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Inappropriate verbs:
'discovering' a set of opinions
The problem here is verb choice; we can discover something that is 'there' to be
discovered a in research setting, like well-established behaviour patterns. Can we,
though, 'discover' that respondents 'agree' with a question prompt in our own
questionnaire? E.g.:
"In research on consumers views of the social effects of
advertising (Sim & Cheng, 1984), it was discovered that slightly more than half
the respondents agreed that advertising portrays women as sex objects and in supporting
roles". 
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How do you know that?
It is easy to make broad generalisations - we do it all the time in conversation. However,
in academic papers, the reader reacts more sceptically, wondering what basis you have for
your over-generalised assertion. Take the following:
"Norman (1978) suggests Maslow's self-neutralisation theory
which recognises a hierarchy of needs. There are six different needs of human beings".
If it's Maslow's idea, say so & attribute it to Maslow.
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Introducing
authors with no reference
On first mention of an author, give the date; if it's a quote, add the page number. Once
you've introduced the author, and are still discussing their work, you only need to repeat
the year for a quotation. Also, no initials or first names, as in:
"G.P. Murdock (date)stressed
biological differences such as the greater male physical power and ... ."
The above was a '2nd-hand' citation from a textbook. The student hadn't recorded the
original reference and listed no 'Murdock' in the References. |
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Openers: "According to
X"
The most common way of opening with an attribution of an opinion is 'According to X
(date), ...'
We don't recommend experiments like:
"In regard to Anthony and Daniel (1986), motives are
internal and external force that impels people towards certain goals in life ...."
"By Davis and Stasz (1990), two critical sociologists, the
political economy is the main source of criminal law and deviant labeling."
Note: background information about authors ("two critical ...) is usually
unnecessary and distracting.
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Opening paragraphs
with quotations or citations
This is very common. You should only open a paragraph with a quotation which makes a very strong
point. The following quote does not:
"Rose and Blank (1974) have tested the hypothesis that ....
" (Ault, 1981).
Make your general point first, then support it with a relevant quotation. The above
quotation is quite inappropriate - simply cite Rose & Blank's work and acknowledge the
source: "(cited in Ault, 1984)".
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Passive vs Active
forms
In general, say someone said something, rather than something was said
by someone; e.g.
"As stated by another sociologist, Peter
Berger (1967), 'he who has the bigger stick ...'."
becomes
"As Berger (1967) says, 'he who .... ' ."
Again, cut the extra 'background' information!
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Double subject:
"According to Smith, he said ..."
This is a common translation error from Chinese. Using
"According to ..." saves the writer from having to choose a better verb than
'said'. In the following example, the unnecessary elements are struck out:
"According to Jefkin, F. (1984),
he said that sponsorship have ten categories, including books ... etc."
Note: Keep it simple: avoid using initials or first names, except where ambiguity
is possible - e.g. Kennedy is a common name, but John F. Kennedy immediately
identifies the late U.S. President. |
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No source at all
(courting charges of plagiarism)
Any lengthy assertion, especially if it is clearly derivative (taken from another text)
and is categorical in tone ("these are facts!") need to be attributed to their
author(s). E.g.
"The next point is that the idea of communication as a simple
decoding process is prevalent in a semiotic approach to advertising".
This is clearly drawn from a textbook - stated in complex language, with a tone of
authority:
 "The next point is
that ...."
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Incomplete
information: e.g. no page number
A common omission is the page number of a reference where you are quoting from a specific
point in a text:
"According to Anthony and Daniel (1986date)
, 'what you get from other people is often what you expect'."
Note: In this case, it is doubtful whether this excerpt from Anthony &
Daniels is worth quoting, since it seems like a common sense kind of idea.
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Punctuation
Full-stops: these come after the quotation or citation and not before it; e.g.:
"The initial spatial representations in development were based
on touch, rather than vision. (Berkeley, 1709) " [move the fullstop!]
"The initial spatial representations in development were based
on touch, rather than vision (Berkeley, 1709)." Correct
Colons: these are the standard punctuation between the year and the page number in a
citation according to the APA convention. E.g.:
" [Benson, 1993:
141] "
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Handling brackets
Some students put references in brackets regardless of their place in the sentence. It is
best to think of brackets as being outside the sentence; e.g.
"Another kind of criticism is about word-use, as proposed by (Donaldson & Balfour, 1968)."
Incorrect
"Another kind of criticism is about word-use, as proposed by
Donaldson & Balfour, (1968)."
Correct
For the sentence to make sense, the authors need to be included within the text, so only
the date should be left in brackets. The comma after Balfour then disappears. |