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REPORT WRITING CITATION & APA STYLE

Dr. Rohit Vishal KumarAssociate Professor, Department of MarketingXavier Institute of Social ServicePO Box No 7, Dr. Camil Bulckle PathRanchi – 834001, Jharkhand, IndiaEmail: rohitvishalkumar@gmail.com

Introduction to Report

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What is a Report?� Is a written document describing the findings of some research study

� Why is Report Important?� The report is the form which contains the entire aspect of the research study� It is the delivery tool using which we deliver the outcome of the study� Report is seen by many people and hence judged by many people

If the report is UNREADABLEThen the research is a FAILURE

Aspects of Report Evaluation� A report is evaluated on many criterion

� Some of the key criterion are:

� Completeness� It should provide all the information� It should not be too long or too short

� Accuracy� The contents should be accurate� Data, interpretation and conclusion should reflect the accuracy

� Clarity� The report should be written in simple and lucid language� Concepts should be presented in clear and simple terms

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The Parts of a Summer Project Report� Title Page

� Table of Contents

� List of Figures

� List of Tables

� Acknowledgement

� Executive Summary

� 1. Company Profile

� 2. Problem Statement

� 3. Research Methodology� Research Objectives� Research Design & Methodology� Population� Sampling Frame� Sampling Unit� Sample Size� Sampling Procedure

� Details about the Questionnaire� Plan for Data Collection� Plan for Data Analysis

� 4. Results of Data Analysis

� 5. Conclusion

� 6. Recommendations

� 7. Limitations of Survey

� Annexures� Copy of the Questionnaire� Detailed Calculations (if any)� Other Material (if any)� Bibliography

Good Aspects (1/2)� Always get the report typed on A-4 Paper

� 1 inch margin on Top, Right and Bottom of the Page

� 1.5 inch margin on the left side of the page

� Each page to have a page number� Title page does not have any page number but is counted as page no. i� Front matter pages to be numbered in small Roman numbers (ii,iii,iv …)� From Executive Summary use Arabic numbers (1,2,3,…) till the end

� 1-half or double spacing between lines

� Font-size guidelines are as follows:

�Chapter Titles (18 point, Sans Serif font)� Section Titles (16 point, Bold, Sans Serif font)� Sub-Section Titles (14 point, Bold, Sans Serif font)� Body Text (12 point, Serif font)

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Good Aspects (2/2)� Avoid Excessive Use of Colours

� Use colours only for graphs

� Number Tables and Figures with the following format� Table Chapter . Serial No� Fig. Chapter . Serial No� For Example:

� Table 2.1: Food Production in Jharkhand� Fig. 6.4: Market Share of Mutual Funds Companies

� Give Source in footer for figures and tables

� Keep Summer Project Report within 50 – 75 pages

Introduction to Citation

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What is Citation?� Citation is the process of telling the readers of your report that certain

materials of your report came from another source

� Citation gives enough information to the reader to find the source again

� Why Should I Cite?� To give credit to the original author� Allows others to find out more about the ideas and where they came from� It gives strength to your arguments� It shows the amount of research work you have done� Helps distinguish your original ideas from established ideas

� When Should I Cite?� We use a Quote� We paraphrase� We use an idea that someone else has already expressed� We make specific reference to the work of others� When someone else’s idea is critical to development of our own Idea

What if I don’t Cite?

PLAGIARISM

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What if I don’t Cite?� You are indulging in Plagiarism

� Effectively it means:� Copying Someone else’s Ideas and Passing it off as your own

� What is considered as Plagiarism:� Submitting someone else’s Ideas as your own� Copying Words / Ideas without giving credit� Failing to put quotation marks (“…”) in a quotation� Giving incorrect information about the source of idea

� Is Plagiarism enforceable by Law?� The Simple Answer is YES� Laws related to Plagiarism vary from country to country

Citation Styles� Two broad styles of citation styles are available:

� Numeric Citation Style� Uses Numbers to refer to the Citation� More prominently followed in Natural Sciences� Flow of text claimed to be more natural� Easier for a reader to quickly identify the citation because it is normally

arranged in the order in which the citation is used

� In-line Citation Style� Uses the Author-Date Method of Citation� More prominently followed in Social Sciences� Propagates the use of passive voice (Third Person Style)� More difficult to follow than the numbered style because it is alphabetically

arranged

APA is an In-line Citation StyleDeveloped by the American Psychological Association

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Learning to Cite – Part I� Consider the following lines which has been taken from an article:

“Colors have been used successfully for marketing purpose the world over. Coca-Cola owns a huge part of its success to it’s visual identity. A flash of red and a curved white line is enough to get people thinking about their favorite cold drink”

� The following are the details about the lines:� Main Author : Rohit Vishal Kumar� Second Author : Radhika Joshi� Article Title : Colors, Colors Everywhere… In Marketing Too� Journal Published : SCMS Journal of Indian Management� Volume : 3� Issue : IV� Date of Publication : October-December 2006� Page Numbers : 40 to 46

If I use the above line in my work, then how do I give details about from where have I taken the material?

