Maanasi Mahalingam, M.Optom, FAAO

Editorial Assistant, Vision Science Academy, U.K.

Optometrist & Faculty, Aravind Eye Care System, Chennai

Vision Science Academy Exclusive

In the modern era of technology, research and development play critical roles in every field. A researcher can share his ideas and discussion in the form of scientific as well scientific writing. 

Referencing carries the whole weight of scientific writing. It enables the researcher to acknowledge the contribution of other researchers in their field. Any person, who uses other people’s ideas or contributions, should give credit to the original author. It also allows the person who reads your work, to refer more from the cited reference.

Citation – What does it mean? 

A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. References are important when the words or ideas from books, newspapers, journals, magazines, websites, and lectures are used by the authors. Whereas it is not mandatory to provide references while writing your own experiences or observations, or thoughts. It is also the way to give credit to the author’s intellectual work.

Citations contain some standard elements and all the information necessary to identify and track down publications, including:

• Author name(s)
• Titles of books, articles, and journals
• Date of publication
• Page numbers
• Volume and issue numbers (for articles)

The citations can be presented in three ways, namely parenthetical, numerical and note citations. Parenthetical citations include identifying details of the source in parentheses in the text. Usually, the author’s last name and the publication date are included, plus a page number if relevant. Numerical citations include a number in brackets or in superscript, which corresponds to an entry in the numbered reference list. Note citations include a full citation in a footnote or endnote, which is indicated in the text with a superscript number or symbol.

There are various styles of citation available, and it is chosen according to the discipline involved. The four commonly used citation styles are –

a) American Psychological Association (APA) 

 It is a parenthetical system: i.e., bracketed references in the body of the essay are linked to full-length citations in the bibliography at the end of your essay. It was designed to be used in the discipline of psychology but is now used across all disciplines.

Figure 1 : Explanation of APA bibliography.
(Image courtesy: https://www.mendeley.com/guides/apa-citation-guide)

b) Modern Language Association (MLA) is also a parenthetical system

c) Harvard is when the partial citations are enclosed within parentheses and embedded in the text, either within or after a sentence

d) Vancouver style uses numbers within the text

Reference managers:

There are many reference managers such as Mendeley, Endnote, and Zotero, are available. These managers are designed to help the authors to search, store and organize literature. It is also used to insert citations and references in different styles, by installing the Microsoft word plugin. We can also generate citations online via some websites. 

Plagiarism:

Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas, without their consent and full acknowledgment. It is breaching academic integrity and is also unethical. It should be avoided in any form of academic as well as scientific research. It can be checked by many websites, which provide the percentage of plagiarism in your works.

In conclusion, irrespective of any form of writing, citation and referencing are mandatory. Both are considered a stamp of good research.  By doing so, the author’s credibility is maintained, and plagiarism is avoided.

References: 

1. Citing sources: Overview. LibGuides. (n.d.). Retrieved August 4, 2022, from https://libguides.mit.edu/citing 
2. Library. (2017, May 4). Referencing explained. Library. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/1402/referencing/47/referencing_explained 
3. Why is referencing important? UNSW Current Students. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.student.unsw.edu.au/why-referencing-important 
4. Organizing your Social Sciences Research Paper: 11. citing sources. Research Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/citingsources 
5. Identifying parts of a citation: Why citing sources is important. Research Guides. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://guides.library.unk.edu/c.php?g=710678&p=5051044 
6. Caulfield, J. (2022, July 15). Citation styles guide: Examples for all major styles. Scribbr. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.scribbr.com/citing-sources/citation-styles/ 
7. eOphtha. (n.d.). Mendeley reference manager: A step-by-step guide. eOphtha. Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.eophtha.com/posts/mendeley-reference-manager-a-step-by-step-guide 
8. Plagiarism. University of Oxford. (n.d.). Retrieved August 5, 2022, from https://www.ox.ac.uk/students/academic/guidance/skills/plagiarism 
9. Santini, A. (2018). The importance of referencing. The Journal of Critical Care Medicine, 4(1), 3.