42
1 Academic Writing handbook Guidance for students 2011-12 INTRODUCTION As a postgraduate institution, LSHTM expects all students to demonstrate a high standard of academic practice in work done for School courses. This handbook gives general guidance about how to write in the „academic style‟ the School expects. It should be applicable for students at all levels (MSc, Diploma, Certificate, short course, or even Research Degrees), whether studying in London or by distance learning. This supplements basic guidance you will have been given in your course handbook or other similar documents (e.g. project handbook, research degrees handbook). Please take some time to read the information here, especially if you are not already familiar with concepts like how to reference and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher education before. Developing your understanding and making use of the guidance can potentially help you attain better grades. The handbook should be particularly useful for those writing extended pieces of work, e.g. projects, although the basic principles should apply to all writing done as part of your studies. It is structured with specific sub-sections you can „dip into‟ and refer back to if you need guidance on something specific. Chapter 1 covers some basic pointers about how to structure your written work, the standard of English expected, etc. However this chapter does not go into great detail, but instead gives links to further useful resources. Chapters 2 to 4 give more extensive guidance on what is perhaps the most important element of good academic writing learning to cite, reference and acknowledge your sources, so as to avoid the risks of plagiarism or other irregularities. Further useful links are also given; but what is here represents the School‟s policies on these matters. Chapter 5 gives some information about copyright. An Appendix provides detailed guidance on how to reference different types of source material in the Harvard and Vancouver styles. In the event of any inconsistency between the information in this handbook and any other School document, please contact your Course Director (taught courses) or Faculty Research Degrees Director. Where an interpretation may be required, advice should be sought from the Associate Dean of Studies.

potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

  • Upload
    others

  • View
    5

  • Download
    0

Embed Size (px)

Citation preview

Page 1: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

1

Academic Writing handbook Guidance for students

2011-12

INTRODUCTION As a postgraduate institution, LSHTM expects all students to demonstrate a high standard of academic practice in work done for School courses. This handbook gives general guidance about how to write in the „academic style‟ the School expects. It should be applicable for students at all levels (MSc, Diploma, Certificate, short course, or even Research Degrees), whether studying in London or by distance learning. This supplements basic guidance you will have been given in your course handbook or other similar documents (e.g. project handbook, research degrees handbook). Please take some time to read the information here, especially if you are not already familiar with concepts like how to reference and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher education before. Developing your understanding and making use of the guidance can potentially help you attain better grades. The handbook should be particularly useful for those writing extended pieces of work, e.g. projects, although the basic principles should apply to all writing done as part of your studies. It is structured with specific sub-sections you can „dip into‟ and refer back to if you need guidance on something specific.

Chapter 1 covers some basic pointers about how to structure your written work, the standard of English expected, etc. However this chapter does not go into great detail, but instead gives links to further useful resources.

Chapters 2 to 4 give more extensive guidance on what is perhaps the most important element of good academic writing – learning to cite, reference and acknowledge your sources, so as to avoid the risks of plagiarism or other irregularities. Further useful links are also given; but what is here represents the School‟s policies on these matters.

Chapter 5 gives some information about copyright.

An Appendix provides detailed guidance on how to reference different types of source material in the Harvard and Vancouver styles.

In the event of any inconsistency between the information in this handbook and any other School document, please contact your Course Director (taught courses) or Faculty Research Degrees Director. Where an interpretation may be required, advice should be sought from the Associate Dean of Studies.

Page 2: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

2

CONTENTS

CHAPTER 1: WRITING SKILLS ......................................................... 3

A.) GENERAL GUIDANCE FOR ACADEMIC WRITING ................................ 3

A.1 Reviewing the literature ..................................................................... 3

A.2 Considering the topic and examining the question ........................... 4

A.3 Planning and structuring .................................................................... 4

A.4 Major structural elements .................................................................. 4

A.5 Presentation ...................................................................................... 5

A.6 Language skills and standards .......................................................... 5

A.7 Other useful pointers ......................................................................... 6

A.8 Developing independent and critical thinking .................................... 6 B.) FURTHER RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING YOUR WRITING SKILLS 7

B.1 Overall tips on writing and referencing .............................................. 7

B.2 More information on good writing practice ........................................ 7

B.3 Style guide for medical journal papers .............................................. 8

B.4 Useful books ...................................................................................... 8

B.5 Other relevant study skills resources ................................................ 8

CHAPTER 2: CITING AND REFERENCING ....................................... 9

A.) PRINCIPLES OF CITING AND REFERENCING ....................................... 9

A.1 Key principles .................................................................................... 9

A.2 The Harvard referencing style (author/date) ..................................... 9

A.3 The Vancouver referencing style (numbering) ................................ 10

A.4 Presenting a reference list ............................................................... 10

A.5 Which referencing style to use ........................................................ 11 B.) REFERENCING DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOURCE ............................... 11

B.1 Official reports, non-authored works and material from websites ... 12

B.2 Material in non-standard media ....................................................... 12

B.3 Personal communications ............................................................... 12

B.4 Self-citation ...................................................................................... 12

B.5 Indirect citation, and secondary sources ......................................... 12

B.6 Encyclopedias ................................................................................. 13

B.7 Wikipedia and other open-content collaborative resources ............ 13

B.8 Common knowledge that does not need to be referenced ............. 13

B.9 „Off-topic‟ references ....................................................................... 14

B.10 Referencing tables and figures ...................................................... 14

C.) FURTHER NOTES ON CITING AND REFERENCING ........................... 14

C.1 How often to cite .............................................................................. 14

C.2 Giving page numbers ...................................................................... 15

C.3 Distinguishing citations from your own notes .................................. 15

D.) USING A REFERENCE MANAGER ........................................................ 15

D.1 Benefits of using reference management software ......................... 16

D.2 Which reference manager to use..................................................... 16

D.3 Guidance and training for using reference managers ..................... 17

E.) FURTHER RESOURCES ABOUT CITING AND REFERENCING .......... 17

E.1 Useful books .................................................................................... 17

E.2 Web-based guides to referencing systems ...................................... 17

E.3 Web-based tutorials on referencing and citation ............................. 18

E.4 More information .............................................................................. 18

CHAPTER 3: AVOIDING PLAGIARISM AND ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITIES ............................................................................ 19

A.) ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITY DEFINITIONS...................................... 19

A.1 Types of assessment irregularities .................................................. 19

A.2 Declaration on plagiarism and cheating ........................................... 19

A.3 LSHTM definition of plagiarism ........................................................ 19

A.4 Avoiding plagiarism .......................................................................... 20

A.5 Quoting directly from a source ......................................................... 21

A.6 Collusion, and how to avoid it .......................................................... 21

A.7 Personation, and how to avoid it ...................................................... 22

A.8 Fraud, and how to avoid it ................................................................ 22

A.9 LSHTM definition of cheating ........................................................... 23

B.) ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITIES PROCEDURE .................................. 23

B.1 Penalties .......................................................................................... 24

C.) AVOIDING PLAGIARISM – A WORKED EXAMPLE .............................. 24

C.1 Original material to be quoted .......................................................... 24

C.2 An acceptable approach – direct quotation with citation ................. 24

C.3 An acceptable approach – paraphrasing with citation ..................... 25

C.4 An unacceptable approach – direct quotation without indication .... 25

C.5 An unacceptable approach – editing without indication or citation .. 25

C.6 What to put in the reference list ....................................................... 26

C.7 Applying these examples to other types of source .......................... 26

D.) DETECTING PLAGIARISM ...................................................................... 26

D.1 How Turnitin works .......................................................................... 26

D.2 What happens when suspected plagiarism is identified .................. 27 E.) TIPS FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM ....................................................... 27

E.1 Leaving enough time for the research process ................................ 27

E.2 Using clear note taking techniques .................................................. 27

F.) FURTHER RESOURCES ABOUT AVOIDING PLAGIARISM ................. 28

Page 3: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

3

CHAPTER 4: RECOGNISING THE CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS .. 28

A.) PRINCIPLES FOR ACKNOWLEDGING INPUT FROM OTHERS .......... 28

A.1 Key principles .................................................................................. 28

A.2 Marking of work ............................................................................... 29

A.3 Groupwork ....................................................................................... 29

B.) PROOF-READING AND HELP WITH WRITING OR LANGUAGE ......... 29

B.1 Proof-reading and advice from others ............................................. 29

B.2 Proof-reading and copy-editing for research degrees theses ......... 30 C.) GIVING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ........................................................... 30

C.1 Key principles .................................................................................. 30

C.2 Including an Acknowledgements section ........................................ 30

C.3 Research participants ...................................................................... 31

C.4 Additional requirements................................................................... 31

CHAPTER 5: COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY ....... 32

A.) SCHOOL POLICIES FOR STUDENT WORK ......................................... 32

A.1 Copyright and intellectual property rights ........................................ 32

A.2 Copyright and IPR agreements for major work ............................... 32

A.3 Copyright that otherwise applies to your work as a student ............ 33

A.4 Intellectual Property Rights – School policy .................................... 33

A.5 Setting restrictions on access to your work ..................................... 33

B.) PUBLICATION OF STUDENT WORK ..................................................... 33

B.1 Authorship ....................................................................................... 33

B.2 Obtaining copyright permissions for publication .............................. 34

APPENDIX: REFERENCING DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOURCE ..... 35

A. Referencing a journal article .......................................................... 35

B. Referencing a book (including edited books) .............................. 36

C. Referencing a book chapter ........................................................... 37

D. Referencing a thesis or dissertation ............................................. 38

E. Referencing reports or non-authored works ................................ 39

F. Referencing online resources ........................................................ 40

G. Referencing conference proceedings ........................................... 41

H. Referencing tables and figures ...................................................... 42

Academic Writing handbook – Guidance for students 2011-12 © London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine. Last updated June 2011.

CHAPTER 1: WRITING SKILLS The ability to produce good-quality written work is a key aspect of obtaining your degree, and also likely to be very important in your subsequent professional life. Later chapters of this handbook cover the key requirements of „academic‟ writing – how to cite and reference your sources correctly, ensuring you acknowledge the work of others and avoid plagiarism. But first, this chapter offers some brief guidance on „general‟ writing skills – how to marshal your ideas and present your work well. Links to more comprehensive guidance and resources have been provided. A.) GENERAL GUIDANCE FOR ACADEMIC WRITING The style of writing required for LSHTM assessments may call for different skills to those you have used in your previous education or employment. If you are not entirely confident in this, remember that 'practice makes perfect' – the more academic writing you do, the better you will become at it. Aspects that may be new or unfamiliar, such as citing and referencing, should become much easier when you have had the chance to practice applying them in different assessments. Staff may also give you comments or feedback about your writing style, and help you to identify whether there are any aspects you can improve. The following guidance is intended to help with all forms of writing. It is mainly drawn from guidance about producing essays or reports that are a few thousand words long. However, these ideas may be applied in a more „condensed‟ way for shorter work, e.g. assignments of less than a thousand words. A.1 Reviewing the literature Your first step should normally be to gather together all your existing knowledge about the topic(s) you need to address, e.g. by checking back through lecture notes, and identifying the areas where you need to learn more. Depending on the requirements of the work or assessment, it may be necessary to carry out a thorough literature review; the Library provide more information about how to do this most effectively. Even if you don‟t need to do a formal literature review, it will usually be helpful to prepare a list of all the key academic literature on the subject, which you can update as you work through your reading and writing for the assignment. Putting key details into a

Page 4: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

4

„reference manager‟ programme (e.g. EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero) can help make things easier for later on – guidance about this is given in Chapter 2. A.2 Considering the topic and examining the question As well as reviewing the literature, before you start writing it is always healthy to spend some time thinking carefully about the topic. If there is a specific question you have been asked to answer, can you 'unpack' it or break it down into a set of smaller and more specific questions? If you have leeway to choose your own topic, what are your options? The further resources linked at the end of this chapter touch on some of the many different techniques which exist for brainstorming and coming up with thoughts and ideas – e.g. about how problem X affects issue Y, and what follows from this. Do whatever works best for you; but as an end result, you should aim to come up with a fairly clear idea of the scope, parameters and dimensions of what you will cover. Another useful approach is to consider what kind of different 'lenses' you can use to look at the topic. What theories or evidence does the literature provide? What different groups of people are affected by the subject under discussion? What arenas does this issue affect (e.g. social or economic impacts)? What factors underpin it (e.g. physical or biological variables)? What components is the issue made up of? What tensions or challenges does it create? Can you give some case studies? You may wish to think about commenting on and critiquing some, but probably not all, of the different approaches that may be taken to answering the question. A.3 Planning and structuring A good piece of academic writing should always be well-structured – being clear, consistent, relevant and readable all the way through, to support an authoritative conclusion. The best way to achieve this is by planning your structure and arguments in advance. If you feel that simply writing or typing away in a 'free flow' is a technique that produces good results for you, by all means do so. However, you will almost always be able to improve the end result by editing and adjusting the structure – so be prepared to come up with a first draft which you then aim to improve. Having identified or worked out all the main aspects of the topic that you want to cover, you should develop a structure. Typically, each point you wish to make will correspond to a paragraph or two in the final work. Ideally, all your points should flow in a logical sequence from one to another, to create a coherent proposition or argument. Everything you include should be relevant

to the question or title of the work, and create a consistent answer or treatment of it. You may need to discard certain points or ideas that don't fit with this plan, or refine them so that they are relevant to include. You should also be aware that while the guidance here is generic, certain courses or assessments will have much more specific requirements for how your work should be written up and structured. In some cases this may mean a requirement to follow established public standards – for example if you are working in an epidemiological area, you may be required to follow the CONSORT and STROBE guidelines for reporting of clinical trials and observational studies. Please check the assessment requirements you have been given (especially the project handbook for any MSc students doing a project) to see what may apply in each case. A.4 Major structural elements The kind of written work you may need to produce as an LSHTM student may be greatly varied – but invariably, everything you write will need to have a beginning, a middle and an end. For anything at essay length or longer, this will normally correspond to an introduction, main content, and a conclusion. The introduction should set out for the reader the topic that you are going to cover. It should normally include a brief interpretation of the title or question (including defining any key terms) – i.e. what the issue is, and why it is important. It should set the scene briefly, mentioning any key contextual issues relevant to the topic). It should make clear how the assignment/essay/report will be structured, so as to address the title or question. And it should give an idea of how your personal 'voice' or interpretation will be put across later on. The main content of your work is obviously very much dependent on whatever topic you are addressing.

If you are describing a scientific experiment, the „Methods–Results–Analysis–Discussion‟ approach is very standard and may be encouraged in the assessment criteria.

If you are writing a more discursive essay, it is often useful to use an „argument–interrogation–integration approach‟, i.e. taking a specific issue from the data or idea from the literature, establishing the context and identifying the main issues or problems, examining and critiquing strengths or weaknesses (giving practical case examples is often helpful), and making a judgement about it.

Page 5: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

5

Generally, it is good to give ideas from both theory (literature) and practice (evidence from you or from others). It is also generally helpful to set out specific strategies or recommendations for how to address any problems you have identified. And unless discouraged in the assessment criteria, it is generally good to include some personal views about the issues, e.g. reflecting on examples from your own experiences, or critiquing aspects of the literature. However, note that personal opinions should always be clearly labelled as such, and should not dominate a piece of academic work. The conclusion should neatly summarise everything you have set out in the main body of the work, recapping arguments/findings/recommendations you identified earlier in the main content. As a general rule, you should avoid introducing any new material in your conclusion. You should reflect on the argument, variables or critical factors, and the implications of the issues raised. The conclusion should pair up with and reflect the introduction – to form a coherent whole, that 'book-ends' the main content. A.5 Presentation The way you present your work may have a limited, but important, effect on the mark it receives. Some key rules to bear in mind are:

It is vital to follow whatever presentation or formatting criteria are laid out in the assessment guidelines – e.g. font size, line spacing, margins etc.

