REFERENCES AND REFERENCE CITING
All references and sources used in researching a paper MUST be cited in the body of the paper, and a list of these references MUST be provided in a "references" section at the end of the paper. . The reason for this is that all publications, both printed and electronic, are copyrighted under the laws of the United States. Current copyright laws do allow for the free use of such publications for scientific purposes, as long as they are appropriately cited (this is known as the "fair use clause"). Failure to appropriately cite a reference or source is considered plagiarism, and is a Federal crime. In the professional world, plagiarism often results in being fired, stiff penalties, and legal fees. In the academic world, plagiarism is considered a form of cheating, and can result in the loss of a degree and other penalties. In short, always include ALL references.
The following is a summary of the APA style of citing references at the end of your paper. A much more extensive guide can be accessed at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html.
INTERNET SOURCES:
To cite electronic sources in your text, include the author or organization source of the page, and the year of publication or last updated. To refer to electronic sources at the end of your paper, include the author or organization source of the page, year of publication or last updated, title of the page, and URL (or telnet address). Do NOT include the date that you accessed the information, and do NOT include the page number of the information. Note: You may have to do some surfing to associated sites, or to the page's security information, to find all the necessary information. Don't be afraid to surf! For example:
A 2003 study from Stanford University estimates that an attack with two pounds of anthrax on a city the size of New York could infect 1.5 million people and kill up to 123,000 people within four days (Reuters, 2003).
REFERENCES
Reuters, 2003. Report: Anthrax may cause U.S. disaster. http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/03/18/health.anthrax.reut/index.html.
PERSONAL COMMUNICATION:
Personal communications (including email) can just be cited as a personal communication in the body of the paper, and do not need to be listed in the references section, like this: (T. Ingebritsen, personal communication).
JOURNALS, MAGAZINES, AND NEWSPAPERS:
Include author's last name and year of publication in the citation in the text. If you have more than two authors, you may replace the second and subsequent authors with the Latin phrase et al. (short for et alia, meaning "and others"). Do not include the page numbers in the citation. In the references section, include a list of all authors (there is no author named "et al."), article title, journal name, volume, issue number (if needed), and page numbers. For example:
Not only can molecular anthropologists use human DNA to track the migration of human populations throughout the world, but they can also use the DNA from pathogenic organisms that use humans as a host, such as the ulcer bacterium Helicobacter pylori (Hayden, 2003).
REFERENCES
Hayden, T., 2003. The globe-trotting microbe in your gut. U. S. News & World Report 134 (8): 50.
BOOKS:
List and cite exactly like you would a journal article, except replace the volume and page numbers with the city of publication (and state or country if necessary) and the publisher's name. Page numbers are only required in the citation if you do not use an entire chapter. If you are using a book in which different authors wrote different chapters, use the author of the individual chapter for the citation, and email Jim on how to acknowledge the editor(s) in the references section. For example:
Many scientists have moral and ethical reservations about the widespread use of genetic testing in humans (Alcamo, 1996).
REFERENCES
Alcamo, I. E., 1996. DNA Technology: The Awesome Skill. Dubuque: William C. Brown Publishers.
OTHER SOURCES:
In general, provide as much information as possible. Always include an author or company name or some name of a source, a date of publication or production, and list who produced it (i.e. publishing house, TV network, etc.), and any other relevant information. It is NOT necessary to reference information you learn in class. This is considered common knowledge available in any upper-level biotechnology class. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html for details.
ITALICS, BOLDFACE, ETC.:
In the "References" section, italicize names of journals, books, movies, and any foreign phrases. Use boldface for volume numbers (and the number of the journal, if necessary). Use "quotation marks" for titles of TV episodes and TV shows. Journal articles don't need to be put in quotation marks in the "References" section, but if you use an article title in the body of the paper, do use quotation marks there. See http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_apa.html for details.
OTHER HINTS FOR WRITING PAPERS
Throughout your professional life, you will be required to write formal reports, papers, memos, and make presentations. If you will be publishing reports and such on the WWW, then your words will be available to the whole world. In some cases, the words of one employee can lead to the success or failure of an entire project, or an entire company. Writing is an art, and it is an art that you must master if you wish to be successful in the professional world.
