Sources and Referencing
In your academic studies you will constantly interact with the work of other academics. It is of great importance that you do this with care. This means that you must always give credit where credit is due: when you take an idea, notion or definition from another author, you must refer to their work. When you copy a sentence, or part of a sentence, you have to indicate that you have done so and tell where you took it from. Failing to do so, even unintentionally, can result in the charge of plagiarism.
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Finding sources
As a university student, you’ll be expected to only use academic source material. Contemporary academic source material is written by an academic in possession of a PhD, who is an expert in the field they write about. The author will have worked according to the academic guidelines concerning research integrity and correct referencing. Before it was published, the author’s work will have been peer-reviewed; this means that several other academics in the same field have read and provided commentary on their work. When making use of an online search engine like Worldcat, you can specify that you only want to be shown peer-reviewed articles.
Non-academic sources, like webpages, talks, newspaper articles, etc – can be used in academic writing, but do not have the same status – they cannot be attributed a status of authority on a philosophical subject. At different stages of writing a paper, different types of sources are appropriate.
Finding appropriate literature
The inspiration for your paper could be a topic or author discussed in class; perhaps you have been assigned an article that spikes your interest. Rather than sticking with to specific paper and the literature it covers, it is important that you take a step back and familiarize yourself with the broader topic(s). A helpful tool for this, specific to philosophy, is the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. This is an online collection of articles on a wide range of philosophical topics written by an expert on that topic. Its aim is to discuss each topic broadly by giving an overview of the main contributions to and developments of that topic, all the while referring the reader to a wide array of literature.
Another good starting point are introductory textbooks. In your first and second year, most if textbooks you are assigned are of this kind. They contain chapters on different topics within the broader topic of your course and give a systematic and concise overview of the most important philosophers, theories and concepts within that topic. They are usually written with the undergraduate student in mind, so they might be easier to understand than the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Typically, each chapter will conclude with an overview of the most important primary literature on the topic.
Philpapers.org is a useful index of contemporary philosophical papers, organized by general topic and subtopics. On each general topic, an overview is given of the key works and relevant introductory books. Most paper entries are supplemented with links to where they can be accessed.
Obtaining literature
With your UU account, you will have entry to many online databases, where pdfs can be read and/or downloaded. Worldcat should be your go-to search engine. It allows you to search within the databases of the university itself, making sure you have access to the books (either physical copies or e-books), journals, and articles that come up. For more information on WorldCat, click here.
Journals are a great way of finding the most recent publications within some field. A new edition will (digitally) be released up to several times a year, and there exist many different journals within philosophy alone. See here for a list of publications within philosophy. You can easily check WorldCat whether you have access to a publication.
Many standalone articles you will find when gathering sources on a topic will be secondary articles written about some theory/concept T by author A. They will typically be either a defence of (certain elements of) T, or a rejection/criticism of (parts of) it. Most articles are supplemented by keywords, which will aid you in your search for relevant literature, and through which you can easily identify the topics it discusses. A good way of finding articles is by simply Googling the author and title or looking them up on Google Scholar.
Levels of interaction
There are multiple ways, or levels, of interacting with the work of others. Throughout an academic paper, you are bound to use of all of them. The use of these ways of referencing is highly flexible: in one paragraph, you will merely mention some author while in another you may want to paraphrase or quote parts of their work. The following is intended to give you a rough idea of which level of interaction will be appropriate. Keep in mind that at any level of interacting with another author’s work (or your own previously published work!) you need to include a reference.
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Mentioning
Paraphrasing
Quoting
Mentioning
Firstly, you can simply mention another author’s idea, theory or simply mention the author themself. The purpose of this may be to acknowledge that you are aware of their work, which might be of (indirect) importance to your own research. Make sure to refer to the author’s most relevant piece of literature, or the piece of literature where the theory or idea you mention is developed.
Examples of mentioning:
- We know from Quine that the analytic-synthetic distinction isn’t as clear as we once thought.
- This is what Aristotle would call a friendship of virtue.
- The most famous proponent of this sort of error theory is John Mackie.
- It was Kant’s insight that the exercise of freedom and autonomy need not be opposed to the demands of morality.
Paraphrasing
Second, you can paraphrase another author’s writings. Here you use your own words to describe a specific idea or passages of another author. When paraphrasing you stay close to the author, but do not use the author’s sentences, or parts of theirs sentences (that would be quoting). It is most useful in cases where you want to summarize (part of) their work because it is important to your own paper. You can also retain your own writing style and preferred terminology; you can stay away from specific technical terms of the author that you don’t want to explain – it can thereby add clarity. It is important that the paraphrase doesn’t make the view different, or weaker, than it is in the original text.
If there is a specific element, or choice of words, that is crucial to your paper, key sentences or definitions will have to be directly quoted, rather than merely paraphrased.
Example of paraphrasing:
In the Gay Science aphorism 341, Nietzsche presents the idea of the eternal return: the idea involves imagining that one live one’s life over and over again, identical in every respect, including every moment of joy and suffering, in eternity. If it were told to us that this is exactly how things will be, would we fall into desperation? Or would we celebrate it?