It‟s usually good to present your work so it demonstrates the underlying structure, e.g. with headings and subheadings to distinguish different sections.

You should be consistent in the formatting style you apply – e.g. using the same font and font size throughout the main part of your work; or standardising your use of different formats (bold, underlining etc.) to distinguish headings and subheadings.

Paragraphs should be short-to-medium-sized and uncluttered. Five or six paragraphs per A4 page is generally about right, while fewer than two or three paragraphs breaks on a page is likely to be difficult for readers to digest. It is also helpful to put a line break in after each paragraph, to make them more visually distinct (i.e. don‟t simply start your next paragraph on the next line down, even if you are indenting the first line to show that it is new).

Aim to reinforce the narrative flow of your work and the power of your argument, by using visual elements (e.g. tables, diagrams, charts) and

signposting (e.g. headings, recaps and summaries) throughout .Use of bullet-pointed or numbered lists may be helpful.

A.6 Language skills and standards LSHTM is proud to have a very diverse student body, including many whose native tongue is not English, or others returning to study from a job which did not required regular academic-style writing. If English is not your first language or you are not fully confident is your fluency, please be reassured that a 'high' standard of English is not a general requirement for assessed work. Rather, LSHTM assessments will normally ask you to produce readable and evidence-based commentary that puts your points across clearly. Well-structured organisation (such as distinct main sections), clear presentation (such as uncluttered short paragraphs and sensible use of lists, bullet points or tables) and straightforward unambiguous phrasing (e.g. using short descriptive sentences) are all much more important than trying to come up with brilliant phrasing. Your use of language needs to demonstrate your knowledge of the topic, not your fluency in English, so you will not be marked down for minor imperfections. At the same time however, all LSHTM courses are English-language-based, and all students are expected to have a standard of written English sufficient to demonstrate their academic competence. If you are worried about your level of English, you may wish to take some additional language training, separate to your LSHTM course – the British Council, www.britishcouncil.org, are a good source of information on English courses available in different countries around the world. Students studying in London can also attend a free programme of „English for Academic Purposes‟ workshops While this handbook cannot possibly cover all the ways you might want to use English in your writing, the following points may be useful to bear in mind:

Always remember that the objective of a piece of academic writing should be to produce something readable and evidence-based that puts your points across clearly.

Aim to use straightforward unambiguous phrasing, e.g. with short descriptive sentences, rather than trying to come up with brilliant phrasing. You should choose words because they are clear and precise and convey exactly the meaning you intend, not because they sound complex and clever. There should be no room for misinterpretation.

Page 6: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

6

Sentences should be no more than two or three lines long at the most – any longer sentences are probably too long and should be broken down.

As much as possible, try to ensure your spelling, grammar and punctuation are correct. Using correct English is a key part of being able to communicate ideas and demonstrate your knowledge, as well as a courtesy to the reader to make your work as readable as possible.

Choose to write in a specific ‘voice’, and do this consistently. For

example, an active voice in the first person would be “I observed the handwashing practices of staff during rostered shifts” – this is a good

voice to use for describing experiments. The same statement in the

passive voice would be “The handwashing practices of staff were observed during rostered shifts” – this is a good voice to use for less

specific and more discursive work.

When you have finished writing a draft of your work and are reasonably happy with it, you may ask someone else (for example, a native speaker of English) to proof-read it. They may then make suggestions about your use of language, grammar, etc.; but it is your responsibility to decide what to change, you should acknowledge any assistance you have received, and you must never let anyone else extensively edit or rewrite your assessed work for you. More guidance about this is given in Chapter 4.

A.7 Other useful pointers

Practice makes perfect – if you have not done a great deal of academic writing in English recently, then as preparation for formal assessments you may find it helpful to practice turning your study notes into „exam-style‟ answers or „essay-style‟ paragraphs and sections. You may be able to ask someone appropriate (such as a tutor) to comment on whether such material meets the standards required for assessments.

It is important to always answer the question or ensure you fully address the subject your title indicates. Examine the question carefully to identify any sub-questions and consider exactly what is being sought.

Any arguments or assertions should link back to specific evidence.

It is usually helpful (especially with word count constraints) to strategically select specific issues you will deal with – rather than attempting to deal with absolutely everything that may be of relevance. One way to do this is

to briefly list all major issues that may apply, then state which subset of these you will consider in depth.

Look at the question from different angles; and where appropriate, try to use a mix of theory/literature and practice/personal elements – i.e. integrating academic context (from your reading) and particular case material. It is often useful to present examples as structured case studies (with comparable information and evidence) – this can help support your argument much more strongly than scattering different unrelated examples throughout the text

Apply criticality – don't simply quote or describe the work of others; show how they differ, take a position and examine pros and cons, be sceptical. If appropriate, use a variety of perspectives and theoretical frameworks/concepts.

Aim to demonstrate excellence through comprehensive engagement with and understanding of the topic, insightful analysis that leads to a compelling argument, and demonstrating original or independent thinking (for example, adapting an existing model from the literature to work in a new way).

Finally, always proof-read your work (yourself) before submission. You can also potentially ask others to proof-read it and offer any suggestions about your use of language. More guidance about this is given in Chapter 4.

A.8 Developing independent and critical thinking All LSHTM assessments will require you to demonstrate knowledge of the basic facts in the area under discussion – by making use of the literature, and citing the work of relevant authorities. Over and above this, at postgraduate level you are expected to demonstrate evidence of independent critical thought and real understanding. As well as summaries of what other researchers have found, you should give details of what you yourself think of their findings and their interpretations. Do not be afraid to be critical of other people‟s ideas, however eminent the author (academic life is based on criticism); but always give the reasons why you disagree. Your point of view should come across to the reader as a justified judgement or reasoned argument, and not simply as an opinion. As outlined in later chapters, it is vital that the work of others is cited or acknowledged appropriately wherever you make use of it – otherwise you run the risk of plagiarising. The references you use should demonstrate your

Page 7: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

7

reading and learning. References can also provide a useful concise shorthand for particular ideas or concepts. Conversely, you should be aware that over-reliance on referencing is liable to attract a lower mark. While a correctly-presented reference is never in itself a bad thing, it would be seen as excessive for a piece of work to consist almost entirely of referenced quotations or paraphrasing of the work of others. Work that demonstrates a lack of original argument or analysis, or understanding and engagement with the topic, is liable to fail – so you need to give your own comments about any work you are citing. There are a number of good reasons why some students may be less comfortable about giving a personal perspective. You may wish to reproduce the words, ideas and thoughts of authors, lecturers and tutors because you consider it respectful to do so; or because you feel that these views constitute the „correct‟ answer, response or approach to a question; or because you do not feel you can communicate as lucidly or clearly as the source to which you are referring. You may even have come from a previous educational system that required students to repeat (even verbatim) information given during the course, without demanding further analysis or use of this information. However, this is not what will be required of you at LSHTM; and an assessment consisting entirely of the work of others, even if comprehensively referenced, is likely to result in poor marks. You should also avoid learning information by „rote‟. Rote learning involves memorising extracts of text or information, often for the purpose of recalling and reproducing the material in answering an examination question. Students that do so risk failing to acknowledge the source or author correctly and may therefore commit plagiarism. Remember that LSHTM assessments are designed to test your understanding and application of knowledge, not simply to test of your capacity to reproduce large extracts of information or text. To obtain high marks, you will almost always be expected to:

Examine a particular body of knowledge – which may be your own research, or the work and ideas of others, or a combination of the two.

Demonstrate your understanding of this knowledge – beyond simply stating facts or repeating information from textbooks or other sources, you should show that you have learnt and can apply the concepts and skills involved.

Critically examine and challenge such knowledge – give your own views and analysis, and aim to identify both strengths and weaknesses (whether in your own research or in the work of others).

When putting forward the viewpoints of others, it can be good to set out your own opinions or alternative thoughts. As you write, try to ask yourself "how does this demonstrate critical thinking?", and "how does this demonstrate independent thought?". You may be able to give examples to show that you understand the concepts, or to compare and contrast different facts or ideas to show that you have thought critically about them. B.) FURTHER RESOURCES FOR DEVELOPING YOUR WRITING SKILLS All students, no matter how experienced or fluent in producing written work, are likely to benefit from reflecting on how you approach the 'skill' of writing for academic purposes. You should find at least some of the following selection of resources helpful. B.1 Overall tips on writing and referencing Recommended:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/ – from Purdue University Online Writing Lab, USA – an extensive set of resources on good writing practice. Click on the „General Writing‟ link for guidance that is likely to be helpful in writing assignments and essays.

Also potentially helpful:

http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/what-good-writers-know – from Yale University. A good summary of principles for writing well, included as part of the wider suite of resources from the Yale Writing Center.

www.hamilton.edu/writing/sources.html – from Hamilton College, USA . Useful tips on using sources, with guidance on citing and paraphrasing.

B.2 More information on good writing practice Recommended:

http://openlearn.open.ac.uk/course/view.php?id=3359 – from the Open University. A comprehensive set of online tutorials about planning, structuring and writing academic assignments or reports.

Page 8: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

8

Also potentially helpful:

www.umuc.edu/writingcenter/onlineguide/chapter5-01.cfm – from University of Maryland University College, USA. This has in-depth guidance on all aspects of documenting sources, as part of a chapter from an online book about academic writing. Other chapters of the book cover many further aspects of effective writing, and may also be helpful.

B.3 Style guide for medical journal papers Recommended:

http://resources.bmj.com/bmj/authors/bmj-house-style – from the British Medical Journal. These are the BMJ‟s official instructions for authors on the „house style‟ to use in submitted papers. These include many helpful tips for good writing in general, e.g. grammar and punctuation, as well as more specific guidance on exactly what the BMJ will accept. This can be seen as a „gold standard‟ of how you should aim to put a paper together for medical topics.

B.4 Useful books The Library has a wide range of books that provide guidance and support for academic writing and study skills, shelved under the classmarks AH.AZ and AR.AT. Most such books also tend to be reasonably priced and commonly available from bookshops catering to students and academics. Recommended:

Bailey, S. (2006) Academic writing: a handbook for international students. 2nd ed. Routledge, London.

Swetnam, D. (2004) Writing your dissertation. 3rd ed. How To Books, Oxford.

Also potentially helpful:

Burnapp, D. (2009). Getting Ahead as an International Student. Open University Press, Maidenhead.

Cottrell, S. (2003). The Study Skills Handbook. Palgrave, Basingstoke.

Craswell, G. (2005). Writing for Academic Success. Sage, London.

Murray, R. and Moore, S. (2006). The Handbook of Academic Writing – A Fresh Approach. Open University Press / McGraw Hill, Oxford.

Murray, R. (2007). How to Write A Thesis. 2nd ed. Open University Press, Maidenhead.

B.5 Other relevant study skills resources

Recommended:

www.lshtm.ac.uk/edu/studyskills.html – the School's own study skills page, with links to many further useful study resources from other academic institutions. As well as the writing skills links given above, this covers areas like research skills, using the internet and searching databases, as well as maths and numeracy, memory skills, time management, groupwork, presentation skills, etc.

Also potentially helpful:

www.vts.intute.ac.uk/detective – from JISC‟s Intute student resources (developed by staff from the University of Bristol and Manchester Metropolitan University). A short and approachable online tutorial entitled „Internet Detective‟, aimed at developing students‟ internet research skills for coursework. Includes practical advice and exercises for evaluating the quality of web sites, to help prevent poor-quality information from wasting your time.

www.britishcouncil.org – the British Council, a good source of information on English language training/courses available in different countries around the world.

Page 9: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

9

CHAPTER 2: CITING AND REFERENCING Academic writing, particularly when it is formally assessed, has to follow certain rules and conventions. Among the most important of these are rules and conventions about citing and referencing the work of others. These help distinguish academic material from other forms or writing. Scholars and researchers should always clearly state which ideas and work are their own and which are other people‟s – by citing and referencing correctly. This chapter sets out the School‟s standard guidance on how to do this, and should apply for all work you do in the course of your LSHTM studies. Additionally, certain modules or courses may have more specific requirements and will make these clear if so. The School‟s key requirements are that your written work should always: (i) Acknowledge the work of others wherever you make use of it. (ii) Present such acknowledgements in a consistent way using a

recognised citation system. (iii) Give a well-presented reference list at the end of your work. You are also encouraged to make use of reference manager software, particularly for extended pieces of work with many references. Such software allows you to manage citations and reference lists in your work more easily and more consistently than doing so „manually‟. The packages recommended by the School are EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero. Guidance is available for using these; further details are given later in this chapter. A.) PRINCIPLES OF CITING AND REFERENCING A.1 Key principles A citation or reference is a way of properly acknowledging where you make use of the work of others. “Citing” means giving such an acknowledgement within the main body of a piece of work, while “referencing” is a broader term which covers both in-text citations and the more extensive information about your source material which should be presented at the end of your work. As well as allowing any of your readers to consult your references, this also gives authority to your work by demonstrating the breadth of your research. Whenever you quote directly from a source, paraphrase, use ideas you obtained from a source, or use sayings or facts which are not common

knowledge you must cite where these have come from. This doesn't just include printed materials such as books or journal articles, it also includes electronic information (webpages, emails, postings from webgroups etc), images (electronic images, photographs, paintings, illustrations, graphs, tables etc) and recorded or spoken information (television broadcasts, radio, lectures, interviews, public speeches, conversations etc). You should always use a recognised citation system or style for your references. This will determine how you present references in the main body of your work, and how you present the reference list at the end. There are a large number of recognised systems; the two most widely used in medicine and science are known as Harvard (the author/date style) and Vancouver (numbering style). Both are described more fully in the next two sections. Whichever system you adopt should be used consistently throughout your piece of work – do not „mix and match‟ different referencing styles. All references you give should be collated in a reference list – sometimes called a bibliography – at the end of your piece of work. Again, this should be clearly and consistently presented, in line with widely-recognised rules. Instructions about this are given in a later section. The body of your work should make clear which pieces of information have come from your own research and which have come from the work of others. As well as citing and referencing sources, you should also acknowledge any further assistance you have received in preparing your work. Further guidance is given in the later chapter on recognising the contribution of others. A.2 The Harvard referencing style (author/date) This style of citation, sometimes known as the author/date style, works as follows. Presenting a citation in Harvard style:

The author's surname and year of publication should be quoted in the

text, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams (1969)" or "as confirmed by another study (Abrams 1969)". If citing different authors with the same surname then distinguish them

by adding their initials, e.g. "(Bond, C.E. 1993)" versus "(Bond, J. 1997)".

If there are two or three authors then all should be named, e.g.

“(Sewell and Foster 1976)” or “(Bond, Norrish & Burton 1994)”. Authors‟ names should always be listed in the same order as they are

Page 10: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

10

credited in the original. If there are more than three authors, then use

the first author‟s name followed by „et al.‟, e.g. “(Gillespie et al. 1983)".

Where there are multiple authors, some variants on the Harvard style recommend using the word „and‟ rather than an ampersand („&‟).

The author and date details should be presented with no punctuation between them (i.e. no commas, hypens or colons). If the author's name is already clearly indicated in that piece of text, then only the date needs to

be entered as a citation, e.g. „Beral’s findings on links between ovarian cancer and HRT (2007) suggest that…‟.

You may need to distinguish works from the same author(s) that date from the same year. This should be done by adding different lower-case letters (in alphabetical order) after the year. For example, if you are making use of two World Health Organisation reports from 2008, you

should cite them as (WHO 2008a) and (WHO 2008b) – with the “a” and

“b” versions also being clearly distinguished in the reference list.

For long documents or direct quotes, page numbers should be added – after the year of publication, separated by a colon.

Multiple citations should be separated by a semicolon, e.g. “Societal transitions in Eastern Europe have been described as a risk environment linked to increased mortality through alcohol use and HIV infection through injecting drug use (Bobak and Marmot, 1996; Leon et al., 1997, 2007; McKee, 2002; Rhodes and Simić, 2005; Rhodes et al., 1999; Walberg et al., 1998).”

