1. Hints on Writing (B) Using Citations Appropriately
PhD Seminar
Hints on Writing (B)
Using Citations Appropriately
Jeff Offutt

2. Your Citations Must Help Readers Understand the Paper
Citation Notes
Your Citations Must Help Readers Understand the Paper

3. Citation Notes
One of the unique aspects of academic writing is citations
Citations carry crucially important information :
What the paper is based on (context)
What the author knows
What the reader should know
They are considered a measure of the care the author takes with his or her research
© Jeff Offutt

4. Citation Terminology
Reference : Direction to a source of information, the author, title, etc. at the end of the paper
Citation : To mention in support of proof or argument, mentioning work in the text
“[14]” is a citation
Bibliography : An exhaustive list of all publications on a subject
© Jeff Offutt

5. Rules for Citations Never reference something you have not read
This is not style, but ethics
Use “secondary citations” only when necessary
List all authors in reference list
(never use “et al.” in reference list!)
Write authors names as they appear in the paper
Give enough information to find the reference
Citations are parenthetical elements, not nouns
“… as said in [Gomaa98].” is grammatically wrong
“… as said by Gomaa [Gomaa98].” is correct
Citation keys should appear in reference list
© Jeff Offutt

6. Keep Your Reference DB Neat
If your references are sloppy, readers will assume your research is also sloppy
When you correct a reference in a paper, make sure you correct your permanent data base
I have used the same .bib file since 1988
It is better to over-reference than under-reference
Even famous scientists like to see their names in print
© Jeff Offutt