Unit 4 Introduction to

Research & references

Maldives Business School
What is research?
• Definition: Research is defined as careful consideration of study
regarding a particular concern or problem using scientific
methods.

• According to the American sociologist Earl Robert Babbie,

“research is a systematic inquiry to describe, explain, predict, and
control the observed phenomenon. It involves inductive and
deductive methods.
• Research is an organized and systematic way of finding answers to questions.

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 A research can be undertaken for two different purposes:

1. To solve a currently existing problem (Applied Research)

2. To contribute to the general body of knowledge in a particular

area of interest (Basic/Fundamental research)
What is Empirical Research?
◦ Empirical research is based on observed and measured
phenomena and derives knowledge from actual experience
rather than from theory or belief.
How do you know if a study is empirical?
Read the subheadings within the article, book, or report and look
for a description of the research "methodology."
Important Components of Empirical
Research
▪ Problem statement, research questions, purposes of research,
benefits
▪ Supporting theory, assumptions, relevant background literature
▪ Variables and hypotheses
▪ Operational definitions and measurement
▪ Research design and methodology
▪ Instrumentation, sampling
▪ Data analysis and result
▪ Conclusions, interpretations, recommendations

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Ways to select a topic
▪ Personal experience
▪ Curiosity based on something in the media
▪ The state of knowledge in a field
▪ Social premiums
▪ Personal values
▪ Internet
Major Limitations in Conducting a Research