Presenting the reference list in Harvard style:

The reference list or bibliography should be arranged by alphabetical order of the first author's name – an example (for a journal article) would be:

Ganapati R., Naik S.S., Acharekar M.Y. and Pade S.S. (1976) ‘Leprosy endemicity in Bombay: an assessment through surveys of municipal schools’, Leprosy Review 47: 127 - 31.

Comprehensive details of how to use the Harvard style are given in the Appendix, „Referencing different types of source‟.

A.3 The Vancouver referencing style (numbering) This style of citation, sometimes known as the numbering style, works as follows. Presenting a citation in Vancouver style:

Each citation should be numbered sequentially in the text, either in

brackets, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams (3)", "as confirmed by other studies (3)" or as a superscript, e.g. "as confirmed by Abrams.3".

The first citation is given number 1, the second citation number 2, etc. Each citation is given the same number throughout the text so if you wish to cite the first citation again at a later point, it is still given the number 1.

The placement of the citation numbers within the text should be carefully considered, for example a particular reference may only be relevant to part of a sentence. As a general rule, reference numbers should be put outside full stops and commas and inside colons and semi-colons.

For long documents or direct quotes, page numbers should be added – after the reference number, separated by a colon.

Presenting the reference list in Vancouver style:

The reference list or bibliography should list the references in numerical order, i.e. the order in which they appear in the text – an example (for a journal article) would be:

2. Ganapati R, Naik SS, Acharekar MY and Pade SS. Leprosy endemicity in Bombay: an assessment through surveys of municipal schools. Leprosy Review 1976; 47: 127-31.

Comprehensive details of how to use the Vancouver style are given in the Appendix, „Referencing different types of source‟. A.4 Presenting a reference list All references or citations given in the main body of your text should be compiled in a specific reference list at the end. This should be clearly and consistently presented, and follow a prescribed format. It should give sufficient details about each reference, above and beyond the citation given in the main text, to enable a reader to look up the original source material if they wish to do so.

Page 11: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

11

You should also note that the term „reference list‟ is often used interchangeably with „bibliography‟, but has a slightly different meaning.

A reference list (or „works cited‟ list) should only include items you have referenced in your work, even if you read other sources while researching the topic.

A bibliography should cover all sources you consulted in preparing your work, even if you did not end up making use of them; or sometimes, a bibliography may be presented as a comprehensive annotated list of further reading on a topic. However, you should always distinguish works you have actually made use of from any others you are simply listing.

In longer works, such as academic books, a „works cited‟ list may be given to cover references in the text, followed by a bibliography of recommended reading.

For the purpose of LSHTM assessments, you should normally provide a reference list unless the assignment criteria specifically request a bibliography. Different types of source material will need to be referred to in different ways in the reference list. The citation system you use will also affect how the list is ordered and the types of details that need to be given in it. A.5 Which referencing style to use There are many other well-recognised citation systems in addition to Harvard and Vancouver. Specific modules or courses may teach you particular advanced approaches or prescribe certain writing styles that meet the conventions of the field you are working in. Otherwise, it will normally be up to you to decide which system you would like to use. It may be helpful to note –

The Harvard system can be easier to use during word processing, since the insertion of an extra reference does not require the renumbering of all subsequent references (as it can with the Vancouver system). This tends to be a good system to use for discursive essay-type work, or in fields like social science.

The Vancouver system may aid clarity and readability where the same item is cited many times, since you just need to give the same numeric reference in each case rather than cluttering up your work with repetitions of the same author-and-date details. This tends to be a good system to

use for more technical work, e.g. in relation to lab-based experiments, or in medical writing.

Other alternative styles of referencing may also be recommended for a specific piece of work. For example, footnotes-based styles such as the Chicago style or the Turabian system are commonly used for presenting research in historical fields such as history of public health.

It‟s also useful to be aware that academic journals provide instructions to authors (which are usually accessible via their websites) to describe the specific „house style‟ they use for references. For example, the journal Cell describes the use of the Harvard system, while both the British Medical Journal (BMJ) and the Lancet use the Vancouver system. Remember that whichever referencing style you use will have its own requirements for both presenting a citation in the main body of your text (the data and format required), and presenting the reference list at the end (the data, order and format required). These requirements will also vary depending on the type of source, e.g. journal articles, books or websites may all require slightly different information to be given in the reference list. B.) REFERENCING DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOURCE While you should always acknowledge any work you make use of which is not your own, there are some types of work that you may need to reference slightly differently, and some types of information that you should not make use of at all. The main types of academic source material you are likely to need to use are: Journal articles Books (authored) Books (edited) Chapters of edited books PhD theses Official reports and other forms of „grey literature‟ or non-authored

works Material from websites Conference papers or proceedings Tables or figures from the work of others (whatever source medium)

Page 12: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

12

Comprehensive instructions describing how to reference these, in both the Harvard and Vancouver styles, are given in the Appendix on „Referencing different types of source‟. The basic requirements are all very similar. The following additional guidance covers some of the less standard types of source – including ones that you may need to be more careful about using. B.1 Official reports, non-authored works and material from websites Most reference lists will include some works which have not been produced by specific named authors – for example, reports published by an organisation. Such works should be referenced just as clearly as any others, but mentioning other responsible parties (such as editors, funding or sponsoring agencies, etc.) in the absence of named authors. Likewise, if you are using material without any clear author, creator or originator, such as images found on the internet, you should make clear where you sourced this – e.g. by referring to the website you downloaded the material from. Detailed guidance on how to reference both reports and internet material, with examples, is given in the Appendix. B.2 Material in non-standard media Material from other media – e.g. film/television/radio documentaries, or audio/video recordings – needs to be referenced just as clearly as any other source. Your reference list should make this clear, giving any further specific identifying information such as the date and channel of broadcast, or date and location of recording. For example:

BBC (2003). ‘War Spin’ - TV documentary broadcast on BBC Two on Sunday 18 May 2003 at 1915 BST. British Broadcasting Corporation, London.

B.3 Personal communications Personal communications are information that has been imparted personally to you, such as emails, telephone calls and direct conversations, or other material such as unpublished material or personal letters which you personally have access to but is not publicly available.

These are allowable sources and should be clearly indicated at the point you make use of them in your main text; for example,

„(Cervenda J 1967 – personal communication)‟ or

„(Pande A B – unpublished)‟.

However, they should not be included in a formal reference list. You should ask permission from the source before you cite any personal communications.

B.4 Self-citation If you are submitting something that builds on work you previously did for another purpose – e.g. a published article, an essay for a course previously undertaken at another institution, or a piece of research carried out as part of your employment – you should reference this as carefully as any other source. Similarly, if you want to re-use work you first did for a previous LSHTM assessment (e.g. to use elements of a module assignment in an MSc project report), this needs to be made very clear – as credit can only be given once for a particular piece of work. This is known as self-citation. Professional academics and researchers often „self-cite‟, and indeed it can be considered good academic practice. Doing this as a student may even benefit your grades, by demonstrating to markers the extent of your work on and knowledge about the subject over a period of time. However, be aware that if you fail to reference or acknowledge your own further work (i.e. anything originally done for other purposes) as clearly as the work of others, then this may be treated as a form of plagiarism. Even if you own the copyright to the original work, you still have a responsibility to refer to it correctly. As an example of self-citation: A 2009 paper by Rhodes („Risk environments and drug harms‟, International Journal of Drug Policy, Vol 20, pp193-201) begins with the following sentence referring to his own previous work on the

topic: “Drug harms are shaped by risk environments (Rhodes, 2002).” B.5 Indirect citation, and secondary sources Indirect citation means making use of a source you have not directly seen yourself, but only seen referenced in some other source (the „secondary source‟). This is strongly discouraged – it is best to look up the original versions of any primary sources you identify via secondary sources, and confirm their validity before making any use of them. Over-reliance on secondary sources is seen as poor academic practice, and unlikely to achieve a high mark.

Page 13: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

13

However, in circumstances where you have very limited library or journal access or the primary source is difficult to track down (as is often the case where you want to use a quote from a historical figure), it may be acceptable to cite a secondary source provided you clearly label the provenance of your information. Always give a direct quote from what is written in the secondary source, rather than paraphrasing it, so as to avoid distortion; and use the terms "quoted in" or "cited in" to show how the secondary source refers to the primary source.

An example of how to cite a quote from a secondary source in your text:

‘The proper function of a university is the imaginative acquisition of knowledge’ (Whitehead 1929 quoted in Ramsden 2003)

An example of how to present a secondary source in your reference list:

Trost, J. 1986. What holds marriage together? In Continuity and Change in Marriage and Family, ed. J. Veevers, Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Quoted In R. Beaujot, Earning and Caring in Canadian Families (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2000), 110.

You should not paraphrase ideas from any source that you have not actually seen in a primary form, unless it is absolutely necessary to do so and you make absolutely clear that you have drawn this from a secondary source. Furthermore, beware of copying a list of interesting-looking references into your bibliography if you have not actually read them: giving a false impression that you have done so could be considered an offence. B.6 Encyclopedias Publications such as encyclopedias and dictionaries are secondary sources. They may be helpful research tools, useful as starting points to help scope the general area you are covering and identify some academically reliable information – i.e. pointing you towards more authoritative primary sources. However, encylopedias should not be a final source of facts that your work depends on – so you should not normally cite or reference from them. You should have a good reason if you wish to use them instead of a primary source; for example, if you want to quote the dictionary definition of a particular term, or if you are working in conditions with very limited library or journal access (if so, please mention it in a note with your reference list).

B.7 Wikipedia and other open-content collaborative resources Wikipedia and similar wiki-based internet resources are not considered a reliable source of information for academic work, and you should never cite them in any work at LSHTM. No professionals in any LSHTM discipline would ever normally cite Wikipedia or other such sites when writing a journal article, government document or similar. You are expected to uphold the same standards in your work as a postgraduate LSHTM student. Wikipedia itself even has a „general disclaimer‟ which states that it cannot be guaranteed to be accurate; and explains various reasons why it should not normally be cited in academic work, including that „anyone in the world can edit an article, deleting accurate information or adding false information‟ – see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citing_Wikipedia#A_caution_before_citing_Wikipedia. This does not mean you cannot make use of such resources; they may still be helpful research tools to point you towards authoritative primary sources. However, you should treat Wikipedia and its ilk with caution, and always verify anything you find using primary or reliable sources. If you do need to use secondary sources, they should be more reliable ones like published encyclopedias. Reliance on potentially poor quality internet-based resources is seen as poor academic practice and likely to result in a lower mark. B.8 Common knowledge that does not need to be referenced For well-established and commonly-known facts ('general knowledge') which you can be confident a reader will already be aware of and understand, you should not usually need to provide a reference. Any such facts should invariably be ones you can write down in confidence without referring to anything else, which you can expect your readers to know, and which would also be easily checkable if desired – for example, that Paris is the capital of France. Similarly, if you are writing for a specialist readership (e.g. submitting a piece of work to a scientific journal or for assessment by experts in your subject field) then you may not need to reference well-established scientific facts, terms, methods or procedures within that field. However, if in any doubt as to whether a specific term can be held to be 'common knowledge' for the field, please err on the side of caution and give a reference. For example, in the field of microbiology, if mentioning by name a standard laboratory technique for cultivation and isolation of bacteria, then

Page 14: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

14

you should not normally need to provide a reference for it; but if you have used a slightly more obscure technique which might not be known to all readers, then you should give further details. Any points which are fundamental to the content of your work should be more fully referenced, even if they are generally held to be common knowledge. For example, „smoking causes cancer‟ is now a fairly universally known and accepted scientific fact. In a paper about alcohol control you could mention this as an aside, e.g. to illustrate a point about the potential negative effects of alcohol, without giving a reference. However if your paper was on the specific effects of smoking, you ought to refer to basic primary research supporting the statement „smoking causes cancer‟. As a general rule that applies to everything you write, not just matters of common knowledge – if in doubt, cite. Each time you write about an idea, take a phrase or use a definition from something you have read or heard (e.g. a document, information from the internet, or a personal communication), you should give a clear reference to the original source. And as a corollary to this rule, always avoid using general phrases like “it has often been said that” unless you can support them with a specific example. B.9 ‘Off-topic’ references Even if an item you quote or reproduce is not of direct academic relevance to the topic, you still need to acknowledge it appropriately. For example, you might wish to add some „local colour‟ by including a poem by a well-known national poet in the preface to a project about nutrition in India, or by including a stock photograph of spectacular scenery on the cover of a project about fieldwork in South America. In such cases you should give a clear note about the provenance of what you have included. You should not assume that your readers will recognise a particular quote, or immediately understand that an image was not created by you. However, you do not need to include „off-topic‟ references like this (i.e. items which do not contribute to the academic content of your work) in the reference list, provided they have been referenced in full within the main body of your work. B.10 Referencing tables and figures Within your work, you may have a variety of non-text items such as tables (grids of numbers) or figures (such as photographs, diagrams, graphs and maps). Most tables and figures are likely to be your own work, but it is also

perfectly reasonable to include items that are the work of others – e.g. tables of published demographic data, anatomical diagrams, photographs from field sites, etc. However these must be referenced as clearly as you would any direct text quotation. Where the table or figure appears in the report, a brief acknowledgement and citation should normally be given in the label or in a credit under the label. For example:

[Label] Figure 1 “How health systems are diverted from PHC core values”

[Credit] Reproduced from WHO World Health Report 2008, figure 1.10, p.11. It is good practice to number all tables or figures you include, separately and consecutively – e.g. „Table 1‟ above the first table, „Figure 1‟ above the first figure, etc. More detailed information about reproduced items should normally be given in your reference list. For example:

Figure 1 – reproduced from World Health Organisation (2008), World Health Report 2008: primary health care now more than ever, WHO, Geneva, figure 1.10, p.11.

Further guidance on how to reference tables and figures is given in the Appendix on „Referencing different types of source‟. Finally, if your work is to be published, remember that you will need to obtain specific permission from the copyright owner(s) to include each table, figure or any other material you wish to reproduce in this way. C.) FURTHER NOTES ON CITING AND REFERENCING In addition to the basic principles of how to cite and reference correctly, please also be aware of the below guidance on more detailed related matters. C.1 How often to cite If you make extensive use of a particular source – e.g. if you use several quotes from it, or you spend a paragraph or two discussing something from it – then you may ask “do I need to keep repeating the same citation?”.

Page 15: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

15

You should always give a formal citation at the first point you make use of a source. The citation is likely to go at the end of a sentence that mentions an idea, or after a quote. If you then carry on discussing material from that source or giving further quotations, you don’t need to repeat the citation at the end of every sentence or quote, provided that you don‟t make use of any other sources in that discussion, and that you present it in a way that makes clear to the reader that this is all based on the same source. One way of making the source clear without repeating the full citation is to use the Latin term „ibid‟, meaning „the same place‟. For example:

‘Community workers cannot provide comprehensive care for all community health needs’ (Haines et al, 2007). However, ‘they can have an important role in increasing coverage of essential interventions for child survival’ (ibid).

The term „ibid‟ can also be used to indicate where you are using the same reference but a different page number – e.g. „ibid:63‟. C.2 Giving page numbers Page numbers should be added to your citations whenever you cite a direct quote or a specific element from a long document. This is to help readers to find the element you mention if they go to look up the source. It also allows you to include a book just once in the reference list, but cite different specific pages or sections at various points in your work. To explain further:

Sources like journal articles, conference papers and short reports don‟t necessarily need a page reference and can be presented in the standard

form, such as "(Abrams 1969)". Someone looking up the source, from

the detailed information you give in the reference list at the end, could reasonably be expected to find the specific element you mention without too much difficulty. However, if giving a direct quote it‟s good practice to also give the page number.

