ognised journals.
Sources of evidence may also include primary research such as the findings from interviews with key organisational personnel, surveys or information from records. This will only be necessary if it is specified in the instructions for the assignment, or if it is identified as the appropriate methodology for gathering evidence for your dissertation.
Systematic record-keeping: a working bibliography
It is vital that you keep a record of the material gathered through your preliminary research. Do not wait until the writing-up stage or you may spend additional hours searching for these sources of information so that you can ensure that you have cited them accurately.
The record that you keep should include a full citation for the source. The correct approach to citations for different kinds of sources of information is provided in the University Library’s guide.
It is useful to have a working bibliography kept on computer file or in a card index so that it can be added to or re-arranged easily. The Library staff will show you how to use ‘Refworks’, an online tool in which you can keep your own personal lists of sources.
Record the following information:
· your own reference code;
· library reference number (if it is a book);
· publication details.
As a guide, the publication details should include:
Author’s name together with the initials
e.g. Jones, T. and Christie, M.
Date
e.g. 1996
Title of work
The title of a book is italicised when the entry is made in the references or bibliography in your coursework. If the work is in a journal article, the title of the article is in normal text, and the title of the journal is italicised, e.g. Computers and Security.
If there is an edition number, it follows the title, e.g. The business student’s handbook. 3rd.
Place of publication
e.g. London
Name of publishers
e.g. W. Green / Sweet and Maxwell
When keeping records of Websites used in your research, in addition to the above information, also record the full URL (Web address) of the specific part of the site visited e.g.
http://www.rgu.ac.uk/library/howto/page.cfm?pge=25531
and the date of access; these will be required for the entries your references or bibliography.
Following this procedure will save you a great deal of time later on as the file or the cards will contain all the information you need for referencing and for compiling your final list of references and bibliography.
Making Notes
Your report or essay must not simply comprise sentences or paragraphs from other people’s work. You need to demonstrate that you actually understand the topic of the coursework. To be able to do this effectively, you need to read a range of different sources, understand them, make notes on the important parts, and then incorporate the findings from your research into your essay or report.
Do not copy large sections direct from textbooks, or web pages. Your work should not solely consist of other people’s work, whether quoted or paraphrased.
Using short extracts from other people’s work is permissible, but only if the extract is in “quotation marks”, and a full reference is given to the source.
