Wang Lei has already finished his dissertation weeks before the deadline in late May, but the 21-year-old student at Beijing Information Science and Technology University feels no relief as his thesis still needs to pass the plagiarism test.
21岁的王磊(音)是北京信息科技大学的学生,他们学校提交毕业学位论文的截止日期在五月下旬。虽然很早就完成了论文,但是他仍然很紧张,因为论文还需要通过相似性检测。
“I used a lot of material, but I forgot the sources, so I’m afraid I won’t pass,” he says.
他说:“我借鉴了太多材料,已经不记得出处了,所以我很担心自己的论文不能通过检测。”
Many of Wang’s peers share the same concerns. They write their theses without referencing the sources they use. As a result, when the test results come out, they have to rewrite part of their theses. In order to avoid such a situation, scholars suggest students familiarize themselves with citation and referencing styles, and start taking notes of their sources at an early stage.
无独有偶,很多大学生都为此而困扰。因为他们在写论文时没有列出所有使用文献的出处,于是,相似性结果出来后,他们又得重写论文的某些部分。为了避免这种情况,一些学者建议大学生们应熟悉引用书目与参考文献的规范,在写论文伊始就记录好文献出处。
Important differences
举足轻重的不同之处
Yu Zhejun, a lecturer of philosophy at Fudan University, used to offer thesis-writing lectures to students in his department. As he observed, many students know very little about referencing styles.
于哲君(音)是复旦大学历史系的讲师,曾会为他们学院的学生讲授论文写作。正如他所见,很多学生都对参考书目的书写规范不甚了解。
“The papers they submit often include several styles of referencing,” he says. “Often they can’t even tell the difference between references and the bibliography.”
他说:“学生交上来的论文往往夹杂着好几种参考文献的格式,他们经常连引用书目与参考文献都分不清。”
As Yu explains, the bibliography is the complete list of material consulted for the thesis, while the references explain the exact source and location of the material cited in the paper. There are two major styles of referencing that are commonly used in dissertations, namely Chicago style and Harvard style. (see below)
正如于老师的解释,参考文献一般是写论文中所有参考到的文献,而引用书目则是论文中引用的准确出处以及引用文字在原文献中的位置(页码)。一般而言,学位论文的引用书目有两种格式,一种是芝加哥格式,一种是哈佛格式(详见下文)。
“As soon as you start reading for your dissertation, it is crucial to make detailed notes of what you’ve read and its sources,” he says. Since anything students read could become part of their thesis, having such detailed notes will avoid plagiarism in the writing phase.
他还说,“你一旦开始为写论文阅读文献,就需要详细记录所有看过的文献及其出处,这很重要。”因为学生读过的任何内容都有可能会成为其论文一部分,做详细的记录将避免他们在写作环节出现抄袭的困扰。
Focus on research
专注于研究
When it comes to writing a dissertation, Zhang Jin, professor of history at Nanjing Normal University, says many students struggle with citations.
来自南京师范大学的张金教授(音)说,对于许多学生而言,只要一写论文,就会因为引用书目而苦苦纠结。
One of the most frequent mistakes they make is giving indirect sources. “They cite something that quotes the same thing from another source,” he says. “In such cases, the right procedure is to find the original source and reference it.”
在他看来,最常见的问题就是“二次引用”,“他们会引用其他文献中引用的内容。而在这种情况下,找到原出处并引用原文才是正确之道。”
Another major mistake students often make is being disrespectful of originality. For example, if they find an idea useful, they don’t bother to find out who suggested it, but simply refer to the material in which they read about it, according to Zhang.
而不尊重原创性则是学生常犯的另一个主要错误。比如,如果学生发现了一个可用的观点,他们会不管这一观点究竟出自何人之口,就只是列出他看到出现过这一观点的文献。
Such details are what matter the most in undergraduate dissertations, he says. “We don’t expect students to submit papers with great ideas. Instead, they should learn how to write papers and conduct research properly,” he says. Zhang believes that, ultimately, writing a thesis is research training for college students.
张教授还说,“这些细节性问题在本科毕业论文中最多。我们并不指望学生们的论文阐述了多少伟大的观点,相反,我们希望他们能学会如何正确地写论文、做研究。”他认为,说到底,写论文正是对大学生科研能力的一种锻炼。
Choose a style and stick to it
选择一种格式,并应用到底
Chicago style: It is a method of citation commonly used in the art field. Students can find a quick guide to this style at www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
芝加哥格式:该格式一般用于文科领域的论文引用。可参考网页:www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
Harvard style: It is a widely used referencing system. According to Yu Zhejun, a lecturer of philosophy at Fudan University, in China this system is more commonly used by science students.
哈佛格式:该格式广泛使用于论文引用。根据复旦大学讲师于哲君的说法,国内的理科生大多采用这种格式。
Other material: Students can find advice on references and citations in Introduction to the Study of Chinese Ancient History, a book by Rong Xinjiang, professor of history at Peking University.
其他文献:更多关于参考文献与引用的建议,同学们可以参考北京大学历史系教授荣新江的著作《中国古代史研究入门》。