For lengthier sources like books, PhD theses or long reports, if you are specifically giving a quote or referring to an idea on particular pages, then you should always specify the page(s) involved. The reference can either

be to a single page – e.g. “Using Bushaway's (2003:142) definition of research management”; or to a range of pages, for which you should give the start and end pages separated by a dash – for instance

“International views on effective public policies for health (WHO 2008:64-65)“.

However, if you are referring to an idea or body of knowledge represented by the entirety of a long-form source like a book, you do not need to give page numbers. The context in which you present the citation should make

this clear, for instance “applying the concept of human capital put forward by Becker (1994)”.

The above examples are cited in the Harvard style, but exactly the same

principles apply in Vancouver and most other styles. For example, “Using Bushaway's definition of research management1 p.142”; or

“International views on effective public policies for health (2 p.64-5)“. Citing page numbers is generally as simply as putting them at the end of the normally-presented citation, separated by a colon.

C.3 Distinguishing citations from your own notes You should be careful to clearly distinguish citations, i.e. mentions of other people‟s work, from „further explanations‟ of your own work such as spelling out abbreviations, giving details of complicated units of measurement like „number of infant deaths per 1000 live births and stillbirths‟, or making reference to additional details you have put in a footnote, endnote or appendix.

In most cases this should be straightforward – e.g. a Harvard-style citation (author/date) in brackets should be obviously different to an internal reference or note (such as “viz. Table B” or “please see Annex 2”) in brackets.

However this has the potential to be more confusing if you are using a number-based referencing system such as Vancouver or Footnotes, and you want to indicate your „further explanation‟ in a similar way. One way to avoid confusion is to use different numeral systems consistently throughout your work – e.g. so citations are labelled with an Arabic numeral such as „1‟, but explanatory notes are labelled with a Roman numeral such as (i).

It can also be helpful to give a glossary of terms or a list of abbreviations used in a specific section towards the end of your work.

Page 16: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

16

D.) USING A REFERENCE MANAGER Various computer software packages are available which allow references to be readily recovered from databases, easily inserted into your document, and automatically adjusted whenever any other alterations are made. These are known as „reference management‟ packages or „reference managers‟. The School supports a package called EndNote (available on School network for London-based student, or for purchase at preferential rates by all students). Details are also given below for two free packages, Mendeley and Zotero. You are strongly encouraged to become familiar with the use of one of these (or another reference manager if you prefer) from early in your studies. It will be particularly helpful to learn to use such a tool before you start any extended literature searches. D.1 Benefits of using reference management software Software packages such as EndNote can greatly simplify your referencing – maintaining accuracy while reducing the amount of time you need to spend inserting or updating references in your documents – and are especially useful for longer pieces of work such as projects, dissertations and theses. They all cover the same core functions:

Reference managers store and manage bibliographic data, and act as a mini-database of references you are using. You can retrieve comprehensive reference information directly from many online databases, saving you the time of typing them in by hand.

After inputting your references, they can be searched, sorted and grouped, and you can add your own notes, tags and comments. Grouping relevant items or adding notes and tags while conducting your literature search is a good idea, as it should make it easier to identify these topics again later on when writing up relevant parts of your work.

All these packages link in with word processing applications like Microsoft Word. This lets you easily insert correctly-formatted citations throughout your document while you are in the process of writing it. The software can automatically create and update a reference list at the end of your work.

References can be presented in whichever format you desire from a selection of available styles (e.g. Harvard or Vancouver – with the option to re-format from one to the other with a single button-click). The software

can automatically adjust for any later edits or alterations, for example renumbering in Vancouver style if an extra reference is added.

D.2 Which reference manager to use EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero all do fundamentally the same thing but in slightly different ways, and with different advantages. EndNote is the most well-known but needs to be paid for to use on your own computer. Mendeley and Zotero are both free, and also offer „Web 2.0‟ functions like online collaboration and sharing of reference files. The following further information may help you decide what to use or try:

EndNote, www.endnote.com is a desktop application from the US multinational company Thomson Reuters. It‟s a well-established package and has been used at LSHTM for many years. If you are based in London, it is available to use for free if connected to the School‟s network (either at a School computer, or via remote access). However, you will need to buy the software if you wish to install it on a personal PC or laptops. Students of the School are eligible for a discount on the price; more details are available at www.lshtm.ac.uk/its/offers/. Key benefits? It does the job, is well-known, and is able to import

references from most online databases. Has a very comprehensive range of almost 4000 bibliographic output styles, including for most well-known journals. For London-based students, it‟s on the network with specific training available.

Any drawbacks? You need to pay for it unless you are using the LSHTM network, so less recommended for distance learning students. Can only be used on the specific computer it‟s been installed on. Is not designed with online collaboration in mind.

Mendeley, www.mendeley.com is a free desktop and web-based application from a small UK start-up company. It‟s relatively new but has had many good reviews. Key benefits? It does the job, it‟s free, it can also import references

from most online databases, and has sharing/collaboration features. Stores PDF files and allows you to extract data from them e.g. bibliographies. Being both desktop and web-based means it can be used either on your own computer offline, or at another computer via the web.

Any drawbacks? You need to register online to use all features (though this is still free). Still relatively new and developing, and not

Page 17: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

17

quite as well-known as EndNote (e.g. your tutor/supervisor may not be familiar with it).

Zotero, www.zotero.org is a free web-based open-source application from a US not-for-profit organization (linked to a university). It‟s also relatively new but has had many good reviews. Key benefits? It does the job, it‟s free, it can import references from

most online databases, and has sharing/collaboration features. Being web-based means it can be used almost anywhere.

Any drawbacks? Currently only works with the Firefox browser. Still relatively new and developing, and not quite as well-known as EndNote (e.g. your tutor/supervisor may not be familiar with it).

Note that the three packages described above are not the only ones on the market – others such as Reference Manager (RefMan) are also very well known. D.3 Guidance and training for using reference managers Useful guides for using EndNote, Mendeley and Zotero are available from the IT Training Team. London-based students can access these via http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/its/ittraining (then following the link for „Learning Materials‟), and distance learning students can access them via the DL website at www.lshtm.ac.uk/dl. Help with reference management software queries (and other applications on the School network) is also available on weekdays from the School‟s Computing Advisory service; both London-based and distance learning students can e-mail [email protected] or phone (020) 7927 2183. Note that the service is only open 1100-1400 and 1500-1800 UK time, and immediate responses will not always be possible. More information is available for London-based students at http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/its/ittraining (then following the link for „Advisory‟). Additionally, for London-based students, the IT Training Team run a standard workshop on EndNote. This covers all the basic features of the program, including importing references from online databases, managing and storing references and generating bibliographies. Again, information is available on the intranet at http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/its/ittraining (and will also be circulated to London-based students by e-mail).

E.) FURTHER RESOURCES ABOUT CITING AND REFERENCING The guidance earlier in this chapter sets out the School‟s standard expectations about citing and referencing. However, during the course of your studies you may come across types of material that have not been detailed above and which you are not sure how to reference; or you may want to use an alternative referencing style to best suit the type of work you are doing. Various recommended resources and guides are listed below which describe good practice in referencing and citing. While they may each suggest different approaches, you are likely to find the answers or instructions you are looking for in at least some of them. Otherwise, you can ask staff (such as your tutor, supervisor or the Module/Course staff responsible for the assessment you are taking) to suggest how they would prefer to see a particular item referenced. Library staff may also be able to provide guidance if you are stuck. E.1 Useful books The Library has a number of relevant books about academic writing and study skills, shelved under the classmarks AHAZ and AR.AT. These include: Recommended:

The book „Cite them right‟ by Richard Pears and Graham Shields is a widely recognized standard explaining how to cite hundreds of different types of materials in the correct format. It is available from the Library, or relatively cheap to buy (RRP £8.99). Pears, R. and Shields, S. (2010), Cite them right: the essential referencing guide (Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan). 102 pages. ISBN 9780230272316

E.2 Web-based guides to referencing systems Recommended:

http://www3.imperial.ac.uk/library/subjectsandsupport/referencemanagement – from Imperial College London. This includes detailed guides to both the Harvard and Vancouver referencing systems, with extensive examples of how to reference different types of source material in-text and in a bibliography.

Page 18: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

18

Also potentially useful:

Harvard system: www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing/harvard.html – from Monash University Library, Australia. This is a helpful guide to the Harvard (author/date) style, with a number of different examples.

Vancouver system: www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html – from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). These „Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals‟ are seen as the authoritative guide to the Vancouver format. The page has details of how to cite around 40 different reference types.

Other referencing systems: www.murdoch.edu.au/dirs/citegdes.html – from Murdoch University, Australia. This has links to a variety of guidance on different citation styles, particularly APA and MLA.

E.3 Web-based tutorials on referencing and citation Recommended:

http://library.leeds.ac.uk/info/200232/referencing – from the University of Leeds Library. Comprehensive resources about referencing and citing, with further information on different referencing styles including Harvard and Vancouver. Click through to the pages „About‟ a particular style you are interested in, then „Further resources / Downloads‟ to download an interactive tutorial.

Also potentially useful:

www.lib.monash.edu.au/tutorials/citing – from Monash University Library, Australia. A straightforward step-through tutorial on the topic of referencing and citing, with useful further information about common terminology, different citation systems, citing electronic sources, how to keep records of your sources so you know where your information came from, etc.

www.ulrls.lon.ac.uk/tutorial/reference – from the University of London Research Library Services. A 30-minute tutorial on how to correctly cite sources and compile a bibliography – part of a larger set of library skills tutorials. Although written from a humanities perspective, it has useful information including on styles and using referencing software.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=gbAcQcDTxdo – from Pima Community College Libraries, US. A YouTube video tutorial on plagiarism and citation styles, which forms the last part of a series of information literacy tutorials.

E.4 More information Recommended:

www.kcl.ac.uk/content/1/c6/03/45/29/citing2009-10FINAL1.pdf – from King‟s College London Information Services. An excellent and detailed user guide about citing references and making using of sources, which forms part of more extensive information skills training materials at www.kcl.ac.uk/library/nhs/training/materials.aspx

Also potentially useful:

http://writing.yalecollege.yale.edu/using-sources – from Yale University. A very good guide to using sources, included as part of the wider suite of resources from the Yale Writing Center.

http://www.princeton.edu/pr/pub/integrity/pages/cite/ – from Princeton University. A good summary of when and how to cite sources, which forms part of a larger set of pages about academic integrity.

www.cardiff.ac.uk/insrv/educationandtraining/guides/citingreferences – from Cardiff University. A number of PDF guides and online tutorials on all aspects of citing references.

www.bournemouth.ac.uk/library/infoskills/infoskills_ref.html – from Bournemouth University. A range of information skills resources, including Quick Guides to Referencing which set out how to reference many different types of source material, with PDF files, powerpoint slides etc. Focused on the Harvard referencing system.

iskillzone.uwe.ac.uk/RenderPages/RenderConstellation.aspx?Context=10&Area=8&Room=25&Constellation=39 – from the University of the West of England. An introductory guide to referencing, plus specific guidance on some of the main citation systems.

Page 19: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

19

CHAPTER 3: AVOIDING PLAGIARISM AND ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITIES As a student of LSHTM, you are expected to comply with the School‟s standards and expectations in all your scholarly activity – especially assessments, examinations and research. This chapter sets out the School‟s definitions of “assessment irregularities” – things you must not do in your work. It is important that you make yourself aware of these definitions. Any breach of the rules, whether intentional or unintentional, will be treated very seriously and may result in penalties which affect your degree. The definitions are followed by guidance about how to ensure your work follows the rules. A worked example shows how to avoid plagiarism, building on the citing and referencing guidance given in the previous chapter. Please consult your tutor, Course Director or supervisor if you are having any difficulties with assessed work, need clarification or guidance about citing and referencing, or are in any doubt about what is permissible. A.) ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITY DEFINITIONS

A.1 Types of assessment irregularities The term „assessment irregularity‟ applies to any suspected instance of plagiarism, cheating, fraud, collusion, personation or other non-standard activity identified in connection with assessed work – including essays or other coursework assessments, formal examinations, or research projects. Definitions are given below. Note that the term „irregularity‟ does not necessarily imply misconduct on the part of a student. Judgement as to whether a specific offence has occurred will only be made following proper investigation of the case under the School‟s procedures. It may also be helpful to observe that although these definitions and guidance are specific to LSHTM, understanding and applying them as good scholarly practice may be relevant in your work after graduating. The School‟s principles on issues such as plagiarism or fraud are consistent with typical expectations in academia or scientific research around the world.

A.2 Declaration on plagiarism and cheating All students are required to sign a statement confirming that they have read the School‟s definitions of plagiarism and cheating (which follow); that all work submitted is and will be their own; and that failure to comply with the School‟s policies may be penalised. This declaration also covers consent for the School to upload relevant documents and information to external services or third parties, in order to identify potential plagiarism or irregularities. The School uses the plagiarism detection service Turnitin UK for cross-checking assessment submissions – further information about this is given later in this chapter. For specific items of assessment – particularly MSc project reports and Research Degree theses – students may be required to complete additional specific forms, e.g. to reiterate that the work presented in the thesis is their own, or to acknowledge and describe the contributions of others. A.3 LSHTM definition of plagiarism

Plagiarism is the copying or use of the work of others, whether intentionally or unintentionally, as if it were your own. Such work may come from any source whether published or unpublished, in print or online – including words, images, audio recordings, diagrams, formulae, computer code, performances, ideas, judgements, discoveries and results.

To avoid plagiarism:

Where any use or mention is made of the work of others, it should be acknowledged.

A recognised citation system should be used.

Quotations must accurately refer to and acknowledge the originator(s) of the work.

Direct quotations, whether extended or short, must always be clearly identified.

Paraphrasing – using other words to express the ideas or judgements of others – must be clearly acknowledged.

Work done in collaboration with others must appropriately refer to their involvement and input.

Use of your own past work should be referenced as clearly as the work of others.

Page 20: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

20

To put this another way: plagiarism is essentially the presentation of another person's work (such as their words or ideas) as if it were your own – even if this is done accidentally. The School expects all students to demonstrate rigorous and respectful academic practice at all times, particularly through referencing and citing as described in the previous chapter. Plagiarism is considered wrong because it does not clearly indicate where prior work or knowledge has been used, it is disrespectful to the original authors, it is misleading for those teaching you and marking your work, it may give the impression that you are trying to gain credit for someone else‟s achievements, and it may be harmful to the reputation of the School and the University. You should also understand that plagiarism is not the same as copyright infringement, which is unauthorised use of published work. Plagiarism is about failing to correctly acknowledge the use of any sorts of intellectual property or source material. Copyright infringement is more specific, and may have additional legal and financial implications A.4 Avoiding plagiarism To avoid plagiarism, all sources which you draw from must be properly indicated and referenced, using a recognised citation system. This is vital for all work completed outside classes or exams – such as coursework, essays, project reports and research theses. Every time you quote or summarise someone else's work, you must provide readers with accurate details of where the information came from Key principles to apply are:

Sources: You must acknowledge all sources from which you have drawn, including:

published works such as journal articles or books (including any textbooks set by the course or module – even if markers will know exactly where something comes from, you must still state it clearly);

grey literature such as conference proceedings or reports from organisations and government agencies;

material from the internet, whether or not it has a named author;

unpublished material such as lecture/tutorial notes or other students‟ work;

and even exchanges such as emails or conversations with other people (be they staff, students, friends or others).

If you wish to make use of any of your own previous work, e.g. elements of essays you previously did for other assessments, you

should indicate and cite this as clearly as any other source ('self-citation' – as described in the previous chapter).

Quotations: You must always clearly identify any directly copied quotations (such as sentences, phrases or even striking expressions), e.g. by placing them inside quotation marks, followed by a clear citation. Note that a series of short quotations from several different sources, if not clearly identified as such, constitutes plagiarism just as much as does a single unacknowledged long quotation from a single source.

