PHINMA-UNIVERSITY OF THE PHILIPPINES

Arellano St. Dagupan City

Mangatarem Center

SCHOOL OF GRADUATE AND PROFESSIONAL STUDIES

MASTER IN EDUCATION Major in EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP

Subject Code: EDU 210

Descriptive Title: ADVANCED EDUCATIONAL STATISTICS I
Course Description: MASTER IN EDUCATION Major in EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP
Topic: Types of Hypothesis
Professor: LOLITA R. SOLOMON

Reporters: CHRIZZA M. MACALALAD and JENICA C. TORRES

Date Reported: February 8, 2020

Definition

 A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted

and obtained information from while writing your research paper. The way in which you
document your sources depends on the writing style manual your professor wants you
to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note that some disciplines
have their own citation method [e.g., law].

Importance of Citing your Sources

 Citations document for your readers where you obtained your material, provide a means
of critiquing your study based on the sources you used, and create an opportunity to
obtain information about prior studies of the research problem under investigation. The
act of citing sources is also your best defense against allegations of plagiarism.

Citing the works of others is important because:

 Proper citation allows readers to locate the materials you used. Citations to sources
helps readers expand their knowledge on a topic. One of the most effective strategies for
locating authoritative, relevant sources about a topic is to review footnotes or references
from known sources ["citation tracking"].
  Citing other people's words and ideas demonstrates that you have conducted a
thorough review of the literature on your topic and, therefore, you are reporting your
research from an informed and critically engaged perspective. The list of sources used
increases your credibility as the author of the work.

 Other researcher's ideas can be used to reinforce your arguments. In many cases,
another researcher's arguments can act as the primary context from which you can
emphasize the significance of your study and to provide supporting evidence about how
you addressed the "So What?" question.

 The ideas of other researchers can be used to explain reasons for alternative
approaches. If you disagree with a researcher's ideas or you believe there is a gap in
understanding the research problem, your citations can serve as sources from which to
argue an alternative viewpoint or the need to pursue a different course of action.

 Just as the ideas of other researchers can bolster your arguments, they can also detract
from your credibility if their research is challenged. Properly citing sources prevents your
reputation from being tarnished if the facts or ideas of those cited are proven to be
inaccurate or off-base. It prevents readers from concluding that you ignored or
dismissed the findings of others, even if they are disputed.

 Ideas are considered intellectual property and there can be serious repercussions if you
fail to cite where you got an idea from. In academe and the professional world, failure to
cite other people's intellectual property ruins careers and reputations and can result in
legal action. Citing sources as a student in college will help you get in the habit of
acknowledging and properly citing the work of others.

NOTE: In any academic writing, you are required to identify which ideas, facts, thoughts, and
concepts are yours and which are derived from the research and work of others. Whether you
summarize, paraphrase, or use direct quotes, if it's not your original idea, the source must be
acknowledged. The only possible exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a
commonly known fact [e.g., George Washington was the first president of the United States].
Appreciate, however, that any "commonly known fact" is culturally constructed and shaped by
social and aesthetical biases. If you are in doubt about whether or not a fact is common
knowledge, protect yourself from an allegation of plagiarism and provide a supporting citation,
or, ask your professor for clarification about how a factual statement should be cited.

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers. 7th edition.
Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina;
Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; Newton,
Philip. "Academic Integrity: A Quantitative Study of Confidence and Understanding in Students
at the Start of Their Higher Education." Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 41
(2016): 482-497; Referencing More Effectively. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra;
Using Sources. Yale College Writing Center. Yale University.

Structure and Writing Style

 Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you
are quoting or paraphrasing from another author’s work, and identifying where that
information come from. You must cite research in order to do research, but at the same
time, you must delineate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the
thoughts and ideas of others.

 Procedures used to cite sources vary among different fields of study. Always speak with
your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the class
because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper,
and to apply it consistently. If your professor defers and tells you to "choose whatever
you want, just be consistent," then choose the citation style you are most familiar with
or that is appropriate to your major [e.g., use Chicago style if its a history class; use APA
if it’s an education course; use MLA if it is literature or a general writing course].

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Should I avoid referencing other people's work?

