Importance of BIBS

• Most of this material comes from "The Craft of Research" and "How to Write and Publish a Scientific Paper".
• But why is citation important?
  • "Good scientists build on each other's work. They do not, however take credit for others work" (Day and Gastel p 21)
  • If you use the ideas, methods, phrases or words of another person you MUST give them credit.
  • Citation for ideas and methods, quotation marks or block offsets for direct quotes.
  • Day and Gastel suggest after you have written a paragraph from a known source, reread the source to make sure you are not too close to it.
  • Look at the page on paraphrasing from Booth, Colomb and WIlliams.
  • There is also a discussion of pleading ignorance.
  • And social importance
    • Charges of plagiarism can end your career.
    • Proper use of citations help to build reader's confidence in your work.
    • If you can't get little things like citations right, why should I trust you in big things?
  • Helping your readers
    • As we have seen, helps to maintain the academic record.
    • It gives future readers somewhere to start
• Acknowledging Assistance
  • On page 74 they state acknowledgment is a simple courtesy
  • "If you borrow a neighbor's lawn mower, you would (we hope) remember to say thanks for it. If your neighbor gave you a really good idea for landscaping your property and you put that idea into effect, you would (we hope) remember the to say thank you. It is the same in science..."
  • They say that you should acknowledge support but only after consulting with the person you are acknowledging.