Principles of Documentation

Principles of Documentation:
Why and When You Have to Do It

"Documentation" is the practice of giving credit to the sources you use, quote, paraphrase, summarize, and otherwise refer to in any work you produce. This credit is given in two places in your work: in the body of the work where you quote, summarize, or paraphrase your sources; at the end of the work, where you give your audience a Works Cited list/works cited list.

The basic principles of documentation are simple. You use documentation to show that your sources are legitimate, and that your ideas and assertions are founded on something other than simply your own intuitions. Secondly, you use documentation so that people who are interested in your topic may locate and make use of the sources you’ve used.

If you fail to credit the individuals and organizations that produced your sources, you are robbing them, sometimes even monetarily, of the recognition they deserve for their work. You are also defrauding your audience by claiming other people’s work and ideas as your own.

A lack of proper documentation makes you into a plagiarist. Plagiarism can have a number of nasty consequences, including expulsion from school, lawsuits, and incarceration. However, it is extremely rare that people plagiarize on purpose. Often, they just don’t know the rules.

In his, Strategies for Successful Writing, James Reinking has the following insightful observations to make about plagiarism. He also includes a very useful list of things that don’t need to be documented:

Plagiarism occurs when a writer uses another person’s material without properly acknowledging the debt. Sometimes plagiarism is deliberate, but often it happens because students simply don’t understand what must be acknowledged and documented. Deliberate or not, plagiarism is absolutely unacceptable. Any summary, paraphrase, or quotation you include in your paper must be documented as must statistics and graphics. The only types of information escaping this requirement are those listed below:

bulletCommon knowledge. Common knowledge is information that most educated people would know. For instance, there’s no need to document a statement that the Disney theme parks in California and Florida attract thousands of visitors each year. However, if you include precise daily, monthly, or yearly figures, then documentation is necessary.
bulletYour own conclusions. As you write your paper, you’ll incorporate your own conclusions at various points. Such comments require no documentation. The same holds true for your own research. If you polled students on a campus issue, simply present the findings as your own.
bulletFacts found in many sources. Facts such as the year of Shakespeare’s death, the size of the 1995 national budget deficit, and the location of the Taj Mahal need not be documented.
bulletStandard terms. Terms widely used in a particular field require no documentation. Examples include such computer terms as mouse, floppy disc, and download.

Any piece of information not set off with quotation marks must be in your own words. Otherwise, even though you name your source, you plagiarize by stealing the original phrasing.

Source: James Reinking, Andrew Hart, and Robert Von Der Osten, Strategies for Successful Writing, Fourth Edition, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1996. (364)

Documenting Sources Within Your Work:
Showing Where Your Quote, 
Summary, or Paraphrase Came From

bulletIf you quote, paraphrase, or summarize in the body of your paper, you must indicate where this information came from.  
bulletThis is done in parentheses directly following the quote, paraphrase or summary.
bulletThese in-text citations refer your reader to your Works Cited (discussed in the next section), where they can view full information regarding the source.
bulletIn the parentheses, you will put the author's last name (or, if there is no author, the first few words of the title as it appears in your Works Cited), and the page number.  

For example:  It is interesting to note that "many people choose to downsize from 'real' motorcycles to minibikes, both because minibikes are more portable and because they're less expensive to work on" (Dempsey 126).
bulletIf you mention the author's name, or the name of the source, in introducing a quote, you do not need to give that information again in the parentheses at the end of the sentence.  You need only give the page number.

For example:  Dempsey notes that "many people choose to downsize from 'real' motorcycles to minibikes, both because minibikes are more portable and because they're less expensive to work on" (126).

A Note About Web Pages
The problem with web pages, is that you don’t always get page numbers. Here is what the Modern Language Association –the folks who write the citation rules-- have to say on this topic.

In parenthetical references in the text, works on the World Wide Web are cited just like printed works. For any type of source, you must include information in your text that directs readers to the correct entry in the works-cited list). Web documents generally do not have fixed page numbers or any kind of section numbering. If your source lacks numbering, you have to omit numbers from your parenthetical references.

If your source includes fixed page numbers or section numbering (such as numbering of paragraphs), cite the relevant numbers. Give the appropriate abbreviation before the numbers: "(Moulthrop, pars. 19-20)." (Pars. is the abbreviation for paragraphs. Common abbreviations are listed in the MLA Handbook, sec. 6.4.) For a document on the Web, the page numbers of a printout should normally not be cited, because the pagination may vary in different printouts. (http://www.mla.org/)

If your websites don’t have page or paragraph numbers, you may put the site’s author –or failing that, the name of the site as it appears in your Works Cited list— in parenthesis after the quote, summary, or paraphrase. 

