Citing sources in written assignments

These pages provide information on the use of sources and how to avoid plagiarism. As a student of the University of Agder, you are obligated to become familiar with the rules that apply to citing various types of sources in the written assignments that you submit for evaluation.

When you as a student work on a written homework assignment, you must draw on insight and knowledge gained from various sources. Required literature will often be a central source, but you may also use other academic literature and other types of sources, such as brochures, websites and images.

You can search for literature and other written sources in the library, in databases and on the Internet. Ask your instructor or a librarian for help in finding good sources.

På disse nettsidene får du en innføring i kildebruk

Written assignments must meet the standards of academic integrity required for scientific work. This means that your work needs to be verifiable, and that you acknowledge other authors' work. In order to fulfill these requirements, your assignment must include a bilbliography, meaning a list of literature or references, which provides a complete overview of all texts and other sources you have used. Within the text, you must refer to the sources that form the basis of the information, theories and arguments you present.

The purpose of citing sources is to make clear what you have taken from sources and what are your own analyses, interpretations and conclusions.

Bibliography: literature and reference list

The bibliography should be placed at the end of the assignment. It should contain all of the sources you have used in the assignment and cited in your text.

Citing sources

There are various systems for citing sources (referring to sources) within the text.

Quoting sources

Sometimes it is appropriate to quote or summarize a paragraph or section from a source. Short sections can be quoted directly, indirectly or summarized.

Published by Clare Patricia Jortveit <clare.jortveitSPAMFILTER@uia.no>,Henry Langseth <henry.langsethSPAMFILTER@uia.no> 19/12/2011

Your obligations

As a student of UiA, you are obligated to learn the rules that apply to how to cite sources of various types in the written work you submit for evaluation. In return, it is your department's obligation to give you the guidance you need to feel secure that you are following sound and acceptable practice in terms of citing of sources. Ask your advisor if you are in doubt.

What counts as cheating?

If you fail to provide the sources of texts taken from literature, articles, or the Internet in a written assignment (home examination or mandatory written assignment), you are committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is cheating.