Referencing Struggles (APA 6th)
Hello. My name's Taylor and I'm studying L3 ED Conservation and Wildlife Management.
Referencing is really getting on my nerves. I keep finding contradictory information on how and what I should reference, just regarding APA 6th. Referencing is ridiculously contrived and it doesn't actually make sense no matter how much I try to find the answers. A lot of what I should reference is entirely subjective and it leaves me confused. Something I found out that is that you're not supposed to put the url of a website as an in-text reference. For example if I found a figure from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust website, I would say the figure and put (Gwct.gov.uk, n.d.) beside it. I've now found out that you're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to put either the author's name or failing that, the title of the web-page and then the date if it has one. What annoys me is that I've been doing it wrong for more than a year and not a single lecturer has picked up on it! I want to do it right. However, what confuses me is that my CiteThisForMe list implies that what I was doing is correct as it says in-text references for websites should be (Website title , date/n.d.) if there is no author. This is contradictory and I've no idea what to use now.
One of the things I'm struggling to get my head around-and I've pretty much always had this problem- is how do you reference figures/statistics/any numbers in general if they are from the same source and you want to include them in the same paragraph. Say I have a whole paragraph full of figures from one particular website. Would I need to then put (author/website name, date/n.d.) beside every single figure? How does that even work? For example in my deer assignment I've written"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
I'm not even sure how to handle that... Both of those figures ("16 months" and "17 to 22 days") are from the same website so how do you reference it?
Another thing that's bothering me is how on earth do you reference lecturer notes? I've never done it. I didn't think you had to. Pretty much everything I've got for a large section on Red Deer, like most of the figures, comes from lecture notes. How are you supposed to reference those? Do I just say (Hill, 2015) after each figure? I've never referenced figures taken from my own notes because I just assumed the lecturers would know that they gave me those figures. If you do actually have to reference lecture notes like this, that seems a bit strange as I'd basically have a whole report with (Hill, 2015) repeated countless times, depending on how much I'm using my notes. I don't know if any of that makes sense.
Referencing seems more complex the more I look in to it. What puzzles me is that I've never been told off for doing it wrongly.
Referencing is really getting on my nerves. I keep finding contradictory information on how and what I should reference, just regarding APA 6th. Referencing is ridiculously contrived and it doesn't actually make sense no matter how much I try to find the answers. A lot of what I should reference is entirely subjective and it leaves me confused. Something I found out that is that you're not supposed to put the url of a website as an in-text reference. For example if I found a figure from the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust website, I would say the figure and put (Gwct.gov.uk, n.d.) beside it. I've now found out that you're not supposed to do that. You're supposed to put either the author's name or failing that, the title of the web-page and then the date if it has one. What annoys me is that I've been doing it wrong for more than a year and not a single lecturer has picked up on it! I want to do it right. However, what confuses me is that my CiteThisForMe list implies that what I was doing is correct as it says in-text references for websites should be (Website title , date/n.d.) if there is no author. This is contradictory and I've no idea what to use now.
One of the things I'm struggling to get my head around-and I've pretty much always had this problem- is how do you reference figures/statistics/any numbers in general if they are from the same source and you want to include them in the same paragraph. Say I have a whole paragraph full of figures from one particular website. Would I need to then put (author/website name, date/n.d.) beside every single figure? How does that even work? For example in my deer assignment I've written"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
I'm not even sure how to handle that... Both of those figures ("16 months" and "17 to 22 days") are from the same website so how do you reference it?
Another thing that's bothering me is how on earth do you reference lecturer notes? I've never done it. I didn't think you had to. Pretty much everything I've got for a large section on Red Deer, like most of the figures, comes from lecture notes. How are you supposed to reference those? Do I just say (Hill, 2015) after each figure? I've never referenced figures taken from my own notes because I just assumed the lecturers would know that they gave me those figures. If you do actually have to reference lecture notes like this, that seems a bit strange as I'd basically have a whole report with (Hill, 2015) repeated countless times, depending on how much I'm using my notes. I don't know if any of that makes sense.
Referencing seems more complex the more I look in to it. What puzzles me is that I've never been told off for doing it wrongly.
Yeah it's a pain, no one ever likes doing it afaik.
see if there's a referencing guide in the uni library - they can't pull you up for following their own guide.
afaik no one likes to see lecture notes being referenced directly... but you should reference the source of the data used in the lecture notes or else find a source yourself that shows the same thing - it doesn't really matter if the lecturer marking it aught to know where the data came from, the idea is that anyone could pick it up and know where the information originated.
Try collecting numbers into a table and referencing that - it's awkward reading too many numbers in a sentence anyway.
Common knowledge only applies to information at the 'grass is green' level - lots of people aren't going to know the estrous cycle length of deer off the top of their head, maybe they're specialists in reptile reproduction... or economists.
see if there's a referencing guide in the uni library - they can't pull you up for following their own guide.
afaik no one likes to see lecture notes being referenced directly... but you should reference the source of the data used in the lecture notes or else find a source yourself that shows the same thing - it doesn't really matter if the lecturer marking it aught to know where the data came from, the idea is that anyone could pick it up and know where the information originated.
