REFERENCING

Either MLA or APA guidelines must be used. In-text referencing is also required. Full explanations of these can be found at:

MLA -

APA -

An example of a bibliography listing of each is found below.

MLA – Book with one author.

Leick, James. Chaos: Making a New Science. New York: Penguin, 1987. Print.

APA – Book with one author.

Plath, S. (2000). The unabridged journals K.V. Kukil, (Ed.). New York, NY: Anchor.

* Please note that there are variations of these formats for periodicals, internet sites, multiple authors, etc. Refer to the reference sites above for full explanation.

YOU MUST HAVE A MINIMUM OF 3 WRITTEN (NOT INTERNET) REFERENCES IN YOUR BIBLIOGRAPHY. These can be books or periodicals.

Be sure the information you collect has come from a reputable source. This isn’t always easy to do … here are some things to look for:

  • Come from a credible source
  • Not too old
  • Not biased
  • Free of errors
  • Properly cite the original source of all information
  • Easy for other people to find or obtain

Wikipedia cannot be used as a reference.

CITATIONS

Reference Citation:

Citations are used to a) establish the validity of evidence or b) acknowledge indebtedness. All important statements of fact which the judges may have reason to doubt must be supported by the presentation of evidence for their validity. In other words if you are stating something that is not common sense or is a given fact or principle you must cite your reference.

A citation should also be supplied for each important statement of fact, quotation and/or each conclusion or inference borrowed from another writer.

When citing references in the text, do not use footnotes; instead, refer to articles by the author's name and the date the paper was published.

For example:

  • Fox in 1988 investigated the hormones on the nest-building behavior of catbirds.
  • Hormones are known to influence the nest-building behavior of catbirds (Fox, 1988).
  • When citing papers that have two authors, both names must be listed. When three or more authors are involved, the Latin et al. (et alia) meaning "and others" may be used. A paper by Smith, Lynch, Merrill, and Beam published in 1989 would be cited in the text as:
  • Smith et al. (1989) have shown that...
  • This short form is for text use only. In the bibliography, all names would be listed, usually last name preceding initials