Citing scholarly sources

Referencing is the act of citing the source from which you quote and/or draw information, allowing your readers to locate the specific book, journal, internet document, etc.

Depending on the citation style mandated in the assignment or the publisher/journal's stylesheet for publication, references can be made directly in the text (discursive, using shortened citations, or in footnotes) and/or in the form of a bibliography or reference list at the end of a publication.

Providing proper attribution is always necessary when you quote a passage verbatim and/or refer to the ideas of others. Failure to do so constitutes plagiarism. Moreover, accurate referencing enables the reader to verify the content and potentially gain further insights into the material to which you refer.

Why does this also apply to students?

The dissemination of knowledge primarily occurs within a scientific network. When you write a bachelor paper or prepare a master thesis, you are also a participant in the scientific network. Therefore, you must indicate your position in the network relative to others who have written about the same topic. You do this by systematically referencing your information sources.

Hasselt University applies the following definition of plagiarism:

Plagiarism is an irregularity by copying or translating the work of others, in an identical or in a slightly modified form and without adequate source reference. Having a third party create a text is also considered plagiarism.

'...copying or translating the work...'

Work = text (passage), image, statistical data, chart, audio or visual material, diagram, etc.

• work in paper form: book, journal article, etc.
• work in electronic form: online encyclopedia, ebook, etc.

'...identically or with minor modifications...'

Quoting = verbatim copying of a fragment enclosed in "double quotation marks".

Paraphrasing = adopting someone's ideas or propositions in slightly modified form, which means rephrased in one's own words.

Translating = adopting texts in another language, for example, from English to Dutch.

'...without adequate source reference.'

Citing, paraphrasing or translating without an adequate source reference = plagiarism!​

Important: You are allowed to quote, paraphrase, and translate. It allows you to show that you have read and understood the relevant literature. This helps to support your own ideas and demonstrate how your work distinguishes itself from previous findings.

Research should be replicable, and scientific theories should be falsifiable. This principle also applies to your literature study. Your readers should be able to verify the sources you used, allowing them to consult them if desired and form a well-founded judgment about your perspective.

How to prevent plagiarism?

Here are some tips:

• Carefully organize and save your sources during your research. You can use specialized software (see the page about reference managers) or do it manually. Not only create a general overview of your sources but also note down the specific pages when referencing them in your notes. If you use reference management software, it can automatically generate citations in Word or other word processing software.
• Familiarize yourself with the rules of citing, paraphrasing, and summarizing. Make sure to understand when and how often to reference.
• Read the section on how to correctly reference your information sources.
• If you get stuck, do not hesitate to seek help from your lecturer | instructor or the library!

How is plagiarism detected?

UHasselt can detect plagiarism in various ways, including the use of plagiarism detection software.

Plagiarism can be recognized through:

• A change in writing style within the text (smooth vs. awkward, scientific vs. popular language, introduction vs. main body vs. conclusion).
• Unexpected language usage (either overly scientific or too sophisticated).
• Differences in formatting within a text.
• Inconsistent citation styles.
• Errors in or the absence of references.
• Deviation from the actual topic.
• Lack of recent references.

Plagiarism can also be detected electronically:

• By entering a suspicious sentence or multiple sentences into a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing).
• By using software specifically designed to detect text similarities. The University of Hasselt has a plagiarism detection system integrated into BlackBoard. However, students are not allowed to use this tool, as they are expected to follow all the tips mentioned above diligently. If a student still wants to have their paper checked by a plagiarism checker, there are various online tools available, such as Grammarly. Most of them offer limited free usage. Keep in mind that these tools are primarily suitable for English texts. If you want to check a text in another language, such as Dutch, the Scribbr plagiarism checker is an option, although it is not free. We emphasize that using these tools does not grant any rights. Consider them purely as an additional check at the end of the writing process.

What is meant by citing, paraphrasing and summarizing, and which guidelines need to be taken into consideration?

Citing

Quoting means repeating a piece of text verbatim.

Please note that you may only quote verbatim under the following conditions:

• The quote should not be too long and must be relevant to your paper or thesis.
• You must clearly indicate the beginning and end of the quote (by placing it between quotation marks or - for longer quotes - by indenting them as a block).
• Keep the quote in its original language.
  • For example, if you quote an English text in a Dutch report, the quote should remain in English.
  • If you cannot assume that your readers understand the original language, then you should first provide the quote in the original language and then provide a literal translation of the quote.
• Always cite in accordance with the intention of the source. Pay close attention, for example, to whether the quote is meant to be ironic and whether the meaning of the quote changes when taken out of its original context.
• When citing, include the author's last name, publication date, and exact page(s). The specific information and format you use for citation depend again on the citation style you are following, so refer to the style guide.
• Ensure that the complete reference is included in the bibliography at the end of your work. If there is no bibliography, make sure the complete reference appears in the footnotes.

