Journal references -How to cite journal references

Journal references -How to cite journal references

Firstly, Referencing can be interpreted as the practice of giving credit, using typed notes known as citations, to the source of information used in one’s research documents. It can be best described as a buildup from previous work done by other individuals, thus referencing helps the readership to relate research conducted by an individual to other previous work done by other individuals.

When you use someone else’s work without acknowledging the person then you will be or can be convicted for a criminal offence known as Plagiarism. Referencing is a very significant aspect of any academic or educational work. It lays your work in a proper context, and it seeks to demonstrate the extent and depth of the research carried out by the writer, and this is achieved by the acknowledgement of other people’s work that contributed to the building of your research.

Whenever you borrow someone’s idea from an already concluded work, for instance, a journal article, textbook or website, it is honourable and morally right to cite the original author and to make clear where that idea was borrowed from. This should be the case irrespective of whether you paraphrased, summarized or quoted directly from their work. This is an excellent practice in any form of writing.

References usually appear on the last page of an essay or research work and it makes a list of all the sources used by the individual(writer) in his or her research work when it’s being written in APA style. The APA style is the short form or acronym for The American Psychological Association as they were the creators of this style. It is a standard method of formatting documents and citing sources employed in creating the said documents.

It could also be called the reference page formatting as the APA style lists all its sources in a fresh page located at the back of the document known as the Reference Page. However, other styles refer to the reference page differently, for instance, the Turabian style refers to the reference page as Bibliography whilst the MLA (Modern Language Association) refers to the reference page as works cited.

Moreover, there is also another way of citing sources known as the In-Text Citation, it is a practice that after using other works to build your own work or to expound on your idea, the writer now gives the credit due within the text. However, the citations will also appear on the reference page.

Another question to answer will be how then can one create a good reference page?

1. Firstly, you must use a uniform format, usually, you’ll have to apply the 12 point Aria or Times new roman don’t, use 1-inch margins and double line spacing and add hanging indents.
2. Make a documentary of your reference in alphabetic order.
3. Using hanging indents for the source name, title, publisher, etcetera.
4. Make a note of every material/resource you used immediately after your work or during the time of writing.
5. When your source is nameless use the book title and quote the publisher.
6. Your reference should also include people you interviewed or questionnaires used in carrying out the research.

Importance of referencing

Referencing is a very important part of your writing especially for ( but not limited to) these number of reasons:

1. Accurate referencing allows for the rightful acknowledgement of the usage of other individuals’ impressions, notions, hypotheses and devices. This is a very secure way of writing your documents as it saves you from criminal conviction and indictment while giving honor to whom honor is due.
2. Referencing looks to help your audience to appreciate the exact ideas, notions, theories, etcetera that influenced the writer’s thinking and primordial views and how these aforementioned factors were conceived it will also teach the younger generation of readers that no man is an island and that our thoughts and not so independent but entwined together to achieve progress.
3. Proper and neatly done referencing would help your audience to be able to evaluate the expanse of your reading and exposure in the business. Writing about your references will help people to know that you have read other works and that you’re not relying on your own personal intuition alone. They will be able to trust you more if you quote information from other authors and other related works.
4. In addition, referencing facilitates the readers in visiting related sources or related materials by themselves not just for verifying the information on display but also to increase the wealth of knowledge on the subject. In the event there exist questions that your article doesn’t address in clear terms then the other works you’ve cited might be able to solve that issue or a sweet such questions.
5. References offer the audience Additional information about the discourse. It gives an extra thing to the already created article.
6. Referencing shows that you as the writer understand the topic in view.
7. The evidence accrues into solid support and pillars to your journal

Reference Styles in academic writing

Having made known what referencing entails, why it is expedient to reference and when to reference, let’s take a peek into different referencing styles and who uses them as much as these diverse ways of referencing exists the application of a particular style of referencing depends on the academic community or discipline involved, examples include:

1. APA (American Psychological Association) is used in Education, Psychology, and Sciences
2. MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
3. Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts
4. AMS (American Meteorological Society) this form or pattern of citation is commonly practiced by scientific Department and is recommended when the research is scientific.

However, before making a pick you must endeavor to make a consultation with the authority supervising your work, say maybe your professor or lecturer to determine what is required specifically for your work.