Citing Sources Part#2

Salam Sejahtera dan Salam Ramadan. Minggu Lepas, saya ada bercerita tentang Plagiarism. Kali ini kita bersambung lagi di dalam artikel ilmiah kita yang seterusnya. Mohon maaf kerana terpaksa menulis di dalam bahasa Inggeris. Bukan semua pelajar OUM, tahu cakap Melayu dan bukan semua adalah orang Malaysia. Untuk menfaat bersama, termasuklah mereka yang diluar sana, saya tulis dalam BI.

The Importance of Making Citation
To avoid plagiarism or being accused of plagiarising works of another people, you should always cite ALL the sources you have referred. Whenever you are copying or quoting works of another person or even restructuring another persons’ idea into your own words, you will always have to cite its source.

Generally speaking, citation is done for these 3 reasons

  1. To give credit to your sources
  2. To tell your potential readers the materials you have used
  3. And finally, to guide readers to the materials you have used so they can confirm, challenge or expand it further.

These 3 simple but great reasons are vital in every academic writings. First of all, you are doing yourself a favour by avoiding plagiarism, a serious offence in any prestigious Learning Institutions.

Crediting Your Sources
How would you feel if someone took your ideas and writings and published it without giving you proper credit? How would you feel if anyone took your belongings without even asking? That is a simple analogy of why you must give credit to your sources. When you are using someone else’s ideas or writings, you will need to give credit where it is due. It is a form of courtesy and responsibility and when using another person’s words and ideas, it is important that you give proper credit to acknowledge or recognise that person. Remember that it is a serious offence to plagiarise works of another person which may be lead to several consequences that you never want in the first place.

Telling Others of Your Sources
Citation will help others to locate your sources. What you have used or what you have taken from another person’s works, you will have to tell. This will enable us or any other readers to locate your materials and sources. Where did you get that information? Obviously, you are referring to someone else’s work. Positively, citing your sources will strengthen the credibility of your work. When forming your ideas and conclusion, citation will show that you have done your work thoroughly by considering ideas and opinions of other people.

Promoting Research and Conforming Your Ideas
In academic world, there are some individuals will refuse to accept your ideas or conclusions without authenticating or confirming your ideas. These doubtful readers will not accept your findings and conclusions unless you provide them with proof and supporting ideas. Your citations are the key pointers of your findings and conclusions. Citation is a form of cross-reference between your ideas and your sources. Furthermore, citation will provide your reader the opportunity to build on your work. Readers may want to follow-up on some of your source material. A good citation will enable a reader to find this material more easily.

Reference

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