Paraphrasing: You must equally clearly indicate where you have paraphrased or summarised another person‟s words, ideas or judgments – by referring to that person in your text (e.g. by giving a reference in a bracket after the paraphrasing, or in a footnote) and including the work referred to in your reference list. Even if you have made changes to wording, be aware that replicating the essential meaning, form and/or progression of ideas from another person‟s work, or piecing together sections of other peoples work into a new whole, will constitute plagiarism if sources are not appropriately acknowledged.

Referencing: You should use a recognised citation system throughout your work – the two most common are Harvard and Vancouver – and provide a full reference list at the end. Precise requirements will vary depending on the assessment you have been asked to carry out. Be aware that certain types of item, such as personal communications or unpublished work, may not be appropriate to include in a reference list but should still be clearly identified where used.

Note that failure to observe the rules, even unintentionally, may constitute plagiarism and be penalised accordingly. Most cases of plagiarism are not due to students deliberately copying the work of others and trying to pass it off as their own, but because information they used was not appropriately acknowledged or referenced. It can be easy to copy text but forget to add the appropriate reference; however you must make every effort to avoid doing so, or else you run the risk of committing plagiarism. The School has sophisticated mechanisms for detecting plagiarism, some of which are outlined at the end of this chapter. Your referencing must also be accurate; if a reader checks one of your references and doesn't find the information expected, the source is termed 'unacknowledged' and you may be accused of plagiarism.

Page 21: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

21

A.5 Quoting directly from a source Whenever you include a direct quotation in your work, even if only a few words, you should always clearly indicate that it is a quote, and give a citation. The quote should be presented exactly as in the original, including spelling, capitalisation, format and punctuation (though you can use your discretion on whether to present it in the same font as the rest of your work, or in a different font so it stands out).

Short quotes: Quotations of less than about 40 words (or two lines) should be enclosed in single quotation marks and included in the main text, unless it is more appropriate for you to make it distinct from the main text. For example, in the Vancouver style (where a book by Austen is reference number 1):

Austen's assertion that 'a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife' (1 p.6) is perceived by many to be as true today as it was then.

Long quotes: Where you wish to quote passages of more than about 40 words, or of more than one paragraph even if less than 40 words, they should not be put into the middle of a sentence. Instead, set them out distinctly from your text. The quotation may be indented from, or use a smaller font size than, the main body of the text. For example, in the Harvard style:

Vertigo is defined as: '...a false sensation of movement. Most commonly, they report that their environment is spinning around them. However, the sensation of tilting, swaying, and being impelled forward, backward, or to either side are also vertiginous. Nausea, vomiting, and some degree of imbalance typically are associated as are autonomic signs such as diaphoresis, pallor, and tachycardia.' (Jensen 2004 p.235)

The page number where the quote can be found should also be given as part of the in-text citation. Precise requirements may differ between citation styles. It may also be helpful to know that when giving quotes, you can use the punctuation mark “…” (called „ellipsis‟) to join together a set of relevant consecutive quotes from the same source while „editing out‟ non-relevant sentences or clauses that appear between them. For example:

‘The mobilisation of specific communities … may play an important part in the improvement of maternal and newborn health.’ (Haines et al, 2007)

In this example, a non-vital phrase which appeared in the original has been replaced by the ellipsis. However, if you do use this technique, please be aware that you must not distort the meaning of the original source by omitting text which is required to comprehend the author‟s original meaning. A.6 Collusion, and how to avoid it

Collusion is any form of collaboration with another person, including another student, which has not been clearly acknowledged or permitted for assessment purposes (either when being submitted, or during the course of an examination). Different forms of collusion may be regarded as either plagiarism or cheating.

As with plagiarism, the essence of the School‟s policy on collusion is that all input to your work must be clearly acknowledged. Further key principles to note are:

Sources: While the School encourages students to learn from each other and to make full use of the expertise of staff, we also need to know what you individually know, understand and can do. Therefore anything submitted for assessment must be your own work. It will always be important to note where you have drawn ideas from others, even via informal means – e.g. making use of (unpublished) Blackboard discussions with other students about a topic must be acknowledged.

Appropriate input: Other people may potentially have some input to your work, but this must be appropriate for the task you have been asked to undertake. For example, it is normally fine for a tutor to read your work and give you critical comments before you submit it; but not for them to rewrite it for you. Equally, it is normally fine to ask a friend or family member to read your work and check the spelling and grammar, but not for a peer (especially anyone with specialist subject knowledge) to edit it in a way that changes the meaning of text or the accuracy of data and calculations. In all cases, the input of others must be explicitly acknowledged in your submitted work. Further guidance on how to do so is given in the later chapter on recognising the contribution of others.

Groupwork: While the majority of assessments at LSHTM require an independent piece of work, groupwork assignments may also be set. In these cases, the final submission from the group must constitute the work

Page 22: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

22

of the group, and any input from others (such as guidance from a tutor) should be clearly acknowledged – further guidance on this is given in a later chapter. The submission is normally expected to have been based on roughly equal contributions from group members, although some variation in contributions may be reasonable. However, full participation is a requirement in order to pass your course overall, and students who do not contribute adequately to their assigned group may not be eligible to receive a grade or credit for the work of that group.

Similar answers: Where an assessment question is likely to produce very similar answers from students (e.g. mathematical-type problems, or requests to describe a specific lab procedure), markers will know to expect this. However, any indications that answers have been directly copied from an identical source may result in a charge of collusion

Deliberate collusion: Where input from others has been used but concealed, this will be treated very seriously and is likely to constitute cheating (see also the definition of personation). Examples could include asking another student to write or edit part of any assignment; or two students collaborating to produce an assignment, then submitting either identical or very-slightly-amended versions which each claim as their own work rather than acknowledging the other.

Secondary collusion: All students are individually responsible for safeguarding their own current or past work – e.g. assignments, essays, projects, reports, dissertations, theses, or even primary work such as notes, lab results or fieldwork data – to prevent it from being copied inappropriately by other students or persons. If you make your work available to others, you should remind them to acknowledge you if they use it, and that they must not copy it without attribution. Failure to do so on your part may make you liable to a charge of collusion.

A.7 Personation, and how to avoid it

Personation is the deliberate submission of work done by another person (e.g. another student, a friend, a relative, a peer, a tutor, or anyone else) as if it were one‟s own. Such work may come from any source whether published or unpublished, in print or online – including words, images, audio recordings, diagrams, formulae, computer code, performances, ideas, judgements, discoveries and results.

This may cross over with a range of other offences; submission of another person‟s work with their knowledge is likely to constitute collusion; doing

without their knowledge may constitute plagiarism; representing a piece of joint or group work as the student‟s own is likely to constitute fraud; and deliberately procuring work from sources or commercial entities such as essay banks would be very likely to be considered cheating. Arranging for another person to falsely identify themselves as a student and take an exam on their behalf would be seen as a particularly severe form of personation and cheating. The above definition should be self-explanatory, and it should be clear that personation is a very serious offence which will be treated accordingly. Again, the essence of the School‟s policy is that your work must be distinguished from that of others – including that all sources which you draw from must be clearly acknowledged. A.8 Fraud, and how to avoid it

Fraud is the submission of any work which may cause others to regard as true that which is not true. This covers work which has been fabricated (e.g. with invented data or cases), falsified (e.g. with wilfully distorted data), omits significant items (e.g. ignoring outliers, not admitting that some data are missing, not admitting other relevant post-hoc analyses, omitting data on side effects in a clinical trial, non-disclosure of a conflict of interest, etc.), or in any way misrepresents the work or research carried out. Fraud may be by intention, by disregard of possible consequences (e.g. in failing to adequately describe the input of others), or by negligence (e.g. submission of work based on distorted data due to poor data handling practice). Assessment or research fraud may cross over with a range of other offences, from plagiarism (e.g. unattributed copying of the research data of others) to cheating, collusion or personation.

Fraud is a strong word, but also a difficult concept to define for academic work. The essence of the School‟s policy is that all work you do should demonstrate a commitment to scientific truth, the advancement of genuine knowledge, and values of the academic community. Personal or other interests should never over-ride these commitments. The most serious forms of fraud are deliberate – fabricating or falsifying work, or omitting significant items, while knowing that this misrepresents the work done (or not done). This is likely to constitute cheating, and will be treated severely by the School.

Page 23: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

23

Please also be aware that non-deliberate errors may result in work whose substance is essentially fraudulent. It is vital that all students make the effort to understand what constitutes good practice for the type of work they are undertaking (which may be specific to the subject), and the type of course they are registered for. Higher standards are expected for higher awards, such as Master‟s degrees or research degrees. While the School understands that students may make mistakes as part of the learning process, and will treat cases appropriately, ignorance can be no excuse for errors which affect fundamental academic standards. To help clarify the definition, some key principles to note include:

Fabricating (making up) data, quotes, results or any other aspect of your work should be self-evidently wrong, and will be treated as fraud.

Falsifying data or other elements or work is equally serious if done intentionally. However this may also happen unintentionally – e.g. by accidentally copying data into the wrong column, by mixing up the attribution of quotes, or by making a mistake in calculations. If poor presentation or writing results in misrepresentation of facts, this will normally just be „marked down‟ and not treated as fraud. Nonetheless, errors considered to be seriously negligent may be penalised under the Assessment Irregularities procedure, even if they were not necessarily deliberate.

Omitting relevant information may also be treated as fraud. Deliberate omissions of important matters are very liable to be treated as fraud – for example not disclosing a conflict of interest, failing to acknowledge a contributor or credit a co-author, or not admitting that you did other analyses which reached different conclusions to the ones now put forward. Accidental or unintentional omissions may also in some circumstances be penalised under the Assessment Irregularities procedure, particularly if they demonstrate negligence in your academic work – for example omitting data on side effects in a clinical trial, failing to obtain ethical approval where this was required, using participant data for which consent was not obtained, or not mentioning gaps in your results.

Teaching and guidance provided as part of the preparation for an assessment will always make clear what is expected of you, and mention any major errors to be avoided, such as failure to seek necessary approvals. Where errors or poor practice occur (e.g. sloppy data handling which brings in false data, or disregarding outliers in results due to a lack of understanding of what they

might mean), these will usually be seen as part of the learning process – getting a lower mark, rather than being penalised. A.9 LSHTM definition of cheating

Cheating is a deliberate attempt to deceive in order to gain advantage in an assessed piece of work, including coursework, in-module assessments and examinations. This covers a range of offences, from significant instances of plagiarism to exam misconduct.

The essence of the School‟s policy on cheating is that you must not engage in any deliberate deception in order to gain advantage in formal assessment or evaluation. Key principles to be aware of include:

Submitting someone else's work, knowledge or ideas, while pretending that they are your own, constitutes cheating.

This applies to all forms of assessment – e.g. coursework assignments, presentations, groupwork, module tests, formal examinations, research project reports, or theses.

Serious forms of plagiarism, fraud, collusion or personation, or any deliberate failure to comply with assessment regulations, are all liable to constitute cheating.

The use of commercial essay banks, essay-writing services or any similar “cheat sites” is highly likely to constitute cheating.

Any inappropriate activities under exam conditions, e.g. bringing unauthorised materials into an exam room, will also constitute cheating.

Cheating will be treated even more seriously and result in heavier penalties than other forms of assessment irregularities.

B.) ASSESSMENT IRREGULARITIES PROCEDURE The School‟s formal Assessment Irregularities procedure, established under the Regulations, sets out how any allegations will be investigated, and the potential penalties that may be applied. This is available via the School intranet at:

http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/registry/regulations/taught_regulations/assessment_irregularities___taught_courses.pdf (for taught courses including masters‟ degrees, diplomas, certificates and short courses); and

Page 24: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

24

http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/registry/regulations/research_regulations/research_degree_assessment_irregularities_procedure.pdf (a very slightly different version for research degrees).

You do not need to be aware of the detailed content of this procedure, but you should be aware that it exists. In the event that an allegation or case arises which affects you, anything you are required to do will be clearly communicated and explained. Your tutor, supervisor, Course Director(s) or the Registry should all be able to provide further advice if necessary. B.1 Penalties Where an assessment irregularity is identified and confirmed, a range of penalties may be invoked – e.g. a reduction of the grade, or an outright fail for the piece of work with a requirement to re-submit. The nature and extent of each case will differ, so there is no standard set of prescribed penalties in relation to specific offences. However, severe offences may result in students having their registration on a programme terminated, or even being excluded from entry to any further School examinations or future degree/certificate awards from the School. The above details are not intended to frighten you; occasional slips in attribution or similarity of text may happen with even the most diligent student. All relevant factors will be taken into account in consideration of any case, and students will be presumed innocent unless the contrary can be established through formal procedures and on the balance of probabilities. However, please do not be tempted to copy material; plagiarism and other offences are easy to detect, and the risks are very high. It is not unusual for one or two students a year to fail an entire module or even their entire degree course due to assessment irregularity issues, including for plagiarism. C.) AVOIDING PLAGIARISM – A WORKED EXAMPLE This section runs through some examples of how to cite and reference the work of others in your own work, to demonstrate what is and is not permissible. The author-date (Harvard) style has been used throughout, but the same basic principles will apply if using alternative referencing styles. C.1 Original material to be quoted

Let‟s say you want to refer to a paper by El-Sadr concerning the treatment of tuberculosis. This is the original version, as written in her article:

“One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6

months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and

safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use this short-course

regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to a

larger number of patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in

the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same

duration of therapy.”

Full reference: El-Sadr WM, Perlman DC, Denning E, Matts JP, Cohn DL. A

review of efficacy studies of 6-month short-course therapy for tuberculosis

among patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: differences in

study outcomes. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32:623-32. C.2 An acceptable approach – direct quotation with citation If you want to quote exactly what an author has said, you must include the quotation inside inverted commas followed by a citation. The most usual way to do this is as an embedded quotation:

As El-Sadr notes, “One of the most important issues that remain controversial

is whether 6 months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can

effectively and safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis.” (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Note that the section quoted word for word is inside inverted commas. An alternative way to present a word-for-word quotation (particularly a lengthy one) is as a separated indented paragraph:

“One of the most important issues that remain

controversial is whether 6 months of treatment with

regimens that include rifampin can effectively and

safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use

this short-course regimen for HIV-infected patients

could allow programs to provide DOT to a larger

number of patients, and it also would allow

programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients

Page 25: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

25

both with and without HIV infection with the same

duration of therapy.” (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Other alternative forms of presentation use italics to indicate quoted text. This is also fine but the quotation should still be inside inverted commas. C.3 An acceptable approach – paraphrasing with citation If you want to refer to El-Sadr‟s idea but not to quote her entire sentence or paragraph then you can paraphrase (rewrite the text in your own words), but must also cite the source. When paraphrasing, you should always check your wording against the original idea – to ensure that the author‟s original meaning is conveyed accurately and unambiguously. For example, this would be acceptable:

There is debate concerning the use of short-course regimens to treat

tuberculosis in people with HIV infection (El-Sadr et al. 2001). C.4 An unacceptable approach – direct quotation without indication If you quote a sentence word-for-word from another author, then you must make it clear that it is a quotation. The following would not be acceptable, because the word-for-word quotation is not indicated by inverted commas:

One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6

months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and

safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. (El-Sadr et al. 2001). Note that even though a citation has been given, the lack of quotation marks is misleading and makes it appear as if you have paraphrased rather than quoted. This counts as plagiarism. The following would likewise not be acceptable:

One of the most important issues that remain controversial is whether 6

months of treatment with regimens that include rifampin can effectively and

safely treat HIV-related tuberculosis. The ability to use this short-course

regimen for HIV-infected patients could allow programs to provide DOT to a

larger number of patients, and it also would allow programmatic efficiency in

the treatment of patients both with and without HIV infection with the same

duration of therapy.

This is a particularly poor use of the source material; not only are there no inverted commas to indicate a quotation, but the authors are not cited at all so you are effectively claiming that this is your original idea.