Quoting
Thirdly, another author’s work can be quoted. A quotation (specified by “…”) is necessary when you want to pay attention to exactly how another author has phrased something. Often, especially in philosophy, the way one says something can be just as important as what one says. If you want your readers to pay attention to one word or word group in particular, you can emphasize those words by making them cursive (make sure to include ‘my emphasis.’) Definitions, especially those that are specific to the author themself, are often cited.
Quotations shorter than four lines do not need special formatting. Longer quotations, however, are typically separated from the rest of the text, in a slightly smaller font and indented. This increases their readability by making it easier to separate your own words from the quotation.
Example of short quotation:
Fabre contends that a good can be subject to a right if it meets the following two conditions. Firstly, “it must be such that it can be mandatorily transferred to someone else and remain the kind of good it is.” Secondly, “it must be such that to be under a duty to transfer it to someone else does not undermine our personhood.”
Example of longer quotation:
This claim aims to satisfy the demand that a right cannot interfere with people in such a way that they are compromised in their autonomy. Autonomy, as Fabre sees it, is a matter of degree:
| To be minimally autonomous means to be capable of framing, revising, and implementing a conception of the good with which one can identify, which in turn means to have the personal capacities – physical and mental – to choose between different and worthwhile opportunities and to implement our choices, as well as to have the time and energy to take up those opportunities. |
Fabre’s conception of autonomy seems thus to have mainly to do with freedom of agency: the selection of goals relevant to an individual, and the capacity to take up opportunities in service of those goals.
Referencing
In academic literature, correct and consistent referencing is vital. There are different referencing styles; this can make things confusing at first. Different academic fields tend to use different referencing systems. Below, an overview is given of two different styles most used in the humanities: Chicago Manual of Style and MLA. The Chicago Manual of Style has two versions: the notes & biography style, mostly used in the humanities, and the Author & Date style, mostly used in the sciences. MLA (Modern Language Association) is an alternative reference system, also commonly used in the humanities.
Keep in mind that it is crucial that you adhere to one referencing system throughout your entire paper or thesis.
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Chicago Manual of Style
Chicago Manual of Style comes in two versions: Notes-Bibliography style and Autor-Date style. The first is more common in the humanities, the second in the sciences.
- In the Notes-Bibliography version the body of the text contains only notes and thereby remains clean. After the sentence or quotation, a footnote is added in superscript, and the reference is provided in the footnote: sentence.1 See below for further details
- In the Author-Date version, the reference is added in the body of the text, directly after the sentence of quote in brackets. The reference contains the last name of the author, year, and page number: sentence (author, year, page). The format of the bibliography at the end of the paper is identical for both styles.
Click here for some information by the UU on referencing in Chicago.
With Chicago Style (Notes & Bibliography) all references involve adding a note. The first time you mention a source, you will use a note and offer the full reference in the footnote, with the page you wish to refer to. For example:
- Cecile Fabre, “Justice and the Compulsory taking of Live Body parts,” Utilitas 15, No. 2 (July 2003): 132.
From the second time you mention that same source onwards, you use a shortened version of the title and only mention the page you wish to reference. In the same example:
- Fabre, “Taking Live Body Parts”, 132.
In addition to these notes, the source has to be included in the bibliography at the end of the paper. Because in the bibliography the sources are ordered alphabetically, you start with the main author’s last name instead of the first name. Keep in mind that the use of interpunction is vital. It does matter whether you use a comma or a full stop. Always end your note or bibliography entry with a full stop.
Below, you find an overview of the most used types of sources in Chicago Style – Notes & Bibliography.
Note
Author(s) first and last name(s) separated by ‘and’, Title and subtitle, (City: Publisher, publication year), page number(s).
Examples:
- Russ Shafer-Landau, Moral Realism: A Defence, (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2003), 61.
- Andrew Fisher, Metaethics: an introduction (New York, Routledge, 2014), 69.
Shortened note
Author(s) last name(s) separated by ‘and’, Title, page number(s).
Examples:
- Shafer-Landau, Moral Realism, 67.
- Fisher, Metaethics, 69.
Bibliography entry
Author last name, first name, and second author first and last lame. Title. City: Publisher, publication year.
Examples:
- Shafer-Landau, Russ. Moral Realism: A Defence. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
- Fisher, Andrew. Metaethics: an introduction. New York: Routledge, 2014.
Note
Author first and last name, “Title,” in Book Title, ed(s). Name Editor(s) (City: Publisher, publication year), page number(s).
Examples:
- Russ Shafer-Landau, “Ethics as Philosophy: a Defense of Ethical Nonnaturalism,” in Foundations of Ethics, eds. Russ Shafer-Landau and Terence Cuneo (Blackwell, 2013), 210.
- Jaegwon Kim, “Concepts of Supervenience,” in Supervenience and Mind: Selected Philosophical Essays, ed. Ernest Sosa (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), sec. 5.
Shortened note
Author, “Title,” page number(s).
Examples:
- Shafer-Landau, “Ethics as Philosophy,” 210.
