Dissertation references are scholarly sources or supporting content pieces cited to back your research arguments in a paper. They provide evidence, scholarly context, and acknowledgement of the works consulted during the study. References typically include books, journal articles, websites, and other relevant publications cited in the dissertation.
“In a dissertation, references refer to the sources and citations used to support and validate the research.”
Writing a dissertation can be challenging, especially if you haven’t had the chance to write a dissertation before. You need to look into relevant literature, analyse past research, conduct surveys, interviews, etc. and also reference and cite information that you’ve gathered from different sources. To move towards how to best use references in dissertations correctly.
How to Add Best References in a Dissertation/Thesis?
To make sure that ideal references are used appropriately in dissertations, here are a few ways that you can follow:
Research Relevant Studies
Depending on the topic of your dissertation, make sure to research and look into similar researches that have been conducted in the past. In addition to this, you could also read, analyze and review researches that have utilized the same model or talk about the same theory as you are applying in your dissertation.
Doing so will add a lot of value to your dissertation and you will be able to include models and theories with correct references and citations.
Shortlist Recent Studies
As important as relevant studies are for your dissertation, including recent studies only is equally important. Using reference in a dissertation that belong to the past five to ten years are acceptable; however, using references of the 1980s or 1990s is not recommended.
The main reason being changes in time, settings, environment, participants, etc. All these factors contribute a lot towards accurate conclusions, thus they are regarded as essential when using a study for reference purposes.
Also, writing a dissertation in the current setting, considering the current environment, only recent researches must be included in the dissertation. This gives readers the idea that the research that has been conducted is recent.
Also Read: How to avoid plagiarism in an academic paper
How Can ResearchProspect Help?
ResearchProspect writers can send several custom topic ideas to your email address. Once you have chosen a topic that suits your needs and interests, you can order for our dissertation outline service which will include a brief introduction to the topic, research questions, literature review, methodology, expected results, and conclusion. The dissertation outline will enable you to review the quality of our work before placing the order for our full dissertation writing service!
Cite/Reference while Writing
Many of us are guilty of extracting information from various sources when writing without noting down the reference. As a result, we lose track of that particular reference and end up spending hours looking for that specific article or research.
Thus, you should always note down the reference as soon as you refer to it in your dissertation or when you include data or information. In this manner, you will have a complete list of references that you’ve used when you’ve finished writing your dissertation.
Also, doing so will save you a lot of your time, and you will be able to finish your dissertation without any delays.
Know when and where to Cite
Remember the hours you spent looking for the statistics or the specific piece of information that you mentioned in your dissertation, but forgot to cite? This usually happens when the deadline is nearing, and we’re in a hurry to complete our dissertation.
However, you should always keep in mind that when you rush things, you tend to spend a lot more time than needed. Thus, whenever you’re mentioning a fact, statistics, or a particular piece of information that is exact and accurate, always cite it.
Not doing so will keep your readers in doubt whether the statistic or number mentioned is accurate or not. On the other hand, if you cite those exact numbers, readers will have the impression that you have done your research, and they can even crosscheck it by referring to your citation.
Choose the Correct Referencing Style
There are various referencing styles. Depending on your university and other requirements, the right referencing style is chosen and conveyed to you.
What you should make sure of is understanding the required referencing style, so you can cite accurately. A Harvard style referencing style example includes a reference list with the name of authors, the journal or book name, the publisher’s name, and the date and the page number.
When citing the exact words of an author or when defining a theory or model, make sure that you include the page number as they are required for direct quotations.
If, in case you do not understand any of the referencing styles, you should either follow the guidelines provided by your tutor or you can also search the internet for your required referencing style.
What to Do If You Are Not Familiar With Referencing Style?
If, in case you do not understand any of the referencing styles, you should either follow the guidelines provided by your tutor, or you can also search the internet for your required referencing style.
With time, new editions of referencing styles have been introduced to make sure that all thesis and dissertations follow the same pattern. Thus, make it a practice to crosscheck your referencing style from the internet to make sure that you’re following the latest format and edition.
Proofread your Reference List
This is one of the most important, but often most ignored aspects when looking at how to use references correctly. Your reference list should be sorted as soon as you finish writing your dissertation.
For instance, it should be alphabetically arranged, the number of references should be appropriate for the dissertation, and should be free from all types of errors such as formatting, grammatical and style.
The correct style should be followed, the reference list should be properly formatted and proofread to eliminate all errors. An ideal list of reference examples includes correct mention of the author name, year of publication, and name of the book.
Aspects to be Considered for Creating a Perfect References List
An ideal list of reference examples includes correct mention of the author’s name, year of publication, and name of the book.
The publisher’s name should be italicized and the page number should also be mentioned. For academic journals, mentioning volume and issue number is mandatory. All these aspects should be considered to make sure that an accurate reference list is prepared for your dissertation.
Crosscheck your Citations
When citing your dissertation, you need to make sure that your text corresponds with the in-text citation that you’re including. Not doing so will make your research unreliable and unauthentic.
Readers will get an impression that the in-text citations have been included just for the sake of it, instead of being related to the text and information that is being mentioned.
Thus, the best in-text citation example includes the name of the author along with the year of publication. If there is a direct quote or a definition included in the exact words of the author, then the page number must be also indicated while citing.
Make sure that all your in-text citations are in line with the information that has been presented and discussed in the paper.
How Many References to Use in Your Dissertation?
‘How many references should I use for my dissertation? This is a question that most students ask experts. They usually get confused when it comes to the number of references that should be used in a dissertation. There’s no right number of references that should be used in a dissertation.
It depends on the topic, the academic level of the dissertation, and the literature review that is being presented.
Also, the models and theories used in the paper contribute to the total number of references. Ideally, it is recommended that every paragraph of 100 words or more should have a reference; however, this is not required or mandatory in all cases.
FAQs About References in a Dissertation
Old papers are usually outdated in terms of significance and impact. Therefore, you must look for recent papers to cite in your dissertation.
Without citation, it looks like you are presenting someone else’s words as your views idea, which will eventually count as plagiarism.
Moreover, the citations increase the credibility and accuracy of the information presented in the paper.
There are many referencing styles available to pick from, such as MLA, APA, Harvard referencing style, etc. You must check with your university preferences to choose one. However, most UK universities prefer Harvard referencing style.