For example: If you are quoting from the OldHonda.com web page which gives no author, your quote (or paraphrase, or summary), might look like this:  

One site notes that it is "difficult to get OEM parts for the 1969 model of the X70 because of a factory fire that stopped manufacturing for six months in 1970" (OldHonda.com). 

Important Points
Please note that most of these points deal with quotes incorporated into a single sentence (as opposed to longer quotes which are discussed in the last point).

bulletWhen giving a source for quotes, paraphrases, or summaries --which you must always do-- 
bulletClose the quote without adding a period.
bulletOpen parenthesis
bulletGive author's last name (or, if there is no author, the first few words of the title as it appears in your Works Cited).
bullet Insert a space, and give page numbers without "p." or "p.p."
bulletClose parenthesis.
bulletPlace period AFTER parenthesis.
bulletRemember, if you have given the author's last name, or title in introducing the quote, you do not need to put it in the parentheses.

Example 1 (author not mentioned):  Nurses are often "called upon to do work that was traditionally the territory of doctors" (Shallit 269-270).

Example 2 (author mentioned):  Shallit points out that nurses are often "called upon to do work that was traditionally the territory of doctors" (269-270).

bulletIf you add an explanatory note within a quote you should use brackets [ ], not parenthesis

Example:  Philip Kolin remarks that you should not "alienate or antagonize [your readers]" (162).

bulletIf you add emphasis that isn't in your original quote by using bolding, underlining, or italics in a quote you must make note of the fact.

Example:  One author stresses that "You want readers to see you as courteous, credible, and professional" (Kolin 162, emphasis added).

bulletIf you want to leave some information out of a direct quote, you indicate this using three dots (. . . ), known as ellipses.  Be aware, however, that it's generally best to use quotes as a whole, unless the information you're cutting out is completely irrelevant to your discussion.

Example:  Let's say your original quote was "Do not fall into the cultural trap of assuming your reader measures distances in miles and feet (instead of kilometers and meters), buys gallons of gasoline (instead of liters), and spend dollars (rather than pesos, marks, rupees, or yen)" (Kolin 175).  Perhaps you decide that you don't want to use the first example in this quote.  Here's how the altered quote would look:  "Do not fall into the cultural trap of assuming your reader . . . buys gallons of gasoline (instead of liters), and spend dollars (rather than pesos, marks, rupees, or yen)" (Kolin 175).

bulletHandling Longer Prose Quotations: When your quote takes up more than three full lines of your paper, you should do the  following.  
bulletIndent the whole quote ten spaces from your left margin.
bulletSingle space.
bulletDo not use quotation marks.
bulletPut the end punctuation after the last word of the quote.
bulletPut the page number (in parenthesis) two spaces after the end of the quote.

Example (an introduction followed by a longer quote):  
The Modern Language Association (MLA) has established a specific protocol for dealing with the often confusing citation questions that arise when working with web resources.  Their guidelines are as follows.

In parenthetical references in the text, works on the World Wide Web are cited just like printed works. For any type of source, you must include information in your text that directs readers to the correct entry in the works-cited list). Web documents generally do not have fixed page numbers or any kind of section numbering. If your source lacks numbering, you have to omit numbers from your parenthetical references. (MLA Website)

For information on how to credit sources in your Works Cited list, please see the next section.

Documenting Sources 
at the End of Your Work:
Creating the Works Cited List

Works Cited lists (they used to be called bibliographies) are basically a catalogue of all the sources you refer to or use in your paper. Creating your Works Cited list will be much easier once you realize that each kind of entry (book, website, audio tape, interview, etc.) has a formula that you plug information about the source into.

Below are the formulas for the most common types of sources.  Each formula is followed by an example.  This information is divided into two sections, electronic materials and print and other materials. Please notice:

bulletYour Works Cited list list is alphabetical, with the last name of the author first.
bulletIf you have no author for your source, the entry is alphabetized by title.
 
bulletAfter the first line of an entry, the following lines are indented five spaces. This is to make it easier to locate an author or title on the list.
bulletWebsite addresses are enclosed within carets: < >
bulletThe date a site was last updated can usually be found somewhere towards the bottom of the main or home page of the site. However, not all sites include this information.
bulletBook, magazine, newspaper, and site titles are always in italics or underlined (not both). Articles, poem titles, and posting titles are always in "quotation marks":  The New Yorker, Paradise Lost, "Why I'm So Smart."