Page 26: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

26

C.5 An unacceptable approach – editing without indication or citation It is also not sufficient just to change a few words. The following would still be regarded as inappropriate:

One of the key issues that remain controversial is whether 6 months of

treatment with drugs including rifampin can effectively and safely treat HIV-

related tuberculosis. Use of this short-course regimen for HIV-infected

patients could allow programs to provide DOT to more patients, and it also

would allow programmatic efficiency in the treatment of patients both with

and without HIV infection with the same duration of therapy. (El-Sadr et al.

2001) Note that the words used above remain effectively the original authors‟ words, and have not been paraphrased in your own words, just edited very slightly. The lack of quotation marks is misleading as it makes it look like you have put the authors‟ idea in your own words; this counts as plagiarism. Were such an edited quote to be presented without quotation marks and also without a citation at the end, this would be an even stronger case of plagiarism. C.6 What to put in the reference list In all the above cases, you should include an appropriately-formatted full reference in the reference list at the end of your work, e.g. like:

El-Sadr WM, Perlman DC, Denning E, Matts JP, Cohn DL. A review of

efficacy studies of 6-month short-course therapy for tuberculosis among

patients infected with human immunodeficiency virus: differences in

study outcomes. Clin Infect Dis 2001;32:623-32 Further details about how to do this are given in the previous chapter on citing and referencing, and in the Appendix. Remember that the appropriate reference format should vary depending on the type of source – the above example is for a journal article, but this would look different depending on whether it was perhaps a book, or a webpage, or an NGO report, or some other type of material. C.7 Applying these examples to other types of source The above principles should apply when making use of any source that is not your own work, including published articles, material from websites, lecture

notes, other grey or unpublished literature, material from other students etc. This may cover many types of material, not just text – e.g. photographs, diagrams, video, other types of images, audio recordings; or even more conceptual or idea-based items such as specific formulae, computer code, judgements, discoveries and results. The golden rules are that if you use material generated by anyone else then you should: (i) make clear whether you are directly reproducing the source material, or presenting your own edit or interpretation of it; and (ii) give a clear in-text citation to indicate the source or author(s), as well as including a full reference in the reference list. D.) DETECTING PLAGIARISM LSHTM staff have a responsibility to ensure that all students' assessed work is marked fairly and equitably – this includes checking for plagiarism or other issues, to ensure that no-one gains an unfair advantage. Staff have considerable expertise in identifying plagiarism, and all markers look out for assessment irregularities and have access to a variety of tools to assist them. The School uses the plagiarism detection service Turnitin UK, which is widely used by universities across the country and recommended at national level by the Higher Education Funding Council for England and the Joint Information Systems Committee Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service. This is a subscription service delivered via a website (www.submit.ac.uk) run from Northumbria University and using software provided by a US company, iParadigms. Any work you submit for assessment may be cross-checked using Turnitin. Administrative offices (for Teaching Support, Distance Learning or Research Degrees) and marking staff all have access to upload LSHTM student work. This is done anonymously, by candidate number, and this material cannot be seen by others unless permission is given by School staff.

D.1 How Turnitin works Turnitin compares students' work against a very extensive pool of journals, periodicals, books, databases, current and archived internet pages, and other published or grey literature, as well as previously submitted student work from subscribing institutions around the world (including from current and past LSHTM students). At the last count, in 2009, Turnitin covered 10.5 billion

Page 27: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

27

pages of web content, 67.8 million published papers, 75 million student papers, and continued to add content at a rate of 20 million papers per day. Turnitin creates an 'originality report' for each piece of work run through it, highlighting which elements have come from other sources in the database, and to what proportions. This also provides tutors with links to the source files, and the facility to compare matching text between the submitted work and the originals. As in the above screenshot, Turnitin is capable of matching text even where words, phrases or entire sections have been changed, removed or re-ordered. Turnitin screenshot: comparison against an individual text source

D.2 What happens when suspected plagiarism is identified Turnitin is just a tool, and does not make any 'decisions' about students or their work. Rather, it provides information for members of academic staff to review any work that contains copied text, checking that this is referenced correctly and not presented as a student's own work. All submissions will normally contain at least some matches to the Turnitin database, e.g.

properly-cited quotes, or items in the bibliography. There is no set percentage up to which Turnitin matches may be allowed or not allowed – in all cases, it is up to staff to check whether citations are legitimate or whether work has been plagiarised. Should potential plagiarism be identified, this will be followed up through the School‟s Assessment Irregularities procedures. If you would like to know more, information about Turnitin is available at www.submit.ac.uk

E.) TIPS FOR AVOIDING PLAGIARISM E.1 Leaving enough time for the research process Many students underestimate the amount of time it takes to find and obtain sufficient high quality resources. Particularly when conducting a research project, you will usually be expected to read and digest information from a wide variety of sources before writing your thesis. When students are pushed for time they are far more likely to be tempted to plagiarise. Once you have then got hold of the information you have found, evaluated it, and digested the information, you may then have to go back to the beginning of the cycle to follow up points of interest or clarify issues. As a rule of thumb, estimate how long the research process will take and triple it. E.2 Using clear note taking techniques When taking notes from a source, ensure you clearly mark the words you copy directly, by placing them in quotation marks, highlighting them or in other ways making them distinct from notes in your own words. If you do copy directly from the source, copy it exactly as published, including all punctuation and formatting (e.g. words in italics). Ensure you note the full citation information of the source both on any notes you make and onto any photocopies. Many journals include the source information in the header or footer of a printed article but books rarely do. It can be next to impossible to determine which book a chapter or set of pages has been photocopied from after the event. Keep a working bibliography of the sources you have found during your research. As well as assisting you in compiling your bibliography at the end of your thesis, this will also allow you to keep track of which sources you have read and which you have discarded and why. Using a reference management

Page 28: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

28

software package, as described in the previous chapter, can be a powerful tool to keep track of sources you have identified and found useful, as well as providing a quick and easy way to insert citations and references into your final submission. F.) FURTHER RESOURCES ABOUT AVOIDING PLAGIARISM Some additional resources and guidance on the topic of plagiarism (and how to avoid it!) are linked below. It may also be helpful to speak to your tutor or supervisor if you wish to develop your understanding in this area. Recommended:

www.ldu.leeds.ac.uk/plagiarism – from the University of Leeds Learning & Development Unit. A comprehensive range of resources aimed at raising awareness of plagiarism and improving academic integrity. This includes examples of good and bad practice, tutorials on how to avoid plagiarism, and a highly recommended quiz to test your knowledge about good writing practice and avoiding plagiarism.

Also potentially useful:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mwbw9KF-ACY&sns=em – from the University of Bergen library. A light-hearted short film, „A plagiarism carol‟, about the importance of understanding plagiarism and learning to reference correctly in student work. In Norwegian with English subtitles (click the „CC‟ button on screen to turn subtitles on).

www2.warwick.ac.uk/services/library/main/tealea/socsciall/business/findinfobus/references/plagiarism/take-test/ – from the University of Warwick library. A short 5-question quiz on what is or isn‟t plagiarism, using a health policy example.

www.ucd.ie/library/supporting_you/support_learning/plagiarism/ – from University College Dublin Library, Ireland. This has useful explanations of what may constitute plagiarism, and how to avoid it.

www.plagiarismadvice.org/documents/tipsheetsv3/tp12_UsingElectronicResourcesAppropriately.pdf – from the JISC Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service. A guide on how to using electronic and web resources appropriately when working on coursework assignments.

www.plagiarismadvice.org/documents/tipsheetsv3/tp11_BeingAnInformationLiterateResearcher.pdf – from the JISC Internet Plagiarism Advisory Service. A practical guide to „being an information-literate researcher‟, and avoiding plagiarism when gathering information, managing and writing up your research project.

CHAPTER 4: RECOGNISING THE CONTRIBUTION OF OTHERS Any individual work you submit for assessment at LSHTM should be based on your own ideas and judgments, expressed in your own words, and supported by appropriately-referenced use of the work of others – as described in previous chapters. However, it can be appropriate (particularly for significant pieces of work like MSc projects) to receive further support and input from other sources, for example:

advice from your tutor or supervisor on academic content;

help from technical experts regarding areas like laboratory procedures or statistical methods;

assistance with fieldwork, e.g. where others have collected data on your behalf;

or suggestions about writing style or language use from peers, friends or family.

In certain cases, particularly for some MSc projects or research degree projects, you may be undertaking work towards your LSHTM degree that forms part of a larger professional research study. Such studies may be carried out under the aegis of LSHTM, or another research institution, or a government, or an NGO, or even (for students studying part-time or by distance learning) your employer. In such cases you will need to have your own defined sub-set of work, so it can be clearly assessed; but you are also likely to need to collaborate closely with others, including having the scope of your work set out by the „Principal Investigator‟ (PI). This chapter describes how to indicate and acknowledge all such contributions from others towards your assessed work. A.) PRINCIPLES FOR ACKNOWLEDGING INPUT FROM OTHERS A.1 Key principles To be able to mark all work fairly, markers should always be made aware of any support or input you have received from other people.

All assistance received from others should be clearly specified, to distinguish the main body of work done by yourself from any other supporting/enabling work where you have had help.

Page 29: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

29

Any additional resources made available to you should also be clearly specified – for example, to make clear where a dataset has been provided to you for analysis (as opposed to your collecting the data yourself).

Such input and support should be indicated at the relevant points throughout your work.

For major pieces of work, you should also give appropriate credit in an Acknowledgements section.

Acknowledgements can be given anonymously (e.g. referring to help from a supervisor, Research Assistant, lecturer, fellow-student, friend or a family member) rather than by name. The aim is to indicate the type and level of input received, rather than from whom.

A.2 Marking of work Assessments that you are set as part of your LSHTM studies should always make clear what kind of work they expect you to do and how much time and effort this is expected to take. Criteria may also clarify what types of input it may be appropriate to get from others. Work will not be „marked down‟ for receiving additional support in a particular area, provided this in line with the assessment criteria and means that your own contribution to the work meets what is expected. Conversely, please be aware that work you do that goes beyond what is required for the assessment will not be rewarded with extra marks – you can be marked only against what is in the assessment criteria. However, if information about support or input received is incorrect or omitted, this may be subject to penalties under the School‟s assessment irregularity procedures. To give two examples:

If you want to do a piece of work that requires a qualified member of staff to carry out a specific laboratory procedure, this should be fine provided the total work you do, e.g. design of experiment and subsequent analysis, is of an equivalent amount to that of other students who may be doing their own lab work. However if your final submission does not specify which elements of your assessment have been assisted by others, you may be penalised.

If you are working on something that is part of a larger research initiative and elements of your work have been designed or prescribed by the Principal Investigator, this should be made clear in your submission and

less detail would need be given on those elements. However if this is not made clear then such work may be penalised or marked down – e.g. for misrepresentation, or for having given insufficient detail about work otherwise assumed to have been done by you.

A.3 Groupwork In some cases, you may be part of a team when undertaking assessed work. Arrangements may require either a single joint submission from the group, or separate individual submissions (typically drawing on the work of the group but allowing you to give your own interpretation or additional input). Joint submissions must constitute the work of the group, and should normally be based on roughly equal contributions from all members – although some variation in contributions may be reasonable, and may be spelt out. Any input from others (such as guidance from a tutor) should be clearly acknowledged. Individual submissions should make clear what work was done or conclusions reached by the group, and differentiate this from the any further individual work done by you separately from the group. B.) PROOF-READING AND HELP WITH WRITING OR LANGUAGE B.1 Proof-reading and advice from others Proof-reading means checking for any grammar, punctuation or spelling errors that need to be corrected. Spell-checking or grammar-checking software (as included in most word-processing packages) is a useful tool which you should always use; but remember that there are many issues that software cannot necessarily spot, like incorrect use of specialist or technical terms. Therefore, re-reading and checking things in person remains very important. Whatever your standard of English, you should always proof-read your work before sending it on anywhere, even in draft form, and correct any obvious errors before submission. If markers see evidence of unnecessarily 'sloppy' writing that demonstrates insufficient attention to accuracy (in reporting other work or checking what you have written), this may cause you to be marked down. After checking your draft yourself, it can then be appropriate to also ask other people – e.g. a fellow student, family member or friend – to proof-read it or give comments on your choice of words. You may ask a peer who knows the

Page 30: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

30

academic subject area (e.g. a fellow-student) to give comments on the content. However, you must always make the final decision about what is included and how it is expressed, as well as ensuring your final submission acknowledges any assistance you have received. You should not have anyone else extensively edit or rewrite your assessed work for you – e.g. in such a way that the language used no longer represents your own expression of the work done, or so that another person than yourself has made decisions about the content or presentation of the work put forward. In particular, you should be aware that the use of 'professional' (paid) editors is strongly discouraged by the School. B.2 Proof-reading and copy-editing for research degrees theses For research degree theses (PhD, DrPH or MPhil), in addition to the above, further expectations apply to the standard of writing expected. Submitted theses should be structured and of a sufficient standard of English so as to be ready for academic publication without needing any further editorial corrections by a third party. Specific rules on copy-editing and proof-reading are given in the research degrees handbook, at http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/tpd/researchdegrees/regulations/handbook.html . This defines „proof-reading‟ as checking a manuscript prior to publication/printing, to identify any grammar, punctuation and spelling errors requiring correction – which should then be done by the author. „Copy-editing‟ is defined as the process of checking/revising a manuscript against a prescribed style (in terms of paper size, page layout, fonts, heading styles, word count, pagination, sequential numbering of tables etc.), making alterations necessary to ensure consistency and remove any duplicated content. Proof-reading and copy-editing are both skilful processes which require good English language proficiency, but not specialist subject knowledge. You as the author may proof-read and copy-edit your own work; or ask someone else to do so for you, provided you acknowledge them. If a third party proof-reads or copy-edits your work, they should be reviewing or correcting the surface text of the document – not altering textual meaning or the accuracy of data. While the School discourages the use of professional or paid editors, research degree theses are the one form of work (given their length and complexity) where this may sometimes be appropriate. If so, you as a research degree student will be responsible for making any arrangements, in consultation with

your supervisor, and for any associated costs such as fees. The School‟s policy is that any proof-reading or copy-editing by third parties, whether paid or unpaid, must be acknowledged in a declaration accompanying the submitted thesis. This will be available to the examiners. You as the student will be responsible for ensuring that any third-party contributions have not introduced changes to the intellectual content or substance of the thesis. Note that if third-party input introduces any deficiencies in the work, these cannot be accepted as mitigating circumstances affecting the outcome of the thesis examination. C.) GIVING ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS C.1 Key principles You should always acknowledge all input or assistance which has had a material impact on your work. This may include:

Any specific input from other people – e.g. editing, proofreading, specific academic advice or ideas, general advice or ideas such as on structuring your work, assistance with collecting data in the field or in a lab, technical support, translation services, etc.

Any specific permissions you were granted for your work – e.g. for use of copyrighted material, use of a specific dataset, use of a patented process, etc.

Any financial assistance or equivalent support – especially any funding or grants which have supported the work done, but also things like access to facilities or resources which might not have been automatically available.

C.2 Including an Acknowledgements section For extended pieces of work, it will often be appropriate to include an Acknowledgements section. You should always indicate the following types of assistance if received, under a sub-heading of „Formal acknowledgements‟:

The input of your supervisor or tutor, and any co-supervisors or technical advisors where appropriate – especially where local support and collaboration has been given either overseas or at another institution. Acknowledgement may be given in a form like “my supervisor” or “my tutor” rather than using individual staff names; or they may be named if more appropriate.

Page 31: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

31

Any specific input to your work – e.g. editing, proof-reading, specific academic advice or ideas, general advice or ideas such as on structuring your work, assistance with collecting data in the field or in a lab, statistical support, lab technical support, support in respect of a specific disability, translation services, etc.

Any specific permissions you were granted for your work – e.g. for use of copyrighted material, use of a specific dataset, use of a patented process, etc.

