2009

PREFACEThe word reference comes from the verb ‘refer which means to ‘to turn to aid

or information’. The two types of reference sources are those which contain information and those that direct us to information. The example for the first type includes encyclopedias, handbook, atlases and gazetteer. For the second type, examples are indexes, abstracts, and bibliographies.

As the law profession requires mastery of various reference sources, it is important for a student such as me to be immersed in researching various forms of reference sources in order to ease the transition into a higher degree of education.

In this first assignment, we are tasked to locate various sources with examples and write the description of the item. Other criterion of the assignment is to provide bibliographic citation of the item that we chose according to both APA and MLA styles.

Date of submission is on the 10th of September, 2009 and students are expected to meet the given criteria: clarity and creativity.

DICTIONARY HARDCOPY

Concise Oxford English Dictionary

EXAMPLES

Concise Oxford English Dictionary, Longman’s Dictionary of Contemporary English, Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, The Century Dictionary, The Collins English Dictionary

DESCRIPTION

A dictionary is a collection of words in a specific language arranged alphabetically with basic information of the words including meaning, pronunciation, and etymology. A dictionary could also mean a book with meanings and its equivalent two or more languages.

Dictionaries sort out words according to their headword or lemma. the headword is used to locate the entry, and dictates its alphabetical position.

Lexicographers denote that there are two main ways for dictionaries to define words, namely prescriptive and descriptive. Descriptive dictionaries attempt to describe actual use of common words, even if they are non-standard while prescriptive dictionaries are more inclined about correct or Standard English.

There are various forms of dictionaries which are used in specialized fields. These dictionaries are classified into three categories. A multi-field dictionary (broadly covers several subjects such as business), single-field dictionary (covers narrowly one particular subject such as law), and sub-field dictionary (covers singular field such as constitutional law).

CITATION

MLA

Pearsall, Judy. Concise Oxford English dictionary. Ed. Angus Stevenson Catherine Soanes. 10. New York: Oxford University Press, 2003.

APA

Pearsall, J. (2003). Concise oxford english dictionary (10 ed.). (A. S. Catherine Soanes, Ed.) New York, USA: Oxford University Press.

DICTIONARY ONLINE

Dictionary.com searching the word ‘stress’

EXAMPLES

www.dictionary.com, www.thefreedictionary.com, www.ldoceonline.com, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary , www.yourdictionary.com, askoxford.com/dictionaries, dictionary.cambridge.org

DESCRIPTION

An online dictionary is basically an electronic dictionary that can be accessed through the Internet, usually in a web browser. There are free online dictionaries as well as premium dictionaries which requires payment to use. Accesses to these dictionaries are relatively easy as one does not require user to flip cumbersome pages. Users only need to type words they are looking for and in a matter of seconds it will appear on the screen.

Most online dictionaries offer services that in more variety such as including external links, thesaurus, encyclopedia, translator, word of the day, etc. Interactive contents such as spelling mastery and language games are also available.

Another extra function of online dictionary is that most words can be pronounced in a clear sound by clicking the loudspeaker icon next to the word.

CITATION

MLA

InReference, Inc. Dictionary.com. 09 September 2009 <http://dictionary.reference.com/>.

APA

InReference, Inc. (n.d.). Dictionary.com. Retrieved September 09, 2009, from http://dictionary.reference.com/

HANDBOOK

Dictionary.com searching the word ‘stress’

EXAMPLES

Boy Scout Handbook, The Professional Poker Dealer’s Handbook, MLA Handbook, Gentleman: A Timeless Guide To Fashion, Barefoot Doctor’s Handbook for Modern Lovers

DESCRIPTION

A handbook is basically a small, usually pocket-sized book which can be held conveniently in hand. A handbook provides miscellaneous information. It is also referred as miscellany, manual, or companion.

A handbook can be about any topic. It can contain any information on any field. They are designed to be easily consulted, and provide quick answer in certain areas. "Handbook" is sometimes applied to documents that are produced within an

organization that are not designed for publication -- such as a company handbook for HR, for instance. In this case, the term is used nearly synonymously with "manual."

CITATION

MLA

Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA handbook for writers of research papers. New York: Modern Language Association of America, 1999.

APA

Gibaldi, J. (1999). MLA handbook for writers of research papers. New York: Modern Language Association of America.

CITATIONS

Citations from the book A first Look At The Malaysian Legal System

EXAMPLES

[Qayyum82] [Joss55]

DESCRIPTION

A citation is usually a reference to a published or unpublished source. More precisely, a citation is an abbreviated alphanumeric expression (e.g. [Qayyum82]) embedded in the body of an intellectual work that denotes an entry in the bibliographic references section of the work for the purpose of acknowledging the relevance of the works of others to the topic of discussion at the spot where the citation appears. Generally the combination of both the in-body citation and the

bibliographic entry constitutes what is commonly thought of as a citation (whereas bibliographic entries by themselves are not).

A prime purpose of a citation is intellectual honesty; to attribute to other authors the ideas they have previously expressed, rather than give the appearance to the work's readers that the work's authors are the original wellsprings of those ideas.

The forms of citations generally subscribe to one of the generally-accepted citations systems, such as the Harvard, APA, and other citations systems, as their syntactic conventions are widely-known and easily interpreted by readers. Each of these citation systems has its respective advantages and disadvantages relative to the tradeoffs of being informative (but not too disruptive) and thus should be chosen relative to the needs of the type of publication being crafted. Editors will often specify the citation system to use.

