10 Thing You Should Know About Citing Sources In Your Dissertation
When you are writing a dissertation the citations are one of the most challenging and time consuming parts. This seems to be the case for all writing styles. But below are ten things you should know about how to cite your sources:
- 1. Make sure you know exactly what reference or citation system you need to use before you begin. This is imperative to the easy success of your writing. You do not want to get deep into the writing and the research for your dissertation without knowing what citation style and format you have to use. If you cannot find it anywhere in your guidelines, do not hesitate to ask your advisor. Be crystal clear
- 2. If you are asked to use a format for your citations that is unfamiliar to you, do not skimp now and make sure you buy a formatting guide for that style. You want a comprehensive option that will ensure you have examples of every type of source you might need to cite in your work. Having something to which you can refer regularly will make your job significantly easier.
- 3. The citations are a necessary component. Why? It is prudent for you to avoid being charged with plagiarism.
- 4. As you start researching and taking notes, be sure to write the citation information for any statistic, quote, or even summarized or paraphrased information. You want to be able to refer back to the exact page and source when you are integrating the notes into your final piece.
- 5. You can include a citation for any fact you present at the beginning or the end of the sentence.
- 6. You can quote a text directly so long you are quote it properly; single lined quotes need a test inside of the sentence while quotes longer than four lines need a quote at the end outside of the quotation marks.
- 7. Movies and videos can be referenced inside of your body text so long as you treat them the same as a printed work with regard to your citations.
- 8. If you are citing a source with more than three authors, save yourself some time and inside of your text cite it as the name of the first two authors, followed by “et. al.”
- 9. If you can, include a few publications of your examiners to add to your research
- 10. Remember that your publications and sources should appear in your bibliography and your reference list in the same way.