▪ Time
▪ Costs
▪ Access to resources
▪ Approval by authorities
▪ Ethical concerns
▪ Expertise
Understanding and Using the Library
and the Internet for Research
Defining “The Library” and “The
Internet:”
▪ You might think the answers to the questions “what is a library?”
and “what is the Internet?” are pretty obvious.
▪ But actually, it is easy to get them confused, and there are a
number of research resources that are a bit of both: library
materials available over the Internet or Internet resources
available in the library.
▪ Understanding the differences between the library and the
Internet and knowing where your research comes from is crucial
in the process of research writing
▪ because research that is available from libraries (either in print of
electronic form) is generally considered more reliable and credible
than research available only over the Internet.
▪ Most of the publications in libraries (particularly in academic libraries)
have gone through some sort of review process.
▪ They have been read and examined by editors, other writers, critics,
experts in the field, and librarians.
Libraries and Internet
▪ Libraries are buildings that house and catalog books, magazines,
journals, microfilm, maps, government documents, and other
resources.
▪ Internet as something less physically tangible.
▪ Basically, the Internet is the international network of computers that
makes things like email, the World Wide Web, blogs, and online chat
possible.
1. Researching in the Library
▪ On most campuses, the main library is a very prominent
building
▪ Almost all libraries have a circulation desk, where
customers can check out items.
▪ Most libraries also have an information or reference desk
that is staffed with reference librarians to answer your
questions about using reference materials, about the
databases available for research, and other questions
about finding materials in the library.
▪ Libraries usually have a place where you can make
photocopies for a small cost and they frequently have
computer labs available to patrons for word processing or
connecting to the Internet
Books
▪ You will need to use the library’s computerized catalog to
find books the library owns.
▪ Most library database systems allow you to conduct similar
types of searches for books. Typically, you can search by:
▪ Author or editor
▪ Title
▪ Key word. This is different from the other types of searches in that
it is a search that will find whatever words or phrases you type in
▪ Call Number. Most academic library database systems will
allow you to search for a book with a particular call
number.
▪ However, this feature is probably only useful to you if you
are trying to find out if your library has a specific book you
want for your research.
Journals, Magazines, and
Newspapers
▪ Libraries group journals, magazines, and newspapers into a
category called “periodicals,” which, as the name implies,
are items in a series that are published “periodically.”
▪ Periodicals include academic periodicals that are perhaps
published only a few times a year, quarterly and monthly
journals, or weekly popular magazines.
▪ Newspapers are also considered periodicals.
Accessing an Article
▪ To find the article, you first have to determine if your library
has the particular periodical.
▪ This is a key step because just because an item is listed in an
index you have available to you in your library doesn’t mean
that your library subscribes to that particular periodical.
▪ If you know it is an article that is critical to your research and
it is in a periodical your library doesn’t carry, you might want
to discuss your options with a librarian.
▪ You still might be able to get access to the article, but you will
probably have to wait several days or even weeks to get it, and
your library might charge you a fee.
Electronic periodicals.
▪ Most college and university libraries also make periodicals
available electronically through a particular database.
▪ These articles are often available as just text, which means
any illustrations, charts, or photographs that might have
accompanied the article as it was originally published
won’t be included.
▪ However, some online databases are beginning to provide
articles in a format called “Portable Document File” (PDF),
which electronically reproduces the article as it originally
appeared in the periodical.
Other Library Materials
▪ Government Documents.
▪ Theses and dissertations –
▪ If your college or university has graduate programs, your library
probably has a collection of the theses or dissertations written
by these graduate students.
▪ Rare books and other special collections
2. Researching on the
Internet
▪ The great advantage of the Internet is it is a fast and
convenient way to get information on almost anything.
▪ It has revolutionized how all academics conduct research
and practice writing.
▪ However, while the Internet is a tremendous research
resource, you are still more likely to find detailed, accurate,
and more credible information in the library than on the
Web.
▪ Books and journals are increasingly becoming available
online, but most are still only available in libraries.
Email
▪ Electronic mail (“email”) is the basic tool that allows you to
send messages to other people who have access to the
Internet, regardless of where they physically might be.
▪ Email is extremely popular because it’s easy, quick, and
cheap—free, as long as you aren’t paying for Internet
access.
▪ Most email programs allow you to attach other documents
like word processed documents, photos, or clips of music to
your messages as well.
▪ For the purposes of research writing, email can be a useful
tool in several different ways.
▪ You can use email to communicate with your teacher and
classmates about your research projects—asking questions,
exchanging drafts of essays, and so forth
EMAIL
▪ Depending on the subject of your research project, you
can use email to conduct interviews or surveys.
▪ Of course, the credibility of an email interview (like more
traditional phone or “face to face” interviews) is based
entirely on the credibility of whom you interview and the
extent to which you can trust that the person
▪ But since email is a format that has international reach and
is convenient to use, you may find experts who would be
unlikely to commit to a phone or “face to face” interview
who might be willing to answer a few questions via email.
The World Wide Web
▪ Chances are, the World Wide Web will be your most
valuable Internet research tool.
▪ While you can go to literally billions of different “pages” or
sites on the Web that might be useful for your research.
▪ This is one of the major drawbacks of the World Wide Web.
▪ Unlike the library, where the materials are strictly organized,
cataloged, and cared for, the Web is more of a jumble of
files that can be difficult to find or that are missing
altogether.
▪ Fortunately, you can turn to several resources to aid in your
World Wide Web research: search engines, meta-search
engines, and Web directories
 Web Directories
▪ Web Directories look like search engines, and many of
them include a search engine component.
▪ But Web directories are different from search engines
because they are collections of data about Web sites that
are categorized by people and not computer programs.
▪ Examples;
▪ www.yahoo.com
▪ About http://dotdash.com
▪ The WWW Virtual Library http://vlib.org/
Sampling in Research
 Population, Sample, Respondent,
Informant, Corpus
▪ Population: any set of individuals (or objects) having some
common observable characteristics.

▪ Sample: the subset of a population which represents the

characteristics of the population.
▪ A sample consists of respondents or subjects

▪ An informant: a person from whom a linguist obtains information

about language, dialect, or culture.
▪ A corpus is a collection of written or spoken material.
What is sampling in Research
◦ A sample is defined as a smaller set of data that a researcher
chooses or selects from a larger population by using a pre-
defined selection method.
◦ These elements are known as sample points, sampling units, or
observations. Creating a sample is an efficient method of
conducting research.
◦ In most cases, it is impossible or costly and time-consuming to
research the whole population.
◦ Hence, examining the sample provides insights that the
researcher can apply to the entire population.
Categories for sampling:
▪ What is your population of interest?
▪ To whom do you want to generalize your results?
▪ All doctors
▪ School children
▪ Indians
▪ Women aged 15-45 years
▪ Other
▪ Can you sample the entire population?

