Most used citation formats

By on February 28, 2012

The formats of citation on the sources used in the research may vary depending on the discipline in which the research is being done.  The citation process will constantly be a part of any research papers writing task. It is very crucial because it is necessary to recognize the contribution of other materials to the research paper. Above all doing proper citations helps to stay away from different plagiarism related issues in the future.

There are major three major types of formats. The first one is the APA, in this one needs to incorporate the part of another document in the thesis paper and enclose it in quotation marks, along with that the last name of the author with the year of publication is to be provided. Next, the title of the work should be written in the upper right corner of each page, the corresponding then the reference page numbers of the pages to be followed. The bibliography will include the list of reference materials that’s been used for the thesis paper.

The other type of citation style is the MLA format.  This format is usually used for thesis papers that are related to humanities. The same thesis format of that of APA style is applicable here with slightest modifications. In the citation inside the text, the publication year is changed to the number of page of referenced article. At the same time, the page numbers should have the last name beside it instead of the title. Finally the references page will contain the same information as of the APA format. Each entry should include the following

  • Author’s last name
  • The author’s initial
  • The publication year of the book or article
  • The title of publishing company
  • The publication city
  • The page number or edition numbers.

The most popular and easily used is the Harvard format of referencing. Most Faculties at Anglia Ruskin University recommend the students to use the Harvard style of referencing which is an author-date system. In this system, the author’s surname and year of publication are cited in the text of your work. The full information of the book is included in a reference list at the end of the assignment.

When it comes to the format of writing a thesis is concerned one mostly follows the Harvard format which helps to easily access the content and therein inclusion of cover page, table of content, abstract, introduction, literature review, methodology, data and analysis, discussion of results, conclusion, recommendations page, acknowledgements page and the bibliography page. Whatever be the citation style being followed but with addition of necessary chapters and headings with required figures, tables and snapshots enforces the point more effectively.

Students, Researchers and scholars together build their credibility when they make use of Harvard style properly because readers can then easily see the sources used to write the paper. It is also very essential to use Harvard style accurately and authentically so that can avoid accusation of plagiarism. Thus it can be understood that Harvard style is the most popularly used referencing style by researchers worldwide.

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