Try collecting numbers into a table and referencing that - it's awkward reading too many numbers in a sentence anyway.
Common knowledge only applies to information at the 'grass is green' level - lots of people aren't going to know the estrous cycle length of deer off the top of their head, maybe they're specialists in reptile reproduction... or economists.
Thanks. Reference placement really confuses me... My main question still is how you go about referencing the same source multiple times in the same paragraph. In fact that now extends to more than one paragraph.
I've written the following:
The tracks of the red deer are large in comparison to other deer, as befits the animal's size. Red stag tracks are 8-9cm long and 6-7cm wide, whereas a hind's are 6-7cm long and 4cm wide. Red Deer droppings are 2-2.5cm x 13.-1.8cm. The droppings are acorn shaped and often pointed at the end with a hollow at the other. They are black in colour and can be deposited in clusters or as a string if the deer is in motion. Summer droppings are most often clumped together.
I got the measurements from a web-page, but what I struggle with is determining where to put the in-text citation. Should I just put the in-text after "1.8cm"? That's what I would normally do. The thing is my referencing has changed over the year I've been doing my course and it's pretty agitating as my lecturers tell me to do it in different ways. One lecturer wanted me to put the website name under every single paragraph of text, but that makes no sense.
The thing is, the above example is fairly simple, but what I really don't understand is how to reference figures in the same paragraph multiple times. So in my above paragraph all the measurements are contained in one sentence. But I struggle when it comes to having figures, then some other information and then figures again. Where on earth would I put the in-text citation then if it comes from the same website? I'll use this example again:
"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
Where would I put the in-text citation. "16 months of age" and "17 to 22 days" are figures from the same website.
I've written the following:
The tracks of the red deer are large in comparison to other deer, as befits the animal's size. Red stag tracks are 8-9cm long and 6-7cm wide, whereas a hind's are 6-7cm long and 4cm wide. Red Deer droppings are 2-2.5cm x 13.-1.8cm. The droppings are acorn shaped and often pointed at the end with a hollow at the other. They are black in colour and can be deposited in clusters or as a string if the deer is in motion. Summer droppings are most often clumped together.
I got the measurements from a web-page, but what I struggle with is determining where to put the in-text citation. Should I just put the in-text after "1.8cm"? That's what I would normally do. The thing is my referencing has changed over the year I've been doing my course and it's pretty agitating as my lecturers tell me to do it in different ways. One lecturer wanted me to put the website name under every single paragraph of text, but that makes no sense.
The thing is, the above example is fairly simple, but what I really don't understand is how to reference figures in the same paragraph multiple times. So in my above paragraph all the measurements are contained in one sentence. But I struggle when it comes to having figures, then some other information and then figures again. Where on earth would I put the in-text citation then if it comes from the same website? I'll use this example again:
"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
Where would I put the in-text citation. "16 months of age" and "17 to 22 days" are figures from the same website.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by TaylorH93
Thanks. Reference placement really confuses me... My main question still is how you go about referencing the same source multiple times in the same paragraph. In fact that now extends to more than one paragraph.
I've written the following:
The tracks of the red deer are large in comparison to other deer, as befits the animal's size. Red stag tracks are 8-9cm long and 6-7cm wide, whereas a hind's are 6-7cm long and 4cm wide. Red Deer droppings are 2-2.5cm x 13.-1.8cm. The droppings are acorn shaped and often pointed at the end with a hollow at the other. They are black in colour and can be deposited in clusters or as a string if the deer is in motion. Summer droppings are most often clumped together.
I got the measurements from a web-page, but what I struggle with is determining where to put the in-text citation. Should I just put the in-text after "1.8cm"? That's what I would normally do. The thing is my referencing has changed over the year I've been doing my course and it's pretty agitating as my lecturers tell me to do it in different ways. One lecturer wanted me to put the website name under every single paragraph of text, but that makes no sense.
The thing is, the above example is fairly simple, but what I really don't understand is how to reference figures in the same paragraph multiple times. So in my above paragraph all the measurements are contained in one sentence. But I struggle when it comes to having figures, then some other information and then figures again. Where on earth would I put the in-text citation then if it comes from the same website? I'll use this example again:
"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
Where would I put the in-text citation. "16 months of age" and "17 to 22 days" are figures from the same website.
I've written the following:
The tracks of the red deer are large in comparison to other deer, as befits the animal's size. Red stag tracks are 8-9cm long and 6-7cm wide, whereas a hind's are 6-7cm long and 4cm wide. Red Deer droppings are 2-2.5cm x 13.-1.8cm. The droppings are acorn shaped and often pointed at the end with a hollow at the other. They are black in colour and can be deposited in clusters or as a string if the deer is in motion. Summer droppings are most often clumped together.
I got the measurements from a web-page, but what I struggle with is determining where to put the in-text citation. Should I just put the in-text after "1.8cm"? That's what I would normally do. The thing is my referencing has changed over the year I've been doing my course and it's pretty agitating as my lecturers tell me to do it in different ways. One lecturer wanted me to put the website name under every single paragraph of text, but that makes no sense.