Learning to Cite - II� Numeric Citation Style:

� Consider the Following:

It has been argued that colors have been used successfully for marketing purpose the world over. For example, a red and a curved white line is enough identify coca-cola. [1]

Bibliography:

1. Kumar, R.V. and R. Joshi, Color Color Everywhere: In Marketing Too. SCMS Journal of Management, 2006. III(IV) pp. 40-46.

� In-line Citation Style:� Consider the Following:

It has been argued that colors have been used successfully for marketing purpose the world over. For example, a red and a curved white line is enough identify coca-cola. (Kumar & Joshi, 2006)

Bibliography:

Kumar, R. V., & Joshi, R. (2006). Color Color Everywhere: In Marketing Too. SCMS Journal of Management, III(IV) pp. 40-46.

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The Various Parts� Citation:

� Is done in the body of the text

� Reference:� The exact details of the work used, which will help others to locate the original

work again� Each Reference has a 1:1 correspondence with each and every citation

used in the text

� Bibliography:� The collection of all the “references” used in the text� Confusingly, the term “Reference” is also applied to Bibliography

APA Style of CitationReference Guide

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Citing Journals & Articles� No or Anonymous Author:

� Citation : (“Annual Smoking”, 2002)� Reference:

Annual Smoking attributable mortality, United States 1995-1999. (2002), Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 51, 300-303

� Reference Skeleton:Full Name of the Report, (Year of Publication), Who Published the Report, Vol. Issue No, Page No

� Single Author:� Citation : (Abelson, 1997)� Reference:

Abelson, R.P.(1997), On the Longevity of Flogged Horses as compared to Domesticated Horses, Psycological Sciences, 8, 12-15

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials (Year of Publication), Title of the Article, Journal in Which Published, Vol. Issue No, Page No

Citing Journals & Articles� Two Authors:

� Citation : (Kumar & Joshi, 2006)� Reference:

Kumar, R. V., & Joshi, R. (2006). Color Color Everywhere: In Marketing Too. SCMS Journal of Management, III(IV) pp. 40-46

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials & Last Name, Initials, (Year of Publication), Title of the Article, Journal in Which Published, Vol. No (Issue No.), Pa ge Nos.

� Three to Five Author:� First Citation: (Miller, Emanuel, Rosenstein, & Straus, 2004)� Next Citation (Miller et. al. 2004)� Reference:

Miller, F. G., Emanuel, E. J., Rosenstein, D. L., & Straus, S. E. (2004). Ethical issues concerning research in complementary and alternative medicine, Journal of American Medical Association, 291, 599-604

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials [For all the Authors] (Year of Publication), Title of the Article, Journal in Which Published, Vol. No, Page No

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Citing Journals & Articles� Six or More Authors:

� Citation : (Mokdad et al., 2001)� Reference:

Mokdad, A. H., Bowman, B. A., Ford, E. S., Vinicor, F., Marks, J. S., & Koplan, J. P. (2001). The continuing epidemics of obesity and diabetes in the U.S. JAMA, 286, 1195-1200

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials [For First Six Authors] [et. al from the Seventh Author], (Year of Publication), Title of the Article, Journal in W hich Published, Vol. No (Issue No.), Page Nos.

� Trivia� pp. : pages� et al. : “et alia” (and other people)� If the Journal is well established journal, the Acronym of the Journal Name

can be written in the reference. For example JAMA instead of Journal of American Medical Association

Citing Unusual Sources� Magazines:

� Citation : (Wilson, 1998)� Reference:

Wilson, E.O. (1998, March), Back From Chaos, Atalantic Monthly, 281, 41-62

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials, (Year of Publication, Issue of Publication), Title of the Article, Magazine Name, Vol. No (Issue No.), Page Nos.

� Computer Software:� Citation : (Kumar, 2007)� Reference:

Kumar, A., (2007), Zimzim Statistical Software (Version 2.00) [Computer Software], Available From www.anulika.com

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials, (Year of Release), Title of th e Software, (Version), [Computer Software], Available from Website URL

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Citing Unusual Sources� Website :

� Citation : (Dewey, 2002)� Reference:

Dewey, R. A., (2002), Psych Web, Retreived February 18, 2002 from www.psywww.com

� Reference Skeleton:Last Name, Initials, (Year of Publication), Title o f the Webpage, Retreival Date, From Website (Full URL).

Citing New Age MaterialTHE FOLLOWING ARE NOT CONSIDERED AS PROPER CITATION

� Any Search Engine: www.google.com etc.

� Any Online Encyclopedia: ww.wikipedia.com etc.

� The First Level of Website: www.xiss.ac.in etc.

� Any Social Media Website: www.facebook.com etc.

� Golden Rule for Internet Citation:� Give the Entire URL of the exact webpage

Wikipedia contributors (2010, January). 'No comment ', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia,<http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=No_commen t&oldid=405724639 > [accessed 23 February 2011]

World Economic Forum. (2010, September). ‘The Globa l Competitiveness Report 2010-2011’ <http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_GlobalCompetitivenessReport_2010-11.pdf >[Accessed October 23, 2010]

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