Any financial assistance or equivalent support – especially any funding or grants which have supported the work done, but also things like access to facilities or resources which might not have been automatically available.

You may also wish to recognise and express appreciation of other people who contributed in ways which didn‟t directly change your work, under a sub-heading of „Personal acknowledgements‟.

This may include family, friends, staff or others – e.g. to thank them for encouragement, support, motivation, inspiration or similar. Who and what you choose to include under this is completely up to you.

However, to help ensure the anonymity of assessed work, it is generally better to express thanks to “my family” or to friends using first names only.

In terms of style, you can write an acknowledgements section however you like. It‟s best to keep it clear and simple, e.g. thanking each specific person/group for the specific input/assistance received. It‟s also best to keep it short – a paragraph would be typical, and anything over 1 page would probably be seen as over-long for work submitted at LSHTM. In an extended piece of work that includes an acknowledgements section, this should normally be placed towards the end – either before or after the reference list. You may take a different approach if you prefer, e.g. listing copyright permissions in a separate section with its own heading, or mentioning translation services at the point in your text where you make use of the translated work. In some cases you may wish to give important acknowledgements or a dedication in a very brief note after the Title page at the start of the work; but if so, this should normally be no more than two or three lines. C.3 Research participants

Where you have undertaken primary research with human subjects or participants, it is customary to thank them in the acknowledgements section. This should normally be done anonymously, i.e. simply thanking them as a group. It is vital to ensure that you fully understand any ethics-related obligations that apply to you regarding anonymity and confidentiality. For example, any interviewees should have given consent for how they may be named and quoted, and should typically be referred to as anonymous individuals, e.g. 'Respondent A', throughout the work. If you will be working with research participants, please ensure you are completely familiar with the School‟s rigorous ethical requirements regarding such activities, including how they should be written up. C.4 Additional requirements Note that for specific items of assessment – particularly MSc project reports and Research Degree theses – students may need to complete additional specific forms, e.g. to reiterate that the work presented in the thesis is their own, or to acknowledge and describe the contributions of others.

Page 32: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

32

CHAPTER 5: COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY Note – for MSc students, some of the information in this chapter will be duplicated in your project handbook. For research degrees students, these issues may be more complex and further information is given in the RD student handbook. A.) SCHOOL POLICIES FOR STUDENT WORK As well as ensuring that you correctly reference everything you make use of in your work, you also need to be sure that you are allowed to make use of the work of others – being aware of any copyright or intellectual property rights that may apply. You should be certain about whether any restrictions may apply in the way you communicate, disseminate or even publish work that you have produced based on that of others. A.1 Copyright and intellectual property rights These issues can be defined as follows:

Copyright subsists in any original work (or part of that work) from the moment it is created. The rights holder (usually the author, but in some cases the employer) is granted certain rights which are protected by law over how the work may be used - this includes copying.

Intellectual property (IP) is an intangible asset whose broadest scope covers all types of knowledge, but which is generally focused on patents, know-how, copyright, trademarks, brand names, designs & secrets. Most forms of IP can be protected legally (with the exception of know-how and secrets) and the resulting proprietary rights are referred to as intellectual property rights (IPR).

The copyright of work you produce during your studies at LSHTM will normally legally belong to you as the author of the work. There may sometimes be exceptions to this however – usually if this is research work subject to the terms and conditions of a specific agreement. If you are making use of the work of others, their copyrights and intellectual property rights also need to be carefully respected. This may apply not just to written work, but to other forms of work carried out by third parties – e.g. data collected, photographs taken, diagrams drawn, computer code written, etc.

Especially if you are unfamiliar with these issues, please look through the introductory guidance on the Library‟s web pages at www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/libraryinfo/copyright.html, which also link through (at the end of that web page) to further resources, including about the School‟s IPR policy. A.2 Copyright and IPR agreements for major work For any significant pieces of work, e.g. MSc research projects, you should ensure that you discuss copyright and IPR with your tutor, supervisor or another relevant member of staff – both before embarking on substantive work, and as you complete writing-up. Copyright or IPR agreements won't be necessary for most LSHTM student work, but may be appropriate in some cases – particularly:

To clearly assign and specify ownership of IPR for data collected during the course of a research project (e.g. in the lab with help from LSHTM staff; or in the field, working with an external organisation).

To clarify permissions given for use of data or other copyrighted materials provided by the School or an outside party – which will usually remain the copyright property of the original party even where incorporated in your project report.

Where research funding is provided by an external sponsor, a specific contract will normally apply; contract terms may often assign ownership of copyright or IPR to the sponsor, or impose specific restrictions such as on publication. Similarly, where your work is to be undertaken in collaboration with an external organisation (e.g. working with their staff or at their facilities), it is very helpful to reach a clear agreement with them before you begin about the copyright and IPR of the results. This can avoid problems later on, e.g. if you or they want to do something specific with the work. Likewise, where LSHTM staff (such as your supervisor) have supplied data or other key elements of your project and own the corresponding copyright or intellectual property rights, the position of both parties should be set out in a specific agreement. Standard LSHTM templates are available for such agreements between student and supervisor, and may be edited as appropriate to create a specific agreement for each individual piece of work. Your Course Administrator should be able to advise. Once agreed, a copy of the final signed statement should be lodged with your Course Administrator to be kept in your student file. You are also encouraged to keep a copy for your own records.

Page 33: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

33

A.3 Copyright that otherwise applies to your work as a student Unless you have signed a specific agreement to the contrary, the copyright that applies to your work as a student (including your final project report) is retained by you as the author. All students are asked to sign the School‟s registration declaration form when registering, which includes the following statement:

“I authorise that any coursework, project, dissertation or thesis presented by me for examination for a degree of the University of London may be deposited in the library of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, and that, subject to the conditions set out below may be made available, either in print or electronically, for public reference, interlibrary loan and copying. I authorise the School Library and their designated agents to make a photocopy or digital copy of any such work for the purposes of inter-library loan and the supply of copies to library users and members of the public. I authorise the School to make a microform or digital copy of this work as the archival copy for permanent retention in substitution for the original copy. I authorise library users to copy up to 5% of the work for their own personal research for a non-commercial purpose or for private study.”

A.4 Intellectual Property Rights – School policy All students must notify the School, through their supervisor, of any invention, device, material, product, method or process, computer software or other potentially valuable result which it is considered might have industrial or technical significance, whether patentable or not, developed or invented during the course of a students' research or study whilst a registered student of the School and make assignment of their rights to the School. It would be unusual for student work on taught courses to generate significant new intellectual property meriting such notification. However, this may potentially be more relevant for research degree students; further guidance is available at http://intra.lshtm.ac.uk/registry/rd_handbook/section18/ A.5 Setting restrictions on access to your work The School‟s standard policy, as described on the registration declaration, sets a standard right of access to student project reports for purposes of study and research. In rare cases, you (or external organisations or funders you are working with) may wish to restrict such access by others, e.g. not wishing to have your final project report placed in the School Library.

A restriction of access might typically be requested in relation to exploitation of the research or pending a patent application. It may only be granted by special permission of the School and the University up to a maximum period of 2 years, as outlined in a further point on the School‟s registration declaration form:

“A candidate may apply to the School for restriction of access, for a period not exceeding two years, to an MSc project, DrPH Organisational and Policy Analysis Project report or DrPH/MPhil/PhD thesis on the grounds of commercial exploitation, patenting or in very exceptional circumstances and in accordance with the procedure adopted by the School for consideration of such applications.”

Restriction will not normally be granted except where the work is said to contain sensitive or confidential material or material that would infringe the rights of third-party holders of copyright. B.) PUBLICATION OF STUDENT WORK Work done as an LSHTM student may sometimes result in papers published in peer reviewed journals. Where work is to be submitted for publication, issues related to both authorship and obtaining copyright/IPR permissions need to be considered. B.1 Authorship As detailed above, you as a student will normally be the copyright owner and primary author of your project report. However, considerations of secondary authorship may come into play if your work is to be published – especially if:

the project was done in close collaboration with others (e.g. working closely with a supervisor in the lab); or

made use of notable contributions from others (e.g. statistical analysis carried out by a technical advisor and acknowledged as such); or

was done as part of a larger programme of collaborative work (e.g. where your work was on a particular element within a larger field trial).

In such cases you may often need to credit others, e.g. your supervisor, as co-authors. Indeed, in cases where your work formed part of a larger study, it is likely that your supervisor or Principal Investigator would be the „lead‟ author for any published work, with student contributors more likely to be listed as co-authors.

Page 34: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

34

To help understand who should be credited as an author, the following notes have been compiled from guidance on the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors website, www.icmje.org

All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article.

Authorship credit should be based only on (1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and (3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met. Acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship.

Authors should provide a description of what each contributed, and editors should publish that information. All others who contributed to the work who are not authors should be named in the Acknowledgments, and what they did should be described.

Increasingly, authorship of multi-centre trials is attributed to a group. All members of the group who are named as authors should fully meet the above criteria for authorship. Group members who do not meet these criteria should be listed, with their permission, in the Acknowledgments or in an appendix.

The order in which authors are listed on the byline should be a joint decision of the co-authors, who should be prepared to explain it.

B.2 Obtaining copyright permissions for publication If your work contains properly-cited textual quotations from the published work of others, although the original authors will retain the copyright of their material you will not normally be required to seek permission in order to quote them. However, if your work contains any substantive or non-textual material that is the work of others – in particular, tables and figures (including photographs, diagrams, graphs and charts) – then you will usually need to obtain specific permission from the copyright owner(s) to include such items in a publication.

If your work required you to obtain specific permissions – e.g. for use of copyrighted material, use of a specific dataset, use of a patented process – then check whether the permission granted was just for use by you as a student, or also explicitly allows for publication, or sets any further restrictions on publication. If the original permission granted did not explicitly mention publication, then you will need to go back and obtain specific further permission for this.

Page 35: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

35

APPENDIX: REFERENCING DIFFERENT TYPES OF SOURCE The following information provides further detailed guidance on how to present the following different types of sources in your reference list:

A. Journal articles

B. Books (including edited books)

C. Book chapters

D. Theses or dissertations

E. Reports or non-authored works

F. Online resources (web-pages)

G. Conference proceedings

H. Tables and figures Each section has two tables indicating the information, order and format in which references must be presented for the Harvard and Vancouver styles. Remember:

Presentation may differ according to which style you are using, whether Harvard, Vancouver or another system; for example the place of publication may appear before the name of the publisher, or the date of publication may be given at the end. There are many variant styles of presentation, but it is always important to be consistent – e.g. about putting brackets or full stops round dates, names of authors in capitals, commas between initials or not, etc.

Also note that if you use reference manager software like EndNote, Mendeley or Zotero (as described in chapter 2), you will not need to worry about the precise layout of different reference types. Instead, you would just need to enter data in the relevant fields (e.g. author, year of publication) and the software can prepare a reference list formatted in a suitable reference style. Most packages can instantly convert between different styles, e.g. Harvard and Vancouver, and will have a long list of different styles and sub-styles to choose between – such as ones used by specific journals.

A. Referencing a journal article

Harvard style for referencing journal articles

Author Names should be given, surname first, followed by initials. The surname and initials should be separated by a comma, and initials punctuated with full stops. All author names should be cited, with a comma separating each author's name. An „&‟ should be inserted before the last author name.

Year of publication

Give the year, followed by a full stop. Note that if a paper has been accepted for publication but not yet been published, this can be indicated by putting adding „in press‟ within brackets.

Title of article The title should be given as on the title page. All principal words should be given initial capital letters. This should be put in single quotation marks.

Title of journal

This should be formatted in italic font. The full journal title should be given.

Volume number

This should be given in numerals.

Journal issue or date

If there is an issue number or date (typically month) for the journal, this should be given in brackets after the volume number.

Page numbers

If you are referring to several pages, the first and last page numbers should be given. You may use the abbreviations p. for a single page, and pp. for page ranges if you wish.

Examples:

Stinchcombe, J. R. 2004, 'A latitudinal cline in flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana modulated by the flowering time gene FRIGIDA', Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA , vol. 101, pp. 4712-4717.

Meric, F., Bernstam, E. V., Mirza, N. Q., Hunt, K. K., Ames, F. C., Ross, M. I., Kuerer, H. M., Pollock, R. E., Musen, M. A., & Singletary, S. E. 2002, 'Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional survey of quality of information and popularity of websites', British Medical Journal, vol. 324, no. 7337, pp. 577-581.

Page 36: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

36

Vancouver style for referencing journal articles

Author Names should be given, surname first, followed by initials. The surname and initials should be separated by a space, with no punctuation (i.e. no commas or full stops). If there are 6 or less authors, all should be cited. If there are 7 or more authors, only the first 6 are listed followed by „et al‟. The last author must have a full stop after their name.

Title of article

The title should be given as on the title page with only the first word (and words which normally begin with a capital letter) capitalized. The title is followed by a full stop. If the item has a subtitle this should be separated from the main title by a colon. Do not use italics or other formatting unless this is used in the title (such as to designate species names).

Title of journal

This should be abbreviated according to the style used in the MEDLINE database. A full list of MEDLINE journal abbreviations is given in the PubMed journals database at www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=journals.

Year of publication

As well as the year, if necessary the month and day can also be given, in the format yyyy mmm dd. If a paper has been accepted for publication but not yet been published, this can be indicated by adding „in press‟ within brackets.

Volume and issue number

If the journal has continuous page numbering throughout the issues in a volume the month/day and issue information may be omitted. These are written in numerals with round brackets around number. This should end with a colon.

Page numbers

Do not repeat digits unnecessarily, so write 11-3 rather than 11-13. There is no need to add p. or pp.

Examples:

Stinchcombe JR. A latitudinal cline in flowering time in Arabidopsis thaliana modulated by the flowering time gene FRIGIDA. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2004;101:4712-7.

Meric F, Bernstam EV, Mirza NQ, Hunt KK, Ames FC, Ross M I, et al. Breast cancer on the world wide web: cross sectional survey of quality of information and popularity of websites. BMJ 2002;324(7337):577-81.

Glantz MJ, Choy H, Akerley W, Kearns CM, Egorin MJ, Rhodes CH, Cole BF. Weekly paclitaxel with and without concurrent radiation therapy: toxicity, pharmacokinetics, and response. Semin Oncol 1996 Dec;23(6 Suppl 16):128-35.

B. Referencing a book (including edited books) Note that when citing an edited book whose contributors are not the same as its editor, then in Harvard style your in-text citation should add the word „ed.‟

before the editor‟s name, e.g. „(ed. Black 1998)‟. This is not relevant in the Vancouver style.

Harvard style for referencing books

Author/Editor/Group author

Names should be written as for journal articles (section A above). Insert „ed‟. or „eds.‟ after editors‟ names. If there no authors or editors are given, the title should be

listed first followed by the year of publication, and the item placed alphabetically in the reference list by the first word of the title.

Year The year of publication should be given, followed by a full stop. If a paper has been accepted for publication but not yet been published, this can be indicated by adding „in press‟ within brackets.

Editor, translator etc

Listed with initials first, followed by surname. Followed by 'ed(s).', or preceded by 'trans. by', 'rev. by' etc.

Title The title should be given as on the title page and formatted using italic font. All principal words should be given initial capital letters. The title is followed by a full stop. If the item has a subtitle this should be separated from the main title by a colon.

Series If the book is part of a numbered series, the series title and the number should be included. This can be omitted if the series is not numbered.

Edition If the edition is not the first, this should be added. eg '2nd edn', 'rev. edn' etc.

Number of volumes

If there are more than one volume, the number should be given as, e.g. '2 vols'.

Publisher The name of the publisher should be given in full, followed by a colon.

City/town of publication

If based in more than one place, the first should be given. If the place name is not well known, add the state or the country for clarification. For places in the USA, add the 2 letter postal code for the state in upper case.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Page 37: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

37

Harvard style for referencing books

Volume number

If you are citing a multi-volume work, the number of the volume should be given in small roman numerals.