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Selection of samples:

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Population definition
▪ A population can be defined as including all people or items
with the characteristic one wishes to understand.
▪ Because there is very rarely enough time or money to gather
information from everyone or everything in a population, the
goal becomes finding a representative sample (or subset) of
that population.

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SAMPLING FRAME
▪ The sampling frame must be representative of the population

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Sample selection methodologies
◦ The process of deriving a sample is called a sampling method.
◦ Sampling forms an integral part of the research design as this
method derives the quantitative data and the qualitative data
that can be collected as part of a research study.
◦ Sampling methods are characterized into two distinct
approaches: probability sampling and non-probability sampling.
 Types of Sampling

Probability Non-probability

Simple Cluster Convenience Quota

Random Random

Stratified Systematic Judgement / Snowball

Random Random Purposive
 1. PROBABILITY SAMPLING
 Probability sampling is a method of deriving a sample where the objects
are selected from a population-based on the theory of probability.

 This method includes everyone in the population, and everyone has an

equal chance of being selected.

 Hence, there is no bias whatsoever in this type of sample. Each person in

the population can subsequently be a part of the research.

 The selection criteria are decided at the outset of the market research
study and form an important component of research.

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PROBABILITY SAMPLING TYPES

Probability sampling can be further classified into four distinct types of

samples. They are:
 Simple Random Sampling,
 Systematic Sampling,
 Stratified Random Sampling,
 Cluster Sampling

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 1.1 SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING
• Applicable when population is small, homogeneous & readily
available
• The objects in this sample population are chosen purely on a
random basis, and each member has the same probability of
being selected.
• A table of random number or lottery system is used to determine
which units are to be selected.
• Example: Choosing 100 employees’ names out of a hat in an office of 300
employees.

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SIMPLE RANDOM SAMPLING PROS & CONS
Advantages:
▪ Estimates are easy to calculate.
▪ Ease of use and accuracy of representation
▪ As its name implies, producing a simple random sample is much less
complicated than other methods.

Disadvantages
 If sampling frame is large, this method impracticable.
 Time Consuming/Costly
 Minority subgroups of interest in population may not be present in sample in
sufficient numbers for study.

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 SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING
▪ Systematic sampling relies on arranging the target population
according to some ordering scheme and then selecting elements at
regular intervals through that ordered list.
▪ Systematic sampling involves a random start and then proceeds with
the selection of every kth element from then onwards. In this case,
k=(population size/sample size).
▪ It is important that the starting point is not automatically the first in the
list, but is instead randomly chosen from within the first to the kth
element in the list.
▪ A simple example would be to select every 10th name from the
telephone directory (an 'every 10th' sample, also referred to as
'sampling with a skip of 10').

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SYSTEMATIC SAMPLING PROS & CONS
▪ ADVANTAGES:
▪ Sample easy to select
▪ Suitable sampling frame can be identified easily
▪ Sample evenly spread over entire reference population
▪ DISADVANTAGES:
▪ Sample may be biased if hidden periodicity in population
coincides with that of selection.
▪ Difficult to assess precision of estimate from one survey.

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 STRATIFIED SAMPLING
 Where population embraces a number of distinct categories, the
frame can be organized into separate "strata." Each stratum is then
sampled as an independent sub-population, out of which
individual elements can be randomly selected.
 Every unit in a stratum has same chance of being selected.
 Using same sampling fraction for all strata ensures proportionate
representation in the sample.
 Adequate representation of minority subgroups of interest can be
ensured by stratification & varying sampling fraction between
strata as required.

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STRATIFIED SAMPLING
▪ Finally, since each stratum is treated as an independent
population, different sampling approaches can be applied to
different strata.

▪ Drawbacks
▪ First, sampling frame of entire population has to be prepared
separately for each stratum
▪ Second, when examining multiple criteria, stratifying variables
may be related to some, but not to others, further complicating
the design, and potentially reducing the utility of the strata.
▪ Finally, in some cases (such as designs with a large number of
strata, or those with a specified minimum sample size per
group), stratified sampling can potentially require a larger
sample than would other methods

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STRATIFIED SAMPLING

Draw a sample from each stratum

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CLUSTER SAMPLING
Two types of cluster sampling methods.
One-stage sampling. All of the elements within selected
clusters are included in the sample.
Two-stage sampling. A subset of elements within selected
clusters are randomly selected for inclusion in the sample.

