Sources

Unit 5

Learning outcomes

By the end of this unit you should:


Using sources (short version)

This short version is enough if you just want to know how to use sources.

Activity 1

Decide the missing word for each sentence and then click "show" to check. If you do not use LaTeX, answer only questions 1 and 2.

  1. When you use ideas or words that are not yours, place a ..... in square brackets, e.g. [3].
  2. At the end of your graduation thesis, include the full reference in your ....
  3. In ...., use the command \cite to refer to your source.
  4. The command \bibliography{....} refers to your BibTeX file references.bib.
  5. If you do not ..... the source, the source will not show in your references when using the LaTeX default setting.
    1. number
    2. reference list (bibliography)
    3. LaTeX
    4. references
    5. cite

    There is a difference between reference list and bibliography, but this is the short version.

Using sources (full version)

Activity 1

Read.

Draft 1

The sun is very hot [1].

Reference

[1] Google result. https://www.google.co.jp/search?ei=oWDiW4XJNoKp8QWYu5PoBw&q=temperature+of+sun+surface&oq=temperature+of+sun+surface&gs_l=psy-ab.3..0l4j0i22i30k1l5j0i22i10i30k1.188.1535.0.1872.7.5.0.0.0.0.579.1582.2-3j1j0j1.5.0....0...1c.1.64.psy-ab..2.5.1577...0i10k1.0.eZj_ZhXSDnk

Commentary 1

This draft is not only very short, but very strange. Everyone reading this graduation thesis will know that the sun is hot, so there is no need for a citation. This citation is also very unclear. Citations should refer to some reliable source. Google is very powerful, but the search engine results change regularly. Any source used should be more stable, such as a journal article.

Draft 2

The sun is approximately 5800 degrees. [1].

Reference

[1] Wikipedia article: Sun. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

Commentary 2

The graduation thesis now contains information that some people may not know. The source of this information is not the author and so a citation is needed. The source was Wikipedia, but this is not so reliable as it can be edited by anyone. A higher quality source is needed, such as a journal article.

Draft 3

The sun is approximately 5800 degrees. [1].

Reference

[1] Yabe, T., Yoshida, K. and Uchida, S., 2007, October. Demonstrated fossil-fuel-free energy cycle using magnesium and laser. In International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (Vol. 2007, No. 1, p. M1103). LIA.

Commentary 3

Although the author first checked Wikipedia, the source used is from a peer-reviewed journal and is more reliable. The next step is to add more details.

Draft 4

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The sun is approximately 5800 degrees. [1].

Reference

[1] Yabe, T., Yoshida, K. and Uchida, S., 2007, October. Demonstrated fossil-fuel-free energy cycle using magnesium and laser. In International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (Vol. 2007, No. 1, p. M1103). LIA.

Commentary 4

More detail has been added. However, this sentence was stolen directly from Wikipedia. This is called plagiarism. Plagiarism is when words or ideas are taken but the source is not acknowledged.

Draft 5

The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System [1]. The sun is approximately 5800 degrees. [2].

References

[1] Wikipedia article: Sun. Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sun

[2] Yabe, T., Yoshida, K. and Uchida, S., 2007, October. Demonstrated fossil-fuel-free energy cycle using magnesium and laser. In International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (Vol. 2007, No. 1, p. M1103). LIA.

Commentary 5

The source for the first sentence is now given, but this is unreliable. Readers of the graduation thesis should already know this so a citation is not necessary if the words are written by the author.

Draft 6

The Solar system comprises planets and a star. Nine planets orbit around the star called the Sun. The sun is approximately 5800 degrees. [1].

Reference

[1] Yabe, T., Yoshida, K. and Uchida, S., 2007, October. Demonstrated fossil-fuel-free energy cycle using magnesium and laser. In International Congress on Applications of Lasers & Electro-Optics (Vol. 2007, No. 1, p. M1103). LIA.

Commentary 6

The general details of the Sun and Solar system do not need citations. There is a citation for the specific detail of temperature. The source of the citation is reliable. This is still very short, but provides a solid basis for an introduction to a graduation thesis related to the Sun.

Activity 2

Haruko Obokata was accused of fabricating data and plagiarism. She lost her job, her PhD and her reputation. Read the paragraph below to understand the difference between plagiarism and text recycling.

