Concept Background

You must refer to the sources that you use. Normally, these will be academic books and journal articles, but you must also add a reference when using sources such as newspapers, websites, TV programs, lectures, public documents, leaflets, previous master’s theses, etc. You must refer to the source when quoting verbatim (in which case you must also add the page number), but also when using ideas or arguments or describing findings without a verbatim quote. This applies irrespective of any reformulations to the phrasing in the original; if any idea, assertion, or finding is retrieved from or based on another source, you must add a reference to this source. In some cases, ethical concerns may call for the anonymization of written sources as well. Some people who themselves have published the information you use should be anonymized in the same way as in field notes and interview data. This is especially true if the person in question is not a public figure and if the data describe potentially sensitive topics (e.g. if an unknown blogger writes about the experience of bullying or criminal acts). In such cases, you should provide the source with an alias and state the ethical reasons for this choice. Keep in mind that if you quote text you have found online, locating the source will be quite easy. If you are in doubt, contact your seminar leader, your supervisor, or the person responsible for the course for guidance.

1. Citations:

There are two ways to cite a source. Citations of less than three sentences are placed in ‘quotes’ in the text, while those of three sentences or more should have a line spacing before and after the quote and an indent to make the left margin wider. The font size for long citations can be the same as for the overall text, and the citation shall not be enclosed in quotes, italicized, or formatted in any particular way. The same principle applies if you cite a source from an interview or fieldwork, with a separate indented paragraph for long citations and quotes in the body text for short citations.

2. References in the text

In the body text you place your references in brackets, with the surname(s) of the author(s), publication year, and page number, if relevant, like this: (Fangen 2010: 72). Here, the author’s name is Fangen, the number 2010 is the year in which this issue of the book was published, and the page number referred to is 72. The reference looks like this whether it follows a citation from this book or whether you refer to it without having quoted any text from it. It is 11 essential to include the page number when quoting content and when referring to concrete assertions. Place the full stop in the sentence after the reference. Normally, the reference is placed at the end of the sentence; it does not suffice to add references at the end of each paragraph. 

Example of a reference without a verbatim quote:

A key distinction involves participating in the activities going on in the field versus not participating, although this will be a matter of degree between two extremes (Fangen 2010: 72).

Example of a reference with a verbatim quote:

A key distinction involves participating in the activities going on in the field versus not participating, although ‘participation may vary from complete association to complete separation’ (Fangen 2010: 72). 

If the author(s) is (are) referred to in the text, you need not mention him/her (them) in the reference, as long as it remains clear to whom the reference applies.

3. The list of references

At the end of your assignment, you include a list of all references you have used, before the appendices, if any. The list should have the heading ‘References’ or ‘Literature’ and include all sources used in the assignment. You must also commit to this by stating ‘All sources that have been used in this assignment are listed at the end of the reference list. The references are listed alphabetically by the first author’s surname. If you refer to more than one publication by the same author(s), you sort them by year of publication, starting with the oldest publication. Note that only the first author’s name is given with the surname first, all other names should be written in the format First name Last name.

Different types of sources are referred to as follows:

In academic writing, references are essential for supporting arguments, demonstrating the credibility of the research, and giving proper credit to the original sources. There are various types of references that can be used, including:

1. Journal Articles:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) (last name, followed by initials). If there are multiple authors, separate them with commas and use an ampersand (&) before the last author’s name.

   – Year of publication in parentheses.

   – Title of the article in sentence case (capitalize the first word and proper nouns).

   – Title of the journal in title case (all major words capitalized).

   – Volume number (italicized) and issue number (in parentheses).

   – Page numbers of the article.

   – DOI (Digital Object Identifier), if available.

2. Books:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) (last name, followed by initials).

   – Year of publication in parentheses.

   – Title of the book in sentence case.

   – Place of publication: publisher.

3. Book Chapters:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) of the chapter (last name, followed by initials).

   – Year of publication in parentheses.

   – Title of the chapter in sentence case.

   – In Name(s) of the editor(s) (last name, followed by initials).

   – Title of the book in sentence case (italicized).

   – Place of publication: publisher.

   – Page numbers of the chapter.

4. Websites:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) (last name, followed by initials) or the name of the organization.

   – Year (if available) or date of publication (if available) or last update.

   – Title of the webpage in sentence case.

   – URL (URLs from reputable sources, such as .gov or .edu, are preferred).

5. Conference Proceedings:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) (last name, followed by initials).

   – Year of publication in parentheses.

   – Title of the paper or presentation in sentence case.

   – In Title of the conference in title case (italicized, followed by “Proceedings”).

   – Place of conference: publisher.

   – Page numbers of the paper or presentation.

6. Government Reports:

   – Name(s) of the author(s) (last name, followed by initials) or name of the organization.

   – Year of publication in parentheses.

   – Title of the report in sentence case.

   – Report number (if applicable).

   – Place of publication: publisher.

When writing a reference, it is crucial to follow the specific style guide used in your academic discipline, such as APA (American Psychological Association), MLA (Modern Language Association), or Chicago style. Always double-check the requirements and formatting guidelines provided by your institution or journal.

Different Styles of References:

There are several styles of references commonly used in academic and professional writing. Here are some details about different styles and how to write them:

1. American Psychological Association (APA) Style:

   – Commonly used in social sciences, education, and psychology.

   – In-text citation format: (Author’s Last Name, Year).

   – Reference list format: Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of work. Publisher.

2. Modern Language Association (MLA) Style:

   – Widely used in humanities disciplines such as literature, arts, and languages.

   – In-text citation format: (Author’s Last Name Page Number).

   – Works Cited list format: Author’s Last Name, First Name. Title of Source. Publisher, Year.

3. Chicago Manual of Style (CMS):

   – Mostly used in history, literature, and some social sciences.

   – Two distinctive citation formats: notes and bibliography (footnotes or endnotes) and author-date.

   – Footnote format: Author’s First Name Last Name, “Title of Work” (Place of Publication: Publisher, Year), Page Number.

   – Bibliography format: Last Name, First Name. Title of Work. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.

4. Harvard Referencing Style:

   – Commonly used in medicine, health sciences, and natural sciences.

   – In-text citation format: (Author’s Last Name, Year, Page Number).

   – Reference list format: Author’s Last Name, First Initial. (Year). Title of Work. Publisher.

5. Vancouver Style:

   – Primarily used in the field of medicine and biological sciences.

   – Numeric citation format: Citation numbers in brackets in the order they appear in the text.

   – Reference list format: Numeric order with details like author name, title, source, and year.

When writing references, it’s important to gather all necessary information about the source, including author name, publication title, publication date, and publication location. The citation formats differ across styles, so consulting a style guide or using reference management software can be helpful. Additionally, one should ensure consistency in formatting and follow the specific guidelines provided by the chosen style for each type of source (book, journal article, website, etc.).

What NOT to do with your references

•  Do not use first names in the references in the body text. If two authors with the same surname have published works during the same year, you use initials to distinguish between them, like this: (B Smith 2015) and this: (W Smith 2015).
• Do not include the title or other information on the work in the body text; such information shall be included only in the reference list at the end. Only the author’s name, publication year, and page number should be included in the references in the body text.
• Do not use ‘ibid’ and ‘op. cit’, even though you may have learned this somewhere else.
• Do not use footnotes or endnotes for entering references. You should include references in footnotes only if you need to refer to a source for text used in a footnote.
• Do not subdivide your reference list according to how you have used the sources or the type of source (such as books, journal articles, anthologies). Nor should you include headings in your reference list (such as “Works by Bourdieu”, “Webpages” or similar)