How to make good use of your sources

In connection with assignments, semester papers, exams, bachelor's theses, and other types of written work, it is necessary to be familiar with the rules for how to make use of your sources. Your written work will usually be based on previously published material within your field. This means that you are using concepts, theories, formulations, empirical material, or ideas from others.

It is necessary that the reader have the opportunity to find the sources you have used, so that they can evaluate your work on an independent basis. In addition, it is important to distinguish between what is your own contribution and what is the contribution of others in the text. It is important to acknowledge the academic contributions of other authors, and it is a way to clarify what knowledge you possess and have contributed yourself.

In the previous section, the topic was how you can recognize a reliable source. Now, the focus is on how you can cite the sources you use in your work in a way that takes into account all of the considerations mentioned above.

To meet the requirements for source use, you must refer to the literature you have used in two places:

in your running text immediately after you have used the work of others
in a concluding bibliography (also called a reference list).

When you refer to literature in your running text, it is called an in-text citation. Entries in the concluding bibliography are called references. All in-text citations refer to references in the bibliography, and all references in the bibliography must be referred to in the running text. This is a very important principle. Therefore, it is always a good idea to double-check that all sources you have used are listed both as citations in the running text and as references in the concluding bibliography.

But how do you create correct citations and references?

Referencing Styles and the APA Style

There are many different ways to cite references and sources. The most important thing is that the in-text citations and references are consistent and follow an internal logic. Different styles have been developed to ensure such consistency in reference citation.

The differences between styles primarily concern punctuation and the order of information. All reference styles have in common that they provide a standardized way of treating references, and that they contain information that enables the reader to locate the source used. It is crucial to avoid mixing reference styles. Once a reference style has been chosen, it must be consistently followed. Examples of different reference styles include APA, Chicago, Harvard, and Vancouver.

University of Inland Norway recommends that the students and employees use the APA style (American Psychological Association), unless otherwise specified. This is a so-called author/year system, with in-text citations and references at the end of the document. However, this does not mean that you have to use APA style, unless the course coordinator has specified it. You are free to choose any style as long as you provide sufficient information about the source and are consistent in your referencing. This learning path is based on APA 7 as it is the recommended reference style of the university.

In-text citations

An in-text citation is information in the text that indicates which sources have been used. The in-text citation should come immediately after the material that has been taken from someone else's text, before the period. The information is placed in parentheses.

An in-text citation can refer to the source as a whole, with information about the author and year in this format: (last name, year). If you are referring to a specific part of the work you are using, you should also include information about which page(s) you are referring to. In this case, you use this format: (last name, year, p. page number).

Examples:

(Vygotsky, 1934)

(Vogler, 2008, p. 363)

It is also possible to incorporate the author's name into the running text. In this case, the author's name is omitted from the parentheses. The in-text citation will look like this: "Vogler (2008, p. 363) argues that...".

In the APA standard, it is recommended to include page numbers in citations regardless of how the source is used. This makes it easier for interested readers to find their way in your sources and for you to study for an exam or the like later on. Therefore, some teachers/departments at the university require page numbers to be part of the in-text citation.

All in-text citations, whether you refer to a book, website, article, or anything else, look the same in running text. They consist of the author's last name, year, and possibly page number. This is convenient because each in-text citation does not take up much space in the text and thus does not disturb the flow of the reader. The disadvantage is that the citation actually provides very little information. If we go back to the examples above, it can be difficult to identify the literature you have used based solely on the in-text citations. What if there are several researchers in the world with the last name Vogler? Or what if Lev Vygotsky published several texts in 1934? Or what if Vogler's text was published both as a book and an e-book? Then the reader suddenly becomes unsure which source you have referred to.

Therefore, it is mandatory to also have a final reference list so that the reader can get more information about the literature you have used and can find the same literature.

Tip: Do you need multiple citations in the same parentheses? See the Citation Compass rules for APA 7th. Choose the option "Multiple sources within the same parentheses" in the drop-down menu.

References

A reference is a bibliographic description of a document (both electronic and printed) that is listed outside of the running text. References are collected alphabetically in a separate reference list (also called a bibliography or works cited) at the end of the document. The content of a reference varies depending on the type of source. For example, a typical reference for a book should include information about the author, year of publication, title, and publisher. A reference to a website should also include the author, year of publication, and title, but also information about the website name and the URL.

In the reference list

All references, from printed and electronic sources, are written in the same list. Separate lists should not be created for websites, journal articles, etc. The list is arranged alphabetically by the author's last name.

If the reference extends over more than one line, remember to use hanging indentation on the subsequent line(s). This is done by pressing control+t (Windows) or command+t (Mac).

Multiple references to the same author are arranged chronologically, with the oldest first. However, if there are co-authors, the references are arranged alphabetically by the next author's name, for example:

Lundberg, I. (1990). ...

Lundberg, I. (2010). ...

Lundberg, I. & Kolovos, C. (2007). ...

Lundberg, I., Tønnessen, F. E. & Høien, T. (1993). ...

Tip: Do you want to cite a quote and refer to something an author has interpreted from another source? This is called a secondary source because it is a source you have not read, but which is mentioned in the text that you have read (the primary source). See the See the Citation Compass rules for APA 7th for tips on how to handle this. Choose the option "Quote from another author /secondary source" in the dropdown menu.