Theory Tips – Referencing for Research Assignments

With the growth in popularity of choosing research assignments as a means of passing the four optional credits of the Licentiate Diploma of both the Speech and Drama and the Public Speaking disciplines has come the need for candidates to learn to use proper academic referencing to cite the sources of their information.

Referencing is an important part of all academic work and is a major element in the credibility of the submitted document.  It is an extremely precise skill and should be demonstrated accurately in the assignment. Failure to use referencing leads to plagiarism which is now regarded as a serious form of academic dishonesty.  Ideas presented at Licentiate and Fellowship level must be taken from recognised published authorities and these sources must be acknowledged both within the text and as a reference list at the end of the document.  The style of referencing now expected for academic papers has been compiled by the American Psychological Association and is known as the APA System.

There are numerous sources that a candidate may turn to for the detail of the system but two which are helpful are

·                      Emerson, Lisa. (2005). Writing Guidelines for Business Students (3^rd  ed.).North Shore: Cengage Learning New Zealand. 

  Chapter 13 is devoted to APA Referencing.

·                      For  a useful internet source go to http://library.ucol.ac.nz/main.asp?page=44

  This provides a detailed 25 page coverage which was revised in February 2009.

   It includes:

Ø      citing references within the text of an assignment (in-text referencing)

Ø      inclusion of quotations

Ø      writing a reference list

Ø      sourcing from electronic media

Ø      reference list entries for other sources of information

Ø      a sample reference list

A candidate who draws from a wide variety of published sources is regarded as better researched than one who draws their material from only three or four sources.  Internet articles are acceptable provided they are in the minority and are correctly referenced.  In all cases material that is authored is preferable to anonymous writing.  Diagrams and photos must be referenced also and an explanation of the correct procedure for this may be found in the UCOL article.

In conclusion, an examiner is looking for a candidate who is widely read and has drawn material from a range of sources.  Reference to this material should be made both  throughout the assignment with the correct form of in-text referencing and again in alphabetical order in the Reference List at the end.

Warning: make sure all material is referenced during the writing of the document and that the Reference List is compiled during this process.  DO NOT leave the referencing to be done after the writing is completed.  The sources become frighteningly elusive and often excellent material has to be discarded because the source cannot be traced.

Also remember that academic organisations have access to software which can find material in assignments that has been taken from published sources but which has not been acknowledged.  Avoid plagiarism – you will be caught out!