Examples:

Cooke, A. 2001, A guide to finding quality information on the Internet: selection and evaluation strategies, 2nd edn, Library Association Publishing, London.

Feldman, R. S., Meyer, J. S., & Quenzer, L. F. 1998, The American Psychiatric Press textbook of psychopharmacology, 2nd edn, American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC.

Fine B, Lapavistas C and Pincus J (eds) 2001, Development Policy in the 21st Century: Beyond the Washington Consensus, Routledge, New York.

Pavlosky E.N. 1960, Human diseases with natural foci, Foreign Language Publishing House, Moscow.

Vancouver style for referencing books

Author/Editor/Group author

Author names should be entered as for journal articles (section A above). Editors should have „editor‟ or „editors‟ inserted after their names. If there are no authors or editors given, the title should be listed first.

Title The title should be entered as for journal article titles (section A above).

Edition If the edition is not the first, this should be added, followed by a full stop. eg '2nd ed.', 'rev. ed.' etc.

City/town of publication

If based in more than one place, the first should be given, followed by a colon. If the place name is not well known, add the state or the country for clarification. For places in the USA, add the 2 letter postal code for the state in upper case.

Publisher This should be spelt out in full, not abbreviated.

Year The year of publication should be given, separated from the publication details by a semi-colon, and followed by a full stop. If a book has been accepted for publication but not yet been published, this may be indicated by adding „in press‟ in brackets.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Vancouver style for referencing books

Series and volume number

If the book is part of a numbered series, the series title and the number should be included. This can be omitted if the series is not numbered. This is included in round brackets after the page numbers (if any) or year.

Examples:

Cooke A. A guide to finding quality information on the Internet: selection and evaluation strategies. 2nd ed. London: Library Association Publishing; 2001.

Feldman RS, Meyer JS, Quenzer LF. The American Psychiatric Press textbook of psychopharmacology. 2nd ed. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 1998.

Fauci AS, Braunwald E, Isselbacher KJ, Wilson JD, Martin JB, Kasper DL, et al, editors. Harrison's principles of internal medicine. 14th ed. New York: McGraw Hill; 1998

Horuk R, editor. Chemokine receptors. New York, NY: Academic Press; 1997 (Methods in enzymology; vol 288).

C. Referencing a book chapter

Harvard style for referencing a book chapter

Author Names should be written as for journal articles (section A above).

Year The year of publication, followed a full stop.

Title of chapter

The chapter title should be written as for journal article title (section A above).

Book details The word 'in' should be followed by the editors name (given with initials first, then surname), title and full publication details as laid out as for referencing a book (section B above).

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Greenhalgh, T. 2000, "Checklists for finding, appraising, and implementing evidence," in How to read a paper - the basics of evidence

Page 38: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

38

Harvard style for referencing a book chapter

based medicine, BMJ Publishing Group, London, pp. 177-179.

Haefner, H. 2004, "Negative symptoms and the assessment of neurocognitive treatment response," in R. S. E. Keefe & J. P. McEvoy, eds., Negative symptom and cognitive deficit treatment response in schizophrenia, American Psychiatric Association, Washington DC, pp. 85-110.

McGregor, I.A. 1976 “Epidemiology and control of malaria,” in Cruickshank, R., Standard, K. and Russell, H.B.L. (eds) Epidemiology and community health in warm climate countries. Churchill Livingstone, Edinburgh, UK.

Vancouver style for referencing a book chapter

Author Author names should be entered as for journal articles (section A above).

Title of chapter

The title should be entered as for journal article titles (section A above).

Book details The word 'In:' should be followed by the editors name, title and full publication details as laid out as for referencing a book (section A above).

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Greenhalgh T. Checklists for finding, appraising, and implementing evidence. In: How to read a paper - the basics of evidence based medicine. London: BMJ Publishing Group; 2000. p. 177-9.

Haefner H. Negative symptoms and the assessment of neurocognitive treatment response. In: Keefe RSE, McEvoy JP, editors. Negative symptom and cognitive deficit treatment response in schizophrenia. Washington DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2004. p. 85-110.

D. Referencing a thesis or dissertation

Harvard style for referencing a thesis or dissertation

Author Names should be written as for journal articles (section A above).

Year The year the degree was granted should be given.

Title of thesis

The full title should be entered as for journal article titles (section A above).

Details of degree

The degree level and university, separated by a comma.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Croser, C. 1997, Biochemical restriction of root extension under mechanical impedance, Thesis (PhD), University of Birmingham.

Deb, S. 1991, Psychopathology of adults with a mental handicap and epilepsy, Thesis (MA), University of Leicester.

Sabir N I (1984) Why do girls die more? Sex differences in growth and Child-rearing practices in a slum area in Lahore, MSc thesis, Institute of Child Health, University of London.

Vancouver style for referencing a thesis or dissertation

Author Author names should be entered as for journal articles (section A above).

Title of thesis

The full title should be entered as for journal article titles (section A above).

Details of degree

The degree level and university, separated by a full stop.

Year The year the degree was granted should be given, preceded by a semi colon.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Deb S. Psychopathology of adults with a mental handicap and epilepsy. MA thesis. Leicester: University of Leicester; 1991.

Page 39: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

39

Vancouver style for referencing a thesis or dissertation

Croser C. Biochemical restriction of root extension under mechanical impedance. PhD thesis. Birmingham UK: University of Birmingham; 1997.

E. Referencing reports or non-authored works Note that when citing a report or other publication which has no specific authors because it has been written „by‟ an organisation (such as a government publication, NGO report or other grey literature), then in Harvard style your in-text citation should use the name of the organisation in place of

an author – e.g. (CSIRO 1996). Anonymous works not originating from a

specific organisation are referred to by their title in parentheses – e.g. (A history of Greece 1994). However, these points are not relevant in Vancouver style.

Harvard style for referencing reports or non-authored works

Group author The organization responsible for the report should be spelt out in full. For reports „from‟ a subgroup of the originating body, e.g. a committee at the Department of Health, list the full title of the subgroup plus main organisation. For anonymous documents, the title should be listed first

followed by year of publication, and the item placed alphabetically in the reference list by the first word of the title.

Year The year of publication should be given, followed by a full stop.

Title of report The title should be given as on the title page and formatted using italic font. All principal words should be given initial capital letters. The title is followed by a full stop. If the item has a subtitle, distinguish it from the main title using a colon.

Report number

If the document has a specific report number or publication code, it should be listed.

Details of publication

The name of the main organization or institution which has produced the report (effectively the publisher), and place of publication should be given, separated by a colon. If more than one place is given, the first should be quoted.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Harvard style for referencing reports or non-authored works

Examples:

World Health Organisation (2008). World Health Report 2008: primary health care now more than ever. WHO, Geneva.

SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy (2004). Learning outcomes and information literacy. SCONUL, London.

Vancouver style for referencing reports or non-authored works

Group author The organization responsible for the report should be spelt out in full, followed by a full stop. For reports „from‟ a subgroup of the originating body, e.g. a committee at the Department of Health, list the full title of the subgroup plus main organisation. For anonymous documents, the title should be listed first.

Title of report The title should be given as on the title page, followed by a full stop. If the item has a subtitle this should be separated from the main title by a colon.

Details of publication

The place of publication and name of the organization or institution which has produced the report should be given, separated by a colon. If more than one place is given, the first should be quoted.

Report number

If the document has a specific report number or publication code, it should be listed.

Year The year of publication should be given, preceded by a semicolon and followed by a full stop.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

SCONUL Advisory Committee on Information Literacy. Learning outcomes and information literacy. London: SCONUL; 2004.

Page 40: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

40

F. Referencing online resources Guidelines for citing online information are constantly developing and subject to change. As a general rule, online resources should be cited in a similar way to printed publications, but with the addition of the date the resource was last viewed and the web address (URL). The following specific guidelines are adapted from recommendations of the US National Library of Medicine. Note that e-journals which are also available in printed format may be cited in the same way as a printed journal (section A above) – even if you accessed them over the web.

Harvard style for referencing online resources

Author names

Any identifiable author names should be given (as per section A above) – otherwise treat like a report or non-authored work (section E above). For anonymous web pages, the title should be listed first

followed by year of publication, and the item placed alphabetically in the reference list by the first word of the title.

Year The year of publication or copyright (as indicated on the web page) should be given, followed by a full stop.

Title of web page

The title of the page or resource should be given, in italics, followed by a full stop. It may be appropriate to combine the homepage title with that of the specific page or resource used.

„Online‟ identifier

Add the word [online] in square brackets followed by a comma to indicate that the source used was web-based.

Name of hosting institution

The name of the organization or institution responsible for the web page should be given (e.g. WHO, LSHTM, BBC), followed by a comma.

Place

The primary physical location (town/city) of the hosting organisation should be given where identifiable, followed by a comma then the country.

Date accessed

Indicate the date you accessed/viewed/downloaded the information. This is important because web-based information may change over time.

URL Give a direct link to the page or start page of the resource used.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Harvard style for referencing online resources

Examples:

National Institute for Clinical Excellence, 2001 Obesity: the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children, [online], NICE, London. Accessed 15 October 2007. http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG43

British Sociological Association, 1992. BSA statement of ethical practice: ratified by the Annual General Meeting of the British Sociological Association, April 1992, [online], British Sociological Association, Durham, UK. Viewed 29 January 2009. www.britsoc.co.uk/equality/Statement+Ethical+Practice.htm

Vancouver style for referencing online resources

Author names

Any identifiable author names should be given (as per section A above), followed by a full stop. Otherwise treat like a report or non-authored work (section E above). For anonymous web pages, the title should be listed first.

Title of web page

The title of the page or resource should be given, followed by a full stop. It may be appropriate to combine the homepage title with that of the specific page or resource used.

„Online‟ identifier

Add the word [online] in square brackets followed by a full stop to indicate that the source used was web-based.

Name of hosting institution

The name of the organization or institution responsible for the web page should be given (e.g. WHO, LSHTM, BBC), followed by a colon.

Place

The primary physical location (town/city, country) of the hosting organisation should be given where identifiable, followed by a semi-colon.

Year The year of publication or copyright (as indicated on the web page) should be given.

Date accessed

Indicate the date you accessed/viewed/downloaded the information. This is important because web-based information may change over time.

URL Give a direct link to the home page or start page of the resource used.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Page 41: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

41

Vancouver style for referencing online resources

Examples:

National Institute for Clinical Excellence. Obesity: the prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children [online]. NICE: London; 2006 [cited 15 Oct 2007]. Available from: URL: http://guidance.nice.org.uk/CG43

Newell A, Zlot A, Silvey K, Ariail K. Addressing the obesity epidemic: a genomics perspective. [online]. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Atlanta GA; 2007 Apr [cited 15 Oct 2007]; Available from: URL: http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2007/apr/06_0068.htm

G. Referencing conference proceedings

If the conference proceedings are published in a journal, the article should be cited as for a journal article, with the details of the conference given in the title as below.

If the proceedings have been published as chapters in a book then treat the entire proceedings as a book and individual presentations as book chapters, add details of the conference to the book title.

Otherwise, papers from conference proceedings which have not been published may be referenced as below but without the publication details.

Harvard style for referencing conference proceedings

Author Names should be written as for journal articles (section A above). If no author or editor is given on the title page the name of the conference is cited first, in italics.

Year of publication

Followed by a full stop.

Title of conference paper

The conference paper title should be written as for journal article title (section A above).

Title and location of conference

This should be formatted in italic font and separated from the title by a colon. It should be written in the format: Proceedings of the [year] [title of conference] held at [location of conference].

Publication Where proceedings have been published, the name of the

Harvard style for referencing conference proceedings

details publisher and place of publication should be given, separated by a colon. If more than one place is given, the first should be quoted.

Page numbers

Page numbers do not need to be preceded by 'p' or 'pp'. If you are referring to several pages, the first and last page numbers should be given. If you have cited information from a particular page, this should be given in brackets after the page numbers of the chapter.

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Zhou, T., Lu, Z.H. & Sun, X. 2005, The correlation between recombination rate and codon bias in yeast mainly results from mutational bias associated with recombination rather than Hill-Robertson interference: Proceedings of the 27th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society held in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. New York, IEEE. pp. 4787-4790.

Bhushan, S., Johnson, K.A., Eneqvist, T. & Glaser, E. 2006, Proteolytic mechanism of a novel mitochondrial and chloroplastic PreP peptidasome: Proceedings of the 4th General Meeting of the International-Proteolysis-Society/International Conference on Protease Inhibitors held in Quebec City, Canada. Biological Chemistry, vol. 387, no. 8, pp. 1087-1090.

Wattal, B.L. 1986, Entomological basis of human disease and loss in livestock – an ecological approach: Paper presented October 1986 at a Seminar in Entomology, University Grants Commission/Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, India.

Vancouver style for referencing conference proceedings

Author Author names should be entered as for journal articles (section A above).

Title of conference paper

The title should be entered as for journal article titles (section A above).

Conference details

This should be written in the format: Proceedings of the [year] [title of conference] held at [location of conference].

Page 42: potentially help you attain better grades. Academic Writing …dl.lshtm.ac.uk/programme/epp/docs/General resources... · and avoid plagiarism, or if you have not studied in UK higher

42

Vancouver style for referencing conference proceedings

Page numbers

Specific page numbers may be given as for journal articles (section A above).

Examples:

Zhou T, Lu ZH, Sun X. The correlation between recombination rate and codon bias in yeast mainly results from mutational bias associated with recombination rather than Hill-Robertson interference: Proceedings of the 27th Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society held in Shanghai, Peoples Republic of China. IEEE: New York; 2005. p. 4787-90.

Bhushan S, Johnson KA, Eneqvist T, Glaser E. Proteolytic mechanism of a novel mitochondrial and chloroplastic PreP peptidasome: Proceedings of the 4th General Meeting of the International-Proteolysis-Society/International Conference on Protease Inhibitors held in Quebec City, Canada. Biol Chem 2006;387(8):1087-90.

H. Referencing tables and figures Your work may potentially include photographs, diagrams or graphs etc. (known as „figures‟), or tables of data or text, that are the work of others. These must have their provenance clearly indicated through a citation and reference.

If you are reproducing a „text box‟ or a list of bullet-points from another work, you can present it either as a straightforward piece of quoted text (giving a clear and appropriate citation), or as a labelled table (with an equally clear indication of the source).

Tables of data, e.g. published demographic information, also need to be referenced as clearly as you would any direct text quotation.

However tables, text boxes or lists that are entirely your own work do not need a citation or reference.

If you are using a photo you have taken yourself, you should indicate its provenance by giving a citation with your name, an approximate date or year, the location of the photo setting, and any other details that may be relevant. You do not need to give a reference in the reference list.

If you are using a photo taken by a personal contact (e.g. a colleague at a field site) who has given you permission to use it, you should cite that individual as the source and also include date and location. If the photo is relevant to the academic content of your work (e.g. a photo of a parasite you are studying), you should also give a full reference in your reference list. However if the photo is simply for visual interest, you do not need to list it in your reference list (see sub-section on „off-topic references‟ in chapter 2).

If you are reproducing an image/photo/diagram/graph or similar from a public source, you should cite and reference it in the format relevant to the source you took it from – e.g. a journal-format reference for a graph originally published in a journal article; a web-format reference for an anatomical diagram you found on the internet. For example, an image taken from the LSHTM photo-library might be cited as:

Figure 3, Larval tapeworms from a case of sparganosis

Reproduced from LSHTM Photolibrary, file PL-6116.tif (2009) London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, London, UK. Downloaded 22 July 2010. www.lshtm.ac.uk/library/archives/photolibrary.html

Also remember that if you find images using a search engine like „Google images‟, you need to click through to identify the original source and cite that – do not cite Google images (this principle applies to absolutely anything you find using a search engine).