ENCYCLOPEDIA ONLINE

Britannica online homepage

EXAMPLES

encyclopedia.com, britannica.com, Encarta.msn.com, encyclopedia.jrank.com, Wikipedia.org

DESCRIPTION

Much like a normal encyclopedia, online encyclopedias provides user with specified subject topics or a whole range of human knowledge. Organization of an online encyclopedia includes definition, description, background, bibliographical references, and also external relevant links.

Although unlike traditional encyclopedias, online dictionaries do not need to arrange its contents according to alphabetical order. Users simply need to type their

criteria in a search box usually located on the homepage and their results will appear in seconds.

Most online encyclopedias also offer subscriptions where we can subscribe to e-mails on new updates in some particular subject or just some random knowledge. Subscriptions are available on a yearly, monthly or weekly basis and there are special subscription plans offered to learning institutions and libraries.

CITATION

MLA

Britannica Online. Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. January 2007. 9 September 2009 <http://www.britannica.com/>.

APA

Britannica Online. (2007, January). Encyclopedia - britannica online encyclopedia. Retrieved September 9, 2009, from http://www.britannica.com/

MANUAL OF LAW LIBRIANSHIP

Law Librarianship: A Handbook

EXAMPLES

Australian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation, Manual of Law Librarianship, Introduction to Basic Legal Citation, Law Librarianship: A Handbook

DESCRIPTION

A manual on law librarianship gives information to the readers regarding basic information and methods for carrying out legal citation. Topics in the book includes definition related to law librarianship, processing, shelving, security,etc.

Basically it is a guideline for its readers on the mechanics of law libraries. Because law libraries keep various forms of materials such as legal documents, copy of treaties, and government documents, special measures are to be taken on the

circulation, automation, preservation, and management. All are explained in this book.

CITATION

MLA

Moys, M. Elizabeth. Manual of Law Librarianship: The Use and Organization of Legal Literature. 2nd ed. London: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1976.

APA

Moys, M. E. (1976) Manual of Law Librarianship: The Use and Organization of Legal Literature. (2nd ed.) London: Andre Deutsch Limited.

DIRECTORY

An online directory, American Library Directory

EXAMPLES

Yellow Pages, Business Listing, American Library Directory, The Foundation Directory, City Directories

DESCRIPTION

Directory typically lists the name, addresses of the person, organizations or institutions. It may provide pertinent information such as the purposes, dates, and others.

Directories are made to simplify searches and are usually specific to an organization or area. For example, Yellow Pages Sabah lists the home contact number of people residing in districts in Sabah as well as businesses. Directories can be found both in print form and online.

There are other forms of unconventional directories such as directories in shopping malls where they tell you in an organized and often mapped way where shops are located and how get there.

CITATION

MLA

Information Today. 9 September 2009 <http://www.americanlibrarydirectory.com/default.asp>.

APA

Information Today. (n.d.). Retrieved September 9, 2009, from Information Today's American Library Directory: http://www.americanlibrarydirectory.com/default.asp

YEARBOOK

Maktab Rendah Sains MARA Lenggor yearbook

EXAMPLES

S.M La Salle Kota Kinabalu Yearbook, Britannica Book of The Year, The Howitzer: The United States Military Academy Yearbook, Tenaga Nasional Annual Report

DESCRIPTION

Often called an annual, a yearbook presents the happenings of the past year of its publication in brief and concise form. It is common for high schools and companies to publish their annual yearbook for students (high schools) and also staff and shareholders (companies).

A yearbook may also refer to a book of statistics or facts published annually. A yearbook may also be about a variety of subjects including movies, music, sports, and fashion.

CITATION

MLA

Ebert, Roger. Roger Ebert's Movie Yearbook 2009. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2008.

APA

Ebert, R. (2008). Roger ebert's movie yearbook 2009. Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing.

ALMANAC

The bird almanac: a guide to essential facts and figures of the world's birds

EXAMPLES

Nutrition Almanac, World Almanac Book of Facts, Old Farmer’s Almanac, The Almanac of American Politics, New York Times Almanac, Almanac of Business and Finance Ratios

DESCRIPTION

An almanac is a publication containing information and facts that are miscellaneous and statistical. An almanac is usually written in concern of a specific group of people or knowledge. For example, the Farmer’s Almanac has long-range weather predictions and astronomical data, humor, trivia, and advice on gardening, cooking, fishing, and human-interest pursues.

Almanacs are written by learned writers and editors of the topics covered. For broad subjects, almanacs are published in multiple volumes and in some libraries, almanacs are strictly reference materials.

CITATION

MLA

Bird, David Micheal. The Bird Almanac: A Guide to essential Facts and Figures of the World's Birds. Ontario: Firefly Books, 2004.

APA

Bird, D. M. (2004). The bird almanac: a guide to essential facts and figures of the world's birds. Ontario: Firefly Books.

NEW MALAYSIAN WHO’S WHO

New Malaysian Who’s Who 2nd edition

DESCRIPTION

First published in 1995 by Kasuya Publishing, This book contains basically the facts of Malaysian personalities that have significance in certain areas. Hence the name, who’s who. Other than that, this book also contains current miscellaneous facts about the country including the 2009 General Election results and the Federal Cabinet Line-up.

CITATION

New Malaysian Who’s Who. 2nd ed. Kuala Lumpur: Kasaya Publishing Sdn. Bhd, 1995.

New malaysian who’s who. (2nd ed.). (1995). Kuala Lumpur: Kasaya Publishing Sdn. Bhd.