Tip: During the writing process, clearly distinguish between the text you are quoting verbatim and your own commentary by using quotation marks for the verbatim passages.

Paraphrasing

When you rephrase the content of a (usually short) text passage in your own words, for example, a sentence or a paragraph, we call it paraphrasing.

When paraphrasing, you often use only the author's last name followed by the publication date. Whether you use this system of short references depends once again on the citation style or style guide you are using.

Summarizing

A summary is a shortened representation of a longer text portion (for example, a few paragraphs, pages, a chapter, or an entire book). A summary focuses on the main points and contains far fewer words than the original.

Please note that even when you paraphrase or summarize:

• you must clearly indicate the source of each paraphrase or summary;
• the complete reference should be included in the bibliography at the end or, depending on the citation style, in the footnotes;
• you must accurately represent the content of the source and align it with the original intent of the source;
• you must ensure that the content of the original source is not distorted;
• you must clearly indicate where the paraphrase or summary begins and ends.

WITH reference

• When you use someone else's ideas or information, you are always required to cite the information source you use.
• This applies to all types of information: factual information, research data, research methods, visual information (such as an image, graph, table, or chart)...
• It does not matter if the source you use is an officially published source or not. Information from, for example, a lecture or from a report or dissertation by another student must also be attributed with a citation.

WITHOUT reference

In the following two cases, including sources references is not required:

• for widely known facts.
  
  Examples of widely known facts: the start date and end date of the First World War (1914-1918) or the name of the incumbent president of the United States of America
  
  Examples of not widely known facts: the start date and end date of the Third Punic War (149-146 BC) or the name of the president of the senate of Madagascar in 2008-09 (Yvan Randriasandratriniony)
  
  Two rules of thumb:
  (1) Include source references for all terms, information and ideas that are new to you (that you have learned throughout your research).
  (2) When in doubt about whether or not to reference, add references.

• when the information originated entirely from yourself. It could very well be that you develop your own thinking based on sources of information. Such ideas, statements or interpretations are yours and logically do not require source reference.

If you repeatedly use the same scientific publication as a source of information for a certain part of your paper, it is not enough to reference it only once at the beginning. On the other hand, it is also impractical to add a very similar citation after practically every sentence. In other words, finding the right balance in the number of references to this publication is crucial.

Example: For a chapter on the life of Empress Zenobia of Palmyra, you use a lot of information from the following article:

Kelly, S.E. (2004). Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. Notable Acquisitions at The Art Institute of Chicago, (30), 8-94.

• Too few (per chapter): I only reference this article once, namely with a general citation at my chapter title at the top.
• The right balance (per paragraph): I reference the exact passage in this article per paragraph or logical section.
• Too often (per sentence): I reference the exact passage in this article after each sentence.

The main purpose of references is to inform your reader about the sources of information you have used. The complete reference is included in a bibliography at the end of your paper (or, if required by the style guide you use, in footnotes); the abbreviated reference is included in the text itself (or in footnotes, if required by the style guide you use).

There are hundreds of systems for noting references, each with its own rules. In the following, we have deliberately chosen the APA (American Psychological Association) reference style of the  has been deliberately chosen, as it is one of the most prominent styles.

However, it is important to know that each discipline has its own preferred style(s), and scientific journals often have their own style guide, with certain rules adapted. Therefore, be sure to inquire with your teacher or supervisor about the reference style you should use for a particular assignment.

Tips:

• When using reference management software (see the page on bibliographic software), the most common styles are pre-programmed in the software. With one click, you can easily switch from one style to another. Always check if the result is error-free.
• Use the same reference style throughout your paper. Some reference styles provide more data than others. Therefore, it is important to note as much information as possible to avoid having to look up additional reference data at the last minute (e.g., publisher, page numbers).

More information about reference styles

• APA style
  www.apastyle.apa.org | APA Tutorial. Western Oregon University
• ICMJE | Vancouver style 
  ICMJE Recommendations (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)

Information included in complete references

The information included in a complete reference depends on the type of publication from which the information was retrieved.

