Footnotes, endnotes, embedded references and bibliographies:
Before I begin, it's probably worth pointing out that despite all evidence to the contrary, the formatting rules for referencing have not actually been concocted by power-crazed pedants to trip students up. Referencing style evolved to help academics, publishers and readers easily access the sources you have used. At university, you are part of the academic community, which is why referencing is as important for you as for the most seasoned professor.
Remember: you must reference even if you are referring to somebody else's argument or paraphrasing their words rather than directly quoting them. NEVER pass off somebody else's work as your own.
There are 4 main types of referencing:
footnotes, indicated by a superscript number like this one1, embedded in the text and referring to a correspondingly numbered note at the bottom of the page
endnotes, with the number embedded in the text like this (1), which corresponds to a list at the end of the essay
embedded references, where the reference (author, date, page) is embedded into the text
and
a bibliography, which is a list of ALL the works consulted, not just the works from which quotations have been taken or references made.
Footnotes:
In Computing Science, footnotes are more often used for adding a small explanation, rather than simple referencing. For example:
Being able to write code is essential for computing science students, but poor literacy skills can cost them jobs.1
(at the bottom of the page)
1 In a survey conducted by the DoJ (2003: 42), employers said that poor literacy skills was their main worry. (For an explanation of (2003: 42) see Formatting below.)
Endnotes:
An endnote might look like this:
Being able to write code is essential for computing science students, but, as the chief executive of Computing Skills Limited has pointed out, 'poor literacy skills can cost them jobs'.(1)
(at the end of the essay)
(1) Smith, John (2009) 'Jobs for Computing Scientists' in Computing Monthly, September, Issue 89, No. 3 (For what to put into your reference and how to use quotation marks, italics, etc. see Formatting below.)
Embedded references:
These are set into the text, after the person or quotation to which they refer. For example:
Being able to write code is essential for computing science students, but,as the chief executive of Computing Skills Limited has pointed out, 'poor literacy skills can cost them jobs' (Smith, 2009: 34). (For explanation of (Smith, 2009: 34) see Formatting below.)
or
Being able to write code is essential for computing science students, but John Smith (2009: 34) points out that jobs are lost through poor literacy skills. (For explanation of (2009: 34) see Formatting below.)
Bibliographies:
A bibliography appears as a separate page at the end of your essay, and includes every source consulted, whether you have quoted from the source or not. Every essay must include a bibliography.
Formatting your footnotes, end-notes, embedded references and bibliographies
Formatting your references (choosing the information and how to set it out) can look complicated, but it's just a series of steps. I've used the Harvard system here, but there are other systems. The main thing is to be CLEAR and CONSISTENT.
To start with, I thought it might be useful to have a list of the total information you need to impart, so that you can make sure you take down everything you need as you do your research. Please remember, though, that you don't need to impart all of this information all of the time:
Books:
the author(s) or editor(s) name(s)
year of publication
title
edition number (if later than the first edition)
city of publication
name of publisher
page reference
Journals:
author(s) name(s)
year in which journal used was published
title of the article
title of the journal
page number of article in the journal
volume and issue number
Electronic sources:
author(s) (if possible)
name of article
whole url line
date you accessed this resource
Selecting what you need:
Since, in computing science, a footnote is usually an expansion or explanation of something in the text, the footnote may just be a line of text itself. e.g.
1 Many revolutions, for example, the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, have relied on the internet to keep the outside world up to date with events.
However, if you are citing some piece of research in the footnote, you will need to reference the survey. Help! A reference within a reference. Do not panic. You can put a number in brackets after the piece of research cited in the footnote, and then just make an endnote, as you would with any endnote in the essay. e.g.
2 In a survey conducted by the Department of Jobs, employers said that poor literacy skills was their main worry (1).
At the end of the essay, following (1), you'll put the reference for the survey. You'd also need to put the survey reference in the bibliography since a bibliography is a list of all the works consulted for an essay.
For end-notes, you need:
author(s) or editor(s), year of publication, page number, or, if an electronic source, the url line and the date accessed.
For example: Computing science numbers have continued to grow (1) and with the increase in computer games and the popularity of gaming, it is predicted that the numbers have not yet peaked.(2) However, according to some, the quality of computing science is inconsistent (3), and, as games become increasingly personalised, there are issues with data protection.(4) Nevertheless, for a relatively new university discipline, computing science is a success story.(5)
(1) Grant & Another, 1997: 24
(2) Fitsankis, Grant, Simpkin et al, 2003: 412. (The 'et al' shows that there are more authors, but you have listed the first three. There is no need to list more than three.)
(3)Information, Communication & Society, 2005: 56 (this reference is a document with no named author)
(4) Her Majesty's Stationery Office, (usually abbreviated to HMSO) Data Protection Act, 1998: 36
(5) http://www.electronicsource/o02/electronics/final/0090e> [accessed 14.12.09]
For embedded references, that is references place in brackets in the main body of the text, directly after the quotation or citation, you need the author's name, the date of the publication and the page number or, if the source is from the web, the url line and date accessed. If the name of the publication or person quoted appears in the text, you don't need to include it again in the reference.
For example: Being able to write code is essential for computing science students, but John Smith (2009: 34) points out that jobs are lost through poor literacy skills.
For bibliographies, you need all the information listed above, but NOT the page number.
Formatting rules - list the works alphabetically by author surname
leave a space between each work
1. Author(s), initial(s) or first name(s) followed by a comma,
or, editor's name or editors' names with (ed) in brackets if the book is an edited compilation
2. (Date of publication in brackets)
3. 'Title of article in a journal or a book filled with different articles by different authors in single inverted commas', (followed by a comma, as in the example)
4. Title of book, journal or newspaper in italics followed by a comma,
5. City of publication followed by a colon:
6. Name of publishing house
For example:
Bloggs, J. (2009) Having Fun in Computing Science, New York: Publishing House
Cloggs, S., Hitcher, L. and Grant, B. (2008) A History of Computing Science, Oxford: Allen and Unwin
Dray, J. (ed), (2004) 'Getting to Grips with Computing' in Computing is for Everybody, Glasgow: My Own Press
Frink, E. (1995) Computing Science for Noodles, London: Blackstock Books
Hirim, Alexander. (2009) The Guardian, 14.12.09
Muppet, George. (2004) Computing Monthly, January, Issue 15, No. 4
'Unlocking the Code', http:/www.electronicsource/o02/electronics [accessed 14.12.09]
Capitals in titles of books, journals or other referencing tools:
The initial letters of the first word of a reference, then all nouns (naming words), pronouns (I, you, he, she, it), adjectives (describing words), verbs (doing words), adverbs (qualifying the verb) should be capitalised. Everything else should be lower case.
For example:
Freedom for Individuals in the Information Age
The Insatiable Appetite of Power: Government as Tyrant
New and Unnecessary Powers: How our Freedoms Are Vanishing
If this all looks horribly complicated, remember it's only a question of following a series of steps. If a particular reference doesn't fit neatly into any of the examples here, remember that the point of referencing is so that your reader can look up your source easily. Be CLEAR and CONSISTENT and you won't go far wrong.