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Physics: Organizing and Citing

Using Bibliographic Management Tools to Organize

Open Source / Free Tools

Citation Style Guides

There are many different citation styles that are used for research papers. Ask your professor if there is a style that they prefer. Whichever style you choose, apply it consistently throughout your paper.

Citation Examples

Citation examples based on the References chapter from the 7th Edition of Scientific Style and Format (CSE 2006).


Citing a Journal Article (Print)

End Reference:
Klee GA. 1976. Traditional time reckoning and resource utilization. Micronesica. 12(2):211-246.

In-text reference:
(Klee 1976)

Citing a Journal Article (Electronic)

End Reference:
England JL. 2013. Statistical physics of self-replication. J Chem Phys [Internet]. [cited 2015 Jun 25]; 139(12):121923. Available from http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jcp/139/12/10.1063/1.4818538 doi: 10.1063/1.4818538

In-text reference:
(England 2013)

Citing a Book

End Reference:
Oliveira KRKN. 2014. Ancestral places: understanding Kanaka geographies. Corvalis (OR): Oregon State University Press.

In-text reference:
(Oliveira 2014)

Citing a Chapter of a Book

End Reference:
Petropoulos PM. 2015. Gravitational duality, topologically massive gravity and holographic fluids. In: Papantonopoulos E, editor. Modifications of Einstein's theory of gravity at large distances. New York: Springer. p. 331-367.

In-text reference:
(Petropoulos 2015)

Citing a Dissertation

End Reference:
McDougall BN. 2011. 'O ka lipo o ka lā, 'o ka lipo o ka pō: cosmogonic kaona in contemporary Kanaka Maoli literature. [dissertation]. [Honolulu]: University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa.

In-text reference:
(McDougall 2011)


[CSE] Council of Science Editors, Style Manual Committee. 2006. Scientific style and format: the CSE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. 7th ed. Reston (VA): Council of Science Editors. Chapter 29, References; p. 490-575.

Why Cite?

Nānā i ke kumu

Citing the work that supports your research is both an ethical issue and a legal issue.

The ethics of citing is based on the scholarly tradition of giving credit for information and ideas that are not one's own. Science has a long tradition of acknowledging priority through citations. You have the ethical responsibility to cite all works that were used to support your research, to give credit to the earlier work and to provide a clear path for those who follow in your footsteps.

Or, to put it another way:

I ulu no ka lālā i ke kumu.
The branches grow because of the trunk.
Without our ancestors we would not be here.
*

An example of some legal aspects of citing can be found in Copyrights, Title 17 of the U.S. Code, which describes the legal protections of authors' and creators' intellectual property rights within U.S. law.

*Pukui MK. 1983. ʻŌlelo Noʻeau : Hawaiian Proverbs & Poetical Sayings. Honolulu: Bishop Museum Press. [1261] p.137.

What is Plagiarism?

Plagiarism is defined as:

"The action or practice of taking someone else's work, idea, etc., and passing it off as one's own; literary theft"

"plagiarism, n." OED Online. Oxford University Press, March 2015. Web. 21 May 2015.  Available from: http://www.oed.com/view/Entry/144939

See the University of Hawaiʻi Student Conduct Code for more information.

Need More Help?

Sci/Tech Librarians Email:
sciref@hawaii.edu