Electronic Materials

Here’s the MLA information on how to cite electronic materials from http://www.mla.org/:

Professional Site
(Associated with any business or organization. Notice that there’s no author so the title is used.)

bulletFormula: Site name. Site sponsor. Date site was last updated (if available). Date you visited the site. Site address.

Portuguese Language Page. U of Chicago. 1 May 1997
        <http://humanities.uchicago.edu/romance/port/>.

 

Personal Site
(Not officially associated with any organization or business)

bulletFormula: Site author’s last name, first name. The words "Home page." Date last revised (if available). Date you visited the site. Site address.

Lancashire, Ian. Home page. 1 May
        1997<http://www.chass.utoronto.ca:8080/~ian/index.html>.

 

Article in an Online Reference Database

bulletFormula: "Article Title." Source title. Source version. Date last revised (if available). Publisher. Date you visited the site. Site address.

"Fresco." Britannica Online. Vers. 97.1.1. Mar. 1997. Encyclopaedia
        Britannica. 29 Mar. 1997 <http://www.brittanica.com:180>.

 

Article in an Online Journal
(A journal is a scholarly publication, dealing with research findings.)

bulletFormula: Article author’s last name, first name. "Article Title." Source Title. Edition, volume and date: article length (if available). Date you visited the site. Site address.

Flannagan, Roy. "Reflections on Milton and Ariosto."  Early Modern
        Literary Studies 2.3 (1996):16

 

Article in an Online Magazine
(A magazine Has a more general readership than a journal.)

bulletFormula: Article author’s last name, first name. "Article Title." Source Title. Date of publication. Date you visited the site. Site address.

Landsburg, Steven E. "Inherit the Earth?" Slate 1 May 1997. 2 May
        1997.  <http://www.slate.com/Economics/97-05-01/Economics.asp>.  

 

Work from a Subscription Service
(This is a service that sends you articles or helps you find them.)

bulletFormula: Article author’s last name, first name. "Article Title." Source Title. Date of Publication. Subscription service name location. Date you visited the site. Site address.

Koretz, Gene. "Economic Trends: Uh-Oh, Warm Water." Business Week.
        21 July 1997:22.Electric Lib. Sam Barlow High School Lib., 
        Gresham, OR. 17 Oct. 1997

 

Posting to a Discussion List

bulletFormula: Posting author’s last name, first name. Title/Subject of posting. Date of posting. Location of Posting. Date you accessed the posting. Site Address.

Merrian, Joanne. "Spinoff: Monsterpiece Theatre." Online posting. 30Apr.
        1994.  Shakspeare: The Electronic Shakespeare Conf. 27Aug.
        1997  <http://www.arts.ubc.ca/english/iemls/shak/MONSTERP_SPINOFF.txt>.  

Print and Other Materials

Book with one Author

bullet

Formula: Author’s last name, first name. Book title. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of publication.

Morris, Norval,      in a Rational Sentencing System, New York: Oxford 
        UP, 1990.

 

Book with Two or More Authors

bulletFormula: Author’s last name, first name, second author’s FIRST name, last name. Book title. City of Publication: Publisher’s Name, Year of publication.

Hofer, Paul J. , and Barbara S. Meierhoefer. Home Confinement: An Evolving
        Sanction in the Federal Criminal Justice System. Washington: Federal
        Judicial Center, 1987.

 

Magazine Article

bulletFormula: Author’s last name, first name. "Article Title." Magazine title. Publication date: page number.

Katel, Peter. "New Walls, No Inmates." Newsweek 18 May 1992: 63.

 

Newspaper Article

bulletFormula: Author’s last name, first name. "Article Title." Newspaper title. Publication date, which edition it was: section number/letter and page number.

Barr, William. "Corraling the Hard-Core Criminal." Detroit News and Free
        Press 18 Oct. 1992state ed. : B3.

 

Pamphlet

bulletFormula: Author’s last name, first name (if available, otherwise use the title). Pamphlet title. City of publication: Publisher, date.

Sugar, Bert Randolph, ed. Mecca 1911 Double-Folder Baseball Cards.
        Mineola: Dover, 1991.

 

Personal Interview

bulletFormula: Interviewee’s last name, first name. The words "Personal interview," Date of interview.

Irrer, Richard N. Personal interview, 21 Oct. 1994.

 

Audio Tape

bulletFormula: Author’s last name, first name. Title of Audio Tape. The name of the distributor. Date of release.