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CLUSTER SAMPLING
◦ Cluster sampling is a method of probability sampling that is often used to
study large populations, particularly those that are widely geographically
dispersed.
◦ Researchers usually use pre-existing units such as schools or cities as their
clusters.
The simplest form of cluster sampling is single-stage cluster sampling. It
involves 4 key steps.

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 Step 1: Define your population
◦ As with other forms of sampling, you must first begin by clearly
defining the population you wish to study.
 Step 2: Divide your sample into
clusters
◦ This is the most important part of the process. The quality of your
clusters and how well they represent the larger population
determines the validity of your results. Ideally, you would like for
your clusters to meet the following criteria:
◦ Each cluster’s population should be as diverse as possible. You
want every potential characteristic of the entire population to be
represented in each cluster.
◦ Each cluster should have a similar distribution of characteristics as
the distribution of the population as a whole.
◦ Taken together, the clusters should cover the entire population.
◦ There not be any overlap between clusters (i.e. the same people
or units do not appear in more than one cluster).
Step 2: Divide your sample into
clusters
◦ Ideally, each cluster should be a mini-representation of the entire
population. However, in practice, clusters often do not perfectly
represent the population’s characteristics, which is why this
method provides less statistical certainty than simple random
sampling.
Step 3: Randomly select clusters
to use as your sample
◦ If each cluster is itself a mini-representation of the larger
population, randomly selecting and sampling from the clusters
allows you to imitate simple random sampling, which in turn
supports the validity of your results.
Example: You assign a number to each school and use a random
number generator to select a random sample.
Step 4: Collect data from the
sample
◦ You then conduct your study and collect data from every unit in
the selected clusters
Result/Data Collection: You test the reading levels of every
seventh-grader in the schools that were randomly selected for your
sample
CLUSTER SAMPLING
Advantages :
▪ Cuts down on the cost of preparing a sampling frame.
▪ This can reduce travel and other administrative costs.
Disadvantages:
▪ sampling error is higher for a simple random sample of
same size.

▪ Often used to evaluate vaccination coverage in EPI

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2. NON PROBABILITY SAMPLING
▪ Any sampling method where some elements of population
have no chance of selection or where the probability of
selection can't be accurately determined.
▪ It involves the selection of elements based on assumptions
regarding the population of interest, which forms the criteria for
selection.
▪ Hence, because the selection of elements is nonrandom,
nonprobability sampling not allows the estimation of sampling
errors.

▪ Example: We visit every household in a given street, and

interview the first person to answer the door. In any household
with more than one occupant, this is a nonprobability sample,
because some people are more likely to answer the door (e.g.
an unemployed person who spends most of their time at home
is more likely to answer than an employed housemate who
might be at work when the interviewer calls) and it's not
practical to calculate these probabilities.

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NONPROBABILITY SAMPLING
• Nonprobability Sampling includes: Accidental Sampling,
Quota Sampling and Purposive Sampling.

• In addition, nonresponse effects may turn any probability

design into a nonprobability design if the characteristics of
nonresponse are not well understood, since nonresponse
effectively modifies each element's probability of being
sampled.

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 QUOTA SAMPLING
▪ The population is first segmented into mutually exclusive sub-
groups, just as in stratified sampling.
▪ Then judgment is used to select subjects or units from each
segment based on a specified proportion.
▪ For example, an interviewer may be told to sample 200 females
and 300 males between the age of 45 and 60.
▪ It is this second step which makes the technique one of non-
probability sampling.
▪ In quota sampling the selection of the sample is non-random.
▪ For example interviewers might be tempted to interview those who
look most helpful.
▪ The problem is that these samples may be biased because not
everyone gets a chance of selection. This random element is its
greatest weakness and quota versus probability has been a matter
of controversy for many years

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 CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
▪ Sometimes known as grab or opportunity sampling or accidental or
haphazard sampling.
▪ A type of nonprobability sampling which involves the sample being drawn
from that part of the population which is close to hand. That is, readily
available and convenient.
▪ The researcher using such a sample cannot scientifically make
generalizations about the total population from this sample because it
would not be representative enough.
▪ For example, if the interviewer was to conduct a survey at a shopping
center early in the morning on a given day, the people that he/she could
interview would be limited to those given there at that given time, which
would not represent the views of other members of society in such an area,
if the survey was to be conducted at different times of day and several
times per week.
▪ This type of sampling is most useful for pilot testing.
▪ In social science research, snowball sampling is a similar technique, where
existing study subjects are used to recruit more subjects into the sample.

