5 Common mistakes to avoid - check list
Section outline
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Your thesis is published in the Theseus database and is a public document. It is important you pay attention to both your in-text citations and the References list.
1 Not listing all references used in the text
You should ensure that all in-text citations used in your work are listed in the References list at the end. Double check this yourself. Save your references as you work on your thesis and ensure that you add them to your own list while you are writing.
2 The references list and in-text citations must match
It is important that the references you use in the text are listed exactly as you have cited in your text. If the reader of your work wants to double check a source that they see you have used in your text, they must be able to find the reference easily in the list.
In the example below, the reader of the text would look for BBC News in the reference list while it is listed under Llang:
Referring to the BBC article in the text as:
BBC News (2023) claimed that Linda Yaccarino had immediately updated her LinkedIn profile ...
when the article entry is given under Llang in the reference list:
Llang, A., 2023. Linda Yaccarino replaces Elon Musk as Twitter boss. BBC News. [online] Available at: < https://www.bbc.com/news/business-65806686 > [Accessed 5 June 2023].
Ensure that all authors are mentioned exactly as they appear in the list. For instance, a student had written:
Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of people carrying the virus are asymptomatic (Heneghan 2020).
However, the student’s references list gave this entry:
Heneghan, C., Brassey, J., and Jefferson, T., 2020. COVID-19: What proportion are asymptomatic? [online] CEBM. Available at: <https://www.cebm.net/covid-19/covid-19-what-proportion-are-asymptomatic/ > [Accessed 3 Dec. 2022].
The student needed to use all 3 surnames of the original reference the first time they use it in the text, not just one author’s name as that is inaccurate. The in-text references must match exactly what is in the list and vice versa.
The student’s in-text citation should have been written:
Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of people carrying the virus are asymptomatic (Heneghan, Brassey and Jefferson 2020).
3 Not using alphabetical order for the reference list
This is probably one of the most common errors for a first-year student. In the Harvard system, the list is in alphabetical order of the surnames not in the order in which the references appear in the text. By using alphabetical order, the reader can easily find the source in your list when checking.
4 Using first names in the list
A common error is listing authors by alphabetical order of their first name:
John, Sloman., 2019. Essentials of Economics. 8th edition. England: Pearson.should beMichael, Parkin., 2012. Economics. 10th edition, England: Pearson.
Sloman, J., 2019. Essentials of Economics. 8th edition. England: Pearson.
Parkin, M., 2012. Economics. 10th edition, England: Pearson.
5 Giving initials in the in-text reference
Omit the initials from the in-text references. Use the surname only, date and page. Use a comma after the surname. In the example below, the writer has not given the page number which is preferable.
This was attributable to the fact that the company was offering a more superior product than the other, despite that the source of the initial problem was smoking as a whole (Little,
B.2018).6 Not giving a date
For online material, you should always try to find the date of the source. If you really cannot find a date, use n.d.
Marimekko. Sales and stores. [online[ Available at < https://company.marimekko.com/en/investors/business-operations/sales-and-stores/ > [Accessed 17 March 2023]
If you scroll to the bottom of the website above, the date is clearly given as being 2023:
Marimekko. 2023. Sales and stores. [online[ Available at < https://company.marimekko.com/en/investors/business-operations/sales-and-stores/ > [Accessed 17 March 2023].
7 Not using a reference for a Figure or a Table
You must not copy and paste a Figure you have taken from another source without giving an accurate in-text citation and listing the entry correctly in the References list. If you do not do this, then you have plagiarised.
8 Not using "et al" correctly
If the work you are citing was written by 2 authors you need to give both names every time you use the reference in the text.
If the work you are citing was written by 3 authors, then you should write out all 3 surnames the first time you use the reference in the text.
Example 1.
Studies have shown that up to 80 percent of people carrying the virus are asymptomatic (Heneghan, Brassey and Jefferson 2020). Xx xx xxx xxx xxx xxx xxxx xxx xxx xxx xxx . Heneghan et al (2020) further state that …
Example 2.
The student’s text:
An individual can discover that acquiring and evaluating information that contradicts their previous opinions is less motivating than they expected (Hoyer 2015: 60). Motivated reasoning, which includes psychological traits such as self-concept, values, and needs, could contribute to preventing conflicts with attitudes (Hoyer et al. 2015: 47).
The references list entry was given as:
Hoyer, W., McInnis, D., and Pieters, R., 2015. Consumer Behaviour. South-Western, Cengage Learning, p. 47, 52, 59-62, 131-132.
The student’s text should have been
An individual can discover that acquiring and evaluating information that contradicts their previous opinions is less motivating than they expected (Hoyer. McInnis and Pieters 2015: 60). Motivated reasoning, which includes psychological traits such as self-concept, values, and needs, could contribute to preventing conflicts with attitudes (Hoyer et al. 2015: 47).
Not using all surnames in the reference list entry is also inaccurate:
The student did not cite all authors in the reference list:
Albert, B., et al., 2013. Measuring the user experience: Collecting, analysing, and presenting usability metrics. 2nd ed. Elsevier Science & Technology. [online] Available through Metropolia University Library website <https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/metropolia-ebooks/reader.action?docID=1204543> [Accessed 22 February 2023].
9 Not using correct punctuation or style
Check your punctuation, use of italics and line spacing carefully.
Finnair (2022) Restoring Profitability (Online) Available at: https://investors.finnair.com/en/reports-and-presentations (Accessed: 10 April 2023)
should be
Finnair, 2022. Restoring Profitability. [online] Available at: <https://investors.finnair.com/en/reports-and-presentations> [Accessed: 10 April 2023].
10 Giving too much detail about the author or work in the text
In-text citations give the brief details of the work that you are referring to in your text. You should avoid long descriptive text about the work which is not necessary if the details are correctly given in the reference list. Your lecturer or thesis supervisor can give you guidance about this if in doubt. In the example below, the writer has given too much descriptive information about the text they are using.
Too much detail about the source:
In the Business Student’s Handbook Skills for Study and Employment which is a key text in our first year Gateway to Business Studies course, Cameron (2010) states in the chapter on reports that using references will convince readers that the writer is familiar with other work on the topic and that the conclusions are likely to add something to existing debates.
Should be brief in-text citation with exact page number:
Cameron (2010:152) states that using references will convince readers that the writer is familiar with other work on the topic and that the conclusions are likely to add something to existing debates.
11 Not citing secondary sources
If the book you are using is referring to other sources in the text, these are secondary sources. A common mistake is not listing these in the references list and not using “cited in” to show the original work you found them in.
For instance, in a thesis a student wrote:
“The research topic seeks to examine data that involve contact with people and field settings, while quantitative search often disengages the researcher from the people and field of research (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Silverman, 2000)”.The in-text citations for “Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Silverman, 2000” did not appear in the thesis reference list. The dates also indicate that the main text, which was not cited, was referring to these older works. The main text in which these secondary references were given was not indicated. This is plagiarism.
This should have been:
“The research topic seeks to examine data that involve contact with people and field settings, while quantitative search often disengages the researcher from the people and field of research (Guba and Lincoln, 1994; Silverman, 2000 cited in Name of primary work + DATE)”.