Goleman, Daniel. Emotional Intelligence (abridged). Audio Renaissance
        Tapes. 1995.

 

Video Tape

bulletFormula: Title of Video Tape. Producer’s name. The words "video tape." The name of the distributor. Date of release.

Alcohol Use and Its Medical Consequences: A Comprehensive Teaching
        Program for Biomedical Education. Prod. Project Cork, Dartmouth
        Medical School. Videotape.  Milner-Fenwick,1982.

 

Movie

bulletFormula: Title of film. Director’s name. Starring Performers. Studio that produced the movie, date of release.

Frankenstein. Dir. James Whale. Perf. Boris Karloff, John Boles, Colin
        Clive, and Mae Clark. Universal Studios, 1931.

Sample Works Cited From a Student Paper

Important Notes:

bullet

This student has annotated (written brief comments about) his sources because that's part of the assignment for Paper #3 in Comm. Skills 1.  If you're in Comm. Skills 2, you do not need to annotate your web resources.

bullet

All sources are in alphabetical order, using the author's last name where available, and the website name where the author's was not listed/available.

bullet

The student has underlined all book, magazine, and website titles. Article names are in quotation marks.

bullet

Note that web and hard copy sources are not listed separately. All are combined in a single list.

Works Cited

Beatrice, Jack. Beatrice ATV and Cycle. 26 Nov. 2001.
        <http://www.dratv.com/honctminnewp.html>
This site is the best source for parts for the CT70 I have found. Great pictures of the parts to help you figure out what you need and it also has an online ordering system. This site is mostly just a good parts source for the CT70.

Butterworth, William E. Mighty Minicycles. New York: Harvey House, 1976.
Fascinating study of the mini-bike's rise in popularity. This book is particularly strong on the early history of the bike.

Classic Honda Mini Trails.  20 Nov. 2001. 26 Nov. 2001.
        <http://www.hondaminitrail.com>
This website is an excellent source of parts for the CT70 with pictures and prices of parts you can order. Also has restoration tips and they service CT70 engines.

Dempsey, Paul. The Complete Mini-Bike Handbook. Pennsylvania: Tab Books, 1973.
The author is a long time builder, racer and restorer of mini-bikes. His firsthand experience makes this a lively and anecdote-filled read, as well as a good technical resource.

Holman, Dave. "Honda CT 70 Minitrail." Cycle Magazine. January 1970: 45.
Holman's overview of the CT 70 is very useful for those seeking parts and design information.

Honda 50-110cc OHC Singles 1965-1996. Kansas: Intertec Publishing, 1996.
This manufacturer sponsored publication provides a wide range of information on all makes and types of OHC Singles. This is not the source for people seeking specific in-depth data on one particular model, as the book's focus is to be all inclusive rather than extremely detailed.

The Honda CT-70 Website. Geocities. 20 Oct. 2001. 26 Nov. 2001.
        <http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Cafe/1990>
This website has good pictures and information about restoring your CT70. It also has a great bulletin board to buy and sell parts that is visited frequently. On this site you can also view a yearbook to help tell you what changes occurred on the CT70 each year. This site also sells manuals and has an excellent link page to other CT70 websites.

Honda Trail 70 and Mini Trail 50. Atocha Treasure Company. 6 Oct. 2001. 26 
        Nov. 2001.  <http://www.hondatrail70.com>
This site provides just about everything you would want to know about the CT70. It contains restorations step by step with excellent pictures, great stories, old magazine ads, reprinted manuals, excellent pictures, bulletin boards, movie clips, screen saver and more.

Lennox, Steve. Home Page. 26 Nov. 2001. 26 Nov. 2001.
        <http://clubs.yahoo.com/clubs/ct70minitrailclub>
This site contains a message board, photos, and a good section that shows exploded views of CT70 parts and how they attach.

Old Honda.com. "First Kick." 1 Nov. 2001. 26 Nov. 2001.
        < http://www.oldhonda.com>
This website provides good photos and detailed spec. for the different year CT70s. They also sell cool accessories for the CT70 and even sell a new CT70 "take-off".

Sparks, James C. Mini and Trail Bikes and How to Build Them Yourself. New    
        York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1976.
One of the best aspects of this book is its wealth of three-dimensional, cutaway drawings. These are of great assistance to the rebuilder and restorer.

If you are in Comm. Skills 1, please ignore the two links below.  They lead to materials for Comm. Skills 2 students, which are not applicable to your research project.

 Report Description| Research Worksheet