the same but do not use the original wording.
The purpose of paraphrasing is that it flows better with your own writing.

Original - "Named for James Brady, the White House press secretary who was shot and wounded by John Hinckley Jr. during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan in March 1981, the Brady Bill establishes a national waiting period and background check for the purchase of a handgun" (Bender 1995, 137).

Paraphrase - Bender (1995) explains that the introduction of a waiting period and a background check for people buying handguns in the US, is due to the Brady Bill. The bill was named after White House aide James Brady, who was wounded during an assassination attempt on President Reagan (p137).

3. Summarising

Summarising is condensing longer text to a much briefer version.
It involves putting the main idea(s) into your own words.
Once again, you need to acknowledge the original source of the summarised ideas with an "in text citation".

Original - "At a typical football match we are likely to see players committing deliberate fouls, often behind the referee's back. They might try to take a throw-in or a free kick from an incorrect but more advantageous position in defiance of the clearly stated rules of the game. They sometimes challenge the rulings of the referee or linesmen in an offensive way which often deserves exemplary punishment or even sending off. No wonder spectators fight amongst themselves, damage stadiums, or take the law into their own hands by invading the pitch in the hope of affecting the outcome of the match" (Mantex 1999, 1-2).

Summary - Unsportsmanlike behaviour by footballers may inspire hooliganism among spectators (Mantex 1999, 1-2).

Bibliography:
Murdoch University of WA, 2009, Beginning Your Research, http://wwwlib.murdoch.edu.au/help/begin.html (accessed January, 2009).