Main Library of Warsaw University of Technology - Instructions for authors of scientific papers, dissertations, theses

Instructions for authors of scientific papers, dissertations, theses

Each scientific paper should contain a list of documents (e.g. books, articles), used by the author while writing the paper, ordered alphabetically or using other categories (such as document types). Such list, called bibliography or end-of-work bibliography or list of references, is a ready source of literature on the subject and is an expression of honesty of the author. Bibliography should be placed at the end of each chapter or the end of the paper. The basic element of any bibliography is a bibliographic description - information about the document (e.g. chapter in a book, journal article, conference paper, website) needed for the identification, put in a strict sequence.

I. Why cite sources?

Whenever you quote or base your ideas on another person's work, you must document the source you used. Even when you do not quote directly from another work, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you must give the authors’ proper credit.

II. Citations and Footnotes

Naturally, when you write a thesis, you work with other people’s publications. In such case you will have to list your sources and describe them accurately. Documenting your sources is always important, especially when using citations, numbers or illustrations
Citations allow readers to locate and further explore the sources you consulted, show the depth and scope of your research, and give credit to authors for their ideas. Citations provide evidence for your arguments and add credibility to your work by demonstrating that you have sought out and considered a variety of resources. In written academic work, citing sources is standard practice and shows that you are responding to this person, agreeing with that person, and adding something of your own. Think of documenting your sources as providing a trail for your reader to follow to see the research you performed and discover what led you to your original contribution.

III. There are different ways to invoke cited theses:

You can cite literally, but then you have to separate the citation from your own text.
In case you want to shorten the citation, please replace the part you want to leave out like this (…)

Example:

Advances in physics often translate to the technological sector, and sometimes influence the other sciences, as well as mathematics and philosophy. [27].

Shortened version:

Advances in physics often translate to the technological sector(.) as well as mathematics and philosophy. [27].

The number given at the end of the citation indicates the position of the source in the bibliography.

You can refer to somebody’s ideas, publications, etc. in various ways, e.g.:

Example:

As Kwiatkowski wrote in [7] (…)

The number [7] informs us that we can find the title of the book written by Kwiatkowski in the list of references.

If the author wants to give additional information about his own text, she/he can do it using footnotes.

IV. How do you cite sources?

Citations within your text link specific fragments to the sources you consulted or quoted. This can be done through in-text brackets notes, footnotes, or endnotes. In addition, a bibliography or list of works cited is almost always placed at the end of your paper. The citation style and format you use will be determined by the style you choose. Only one bibliographic style format should be used for the entire paper

See more - examples of citation styles:

Oxford:

http://www.deakin.edu.au/current-students/study-support/study-skills/handouts/oxford-docnote.php#about_this_resource_62_1

Harvard:

http://education.exeter.ac.uk/dll/studyskills/harvard_referencing.htm