PDP 6 – Academic reading and
referencing
Academic reading
• Reading is an essential part of doing any degree
• This is where you will get the bulk of the information you
need to complete your assignments
• It is important that you learn how to find appropriate
reading materials and how to read and understand them
without wasting time and effort
• It is also important that you learn how to cite and
reference the materials you have read so as to avoid any
potential charge of plagiarism (copying)
Finding and selecting reading
materials
• You will find most of the materials you need for an
undergraduate degree either in the Birkbeck Library or
online
• These materials will mainly include books and websites,
but may also include journal articles
• Materials in the Library have been selected for you
because they are academic, relevant and current
• However, materials found on websites may not be
academic, relevant or current so you should be very
careful about what you use from online sources
Finding and selecting reading
materials (online)
• Before you use information from online sources, you
should ask the following basic questions about the site
or page you have found:
– Is there an author’s name? Who is the author? Is he or she a
recognised academic, professional, or other type of expert?
– Is the author writing as an individual or as part of a recognised
academic or professional organisation?
– Is the information current (e.g. it has a publication or last
updated date)?
– Is the web site academic in nature? Or is it commercial and
potentially biased?
– Are any sources cited by the author clearly referenced?
– Is the writing academic or otherwise professional?
Finding and selecting reading
materials
• It is important that you do not waste valuable time
reading things which are not relevant to the assignment
in-hand
• Before you read anything you should take the following
steps to make sure that it is relevant to the specific topic
you are studying
–
–
–
–
Consult the module reading list
Think carefully about the relevance of the book or article title
Check the table of contents (if the text has one)
Ask your tutor for advice
• Once you are satisfied that a text contains useful
information only then should you begin to read.
Reading
• Skim. Look at the chapter and section titles, subtitles,
boldface and italics, graphs and diagrams, and at any
summary and/or conclusion
• Scan any sections of the text that appear useful. Look
for supporting details (e.g. examples, statistics, expert
opinions, quotes, and explanations)
• Read for detail. When you have found relevant, useful
information in the text, read it slowly and carefully
• Take notes. As you read, make sure you record what
you have read. Take neat, legible, concise notes that will
be useful to you at a later date
Note-taking - tips
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Don't write down every word
Use symbols and abbreviations
Use colours
Use visual representations
Revise your notes as soon as possible
Improve your handwriting
Include a reference
Note-taking – styles
Note-taking – styles
Note-taking – styles
Referencing
• Any material you include in an assignment should be
clearly referenced (example)
• Good referencing shows that you are working in a
disciplined academic manner and invariably raises your
grade
• There are several different referencing systems,
including the Harvard System, the MLA referencing
system and the MRHA system
• The most widely used system (and the system you
should use, unless instructed otherwise) is the Harvard
System
Referencing
• Book
Surname
Initial
Date of
publication
Title (italics)
Place of
publication
Publisher
McFarland, D. (1992) CSS The Missing Manual. Sebastopol. O’Reilly Press.
• Journal Article
Surname
Initial
Date of
publication
Title (italics)
Journal title
(italics)
Lewis, L. A. (2002) Weakness with the Inheritance Model in CSS. Journal of Practical
Computing, 5(2), June, pp. 73-94.
Issue and
volume Month
number
Pages
Referencing
• Electronic journal
Surname
Date of
publication
Initial
Issue and
volume
number
Journal title
(italics)
Title (italics)
Fowler, W. (2004) CSS Navigation Design. Journal of Online Education [internet], 36(1),
March, pp. 29-56 Available from: <http://www.journals.cup.org> [Accessed 30th July 2008]
Month
Pages
URL
Date Accessed
• Website
Name (if
available)
Date (if
available)
Title (italics)
URL
Brain, M. (1998) How Web Pages Work. Available from: <http://www.journals.cup.org>
[Accessed 3rd March 2008]
Date Accessed
Referencing
• All references should be collated in a references section
• This should be ordered alphabetically by surname
• It should include not only references to texts from which
you have used information, but references to any text
you have read as part of your background reading
• The references section should be included as the last or
next to last section of an assignment
Further reading
Academic reading
http://www.studyskills.soton.ac.uk/studyguides/Reading%20Academically.Doc
http://www.uefap.com/reading/readfram.htm
Referencing
http://www.bbk.ac.uk/lib/subguides/generalref/Citations
PDP 6 – Activities
• Now do: PDP 6 – Reading and referencing