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CONVENIENCE SAMPLING
Collect market research data from a conveniently
available pool of respondents

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Judgmental sampling or
Purposive sampling
▪ The researcher chooses the sample based on who they
think would be appropriate for the study.

▪ This is used primarily when there is a limited number of

people that have expertise in the area being researched

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 PANEL SAMPLING
▪ Method of first selecting a group of participants through a random
sampling method and then asking that group for the same
information again several times over a period of time.
▪ Therefore, each participant is given same survey or interview at two
or more time points; each period of data collection called a
"wave".
▪ This sampling methodology often chosen for large scale or nation-
wide studies in order to gauge changes in the population with
regard to any number of variables from chronic illness to job stress to
weekly food expenditures.
▪ Panel sampling can also be used to inform researchers about
within-person health changes due to age or help explain changes
in continuous dependent variables such as spousal interaction.
▪ There have been several proposed methods of analyzing panel
sample data, including growth curves.

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Referencing
Why Reference?
Your benefit Reader’s benefit
• To provide the source of ▪ To understand the context
information. of your work

• To add authority to your

argument ▪ To allow your reader to
track down your research
& other relevant and
• To add credibility to your related research.
information

• Enable the reader to see

how dated the
information might be

• Avoid plagiarism
Why Reference?
Ethical reasons:

▪ Intellectual integrity
▪ To distinguish between:
▪ Your ideas
▪ Someone else’s ideas

▪ Intellectual property issues

Referencing in your
essay
(In text referencing)
 ▪ Is there anything here
you don’t need to reference?

What should be referenced?

▪ Ideas, information, results, opinions from any
source that you have summarized, paraphrased
or directly quoted
▪ Definitions of terms
▪ Illustrations, tables, figures drawn from sources
▪ Your ideas that are also those of an author you
have read
▪ Plans, ideas or anything that was stimulated by
others
Guiding principles
▪ Respect the
▪ Creation of ideas by others
▪ Concept of intellectual property

▪ Acknowledge the ideas of others

But,
▪ Don’t reference “common knowledge”
What is common knowledge?
As general rules of thumb:

▪ If you didn’t know it before you read the research,

then it is not common knowledge and you need to
reference it.

▪ If most classmates would know it then it probably is

common knowledge.
Which of the following are common
knowledge?
1. The first fleet arrived in Australia in 1788.
Yes (for someone who grew up in Australia)

2. Driver fatigue is well recognised as a cause of accidents.

Yes: from driver safety campaigns on TV.

3. Alkaloids are the most important biochemical components of

Areca Nuts.
Not for the general public, but possibly for food biochemists.

4. Women who enrol in postgraduate studies are at greater risk

than men of late completion.
Probably not.
HOW does one reference accurately
1. Direct Quotations
▪ When directly quoting text, you must use
quotation marks and a footnote or
endnote symbol

2. Paraphrasing
When you paraphrase or use someone else’s
ideas without directly quoting them, you
still acknowledge them by an endnote.
Guidance from:
▪ Faculty, school or subject guides

▪ Software such as RefWorks, EndNote

▪ Library homepage

▪ Websites devoted to referencing!

▪ Articles you read

Common requirements of all conventions
▪ Acknowledge within the text
▪ Acknowledge closely as possible to the point
▪ Include all sources referred to in a list at the end of your essay
▪ This list is usually called a Reference List
▪ Sometimes called List of Works Consulted or Bibliography
▪ Include all details about the sources in your list
 Naming the list?
▪ Works consulted or referred to?
● Reference list or List of works consulted

▪ Works on topic, but not necessarily consulted?