Book

• Author(s) of the book
• Publication year
• Title of the book (in italics)
• Edition, printing...
• Volume number
• Publisher

Example: De Certeau, M., Giard, L., Mayol, P., & Tomasik, T. J. (1998). The practice of everyday life: Living and cooking (Vol. 2). University of Minnesota Press.

Chapter in a Book

• Author(s) of the chapter
• Publication year
• Title of the chapter
• Editor(s) of the book
• Title of the book (in italics)
• Edition, if applicable
• Volume number (if part of a multi-volume work)
• Page numbers of the chapter
• Publisher

Example: Mastenbroek, J. (2004). Plaatsbepaling. In J. Mastenbroek, M. van Persie, G. Rijnja & B. de Vries (Reds.), Public relations: De communicatie van organisaties (5e druk, pp. 3-13). Kluwer.

Journal Article

• Author(s) of the article
• Publication year
• Title of the article
• Title of the journal (in italics)
• Volume number (in italics)
• Issue number within the volume
• Page range of the article (start and end pages)

Example: Schilder, L., & Kwakman, K. (2005). Het versterken van de professionele identiteit door leren in gemeenschappelijkheid. Sociale Interventie, 14(3), 17-28.

Webpage

• Author(s) or organization responsible for the content
• Publication date or date of last update
• Title of the webpage (in italics)
• Title of the website
• Date of access
• Full internet address (URL) of the webpage

Example: Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen. (2010). Bacheloropleidingen. HAN. Geraadpleegd op 1 juni 2010, http://www.han.nl/start/bachelor-opleidingen/

Tips:

• YouTube, Facebook, and other social media platforms can also be used as sources. For the specific guidelines on citing all types of sources, you can consult the APA website.
• During your assignment, you can note down the complete bibliographic details, including page numbers from which the information was taken. Alternatively, it is much easier to enter these details into a reference management software package (see the section on bibliographic software). When working on your paper in Word, you can insert the reference with just a few mouse clicks. The bibliography at the end of your text will be automatically formatted according to your chosen style.
• During your literature research, always record all the necessary information so that you have it at hand when you write your references. It would be a waste of time if you have to search for the sources again at the last moment to find the correct details.

General rules for creating a bibliography

• The bibliography appears at the end of the document and starts on a new page.
• All cited works in the text should be listed in the bibliography (and vice versa).
• Sorting: The list is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name. If there is more than one work by the same author, the order is determined by the date of publication, starting with the oldest.
• Tabs: The first line of each reference in the bibliography is aligned with the left margin, and each subsequent line of the same reference should be indented. No extra lines are left between references.

For missing information

• If the printed source does not have a date, use 'n.d.' in the date position.
• If the printed source does not have page numbers, use 'n.pag.'
• If a printed source has multiple page numbers (e.g., Roman and Arabic numerals), use 'm.pag.'
• If the publisher or producer is unknown, use 'n.p.'
• For other missing information, leave the field in the reference blank, for example, if the place of publication is missing.

A reference in the text itself (or in footnote for some other reference styles) is a reference in short form and is meant to lead your reader to the exact passage of the source of information you have used. In other words, you list the corresponding pages and not the start and end page of the article or the total number of pages of a book, like in your reference list.

In the APA style the surname(s) of the author(s) is combined with the year of publication.

Book

Complete reference:
Mortelmans, D., Spooren, P., & Chandesais, O. (2010). Naar de bron: informatie zoeken en gebruiken in de sociale en humane wetenschappen. Acco.

Short reference:
(Mortelmans, Spooren, & Chandesais, 2010)

Chapter in a book

Complete reference:
Mastenbroek, J. (2004). Plaatsbepaling. In J. Mastenbroek, M. van Persie, G. Rijnja & B. de Vries (Reds.), Public relations: De communicatie van organisaties (5de druk, pp. 3-13). Kluwer.

Short reference:
(Mastenbroek, 2004)

Journal article

Complete reference:
Schilder, L., & Kwakman, K. (2005). Het versterken van de professionele identiteit door leren in gemeenschappelijkheid. Sociale Interventie, 14(3), 17-28.

Short reference:
(Schilder & Kwakman, 2005)

Web page

Complete reference:
Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen. (2010). Bacheloropleidingen. HAN. Geraadpleegd op 1 juni 2010, http://www.han.nl/start/bachelor-opleidingen/

Short reference:
(Hogeschool van Arnhem en Nijmegen, 2010)

Please note:
When referencing multiple publications by the same author with the same year of publication, indicate the year followed by a, b, c.