The thing is, the above example is fairly simple, but what I really don't understand is how to reference figures in the same paragraph multiple times. So in my above paragraph all the measurements are contained in one sentence. But I struggle when it comes to having figures, then some other information and then figures again. Where on earth would I put the in-text citation then if it comes from the same website? I'll use this example again:
"In climates with distinct seasons, seasonal changes in day length are the primary cue used to time the breeding season. Puberty occurs at approximately 16 months of age, after which deer exhibit seasonal polyestrous (going into heat several times a year). Deer respond best to short-day lighting which means that estrous cycling does not occur during the summer months, but later in the year starting from late September. The estrous cycle in deer varies from 17 to 22 days depending on the species."
Where would I put the in-text citation. "16 months of age" and "17 to 22 days" are figures from the same website.
well you could cover multiple facts from the same source using the alternate style of citation
"Bloggs (2015) says that puberty occurs... with a estrous cycle length of..."
to perhaps make it flow a bit better as a piece of writing.
Original post by Joinedup
well you could cover multiple facts from the same source using the alternate style of citation
"Bloggs (2015) says that puberty occurs... with a estrous cycle length of..."
to perhaps make it flow a bit better as a piece of writing.
"Bloggs (2015) says that puberty occurs... with a estrous cycle length of..."
to perhaps make it flow a bit better as a piece of writing.
But does that work if it's a webpage with no author? I don't think that'd make sense. But you're right about covering multiple facts in one sentence. I find most of the websites I use have no author so I end up just putting the in-text at the end of the sentence, even if it doesn't flow that well.
(edited 8 years ago)
Original post by TaylorH93
But does that work if it's a webpage with no author? I don't think that'd make sense. But you're right about covering multiple facts in one sentence. I find most of the websites I use have no author so I end up just putting the in-text at the end of the sentence, even if it doesn't flow that well.
well I'd do it if it looked like a reputable website
but if you already know a fact and want to find an academic source for it you can use google scholar
often it'll come back with links that are paywalled - sometimes there's several links for the same article and some of them are free (on an academic homepage for instance) and sometimes there'll be enough summary information in the abstract (usually free) that you don't need to see the whole piece (though be aware that citing something does imply you have read the whole thing)
since the data for different species of deer probably came from different papers you're starting to risk messing up your flow again... but you're able to write more about each species.
e.g. I found this
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4067931 with google scholar, so I could write
"Asher (1985) found the mean cycle length for a sample of 34 farmed fallow deer (Dama dama) was 22.4 days with increasing length and variability later in the season"
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/4067931
Quick Reply
Related discussions
- APA 7 - Website referencing
- Annotated Bibliography Help!
- How to reference a research study in main body of text- Chicago referencing
- How many footnotes is too much in an EPQ
- how do you reference this article? APA 7
- NHS statistics as sources for psychology dissertation?
- Is it okay to reference non-academic articles in essays?
- Do I need to cite a website I mentioned?
- How to reference this website.
- PANIC! Submitted essay with incomplete referencing!!!
- Essay Writing Guide
- Can I use APA citation form to write my EPQs?
- critical reflective essay
- Revision guides/cards ect.
- Overwhelmed with writing essays and other commitments
- I hate and love UNI
- How to find the citations?
- Access to nursing midwifery
- Stonebride college
- Want to know - DMU engineering/computing
Latest
Last reply 3 minutes ago
Official UCL Offer Holders Thread for 2024 entryLast reply 7 minutes ago
Official University of St Andrews Applicant Thread for 2024Last reply 18 minutes ago
Learn Direct - Vet science Unit 9 HELPLast reply 27 minutes ago
LSE undergraduate accommodationLast reply 32 minutes ago
The Official Cambridge Applicants for 2025 Entry ThreadLast reply 32 minutes ago
Airbus degree apprenticeships 2024Last reply 34 minutes ago
Official University of Edinburgh Applicant Thread for 2024Trending
Last reply 5 days ago
TSR Goes Green: Can studying be made more sustainable?Last reply 1 week ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities - Eighth SessionLast reply 2 weeks ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities - Seventh SessionLast reply 2 weeks ago
Help, I want to become a good student again!!Last reply 2 weeks ago
erin11 asks...what are your favourite ways to revise?Last reply 3 weeks ago
Struggling with literature review for dissertationLast reply 3 weeks ago
Guys how do you push yourself to study more? im struggling so badLast reply 3 weeks ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities! - Sixth SessionTrending
Last reply 5 days ago
TSR Goes Green: Can studying be made more sustainable?Last reply 1 week ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities - Eighth SessionLast reply 2 weeks ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities - Seventh SessionLast reply 2 weeks ago
Help, I want to become a good student again!!Last reply 2 weeks ago
erin11 asks...what are your favourite ways to revise?Last reply 3 weeks ago
Struggling with literature review for dissertationLast reply 3 weeks ago
Guys how do you push yourself to study more? im struggling so badLast reply 3 weeks ago
TSR Study Together - STEM vs Humanities! - Sixth Session
