RESEARCH
TOOLS
DOCUMENTING
SOURCES
Researchers
commonly begin a project by studying past work in
the area and deriving relevant information and ideas
from their predecessors. This caters to the expansion
of human knowledge. It is a custom that while presenting
their work, researchers acknowledge their debts to
predecessors by carefully documenting each source,
so that earlier contributions receive appropriate
credit.
Whenever
a researcher draws on another work, you must also
document your source by indicating what you borrowed
and where you borrowed it from. (see also: Plagiarism)
Many
disciplines have their own documentation systems.
Documentation styles differ according to discipline
because they are shaped by the kind of research and
scholarship undertaken. For example, in the sciences,
where timelines of research is crucial, the date of
publication is usually given prominence. Thus in
the style recommended by the American Psychological
Association (APA), a typical citation includes
the date of publication as well as abbreviation p.
before the page number.
The
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers style
is widely used in the humanities, where most important
scholarship remains relevant for a substantial period,
publication date receive less attention (they are
omitted in the parenthetical reference but always
stated in the works-cited list).
In
an entry in an APA-style works-cited list,
the date (in parenthesis) immediately follows the
name of author (whose first name written only as an
initial), just the first word of the title is capitalized,
and the publisher’s full name is provided. In APA
style the first line of the entry is intended: second
and subsequent lines are flush with the left margin.
In
contrast in a MLA style entry, the authors
name appears as given in the work, every important
word of the title is capitalized, the publishers name
is shortened, and the publication date is placed at
the end. The first line of the entry is flush with
the left margin, and second and subsequent lines are
indented.
The
MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers provide
a comprehensive picture of the customs of scholars
who records the research work and the exact way of
documentation of research. The research report or
assignment requires us to go beyond our personal knowledge
and experiences. Here we work to explore an idea,
probe an issue, solve a problem or make an argument
that compels us to turn to outside resources for reference.
The findings and conclusions of such an inquiry appear
in the research paper. The research paper or report
generally based on primary resources, secondary resources,
or a combination of the two.
Primary
research is the study of a subject through firsthand
observation and investigation such as analyzing a
literary or historical text, a film or performance;
conducting a survey or an interview; carrying out
a laboratory experiment. Primary source includes
statistical data, historical documents and works of
literature or art.
Secondary
Research is the examination of studies that other
researchers have made of a subject. Examples of secondary
sources are books and articles about political issues,
historical events, scientific debates etc..
MLA
Style
In
MLA style, you acknowledge referred sources by giving
brief parenthetical citations in the text to an alphabetical
list of works that appears at the end of the paper.
The parenthetical citation that concludes the following
sentence is a typical example of MLA style:
Ancient
writers attributed the invention of the monochord
to Pythagores, who lived in the sixth century BC (Marcuse
197).
The
citation “(Marcuse 197)” tells readers that the information
in the sentence was derived from page 197 of a work
by an author named Marcuse. If readers want more
information about this particular source, they can
turn to the works-cited list, where, under the name
of Marcuse, they would find the following information:
Marcuse,
Sibyl. A survey of Musical Instruments. New
york: Harper, 1975.
This
entry states that, the work ‘s author is Sibyl Marcuse
and its title is A Survey of Musical Instruments.
The remaining information relates in shortened form,
that the was published in New York City by Harper
and Row in 1975.
If
the authors name is mentioned in the text, only the
page number appears in the citation: “(197)”. If
more than on work by the same author is in the list
of works cited, a shortened version of the title is
given: “(Marcuse, Survey 197)”.
The
Bibliography
Although
the list of works cited (Bibliography or Literature
Cited) at the end of the paper or book, we have
to draft the section in advance so that we can ascertain
what information we have to give in parenthetical
references. For example, we may have to include shortened
titles if we cite two or more works of the same author,
and we have to add initials or first names if two
of the cited authors have the same last name.
This
List or Bibliography contains all the
works that a researcher/ scholar cited in his text.
The list simplifies the documentation by permitting
the writer to make only brief references to these
works in the text. Some synonyms of the term Bibliography
used in other occasions are Annotated Bibliography,
Works Consulted, or Selected Bibliography.
