Preventing Plagiarism II

Introduction

A reference list can be prepared in multiple formats, including endnotes and bibliographies (University of Chicago Press, 2017). The two most common formats of reference lists in science and social science research articles are in the numbered and author–date formats.

Formats and Style Guides

In a paper based on numbered citations, the sources in the reference list appear in the order that they are cited in the text. This style is recommended in the American Medical Association(AMA) Style Guide (JAMA, 2020).

In contrast, the American Psychological Association (2019) and Modern Language Association (2021) style guides recommend the author–date format. In this arrangement, the in-text citation includes the name of, at least, the first author and the publication date. The reference list sources are presented in alphabetical order.

Advantages of Using the Author–Date Format

When starting to write a research paper, authors may not know the reference list format required by the publisher that accepts their article. However, even authors such as clinical researchers who know that they will need to submit a numbered reference list would be wise to draft their paper using author–date citations for the following reasons:

1.  Citations are added, deleted, or reorganized

Novice authors think of writing as a linear process: draft, revise, and submit. Even with careful planning, however, writing involves multiple drafts, revisions, and sometimes multiple submissions.

Citations are frequently added or reorganized when co-authors, reviewers, or editors request changes to the text. Renumbering a list at every post-writing stage is inefficient and can lead to errors.

2. One source may be cited in multiple passages

Following the AMA numbering system, each source is listed only once in the reference list. When the same source is cited several times in the paper, the number initially attributed to the source is repeated when the source is cited in subsequent text passages.

However,  a single citation that appears multiple times in a paper may be inadvertently repeated in  the reference list. In this case, the numbering of all the sources will need to be corrected. The possibility that a source is repeated increases markedly when multiple authors make contributions to a paper.

3. Cross-referencing is required before submission

When the number system is used, the correct placement of an in-text citation requires a multistep process. The author must follow each reference list link and ensure that the content in the linked source is consistent with the information in the annotated text.

This process can become very complicated for an author who generated source notes weeks, months, or years before drafting and revising the manuscript. As the time between generating a source note and drafting the papers increases, the likelihood that authors will need to reread part of each source paper to ensure citation accuracy also increases.

Cross-referencing a numbered list entry with an in-text citation is an even greater challenge when multiple people have contributed to the paper. Not every author of a manuscript will be familiar with the material added by another author.

Therefore, adding source-distinguishing information in the running text can be a time-saving measure. The author and date information of a source is the basis for distinguishing among in-text citations.

Creating the Reference List With Confidence

After the draft is finalized, the reference list can be properly ordered. If the publisher follows APA or MLA style, the references in the list can be placed in alphabetical order. Then, after double-checking that the names and dates in the text and reference list match, extraneous information in the text can be removed.

In contrast, when a  publisher calls for numbered citations, the sources in the reference list must be ordered to match their order of citation in the text. Similar to authors preparing an author–date style list, writers who have retained  source-distinguishing information in the text can compare the in-text citations with the numbered list references to ensure that they follow the same order. 

Then, duplicate references are removed from the list. The same number is added to the end of the in-text citation and the matching source entry in the reference list, with recurring in-text citations labeled with the same number. Finally, the source-distinguishing information in the text can be removed.

In Summary

Only one easy-to-make mistake, such as attributing the wrong source to a written passage, can create a difficult-to-fix attribution error. However, writers employing the author–date system when drafting a long-form paper have additional cues to help distinguish similar sources and cross reference in-text and reference list citations. Moreover, when identifying information is retained in the text until the manuscript is finalized, errors introduced during revisions are relatively easy to identify and correct.

Each author or group of authors will refine their own citation process with each paper they write. Authors who initially use the author–date system may benefit by limiting the number of mistakes and the time needed to make corrections.

References

American Psychological Association. (2019). Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association.

JAMA Network. (2020). AMA Manual of Style: A Guide for Authors and Editors. Oxford University Press.

Modern Language Association of America. (2021). MLA handbook.

University of Chicago Press. (2017). The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition. https://doi.org/10.7208/cmos17.