Citations are an important part of referencing. Citations are used to indicate in your text where you sourced information. With Harvard referencing, citations take the form of (author name, year). If you are quoting a specific part of an information source, you need to add a page number to allow the lecturer to check the legitimacy of the quote.
There are a number of ways to cite effectively:
For additional help please go to the pace tutorial: https://www.itcarlow.ie/library/citations-and-references
Taken from: Pace Tutorial 3 Harvard referencing: Citations and References - How to cite in your work (itcarlow.ie)
Have a look below for an example of how to break down this source for the information you need for a reference. N. B. this is an example. Different sources will require different approaches depending on the information you need .
Black, E.L. (2020) 'Instructional design for single information literacy sessions', Public Services Quarterly, 16(3), pp. 161–171. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2020.1775753 (accessed 24 January, 2024).
When looking at a source, the author's name should be on the cover of a book or in this case, for a journal, it should be on the first page. Then take this name and add it in the following format: surname first, initials first and any middle name. In this case it would be Black, E. L.
The year of source is usually near the front of the book or article as seen below. If you can't find a year you can use (nd) for not dated. In this case it is: (2020)
The title of a source should be immediately apparent, in terms of a journal article it is usually in bold at the top of the source. In this case it is: 'Instructional design for single information literacy sessions'
The publication title is usually in the first section of the source or on the website it came from. In this case it would be: Public Services Quarterly
The volume number should be within the first part of an article and refers to the number of volumes of this particular journal. Not all journals have a volume number and if this is the case you just use the year and month to differentiate it. However, this is rare. In this case it would be: 16
The issue number is generally shown beside the volume number. In some instances, this may be an article number, but this will usually be made clear in the issue information. In this case it would be: (3)
Page numbers refers to the numbers the source states in its issue information not the number of pages in the document itself. In this case it is: pp. 161–171.
While referencing the main point is to allow people to find your particular source easily. So, a URL or the Doi of an article is acceptable as long as it links directly to the source. In this case it would be: Available at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15228959.2020.1775753
The access date refers to when you accessed the particular source. In this case it is: (accessed 24 January, 2024).
It is often usual to paraphrase in your own words what the author is saying. When paraphrasing, do not give the exact page number of the source. Using the same information as above, but this time paraphrasing:
Taken from: https://librarycarlow.setu.ie/library/citations-and-references/#/lessons/avNnsaf0nxw4_rblTFHJJxalf7Soo-sV
Some rules for formatting citations:
Taken from: https://librarycarlow.setu.ie/library/citations-and-references/#/lessons/avNnsaf0nxw4_rblTFHJJxalf7Soo-sV
Taken from Scribber youtube channel: https://youtu.be/oiM0x0ApVL8
Sometimes you may wish to use a direct quotation from the author or source of information. If used sparingly, direct quotation can have good impact in an assignment. However, if used too extensively, quotations can affect the readability of your writing. This is how you can quote directly:
Taken from: Pace tutorial https://librarycarlow.setu.ie/library/citations-and-references/#/lessons/avNnsaf0nxw4_rblTFHJJxalf7Soo-sV
Taken from ms peer editor Youtube channel: https://youtu.be/Pl2oDtVY69U?si=fwbW9_FMajH_dCgb
Summarising is where you give a broad overview of the main points in a chapter, book, or article. It differs from paraphrasing in that the level of detail is reduced.
A good summary includes the following:
The main points of the text.
Supporting information for showcasing that these are the main points.
There is none of your own words in the text.
In general, writing text in your own words is easier and showcases a greater understanding.
Taken from: GeneseeLibrary youtube channel: https://youtu.be/qoCdhJsS6Bw