Professional writing is slightly different than creative or literary writing that you learn in English class. Here are some guidelines that will help you write a successful research paper.
1) Write your paper for a layperson. You are the expert about your project or subject. Your boss is an expert in management, not in your area of expertise. Likewise, in class, your instructor is not omniscient. You will likely be writing about an area in which your instructor has no more than a general knowledge. This is a good chance to show off your knowledge.
2) Your paper should follow some kind of logical order. There are few things more frustrating for a reader than trying to follow a story that's not going anywhere. If you're telling a story in chronological order, your subject probably did not go to college, then get divorced, then die, then be born, then make their discoveries, and then get married.
3) Avoid colloquialisms, slang, and contractions. Unless you're using a direct quote (which you should do only rarely, if ever; see #9 below), there's always a better way to phrase something without using street language. Likewise, contractions are considered unprofessional, although one or two may be acceptable, especially if you're relating personal experiences. "OK" is a colloquialism.
4) Never begin a sentence with "you know." Celebrities and sports stars have made the phrase useless. And, it's likely that your audience doesn't know (see #1 above).
5) NEVER, EVER use 2nd person in a formal paper. Since you don't know who your audience may include, you can't order them to do anything, or assume that they know something that they may not. So there's no reason to use 2nd person in any circumstance (except for direct quotes [see #9 below]). "One" is usually an effective substitute for "you."
6) Avoid the use of 1st person in a formal paper. Reserve 1st person for direct quotes (see #9 below), or for relating personal experiences that are relevant to the subject matter ("I went to the library" is not considered relevant to your subject matter). Any phrase in which you use first person can be rewritten in third person using passive voice, which is OK.
7) Avoid self-referencing your own paper. "This paper will seek to explain..." is an example of a self-reference. It's empty information, irrelevant, and boring. "I really learned a lot about this scientist" is not considered a well-written conclusion.
8) Passive voice is OK. An example of a difference between writing in English class and writing in the real world.
9) Avoid direct quotes whenever possible. Another thing English class teaches you that's frowned upon everywhere else. There are two reasons for this. First, this is your paper, reflecting your ideas. A string of direct quotes and a sea of quotation marks don't demonstrate that you have thought about the subject matter. They simply indicate that you can copy. Second, in the professional world, the slightest typo in a direct quote could theoretically open you up to a lawsuit for libel. Direct quotes should generally be reserved for snippets from interviews, for coined words, or very complex ideas. For everything else, PARAPHRASE, PARAPHRASE, PARAPHRASE!
10) No fragments, run-on sentences, or comma splices! These have a habit of derailing an otherwise smoothly progressing story.
11) Foreign words should be italicized. This includes scientific names of organisms, such as E. coli or Homo sapiens, which are Latin. Also italicize journal and book titles.
12) Never begin sentences with Arabic numbers. "6" is an Arabic number; "six" is not (incidentally, this sentence is an example of what not to do).
13) Be consistent in the use of a tense. Don't switch back and forth between past and present tense.
14) "Data" is plural; "datum" is singular. "Species" can be either singular or plural.
15) Use politically correct terms when appropriate.
16) Be sure your meaning is clear! "Oswald Avery and his colleagues repeated Frederick Griffith's experiments except that he added protease, RNase, or DNase to the transforming factor." Who is "he" referring to? "Vitamin C contributes to protection against cancer by antioxidants." Do antioxidants cause or protect one from cancer?
17) Use the spell checker and grammar checker on your word processor. On MS Word, both checkers are under the "Tools" menu, or click on the checkmark in the Standard toolbar. On Word Perfect, the spell checker is Ctrl-F2. They are there for a reason!
18) MOST IMPORTANT: Have a roommate, significant other, or friend read over your paper to look for grammar, ambiguities, etc. You will grow too close to your paper and miss a lot when you re-read it. Everybody, even best-selling professional authors, have this problem. Have somebody else read it!