4. Citing Sources in Scientific Writing

Objectives:

Students will know where and how often to insert in-text citations

When do you need an in-text citation?

When writing your monograph, you MUST cite the sources of the information that you summarize. Paraphrased information from a resource or a group of resources is not enclosed in quotes, but still must be followed by an in-text citation that includes all sources from which the information was derived.   Word-for-word information from a source must be enclosed in quotes and must be followed by or include a citation referring to the source.

What if you want to use most, but not all, of another’s words:

….   Three dots  can be used to indicate that you’ve skipped some of the quotee’s words

[ ]   Square brackets can be used to enclose words that you insert in the middle of the quotee’s words

For example, a student might slightly change the sentence by Philips as shown below:

Philips:

We believe chemoprophylaxis may well reduce future morbidity from TB in high risk groups by some 50 to 75 percent.

student monograph:

Philips et al. believe that “chemoprophylaxis … [could] reduce future morbidity from TB in high risk groups by … 50 to 75 percent.”¹

In the example above, a superscript ¹ is used to indicate that the full information for the cited source is shown in the first entry in the bibliography.   Superscript numbers are used for in-text citations in the “AMA 11th edition” citation style and by many other citation styles.

How often do you need to cite a source?

Remember, most readers do not read an article in its entirety. You don’t want to frustrate your reader (you especially don’t want to frustrate your paper’s reviewers/graders).  On the whole, readers should be able to easily find the a citation within each paragraph  or within each row of a table.  Typically, an in-text citation is placed at the end of a section of text (within a paragraph) that has been drawn from a source or group of sources.  If a sentence doesn’t contain an in-text citation, the reader is expected to look for the next in-text citation in the paragraph (not the preceding in-text citation).  Thus, the final sentence in a paragraph should always contain or be followed by an in-text citation.

Example:

A paragraph from a journal article is shown below.  (from  Schuetz P, Chiappa V, Briel M, Greenwald JL. Procalcitonin algorithms for antibiotic therapy decisions: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials and recommendations for clinical algorithms. Arch Intern Med. 2011;171(15):1322.)

In this example, the first sentence is based on information from source 1.  The second and third sentences are based on information from source 2.

There is an exception to the rule above — whole section concerning one article

It is not necessary to include an in-text citation in every paragraph when an entire clearly defined section of your paper or an entire table discusses a single work. In these cases you can cite the source once at the beginning of the section/table.   An example follows.  The example was taken  from Cohn DL, O’Brien R, Geiter L. Targeted tuberculin testing and treatment of latent tuberculosis infection. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2000;4(9):1-61.  The Citation style changed to AMA style for teaching purposes.follows:

Halsey et al. , The Haiti Study, 1990-1994

In the Haiti study conducted during 1990–1994, regimes of twice-weekly rifampin and pyrazinamide was well tolerated.¹¹⁰ No severe adverse reactions were observed; rates of abnormal liver function were low (1–3%). ….

When are citations  not needed?

There are at least  four circumstances when in-text citations are not needed.

1. When the content of a statement is considered common knowledge.

You don’t need to include a source for information that others with your level of expertise will feel is common knowledge. Typically this is information you know so well that you wouldn’t have consulted a resource while writing – theoretically there’s no chance of plagiarism.  Statements that are considered common knowledge don’t occur very often in student writing.  That said, there are instances when a statement is considered common student-level knowledge.  For example, you could certainly say — The COVID 19  pandemic disrupted many aspects of life around the globe — without citing a source.

2. When you are describing your research plans (in a report concerning a research project you have completed or plan to complete)
3. Your data and methods (in a report concerning a research project you have completed or plan to complete)
4. A summary of your conclusions that doesn’t refer to the conclusions of others

Questions, Problems, Text Errors?

Before you leave, …

• Do you have any questions or do you feel that clarification of some aspect of the materials would be helpful?
• Have you noticed any errors or problems with course materials that you’d like to report?
• Do you have any other comments?

If so, you can submit questions, comments, corrections, and concerns anonymously — or with your e-mail (your choice) — through this online form .  Alternatively, you’re always welcome to contact Cindy Schmidt directly 402-650-5056, cmschmidt@unmc.edu, or by making an appointment to meet with Cindy via Zoom.

Answers to questions or requests for clarification that are submitted anonymously will be answered in Canvas on the “Discussions” page for this course.