Referencing
time to complete: 5-10 minutes
To check if you have referenced correctly, please refer to the University of Sheffield Library Guide to referencing and check which reference style your department requires you to use:
University of Sheffield Library Guide to Referencing
Another thing to check whether you have used an appropriate reporting verb or phrase.
Task: Look at this example of a paraphrase from a management article. Notice the references, the use of punctuation and the use of reporting verbs.
Deutsch (1973, 1980) proposed that how team members consider their goals are related very much affects how people interact and their patterns of interaction affects outcomes. Goals may be structured so that people promote the goals of others, obstruct the goals of others or pursue their interests without regard for the success or failure of others. Deutsch identified these alternatives as cooperation, competition and independence. These goal structures are theorized to influence expectations and interactions and thereby to affect such outcomes as task completion and relationship attitudes.
Adapted from Chen & Tjosvold (2014)
Notice how the writer has used the reporting verbs in a way that explains the meaning more clearly:
Deutsch (1973, 1980) proposed that… (proposal to follow)
Deutsch identified these alternatives as… (list of the alternatives to follow)
Therefore, the reader can understand both the reason for paraphrasing this section, and how it fits into the paragraph/argument. Also note that the second mention of the author (Deutsch) does not require dates as it is the same text being paraphrased throughout the paragraph*.
*Always check your department’s referencing guidelines.