Citation in Skripsi or Thesis

             Citation  in Skripsi or Thesis

                                     Written by Ari Julianto

Today's posting I would like to discuss about citations  found in a skripsi or thesis. Within academia, different disciplines have their own conventions for citing authors. 

I. Definition and Kinds

The American Heritage Disctionary ofEenglish Language defines citation as follows n. Abbr. cit. 1. The act of citing. 2. a. A quoting of an authoritative source for substantiation. b. A source so cited; a quotation.

There are two kinds of citation found in writing a skripsi, they are

a. In the body of a sentence. For example

According to Holmes and Smith (1986), gender is an important feature in language.

b. In brackets. For example

Gender is an important feature in language (Holmes & Smith, 1986).

There is no rule concerning which citation method – whether citing authors in the body of a sentence or in brackets – is best. Either method is fine. However, it is always useful for the reader to provide variety when citing authors in our assignment. So, try to alternate between these two methods.

II. Reference Verbs

To avoid relying on the same verbs when introducing authors into our sentence, as in the case of “McDonald (1992) says…” or “Anderson (2003) states…”, a list of verbs is provided to add variety to your sentence embedded citations.

agrees- asserts-believes-claims-comments; concedes that-challenges; concludes; compare-defines; delves deeper-describes-examines; explains; explores; echoes-feels; felt that-focuses on-goes further-holds that-insists; includes; identifies-is clear that; was clear on-maintains; mentions-notes-observes-points out; points to-prefers; poses-provides evidence-qualifies-recalls; recounts-refers to-reminds; responds-reports; reveals-says; sees-shows-speaks of-states; suggests-summarises; supports-tells; tells of-touches on-verifies-writes that

III. Two or More authors

If there are two or more authors with the same surname, regardless of year of publication, include their first initials to distinguish the publications.

- In the body of a sentence

According to R. B. Holmes (1995) and J. S. Holmes (1995), management principles underlie many organizational practices.

- In brackets

Management principles underlie many organisational practices (R. B. Holmes, 1995; J. S. Holmes, 1995).

If there are two or more publications written by the same author in the same year, then add the letter “a” immediately after the year of the first publication mentioned in the text, and add the letter “b” after the second, and so on. Ensure the same detail is reflected in your Reference List. For example

McMillan (1992a) illustrates cross-cultural awareness in organisations, while

McMillan (1992b) argues for the significance of gender in cross-cultural awareness.

When stating the same author twice in a single paragraph, the year only needs mentioning the first time in the paragraph (unless it could be confused with another reference, such as in the case of publications written by the same author in the same year). For example

The notion of anger has been debated for centuries (Wilkinson, 1976). Indeed, Wilkinson points out that….

For works with no identifiable date, include n.d. in brackets.Example

The notion of anger has been debated for centuries (Wilkinson, n.d.).

When citing a publication written by three to five authors, for the first text citation, include all names. On subsequent citations, state the first author followed by “et al.”, which is a Latin abbreviation for “et als”,meaning “and others”. Example

- In the body of a sentence

According to Slater et al. (1978, p. 120), it is important to establish the grounds of the argument.

- In brackets

It is important to establish the grounds of the argument (Slater et al. 1978, p. 120).

For works of six or more authors, for all citations, including the fi rst, include the fi rst author’s surname followed by “et al.” In the case of secondary citations, that is when a source you are using cites someone else’s work – which is the work you want to include, but you do not have access to the original document – it is important to acknowledge both the original source and the source you have access to. When documenting both sources in brackets, use “as cited in” before the secondary source. Example

Riechter’s (1984, as cited in Smith, 2003) study highlights how business models offer a framework for understanding commercial mechanisms.

The following examples illustrate the citation style, i.e. the way in which the sources for any quotations should be given:

One author: Name, year of publication. E.g.: (Brusset, 2009), if the source follows a section or Brusset (2009), if the reference is placed inside the text.

Two authors: Names of both authors, year of publication. E.g.: (Gopen and Swan,1990) or Gopen and Swan (1990).

More than two authors: Add "et al." E.g.: (Frizzell et al., 2003) or Frizzell et al.(2003). (Note that all authors have to be listed in the bibliography.)

For different publications by the same author in the same year, use small Arabian letters in addition to the year. E.g.: (Meier, 1990a), (Meier, 1990b) or Meier (1990a), Meier (1990b).

When using a book as a source for quotation, the page number should be included (if a section is based on more than one page, add "f", for more than two pages add "ff"). Independent of the type of source (journal, book etc.), direct quotes should always include a page number. E.g.: (Meier, 1999, pp. 30f) or Meier (1999, pp.30f).

(taken from any sources)

 

Hope today's posting will be useful for all of us. Amien.