Academic Style Guide and Referencing (APA 6th style) Do NOT and may from the University plagiarise: result it is in intellectual your theft expulsion We may, at any time and without further notification, test any submission for plagiarism. We generally use Turnitin software for this purpose. Any student or staff member may run their own work through the software to self-check and rectify, at any time. The importance of referencing All sources used in written submissions in the course of your degree must be referenced. This is done to acknowledge the work of others, to avoid plagiarism, to pinpoint quotations and to enable readers to follow-up on referenced sources. Citations appear in the text, references are listed alphabetically at the end of the paper. All citations must be referenced, and all references cited; i.e. all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper and vice versa. Descriptive verbs Rather than using the monotonous “he says, she says, they say” formula, vary the verbs you use when discussing published works. Some alternatives (there are many others as well) to “Author X says . . .” are: acknowledged, responded, reported, argued, found, recognized, accepted, established, questioned, concluded, challenged, pursued, opposed, contended, continued, stated, testified, told, specified, indicated, listed, explained, proposed, investigated, described, defined, challenged, claimed, queried, maintained, disputed, discussed, debated, identified, analyzed, agreed, suggested, recommended, illustrated, formulated, affirms, maintains, professes, refutes, CHOOSE YOUR WORDS CAREFULLY SO THAT THEY ACCURATELY REFLECT WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO SAY APA 6th style basics The APA style uses the author-date format for citations; i.e., the author's last name and the year of publication in brackets (e.g.: Dewey, 1998) in the text, and a full reference with all the required information in the reference list at the end of the document. The above rule applies whenever you are referring to an idea from another author, institution, etc. or, in fact yourself if you are referring to some of your own previous work that has been published. You will have paraphrased and/or summarised the idea, but NOT directly quoting it verbatim. Verbatim or direct quotes must ALWAYS be cited with a page number, e.g. (Dewey, 1998; p.45), where ‘45’ is the page number on which the direct quote can be found. Putting in direct quotes without giving a page number is the same and copying and pasting from someone else’s work (suggesting that it is your own), and is plagiarism. If you use direct quotes in your document, do so only sparingly. They are good for adding emphasis, illustrating a point or making a punchy start / finish to a section. Overusing direct quotes suggests that you have not thought about what you are writing (and some laziness to be honest); not acceptable at this level. Format for in-text citations and quotes: General reference, at the end of the sentence as shown (author, date). For example: The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies (Swilling & Russel 2002). General reference (author, date) in the middle of the sentence. For example: This applies both in South Africa (Swilling & Russel, 2002) as well as internationally (Masaoka, 2005). Author’s name (date) at the beginning, end or middle of the sentence. It would be grammatically incorrect to put both the name and the date into brackets: Masaoka (2005) describes the importance of the economic role played by non-profit organisations in international markets. The importance of non-profit organisations in international markets has been described by Masaoka (2005). INCORRECT: (Masaoka 2005) describes the importance of the economic role played by non-profit organisations in international markets. For two authors or editors give both surnames followed by the date (FirstAuthor & SecondAuthor, date). The style uses ‘and’ in the text and an ampersand (&) in the citation, e.g. The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies (Swilling & Russel 2002). vs According to Swilling and Russel (2002), the non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies. When there are three to five authors, give all the names the first time the citation appears, then FirstAuthor et al. for subsequent citations. When there are six or more authors, give the name of the first author only, then ‘et al.’ and finally the year, e.g. (Author a et al., date). Where there is more than one citation for a particular fact, put them both into the same set of brackets separated by semi-colons, e.g. (Author A, date; Author, date). They will be listed alphabetically then by date. Make sure you are consistent. When citing authors with the same surname, give first name initials with each surname, e.g. (B. Naidoo, 2005; Y. Naidoo, 2008). When an author has written more than one paper in the same year, and you want to cite both, use lower-case letters (a, b, c) to differentiate them, e.g. in Smit’s (2008a) study of South African non-profits, it was found . . . When referring to an electronic document, apply the author-date format as far as possible. Many electronic sources do not have page numbers, so, include a reference for the reader to locate the information, e.g. a sub-heading or paragraph number. Assist the reader as far as possible to find the part you are referring to. Always capitalise proper nouns, e.g. names of places, months, author