Presenting evidence

One of the themes that has featured in all of our lectures on the course has been the importance of using the work, ideas and research of others to inform your own thinking and arguments - 'evidence, evidence, evidence'. In doing this, it is essential that you acknowledge these sources of information and inspiration, whether that be in a written assignment, oral discussion or other forms of academic work or assessment.

During our lecture on Wednesday 21 June, we'll look at what 'presenting evidence' means, why it matters, introduce you to a referencing style (Harvard) and practical strategies for referencing effectively. Within our class-based and online materials we are also going to touch on the area of plagiarism, i.e. what happens when you fail to acknowledge others' work.
These are Presenting Evidence lecture slides.

Whilst Harvard is a standard referencing system, there are still slight differences in how it is applied. We will be using the Open University's guide to Harvard referencing on our course. Follow the link below for the guidelines.

OU Harvard guide to citing references
Academics and Tutors from different subjects and universities share their thoughts and experiences of presenting evidence at university.
Undergraduate students share their thoughts and experiences of what presenting evidence means to them in their studies.
Film credits: Scott Willis/Aarol Films
This week's quiz tackles the theme of plagiarism and builds upon our class-based discussion. On the basis that most incidences of plagiarism are accidental, it's worthwhile revisiting what plagiarism means in practice (in its various forms).
    This is NOT an assessed exercise however it would be useful for us to know who has completed the exercise (irrespective of the response you give). By submitting this answer, you are agreeing to our data policy agreement which you can view here.
During this week's lecture, we explained that the preferred referencing style can vary between different subject areas within the same university. Even then, it isn't simply a case of assuming that once you've got the hang of a particular citation style (e.g. Harvard) that this is enough. Firstly, the interpretation of a system can vary between departments. Second, as new types of media become available, so it is necessary to devise new ways of acknowledging these sources. The variety of preferred referencing systems can be seen in the guidance that University of Portsmouth offers its students. Unfortunately, not all universities will outline their expectations for referencing with the same level of clarity as the University of Portsmouth therefore you might need to do a little bit of investigative work when completing your first assignment.

There are lots of online reference 'builders' or 'generators' such as Cite This For Me or Neil's toolbox. While these resources seem to offer a quick solution to referencing, just as per using a spellcheck, it's worth checking the accuracy of the references that these tools create (bearing in mind that staff may have particular preferences that an online resource cannot anticipate). One other more conventional resource you might use is Cite Them Right.

Finally, we're going to venture into the World of the Strange with this film about plagiarism from the University of Bergen which includes explosions and moments of exposed flesh - you have been warned! Take it away... 
Heard a new or unfamiliar phrase in this week's session that you don't understand? You might find a definition in the glossary.