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citation guide analysis mastering academic integrity
Concise Guide to APA Style: 7th Edition (OFFICIAL)
Page 204 Review
Analyzing Citation Practices: A Deep Dive into Academic Integrity
In academic writing, proper citation is paramount to maintaining integrity and giving credit where it’s due.
This analysis delves into specific sections of a guide on citation practices, focusing on personal communications, classroom resources, and interviews.
Personal Interviews and Their Role in Research
The text distinguishes between different types of interviews, each requiring a different approach to citation.
As stated, “Personal interviews are those you conducted to obtain information to support a key point in your paper (e.g., an email inquiry to an author about their published work).” These interviews, because they are not retrievable by the reader, are treated as personal communications.
This is distinct from “Research participant interviews are those you conducted as part of your study methodology,” which do not require citation because the research itself is being reported for the first time.
This distinction is crucial.
Citing personal communications ensures transparency, acknowledging the source of information that readers cannot independently verify.
The guide clarifies, “They do not require a citation because you do not cite your own work in the paper in which you first report it.
However, information gathered from research par- participant interviews can be presented and discussed in a paper; for guidelines, see Section 8.36 of the Publication Manual.” The nuances between these two types of interviews highlight the importance of understanding the context and purpose of the information being cited.
Navigating Classroom and Intranet Resources
The accessibility of a source dictates how it should be cited.
The text emphasizes that if “the audience you are writing for can retrieve the works you used, cite the works using the formats shown in Chapter 10, which are organized according to reference group and category.” This applies to resources found on classroom websites, learning management systems (LMS) like Canvas or Blackboard, or company intranets.
These resources are accessible to a limited audience, such as students in a class or employees within a company.
The provided excerpt offers clear instructions on how to handle these situations. “For example, to cite a recorded lecture or PowerPoint presenta- tion available from a classroom website or LMS, follow the format shown in Chapter 10, Example 90.
The source element of these ref- erences includes the name of the classroom website or LMS and the URL (which should be the home page or login page for sites with restricted access).
Likewise, for a report on a company intranet, fol- low the report formats shown in Section 10.4.” However, the guideline also notes that “if the work is for professional publication or intended for a wider audience who will not have access to these sources, cite the sources as personal communications (see Section 8.9).” This highlights the importance of considering the audience when choosing the appropriate citation method.
Personal Communications: When Retrieval is Impossible
The text defines personal communications as “Works that cannot be recovered by readers (i.e., works without a source element; see Section 9.4) are cited in the text as personal com- munications.
Personal communications include emails, text messages…” Because these sources are not publicly available, they are cited differently.
The absence of a recoverable source necessitates in-text citation only.
Integrating the person’s name into the narrative is encouraged where possible: “case, integrate the person’s name into the narrative of the sen- tence if desired (see Chapter 10, Example 77).” This provides context and acknowledges the source of the information directly within the text, since a full reference is not possible.
This approach maintains transparency and acknowledges the contribution of the individual even when the source itself is inaccessible to the reader.
Conclusion: A Framework for Ethical Citation
These excerpts provide a valuable framework for navigating the complexities of citation.
By understanding the accessibility of sources and the nature of different types of communication, researchers and students can ensure their work is both accurate and ethical.
The guide emphasizes the importance of considering the audience and the retrievability of sources when deciding on the appropriate citation method.
This detailed approach fosters academic integrity and promotes clear and transparent communication of research findings.
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