names, etc. DO NOT capitalise other words in the text unless they are acronyms. When capitals are tossed around willy-nilly, even when referring to an important concept it is untidy, inconsistent and incorrect. We prefer you to use South African English (similar to UK English). However, you may use American English if you wish. Whichever it is, BE CONSISTENT. Much of this may appear to be nit-picking. Rather look on it as attention to detail and precision. This is very important in business, as well as academic, communications and will be treated as such when marking assignments and research documents. Page numbers for short verbatim quotes When you are quoting directly, the quote itself must be in inverted commas. The citation is as described above with the author and date, but the page number must be put in as well by putting in “p.45” after the date, (here 45 is the page number on which the quote appears). For example: According to Swilling and Russel (2002, p. 45), “Major contributors to the viability of micro-economies are non-profit organisations” OR According to Swilling and Russel (2002), “Major contributors to the viability of micro-economies are non-profit organisations” (p. 45). Page numbers for long verbatim quotes For direct quotes with more than 40 words, do not use inverted commas. Put the quote into a separate double indented paragraph. Then put the page number either in the bracket with the date, or at the end of the quote. For example: Jones (1998) was firm in her view that: Students sometimes had difficulty using the APA style, especially when it was their first time citing sources. This difficulty could be attributed to the fact that many students hadn’t referred to a style manual or asked for help (p. 199). Summary or paraphrase When you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, only make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference (do not put in a page #), e.g.: The non-profit sector is a significant player in local economies (Swilling & Russel 2002). Formatting with Endnote Select the APA 6th style in Endnote and in your word processor. When you import references into Endnote, make sure that ALL the required information arrives. Sometimes, for example, the issue number or the ending page number does not arrive – immediately open the abstract or actual article to get these details and manually put them into Endnote. Make sure you have selected the correct reference type, e.g. journal article, book, web page, etc. or it will not appear in the right format. Formatting without Endnote This is not recommended. If you are not using Endnote you will spend a great deal of time and effort on your references, which will somehow never be exactly right. You must be consistent and correct to avoid being penalised. The reference list: References must be listed alphabetically by the first author’s surname, then by year, with the oldest reference first. If you are citing a number of works by the same author/s, all the names must be listed each time. The principle is very simple: Complete and consistent - i.e. include ALL the information necessary for the reader to access the source, in a consistent manner. If a reference type is not described here you can deduce the format from this principle, or consult the full style guides, available in the library and on the internet. Take note of where all the full stops, commas, spaces etc. appear – or do not appear – and follow the format EXACTLY. For titles of articles, etc. only capitalise the first word of the title. Italicize the ‘physical object’, i.e. book titles, journal names, movies, documentaries, e.g. Designing brain-compatible learning; The Wizard of Oz; Journal of Mixed Methods Research Note that both volume and issue of journal articles are required. If they do not download, you must open the actual article, locate the relevant number and either type it in or insert it manually into Endnote. Note that both beginning and ending page numbers are required. If it does not download, you must open the actual article, locate the relevant number and either type it in or insert it manually into Endnote. Type Reference Format Journal article Author, A. (Year). Title. Journal name, Volume (Issue), start page#-end page#. Abosi, O. (2007). Educating children with learning disabilities in Africa. Learning Disabilities Research & Practice, 22(3), 196-201. Journal article FirstAuthor, A. & SecondAuthor, A. (Year). Title. Journal, more than one Volume (Issue), start page#-end page#. author Adams, R., Atman, C., Nakamura, R., Kalonji, G., & Denton, D. (2002). Assessment of an international freshmen research and design experience: a triangulation study. International Journal of Engineering Education, 18(2), 180-192. Journal with a number article APA will sometimes import what they call a “doi” number. “doi” Please delete this from the record in Endnote so that these references look exactly like a normal journal article. Type Journal online Reference Format article Author, A. (Year). Title, Journal, Volume (Issue), pp. Pages, last accessed Date, from URL in full. Book Author, A. (Year). Title, (Edition ed.). City: Publisher. Dhillon, G. (1997). Managing information system security. London: Macmillan. Cresswell, J. W. (2009). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Method Approaches (Third ed.). London: Sage Publications. Book Section Author, A. (Year). Title. In Editor, A. (ed.) Book Title. (Edition. Ed.) (pp. start page#-end page#). City: Publisher. Nonaka, I., Umemoto, K., & Sasaki, K. (1998). Three Tales of Knowledge-creating Companies. In G. von Krogh, J. Roos & J. Kleine (Eds.), Knowing in Firms, Understanding, Managing and Measuring Knowledge (pp. 146-172). London: Sage. Edited Book Editor, A. (ed.) (Year). Title Edition ed. City: Publisher. Denzin, N. K., & Lincoln, Y. S. (Eds.) (1994). Handbook of Qualitative Research. Thousand Oaks: Sage. Magazine article Author, A. (Year). Title. Magazine, Date, start page#-end page#). Magazine article 'Title' (Year). Magazine, Date, start page#-end page#. no author Author, A. (Year, last update date). Title. Newspaper, Newspaper article (choose Retrieved Date, from URL in full. “web page” as McLeod, D. (2008, 27 June 2008). A broad band of dismay. reference type) Financial Mail Retrieved 11 November, 2011, from This is actually the publication date http://secure.financialmail.co.za/08/0627/technology/ffeat.htm of the newspaper Newspaper article no author 'Title' (Year). Newspaper, Date, start page#-end page#. Type Reference Format Conference proceeding Author, A. (Year, conference dates and month). Title. Paper presented at Conference Name, Conference Location, Publisher. Falconer, D. J., & Mackay, D. R. (1999, 1-3 December). The Key to the Mixed Method Dilemma. Paper presented at the 10th Australasian Conference on Information Systems, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Thesis Dissertation Research Report) Report (or Author, A. (Year). Title. Degree Thesis Type, University, City. or Orlikowski, W. J. (1988). Information technology in postindustrial organizations: An exploration of the computermediation of production work. PhD thesis, New York University, New York. Author, A. (Year). Title, Type, No. Number, (pp. start page#end page#). Institution, City. AACSB. (2008). Final Report of the AACSB International Impact of Research Task Force (pp. 1-49). Tampa, Florida. Web page Author, A. (Year, Last Update Date). Title Retrieved Access Date, Access Year, from URL in full. Day and month only Nisthar, S. (2011, 4 May). Public-Private Partnerships : A Global Call to action Retrieved 20th January, 2011, from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC514532/ Act of Parliament Republic of South Africa. (1995). The South African (select Book as Qualifications Authority Act, Number 58. Government type of ref and Gazette Number152. Pretoria, Government Printer. include all numbers and For Acts of parliament and government publications, details in the title) the country is the author Important Note on Plagiarism Plagiarism is taken very seriously at universities, and can cost you your degree. In addition to being dishonest, it is considered to be theft of intellectual property and should attract the same consequences as theft of material property. This note is being included in all course packs to prevent any WBS student falling victim to this through ignorance. Plagiarism is the unacknowledged use of published or unpublished material or ideas initiated by someone else. The following are examples of plagiarism: Cutting and pasting words from another author without acknowledging the source (even if the source appears in the list of references at the back of the assignment). Using the ideas or interpretation of someone else without acknowledgement. Citing a source as if you have read it, when in fact you only read about it in someone else’s document. Using part of an assignment from another student, or off the Internet, without acknowledgement. The correct method for referencing material is described in the document “Wits Business School Style and Referencing of Sources”. These rules apply to any work you submit to the business school, including individual and group assignments, and the research report. In brief, the correct procedure is: If you are using someone’s actual words, put them in inverted commas, or in an indented paragraph, followed by the reference and page number(s). If you are using someone’s ideas or point, but putting them in your own words, you should still acknowledge them. For example: o As Smith (1999) suggests, there are three approaches to the problem … o The following discussion of the problem is based on the three-part system developed by Smith (1999) … If you read about several other authors in Smith (1999) and want to refer to their work, you should either (best practice) go and get the primary references and read them yourself, or (second best, but acceptable for assignments), acknowledge that you read about them in the secondary source. You would write something like: o Jones (1995, cited in Smith 1999) argues that … Both references should be given in the reference list. If in doubt, please do ask. Err on the side of acknowledging anything you have not created yourself. Plagiarism can be difficult to detect, so it is considered a point of honour that academics and students regulate themselves on this point. For this reason, when it is discovered, the punishment tends to be severe. All cases of suspected plagiarism will be reported to the Academic Director. An investigation will ensue, and should a student be found to have used material without acknowledgement, the most lenient consequence will be failing the assignment. Depending on the circumstances, the case may be referred to the University Legal Office. Students found guilty of plagiarism may be failed off the programme and asked to leave the University.