- Kim, “Concepts of Supervenience,” 56.
Bibliography entry
Author last name, first name. “Title.” In Book Title, edited by Name Editor, page numbers of the chapter. City: Publisher, publication year.
Examples:
- Shafer-Landau, Russ. “Ethics as Philosophy: a Defense of Ethical Nonnaturalism.” In Foundations of Ethics, edited by Russ Shafer-Landau and Terence Cuneo, 210-221. Blackwell, 2013.
- Kim, Jaegwon. “Concepts of Supervenience.” In Supervenience and Mind: Selected Philosophical Essays, edited by Ernest Sosa, 53-78. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
Note
Author(s) first and last name(s) separated by ‘and’, “Title and subtitle,” Title journal and edition, No. number, (when this edition of the journal came out: year/quarter and year/month and year): page number(s).
Examples:
- David Copp, “Why Naturalism?” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 6, no. 2 (June 2003): 182-185.
- Jaegwon Kim, “The Myth of Nonreductive Materialism,” Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 63, no. 3 (Nov. 1989): 43.
Shortened note
Author(s) last name(s), “Title,” page numbers.
Examples:
- Copp, “Why Naturalism?,” 183-184.
- Kim, “The Myth of Nonreductive Materialism,” 43.
Bibliography entry
Main author last name, main author first name, other author(s) first and last name(s). “Title and subtitle.” Title journal and edition, No. number, (when this edition of the journal came out: year/quarter and year/month and year): page number(s) of the article.
Examples:
- Copp, David. “Why Naturalism?” Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 6, no. 2 (June 2003): 179-200.
- Kim, Jaegwon. “The Myth of Nonreductive Materialism.” Proceedings and Addresses of the American Philosophical Association 63, no. 3 (Nov. 1989): 31-47.
Note
Author, if there is one, “Title,” Organization, date of publication or revision OR date you accessed the webpage, link to webpage.
- Vladimir Kalugin, “Donald Herbert Davidson (1917-2003),” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, Accessed May 20, 2020, https://www.iep.utm.edu/davidson/.
Shortened note
Author/organization, “Title.”
- Kalugin, “Davidson.”
Bibliography entry
Author/organization. “Title.” Organization. date of publication or revision OR date you accessed the webpage. link to webpage.
- Kalugin, Vladimir. “Donald Herbert Davidson (1917-2003).” Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed May 20, 2020. https://www.iep.utm.edu/davidson/.
Click here for more examples of citations in Chicago.
MLA
The MLA referencing system aims to be a universally applicable format. It makes use of in-text referencing (just like Chicago style) Author-Date, in which the author’s last name and relevant page number(s) are placed between brackets. When referring to the same author a second time, only the page number will be necessary.
Click here for more information on MLA by the UU.
Example of in-text referencing:
| Fabre contends that a good can be subject to a right if it meets the following two conditions. Firstly, “it must be such that it can be mandatorily transferred to someone else and remain the kind of good it is.” Secondly, “it must be such that to be under a duty to transfer it to someone else does not undermine our personhood” (Fabre, 132). |
A reference is built up out of the following elements, presented in the following order and using the following interpunction (full stop or comma). Note that it is not possible to provide every element of information about every source you will use.
- Author. (Last name, first name)
- Title of source. (Book. “Article.”)
- Title of container, (the larger whole in which the source is located; collection, website. Usually italicized)
- Other contributors, (editors, illustrators, translators)
- Version, (if there are multiple editions)
- Number, (in journals a number is often specified)
- Publisher, (if there is one; location of publishing not necessary)
- Publication date, (be as specific as is necessary; often the year will suffice)
- Location. (page numbers/section. Article URL can also be specified here.)
Below, I will give examples of the bibliography entry of the most used types of sources: a book; a chapter or other part of an edited book; a journal article; and website content.
In Microsoft Word, you can make use of the ‘Insert Footnote’ function, to be found under ‘References.’ A footnote should always be placed at the end of a sentence. AFBEELDING Example of a page layout using footnotes: AFBEELDING In the example above, note 23 is a shortened note while 25 is a regular note; for here a new source is introduced. You can see that when the same source is referenced twice in a row, as is the case with note 24, the abbreviation ‘Ibid.’ can be used. This is short for ‘ibidem,’ which means ‘from the same place.’ Here is an example of a bibliography layout, which includes the different types of references discussed. AFBEELDING It should be very easy for your readers to find the sources in the bibliography. This is why the sources are sorted alphabetically. To do this in Word, select the list you want to sort. Go to ‘Home’ and select ‘Sort.’ Select ‘Sort by Paragraph’ and then the option ‘Ascending’ (A to Z). To make your bibliography look aesthetically pleasing, you can include a ‘hanging indent’ like in the example above. To do this, go to ‘Home’ and within the ‘Paragraph’ section click on the ‘Button image’ icon. A pop-up will launch. Go to ‘Indents and Spacing.’ Under ‘Special,’ select ‘Hanging.’ Oxford University on Plagiarism
Page and Bibliography Layout
Page Layout
Bibliography Layout
Additional sources