● Bibliography
▪ Need both?

● Not usually
Acknowledging sources is
called citing or referencing
▪ A citation or reference in the text is where you refer to an
author

▪ It may be in the form of a direct quote or a summary or

paraphrase of an author

▪ Whenever referring to an author, explain his/her position and

your critique/comment on it
Quotations
▪ Use exact words
▪ Use them to support or illustrate your argument
▪ Avoid lengthy/frequent quotations
▪ Quotes are not included in your word count
 Short Quotations Longer Quotations
▪ Use for more than 4 lines of text, 3 lines of verse
▪ Separate from essay by two lines
• In quotation marks ▪ Usually single spaced
acknowledgement ▪ Indent ten spaces from left margin

is included in the ▪ No quotation marks

sentence ▪ Usually introduced by a colon

▪ At end of quote, leave space and give reference
in brackets
According to Brown (2008),
students who are “open to new There are a number of definitions of health
ideas are more likely to succeed in use, however The World Health
Organisation (WHO) defines it as:
at tertiary studies”. This is likely…

OR the state of being in which an

individual or group of
Students who are “open individuals are able to function
without feeling unwell either
to new ideas are more
physically or mentally.
likely to succeed at
tertiary studies” (Brown, (World Health Organisation, p. 32,
2008). 2008).
 Quotations within a Quotation

Use of single quote marks inside the existing quote:

The reporter told me, When I

interviewed the quarterback,
he said they simply ‘played a
better game’.
Summarizing & Paraphrasing

‘National reports OK paraphrase? OK paraphrase?

Flyn (2003, p. 17)
have detailed a Recent national claims that there is a
serious shortage reports have shortage of artists at
described a
of artists along a nation wide level
significant shortage which government
with both long of artists as well as has dealt with by
and short term long short or long means of short and
long term plans.
strategies to term methods to
address the issue
address the
(Flyn, 2003, p.17).
issue’ (Flyn,
2003, p.17).
When summarizing/paraphrasing
▪ Start with your own words (not the text)
▪ Explain only the main ideas
▪ Reduce it so that it is shorter than the original text
▪ Helpful when:
▪ Describing different authors’ views on a topic.
▪ Providing research evidence to support your
writing.
▪ Always acknowledge the original source
A Summary Example:
There is much anecdotal evidence from
academic staff, learning support staff and
students that mature age students study
differently compared with younger
students (Jenkins, 1989). Student age has
been found to be a factor in study success.
Comparing older and younger students,
Hong (1982) reported a higher level of
study habits and skills and motivation
amongst older students. In a similar
comparison, Owens (1989) reported that …

Source: Devlin, M 1996, Higher Education Research and

Development, vol.15, No.1, pp.51-60.
Is this referencing OK?
Working in teams has many advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages include such things as …. In contrast to these
potential benefits, working in teams may have disadvantages
such as …. Disadvantages are most obvious when conflict
arises (Jones, 2001).

Not really OK:

Last sentence comes from the source.
Let reader know the source from the beginning.
✔According to Jones (2001), working
in teams has the following
advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages include such things as
…. In contrast to these potential
benefits, she argues that working in
teams may have disadvantages
such as ….

✔Smith (2005) argues that there are

three main problems with doing X in
situation Y. First, it neglects, …
Second, …. Finally, doing X may
result in ….
Where would you
reference in the
following extract?
Most researchers agree that it is inappropriate to
attempt to isolate a single main cause of an
accident. However, earlier motor vehicle crash
studies demonstrated that about 90% of all
accidents could be attributed to road user
characteristics. Hence, road user behaviour is
often examined for compliance with existing
traffic rules and regulations. “Speed Kills” has
been used for many years as an educational
slogan to drive at reasonable speeds.