PUT IMAGE DESCRIPTION HERE

Source: Kimimasa Mayam/European Pressphoto Agency (2014)

Plagiarism or text recycling

Plagiarism is when you use the ideas and/or words of someone else. Text recycling is when you use the words of someone else. The difference is that when you commit plagiarism, the original sources of the words are traceable. When you recycle text, so many other people have used the same words that the original source is unclear. Plagiarism can easily be detected by using specialist software. In fact, due to the Obokata scandal, many Japanese universities started to use plagiarism detection tools.

Activity 3

Work in pairs. Decide whether each of the following extracts are plagiarized or recycled.

  1. In this paper, we show.....
  2. with English exhibiting a higher tongue tip
  3. the null hypothesis is rejected
  4. statistical analysis was conducted using R
  5. is defined as the
  6. lattice based cryptography
  7. WordBricks
    1. Text recycling
    2. Plagiarism (apart from Prof. Wilson who originally wrote it)
    3. Text recycling
    4. Text recycling
    5. Text recycling
    6. Text recycling
    7. Plagiarism (apart from Prof. Mozgovoy and his co-researchers).

    One way to check is to search on Google using "quotation marks" around the extract. If there are only a few results from the same source, it is likely to be plagiarism. If there are many results, it is likely to be text recycling.

Activity 4

Read the text below to identify the difference between sources and citations.

Sources and citations

Research articles and graduation theses frequently refer to sources. Commonly used sources are research articles, conference proceedings and books. When the idea and/or words are used from a source, a citation is used. There are three common types of citations: quotations, paraphrases and summaries. In short, sources refer to the original location of the words, but citation describes the places that the original idea or words are used (without plagiarism).

Activity 5

Work in pairs. Discuss the meaning of each of the terms below.

  1. source
  2. citation
  3. reference
  4. reference list
  5. bibliography
    1. the book, article, website, etc. that the idea is taken from
    2. the location in the graduation thesis (or any research document) where this is used and credited.
    3. the details on where to find the source
    4. the list of details of all sources used in the graduation thesis
    5. the list of sources cited and any background reference materials.

Activity 6

Read the simplifed extract below, answer the questions below and then compare answers with a partner.

  1. How many different sources are used?
  2. How many citations are used?
  3. Why does the author use more than one citation as evidence?
    1. Thirteen. We know because the highest number in square brackets is 13.
    2. There are five citations, but some citations use more than one source.
    3. We are not sure, but perhaps to persuade the reader to believe this idea. (Although in logic, this could be classed as the fallacy appeal to authority).

Simplified extract

Concept A [1,2] can be considered to be Aspect B [3] This experiment builds on Experiment C [3,4,5,6] and applies Technique D [7]. The results show Aspect E, which are in line with [8,9,10,11,12 ,13].

Activity 7

Work in pairs or small groups. Discuss your answers to the following questions.

Which do you prefer to cite:

  1. theoretical or empirical studies?
  2. seminal or obscure papers?
  3. well-known or unknown authors?
  4. one source or many sources?
  5. recent articles or articles over 3 years old?
  6. books or articles?
  7. conference proceedings or journal articles
  8. peer-reviewed articles or non-reviewed articles?

    9. Researchers may have different views on the answers. However, some suggested answers are given below. Do you agree with these answers? If not, why not?

    1. Depends on the purpose.
    2. Ideally, seminal.
    3. Ideally, well-known.
    4. One good source is better than many less appropriate sources.
    5. Ideally, recent.
    6. Articles.
    7. Depends on your field of computer science, but in general journal articles are considered more favourably. In fast-changing domains, conference proceedings are considered more highly.
    8. Peer-reviewed.

Activity 8

Read the table below to understand the differences between these three types of citations: quotations, paraphrases and summaries. Summaries are most commonly used in graduation theses at the University of Aizu.

Details Quotations Paraphrases Summaries
same meaning yes yes yes
same length yes yes no
same wording yes no no

Unit review

Check your understanding of using sources by answering these questions:

Are you likely to finish your graduation thesis on time? Check now.

Motivate me

“Write now or start looking for a part-time job to pay for your tuition next year.” - Parent