No! If placed in the proper context, referencing other people's research is never an
indication that your work is substandard or lacks originality. In fact, the opposite is true. If you
write your paper without adequate references to previous studies, you are signaling to the
reader that you are not familiar with the literature about the topic, thereby, undermining the
validity of your study and your credibility as a researcher. Including references in academic
writing not only defends you against allegations of plagiarism, but it is one of the most
important ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of previous investigations
about the research problem. It is the intellectual packaging around which you present your
study to the reader.

2. What should I do if I find that my idea has already been examined by another researcher?

Do not ignore another author's work because doing so will lead your readers to believe
that you have either borrowed the idea or information without properly referencing it [this is
plagiarism] or that you have failed to conduct a thorough review of the literature. You can
acknowledge the other research by writing in the text of your paper something like this: [see
also Smith, 2002], then citing the complete source in your list of references. Use the discovery
of prior research as an opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the problem being
investigated and, if applicable, as a means of delineating your analysis from those of others
[e.g., the prior study is ten years old and doesn't take into account new variables]. Reacting to
prior research can include: stating how your study updates previous studies on the topic,
offering a new or different perspective, using a different method of data gathering, and/or
describing a new set of guidelines, recommendations, best practices, or working solutions.

3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work?

You still must cite the original work. For example, maybe you are using a table of
statistics from a journal article published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or
added new data to it. Reference the revised chart, such as, [adapted from Smith, 1996], then
cite the complete source in your list of references. You can also use other terms in order to
specify the exact relationship between the original source and the version you have presented,
such as, "based on Smith [1996]...," or "summarized from Smith [1996]...." Citing the original
source helps the reader locate where the information was first presented and under what
context it was used as well as to evaluate how effectively you applied it to your own research.

4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas?

You can indicate that the idea or information can be found in the work of others by
stating something similar to the following example: "Though in fact many scholars have applied
this theory to understanding economic relations among nations [for example, see Smith, 1989;
Jones, 1991; Johnson, 1994; Anderson, 2003], little attention has been given to applying the
theory to examining the actions of non-governmental organizations in a globalized economy." If
you only reference one author or only the most recent study, then your readers may assume
that only one author has published on this topic, or more likely, conclude that you have not
conducted a thorough literature review. Referencing all relevant authors of prior studies gives
your readers a clear idea of the breadth of analysis you conducted in preparing to study the
research problem. If there has been significant number of prior studies on the topic, describe
the most comprehensive and recent works because they will presumably discuss and reference
the older studies. However, note that there has been significant scholarship devoted to the
topic so the reader knows that you are aware of this.

5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher?

In the social sciences, the rationale in duplicating prior research is generally governed by
the passage of time, changing circumstances or conditions, or the introduction of new variables
that necessitate a new investigation. If someone else has recently conducted a thorough
investigation of precisely the same research problem as you, then you likely will have to revise
your topic, or at the very least, review this literature to identify something new to say about the
problem. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly
with what you are trying to say, then you can quote it directly, referencing the source. Do not
see this as a setback or become discouraged if you discover that your brilliant idea or important
insight has already been identified by someone else. Identifying an author who has made the
same point as you can be an opportunity to add legitimacy to, as well as reinforce the
significance of, the research problem you are investigating. The key is to build on that idea in
new and innovative ways. If you are not sure how to do this, consult with a librarian!

6. Should I cite a source even if it was published long ago?

Obviously, any resource used in writing your paper should be cited, regardless of when
the study was written. However, in building a case for understanding prior research about your
topic, it is generally true that you should focus on citing more recently published studies
because they presumably have built upon the research of older publications. This is particularly
true of new or revised editions of books, unless an older edition has unique information not
carried over into newer editions. When referencing prior studies, use the research problem as
your guide when considering what to cite. If a study from forty years ago investigated the same
research problem, it probably should be examined and considered in your list of references
because the research may have been foundational or groundbreaking even if its findings are no
longer relevant to current conditions or reflect current thinking [one way to determine if a study
is foundational or groundbreaking is to examine how often it has been cited in recent studies
using the "Cited by" feature of Google Scholar]. However, if an older study only relates to the
research problem tangentially or it has not been cited in recent studies, then it may be more
appropriate to list it under further readings.

https://libguides.mit.edu/citing
https://www.plagiarism.org/article/how-do-i-cite-sources
https://ccconline.libguides.com/c.php?g=242137&p=1609873