Source: Bener, A & Alwash, R 2002, Traffic Injury Prevention Vol. 3, pp.61-64.
Most researchers attempt to isolate a single main
Positioning references
cause of an accident agree that it is inappropriate
to (refs). However, earlier motor vehicle crash studies
demonstrated that about 90% of all accidents could
be attributed to road user characteristics (refs).
Hence, road user behaviour is often examined for
compliance with existing traffic rules and regulations
(refs). “Speed Kills” has been used for many years as
an educational slogan to drive at reasonable
speeds.(not here because it is common knowledge)
Basic referencing systems: in the
text

▪ Author and date – Harvard, APA, MLA (later versions)

▪ Numbering which links to footnotes or endnotes – Oxford,
Chicago
▪ Numbering which links to the reference list – Vancouver
In-text examples: author +
date
Note location of brackets
There is much anecdotal evidence
in the:
from academic staff, learning
support staff and students that • first citation, author’s
mature age students study name NOT part of
differently compared with younger sentence hence
students (Jenkins, 2008, p.97). brackets surround
Student age has been found to be BOTH the author’s
a factor in study success. name AND the year of
Comparing older and younger publication;
students, Hong (2007, p. 45)
reported a higher level of study • second and third
habits and skills and motivation citations, authors’
amongst older students. In a similar names ARE part of
comparison, Owens (2004) reported sentence hence
that ….etc.. brackets surround
ONLY the year of
publication.
In-text example: numerical
Surveys have consistently
found that more people Note
mention alcohol as a cause of • Citations appear in the same
drug-related death than
places as for author-date
tobacco [2, 3]. Similarly,
alcohol is more likely to be system,
viewed as part of the ‘drug • numbers instead of author’s
problem’ than tobacco, name and date of publication
although both tobacco and used to identify which
alcohol are mentioned far less reference in the reference
frequently than either heroin or list the idea(s) came from.
marijuana [2]. Nevertheless,
alcohol accounts for a wide • In this case, square brackets
range of community problems, have been used around
such as … [4–6]. numbers. In other systems,
the numbers are written as
superscripts to the text.
In-text, numerical
Thus, although Barlogie et al. Note:
[4] found an incidence of <2%
of deep vein thromboses using • Numerical system
thalidomide with used in
chemotherapy, it would still be
conjunction with
reference to
important to consider that author(s)
thalidomide might cause
thromboembolism, • Used to highlight
who has done
… This is supported by the what or simply to
smaller doses used in the early vary sentence
data from Osman and structure in order
Comenzo [3] where patients to keep writing
were on 100mg for … interesting.
Referencing newspaper articles,
organizations, corporations
Treat the organisation like an author:

▪ A recent report (NHMRC, 2003) has suggested that …

▪ Recently released crime statistics for Australia indicate that
… (Australian, 27 May 2004, p. 5).
In-text references to websites
▪ Use author and publication date or latest update
▪ Unknown author?
▪ Treat organisation as author
▪ Organisation unknown?
▪ Use title of the web page as author
▪ Site not dated?
▪ use ‘n.d.’ for ‘no date’
▪ In reference list include date you accessed the site as well as author,
date, title of website and url.
 Introductions
don’t need
references.
True or False?
BOTH:

▪ True
when stating your thesis
and outlining your essay and not
drawing on authors.

▪False when you do draw on

authors. Then you must
acknowledge.
Academic writing needs:
▪ References in the text

PLUS

▪ References in a list at the end of your work

Compiling
the
Reference List
 Necessary Information
▪ Names of authors (family names and at least initials)
▪ Name of journal article, chapter or conference
paper
▪ Name of journal, book, conference, etc.
▪ Date of publication
▪ Volume number (for journals)
▪ Editor of book (if applicable)
▪ Publisher (for books)
▪ Place of publication (for books)
▪ Page numbers (of article or book chapter )
Examples: reference lists for author-
date citations
Barry, M and Molyneux, M ▪ Format: [Author’s family
1992, “Ethical dilemmas name, Initial, year of
in malaria drug and publication. Title of
vaccine trials: a bioethical article. Title of Journal,
Volume number, page
perspective”, J Med Ethics, numbers of article.]
vol. 18, pp.189-192.
▪ Organized alphabetically
by first author’s family
name (in red).
Christakis, NA 1992, “Ethics
and local: engaging cross- ▪ Note that lines after the
cultural variation in the first are indented to make
ethics for clinical research”, it easy to see where each
reference begins.
Soc Sci Med, vol. 35,
pp.1079-1091.
Examples: reference lists for author-
date citations
Strang J, Smith, M and Spurrell S
1992, “The Community Drug Look out for
Team”, British Journal of differences
Addiction, vol. 87, pp.169-78.
[Journal article] ▪ APA uses brackets
around year of
Tripp, M 2003, In: Judson, H (ed.)
Heroin Addiction in Britain, pp publication
46-93, Harcourt Brace ▪ APA uses place of
Jovanovich: New York.
publication
[Chapter in edited book] before publisher
White, P 2008, Study Secrets, HBJ ▪ Full stops after initials
Books, London.
in APA, but not
[Book] Harvard
Basic Referencing Systems: Reference Lists
Numerical (eg. Vancouver)
Sources are listed
• numerically by order of their first citation in the text
• by the family name of the first author
• in other words, each source is given a number that
it retains throughout the work.

