ENGL 387/487 -- Documenting Sources

RATIONALE AND “GROUND RULES” FOR DOCUMENTING SOURCES

Many students want to know about the various methods of citing sources in the documents they write. Whether you are writing documents for the English 387/487 course or preparing documents for other courses, some level of documentation will likely be necessary. Of course, you will also need to know this information when you are in the workplace. This document is meant to provide you with a starting point and serves as a supplement to our other reading. Please remember, however, that the resources described within this document are not meant to be exhaustive; I am providing them so you can begin to discover up-to-date information on documenting sources.

 

There are some basic ground rules that you should remember any time you use in your own work material written by others. First, whenever you borrow graphics, quote passages, or use ideas from others, you are legally and ethically obliged to acknowledge that use, following appropriate conventions (see below) for documenting sources. Whether you borrow a single sentence, a paragraph, or paraphrase a long section of a report, you must document that source. Second, this is not simply a "hoop" through which writers must jump. In addition to the obvious principle of fairness to the original author who probably did quite a lot of work on your source, it is also necessary for you to provide signposts to your own readers.

 

What do I mean by "signpost"? Essentially, I mean you need to provide your readers with the kind of information that will allow them to judge the fairness and accuracy of your work. Your readers need to see where you get your evidence. For example, if you write a report on the potential dangers of electromagnetic radiation from high-power wires, your readers may question your intentions if most all of your sources are power company reports. In a case like this, your readers may believe that you have presented only one side of a complicated issue. On the other hand, if your report contains evidence originally reported upon by power companies and state and local health agencies and the EPA and material from the mainstream media, your readers may conclude that you have fairly presented the issues and your report is not biased.

 

Remember also that your readers will likely judge your work -- at least in part -- on other aspects of the evidence you provide. For example, if your report on potential dangers of EMF contains evidence that was originally published prior to 1996, they may wonder why you did not include any data from more recent reports. On the other hand, if your report contains evidence that is somewhat more current, your readers may be motivated to accept the conclusions of your report.

 

The point to all this is that, unless you follow source documentation conventions, your readers cannot make the kinds of appropriate judgments that you want them to make about your work. Also keep in mind the importance your work can have for your readers; perhaps two years from now someone will read your report on EMF and decide to do additional work in that area. If you have not included appropriate source citations, your reader will have difficulty using your report as a resource.

 

Below, you will find information about the various source documentation conventions. Do keep this in mind: all of the online documentation resources provide only a basic summary of documentation conventions. Online documentation resources may be all you need; on the other hand, there may be times when you have to consult the full documentation manual that is in our library. The first set of resources ("Citing Traditional Resources" provides guidance as you document traditional -- usually print-based -- resources. If you want to document a material that you find or receive online, consult the second section entitled, "Citing Internet (Electronic) Resources." 

 

 

CITING TRADITIONAL RESOURCES

 

MLA FORMAT

 

The MLA format ("MLA" stands for Modern Language Association) is used by most of those who work or teach in the humanities. English professors typically use this format, as do people in philosophy, history, and art, for example. The comprehensive MLA manual is called the MLA Style Manual and Guide to Scholarly Publishing, 2nd edition by Joseph Gibaldi. Our library has several copies. This format style is also discussed in most recent writing handbooks.

 

To get online information about the MLA format, you might want to visit Purdue's excellent online writing lab at:

 

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_mla.html

 

You may also visit the University of Wisconsin-Madison Online Writing Lab to get more information about MLA style:

 
 http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocMLA.html

 

APA FORMAT

 

The APA format (American Psychological Association) is generally used by people in the social sciences such as psychology, (well, duh...), sociology, anthropology, and by some economists. The reference manual is entitled The Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (4th edition), and is available in our library. Like MLA style, you can find APA style discussed in most recent handbooks.

 

For online information about the APA format, the Purdue OWL is a good place to start:

 

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html

 

Another excellent resource is UW-Madison's OWL:

 

http://www.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocAPA.html

 

CSE FORMAT  (Formerly known as the CBE format)

 

CSE stands for "Council of Science Editors" and replaces the long-used CBE format. This can be just a bit confusing because the name change only came into effect on January 1, 2000. Therefore, when you visit websites that deal with the CSE documentation style, some of them will likely still be labeled as "CBE." Rest assured that the format guidelines are the same whether they are labeled as "CSE" or "CBE." The CSE is used by most people in the applied and hard sciences. Physicists use CSE, as do mathematicians, chemists, geologists, statisticians, computer scientists, and most engineers. This format likely covers many of the professions in typical technical writing courses, though certainly not all. The nice thing about the CSE format is that it is the easiest to use of the three most common formats. Our library carries the Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers. (6th edition). Because this manual was published in 1994, it still carries the "CBE" designation.

 

The University of Wisconsin-Madison provides a useful guide for the CSE Citation-Sequence system:

 
 http://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/DocCBE.html

 

CITING INTERNET (ELECTRONIC) RESOURCES

 

Using the MLA, APA, or CSE to document sources you find on the Internet has been, until now, something of a sticky wicket. One of the problems is that none of the printed style manuals contain information about citing Internet sources (though the MLA and the APA both have websites that discuss such citations).

 

That said, there is some agreement among professionals in a number of different fields and disciplines regarding useful formats for citing Internet resources. The links below will take you to sites where you will find instructions for citing Internet resources:

 

Electronic MLA:

 

You may use the Columbia Guide to Online Style to document electronic sources using MLA format. Information about COS appears below (near the bottom of this page). 

 

Electronic APA:

 

The Purdue OWL link printed above also contains information on documenting sources using APA style. So does APA.org:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/

 

Electronic CSE:

 

Use the COS style described below.

 

Columbia Guide to Online Style:

 

A new guide for citing electronic sources, called the Columbia Guide to Online Style, (COS), was published recently. Many people prefer to use this format since it is more logical than those published by the MLA, APA, or CSE and because it does away with some of the confusing aspects of these other methods. This format is acceptable for documenting Internet resources in the ENG 387/487 course, though if you intend to publish your document, you will want to check with the editors for their preference before you submit.

 

The following sites contains links that will take you to COS resources.

 

COS Electronic:

 

http://www.education-world.com/a_curr/TM/WS_citation_columbia.shtml