The importance of citations and references
It is very important to cite and reference for a number of reasons:
- Giving credit to the ideas of others that we use in a work.
- Adding credibility to the work.
- Recognizing the author for their work.
- Avoiding plagiarism.
- Identifying the publication from which the idea referred to in the text was taken.
- Enabling readers of the document to search for the source.
If you cite correctly, you inform the reader where you obtained the information that you are presenting in your work. To do so, you must reference the documents consulted in the bibliography. That way you keep from appropriating an idea that you have used but that is not your own.
What is a citation and a reference?
A citation is an abbreviated reference inserted in parenthesis in the text that is complemented with the reference at the end of the chapter or the end of the entire text (UNE-ISO 690:2013).
A reference is a collection of bibliographic data that make it possible to identify a document. It is included as a footnote, at the end of the chapter or at the end of the entire text.
If you cite a phrase or a paragraph literally in your work, you must put the text in quotes, in italics or another type of font and cite the source from which you have taken it, with the complete bibliographic reference.
What must be cited?
- Data, figures, statistics that are not common knowledge.
- Theories or specific ideas that have been proposed by other people.
- Photographs, graphics, drawings, etc.
- Any specific information that is not public knowledge.
Originality and paraphrasing
- What is plagiarism?
- Plagiarism is copying all or part of a work (text, data or images) without mentioning the author of the work or idea, passing it off as your own.
Voluntary plagiarism: Voluntary plagiarism is when you copy any original work, in whole or in part, from simple phrases to complete works, without making any attribution to the original author and, as a result, attributing it to yourself in the new work.
- Involuntary plagiarism: Involuntary or unconscious plagiarism is when you are not aware of what plagiarism is or how to properly attribute the authorship of a work. This usually happens when you cite the text of an other, but you either do not cite it correctly or you simply overlook the need to cite because you do not think it is important.
Being original in content creation
Said of a scientific, artistic, literary or any other type of work: Resulting from the creativity of the author (RAE).
Paraphrasing and summarizing the original source (do not abuse this option) is writing about what you have read, explaining content in your own words and expressing information in a different way.
- Paraphrasing: Amplifying explanation or interpretation of a text to illustrate it or to make it clearer or more intelligible (RAE).
Make textual citations correctly: if you cite a phrase or a paragraph literally in your work, you must put the text in quotes, in italics or another type of font and reference the source from which you have taken it, with the complete bibliographic reference.
Include a bibliography with the sources used in creating the work: the collection of bibliographic references is what is known as a bibliography. It is generally generated at the end of the work.
Example of how to paraphrase
Sáenz-Marrero (1) says that we are currently evolving towards network-based companies in which different stakeholders take part in generating value. The internet, in fact, has a great deal to do with phenomena of this type, such as in outsourcing, crowdsourcing and others.
- Do not limit yourself to changing the order of the words: offer your own interpretation of the text!
Example of citing literally (direct quote)
- "The current economic structures are evolving toward a network-based business vision and reality, around what are known as ecosystems with multiple stakeholders and roles, more than value chains. In fact, the evolution and spread of the Web itself is transforming the conventional idea of a business, with several concepts or adjustments that tend to open them up and reconnect to other stakeholder, such as partnering, or outsourcing, crowdsourcing, online markets, etc." (1).
- And this would be how to write the reference to the citation in the final bibliography:
- (1) Sáenz-Marrero Fernández, F. (2011). The 3 Rs of your business. La Coruña, Netbiblo.
- QUESTIONS ABOUT WHAT CAN BE USED:
Own material
You can use this whenever you are the sole author and have not transferred the usage copyrights (reproduction and public dissemination).
Another option is to publish the works in Open Access and label them with Creative Commons (CC) licenses.
What are Creative Commons licenses?
These are licenses in which the author determines under certain conditions what use can be made of their work, so instead of a title with “all rights reserved”, Creative Commons licenses propose “some rights reserved.”- More information on the Creative Commons licenses.
- Material from other authors
- You must request authorization from the author(s) to make their work accessible through the Campus Virtual or any other channel. If the author has transferred exclusive usage rights to third parties, the latter must grant the corresponding authorization.
- If there are several authors and/or copyright holders, you must receive authorization from all of them.
- Copying and scanning
- Reproduction actions (art. 18) require authorization from the author or the copyright holders.
- You may copy and scan free access works (public domain, orphan works, CC licenses, etc.).
- Information obtained from the Internet: if it has a Creative Commons license, you must respect the limits established by the license; if not, you must contact the site administrator and request permission from the author.
- Images: depends on the Creative Commons licenses.
- What is B3 (Bibliographies for subjects on Blackboard)?
- This is a CRAI Library tool that enables Universidad Europea de Madrid professors to create and manage their own bibliographies. It enables them to offer their students quality, confirmed content, directly in the Campus Virtual, from databases, ebooks and references to other resources available in the DESCUBRE catalog in accordance with the intellectual property laws.
Legislation
Below are the different laws, decrees and codes that affect intellectual property and copyright. The links provide access to the legislative texts published in the Spanish Official State Gazette (BOE).
- Legislative Official Decree 1/1996, of April 12, approving the Consolidated Text of the Intellectual Property Act.
- Directive 2004/48/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council, of April 29 2004, on the measures and procedures established to guarantee respect for Intellectual Property rights.
- Law 23/2006, of July 7, modifying the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act, approved by Legislative Official Decree 1/1996, of April 12.
- Law 4/2011, of March 4, on Sustainable Economy.
- Law 21/2014, of November, modifying the consolidated text of the Intellectual Property Act, approved by Legislative Official Decree 1/1996, of April 12, and Law 1/2000, of January 7, the Civil Procedure Act.
- The Intellectual Property Code contains the different rules that affect intellectual property, as well as matters related to the cultural industries.