An Annotated Bibliography contains descriptive
or evaluative comments on the sources. The title Works
Consulted indicates that the list is not confined
to works cited in the paper.
Where
to place a Bibliography?
The
Bibliography or Works Cited List usually
appears at the end of the work. Begin the list on
a new page and number each page, continuing the page
numbers of the text. As MLA Style, the page number
appears in the upper right-hand corner, half an inch
below the top and flush with the right margin Center
the title Works Cited or Bibliography an inch from
the top of the page. Double-space between the title
and the first entry. Begin each entry flush with the
left margin: if an entry runs more than one line,
indent the subsequent line or lines one-half inch
from the left margin. Double-space the entire list,
both between and within entries.
Arrangement
of Entries
In
general alphabetize entries in the list of works cited
by the authors’ last name, using the letter-by-letter
system. In this system, the alphabetical order of
names is determined by the letters before the commas
that separate last name and first names. Spaces and
other punctuation marks are ignored. If tow or more
entries citing coauthors begin with the same name,
alphabetize by the last names of the second authors
listed.
If
the author’s name is unknown, alphabetize by the title,
ignoring any definite or indefinite articles at the
initial point. For example, An Encyclopaedia of
the Latin American Novel would be alphabetized
under e rather than a.
An alphabetical listing makes it easier for the reader
to find an entry corresponding to a citation in the
text.
MLA
Style Guide
Book
by a Single Author/Editor
One
of the most common items in student’s work-cited list
is the entry for a book by a single author or editor.
Such an entry has three main divisions.
Author’s
name. Title of the book. Publication information.
(Here
after entering the name of author put a full stop
and space. Then the title underlined and full stop
and space. Then publication information like, place
of publication, then colon, space, shortened name
of publisher, comma year of publication and full stop.)
Example:
Wilson, Frank. The Hand: How its use shapes the
Brain, Language and Human Culture. New York: Pantheon,
1998.
Name
of Author: In this example, the author’s name
Frank Wilson is reversed for alphabetizing, adding
a comma after the last name. Give the name appears
as in the title page of the document. Never abbreviate
a name given in full. But use initials if the title
page does. In general omit titles like Sir, Rev.
etc.., affiliations and degrees like SJ, Ph.D, etc..
that precedes or follows names. A suffix is added,
if that is an essential part of the name – like Jr.
or a roman numeral – appears after the given name,
preceded by a comma.
Title:
Whenever to cite the title of a published work in
the research paper, take the title information from
the title page, not from the cover or from running
head or from spine. Do not reproduce any unusual
typographic characteristics, such as special capitalization
or lowercasing of letters. The rules for capitalizing
titles are strict. In both titles and subtitles,
capitalize the first words, the last words, and all
principal words. Therefore capitalize the following
parts of a speech:
ü
Nouns (e.g., flowers and Europe as in The Flowers
of Europe)
ü
Pronoun (e.g., our as in Save Our Children,
that as in The Mouse That Roared))
ü
Verbs (e.g., watches as in America
Watches Television, is as in What Is Literature)
ü
Adjectives (e.g., ugly as in The
Ugly Duckling, that as in Who Said That Phrase?)
ü
Adverbs (e.g., slightly as in Only Slightly
Corrupt, down as in Go Down, Moses)
ü
Subordinating conjunctions (e.g., after, although,
as if, as soon as, because, before, if, that, unless,
when, where, while)
Do
not capitalize the following parts of speech when
they fall in the middle of a title.
ü
Articles (a, an, the)
ü
Propositions (e.g., against, between, in, of, to,
as etc..)
ü
Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, nor, or,
so, yet etc.)
ü
The ‘to’ in infinitives (as in How to Play Chess)
In
general underline the title of works published independently
(for works published as part of larger works, use
quotation marks.) Titles to be underlined include
the names of books, plays, long poems published as
books, pamphlets, periodicals, films, radio and TV
programs, operas, musical compositions etc.. In the
above example, the underline is not broken between
words.
The
convention of underlining and quotation mark to indicate
title does not apply to the names of sacred works
(including all versions of Bible); of laws, acts and
similar political documents, of series, societies,
buildings, and monuments; and of conferences, seminars,
and courses. These all terms appear without underlining
or quotation marks.
