General Principles for References Use the most original source possible. Use the most up-to-date and reliable source available. Your paper is only as good as its weakest source.

How to let Professors know you are not Familiar with College Writing Use unacceptable sources: your class notes, your textbook, and the morning paper. Use out-of-date sources. Ask where to find references the week before the paper is due. Bonus points for cutting it even closer. Use unconventional or inconsistent referencing styles.

How to let your Professors Know you are Familiar with College Writing Start early to locate sources. Cite scholarly references only. Cite recent materials. Use accepted referencing styles.

Usually NOT Acceptable References Class Lecture Notes Textbooks Encyclopedias or Dictionaries Popular Books or Magazines Newspapers Radio and TV Broadcasts Internet Equivalents of Any of the Above

MAY be Acceptable References Reputable News Media (Time, Newsweek, New York Times) Serious Popular Magazines (Sky & Telescope, National Geographic) Government Publications Internet versions of these sources

Acceptable References Scholarly Periodicals Scholarly Books Reputable Translations of Foreign Works Student Theses Research Forums or Hotlines on the Internet

Locating Sources: The “Snowball” Approach Locate a good recent source on the topic What does your source use for references? What do those sources use for references? Certain key authors will turn up repeatedly. Find out what else these people have written. Certain references will turn up repeatedly. These are references considered crucial by active researchers in the field. You should cite these sources if they apply to your paper.

When to reference something If you didn’t know it when you started the paper. If your “mom” doesn’t know it. Example: –“Nine planets are known in our solar system.” –“Researchers found three planets around a star in the constellation of Andromeda (Butler et al., 1999).”

How to reference In the text include the name and date of the reference (2 ways). –“Researchers found three planets around a star in the constellation of Andromeda (Butler et al., 1999).” –“Butler et al. (1999) found three planets around a star in the constellation of Andromeda.” At end of paper include: Butler et al., 1999, ApJ, 526, 916