1. Getzen TE. Health economics: fundamentals and flow of

funds. New York (NY): John Wiley & Sons; 1997.

2. Millares M, editor. Applied drug information: strategies for

information management. Vancouver,WA: Applied
Therapeutics, Inc.; 1998.

3. Australian Government Publishing Service. Style manual

for authors, editors and printers. 5th ed. Canberra:
Australian Government Publishing Service; 1994.
Electronic magazine

Adler, J 1999, May 17, “Ghost of Everest”, Newsweek. Retrieved

May 19, 1999, from
http://newsweek.com/nwsrv/issue/20_99a/printed/int/socu/so0
120_1.htm.

Website

McGann, J 1995, “The rationale of HyperText”. Retrieved June 27, 2001,

from University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Technology in the
Humanities Web site
http://jefferson.village.virginia.edu/public/jjm2f/rationale.html.
Is anything missing in the Think different
following text? systems

To date, research has indicated that diversity

among members in small groups can yield both
benefits and costs. For example, Campion et al
found that difference in member background and
expertise either had no impact or decreased
group effectiveness depending on the criterion
measures used. Magjuka and Baldwin found that
within-group diversity had positive effects on
group performance …
Missing?
Mention of the authors’ names not sufficient. For reference to
be complete:
▪ Author-date system must include years of publication
of the research cited.
▪ MLA system: year of publication is not required but
page numbers generally are.
▪ If numerical referencing system is being used, the
numbers of the references must be added.
Find the Mistakes
Morgan, Glickman, Woodward, Blaiwes, and Salas define a
team simply as “… a distinguishable set of two or more
individuals who interact independently and adaptively to
achieve specified, shared and valued objectives.” Elizabeth
(1995) suggests that “teams and teaming have become hot
topics … as organizations have come to rely on team-based
arrangements to improve quality, productivity, and customer
service.”
Mistakes?
Morgan et al. (1986, p. 3) define a team simply as “… a
distinguishable set of two or more individuals who interact
independently and adaptively to achieve specified, shared and
valued objectives”. [Elizabeth not family name of author] suggests
that “teams and teaming have become hot topics … as
organizations have come to rely on team-based arrangements to
improve quality, productivity, and customer service.”
Note: “et al.” is Latin for “and others”, and is generally used in the in-text citation (not
generally in the reference list) if an article has three or more authors. Check the
relevant style guide for the precise rules of the usage of et al.
Avoiding plagiarism
▪ Reduce the amount of direct paraphrasing you have to
do

▪ Rather, take notes (wherever possible) at a distance

from the text

▪ But how?
Taking notes ‘at a distance’
▪ Develop research questions for your assignment:
▪ What do I need to find out/check out?
▪ What are the key issues in this topic?

▪ As you read, look for answers to your research

questions
▪ Write key words in the margin or on a piece of paper
for each relevant paragraph
▪ Read the whole article before you write long hand
notes
▪ Record information under research questions or
headings after you have finished reading the article
Example:
▪ Essay topic:
“Plagiarism has now reached endemic proportions and
should be punished by automatic exclusion”. Discuss.
▪ Develop research questions:
▪ What is plagiarism?
▪ Is it on the increase?
▪ Why do people plagiarise?
▪ What types of penalties reduce it?
 End of
Introduction to
Research & Referencing
Module