If
the book has a subtitle, put a colon after the main
title,, unless the main title ends in a question mark
or an exclamation mark or dash.
Publication
Information
In
general give the city of publication, shortened
name of publisher, and year of publication.
Care should be taken to collect these information
directly from the book and not from a bibliography
or library catalog. The publisher’s name that appears
on the title page is generally the name to cite. Any
publication information not available from the title
page can usually found on the back of the title page
or particularly in books published outside the United
States, on a page at the back of the book. Use a colon
between the place of publication and name of publisher
and a comma between the publisher and year of publication.
If several cities are listed in the book, give only
the first. If the name of the city is unfamiliar
to users, an abbreviation of the name of the country
could be added after the name of the city.
Example:
Manchester, Eng.
Sherbrooke, QC
Sometimes
additional information may be required in the reference
list. The following list shows most of the possible
components of a book entry and the order in which
they are normally arranged:
- Author’s
Name
- Title
of a part of the book
- Title
of the book
- Name
of the editor, translator, or compiler
- Edition
used
- Number(s)
of the Volume(s) used
- Name
of the series
- Place
of Publication, Name of Publisher, Year of Publication
- Page
numbers
- Supplementary
bibliographic information
An
Anthology or a Compilation
To
cite an anthology or a compilation that was edited
or compiled by someone whose name appears on the title
page, begin your entry with the name of the editor
or compiler, followed by a coma and the abbreviation
ed. or comp.
Example:
Lopate, Philip, ed. The Art of the Personal Essay:
An Anthology from the Classical Era to the Present.
New York: Anchor-Doubleday, 1994.
Weisser, Susan Ostrov, ed. Women and Romance: A Reader.
New York: New York UP, 2001.
Book
by Multiple Authors/Editors
To
cite a book by two or three authors, give their names
in the same order as on the title page. Reverse only
the name of the first author, add a comma, and give
the other name or names of authors in normal form.
Place a full stop after the last authors name. Even
if the authors have the same last names, state each
name in full (e.g., Durant, Will and Ariel Durant).
If the persons listed on the title page are editors,
translators, or compilers, place a comma, (not full
stop) after the final name, and add the appropriate
abbreviations (like eds. (for editors), trans.
(for translators), or comps. (for compilers).
Example
Eggins,
Suzanne, and Diane Slade. Analysing Casual Conversation.
London:
Cassell, 1997.
Rabkin, Eric S., Martin H. Greenberg, and Joseph D.
Olander, eds. No place Else:
Explorations in Utopian and Dystopian Fiction.
Carbondale: Southern
Illinois UP, 1983.
If
MORE THAN three persons authored/edited the book,
only the first name (reversed) should appear, followed
by a comma and "et al."
Second
Work by Same Author
If an author or authors have their names on more than
one text, check to see if the authorship of both texts
is identical. If, and only if, the authors are in
fact identical, then the name of author for the second
entry should be replaced with three hyphens and followed
by a full stop and the title. If the person named
edited, translated or compiled the book, place a comma
and after the three hyphens, and write the appropriate
abbreviation before giving the title.
Hall,
Stuart. Cold, Comfort, Farm. New Socialist
Nov. 1985: 10-12.
---.
Thatcherism: A New Stage? Marxism Today
Feb. 1980: 22-27.
Hall,
Stuart, et al. Policing the Crisis.
Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1979.
Corporate
Authorship
A
corporate author can be a commission, an association,
a committee, etc. Cite the book by the corporate author,
even if the corporate author is the publisher.
American
Medical Association. The American Medical Association
Encyclopedia
of
Medicine. Ed. Charles B. Claymean. New York:
Random, 1989.
No
Author Identified (Anonymous Work)
If a book has no author’s name on the title page,
then the document is alphabetized by the first word
of its title, excluding definite or indefinite articles.
If two or more anonymous works have the same title,
find another publication information that will distinguish
one book from the other, and add it to their parenthetical
references.
The Holy Bible: New International Version.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.
New York Public Library American History Desk Reference.
New York:
Macmillan, 1997.
