Research documentation involves acknowledging the sources used in the research. This is crucial to avoid plagiarism and maintain the integrity of the research. There are several forms of documentation, the most common being APA, MLA, and Chicago styles.
Research documentation is essential for a multitude of reasons:
- Proof of Work: Documentation provides a formal record of the research carried out, substantiating the work on an official level.
- Reproducibility: Other researchers can reproduce the study, replicate the findings, and continue the research using the documented procedures and methods.
- Validation: Accurate documentation helps validate and verify the research study by providing detailed data and evidence to support the results.
- Collaboration: It enables better collaboration among researchers. A clear record allows other researchers to understand and build upon an existing study.
- Tracking Progress: It will enable researchers to monitor their progress and revisit conclusions or procedures as needed.
- Intellectual Property: It serves as an official record which can help to secure intellectual property rights for the research.
- Academic Purposes: In academia, documentation is necessary for grading student work, conducting academic reviews, and serving as a future reference.
- Future Reference: Research documents are often used as references for future studies, thus guiding new research initiatives.
APA (American Psychological Association) Style
The American Psychological Association (APA) style is primarily used in the social sciences, such as psychology, education, and social work. This format emphasises dates and has a clear structure for organising information.
- Paper Structure: APA-style papers typically include four sections: title page, abstract, main body, and references.
- Running Head: Every page of an APA-style paper features a running head at the top left of the page. This is a shortened version of the paper’s full title and should not exceed 50 characters.
- Citation: In-text citations must include the author’s last name, the year of publication, and page numbers if specific information is directly quoted. These in-text citations correspond to the full references in the list that appears at the end of the paper.
- References: APA style utilises a hanging indent format for references. Entries must be alphabetical by the author’s last name.
- Headings: Headings must follow a specific order and level format: level one (centred, bolded, capitalised), level two (left-aligned, bolded, capitalised), etc.
- Figures and Tables: Any images, charts, graphs, or other visual material must be labelled as Figure (Number) and include a caption that explains the figure’s relevance.
APA requires concise, clear language. Emphasis is placed on precision and clarity of communication. APA style prefers the past or present perfect tense (e.g., researchers found, researchers have found) for the literature review and the procedure description when discussing past events.
Print Book Reference: Author’s Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of book. Publisher.
E.g., Smith, J. (2019). The Book of Knowledge. Publishing House.
Website Reference: Author’s Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of web page/document. Site Name/Publisher. URL
E.g., Johnson, A. (2020). Title of Web Page. Company Name. www.example.com
Electronic Journal Article: Author’s Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of article. Title of Journal, Volume number(issue number), page numbers. URL
E.g., Brown, B. (2018). Title of the Article. Journal Name, 22(8), pp. 12-19. www.journalwebsite.com/article
All lines after the first line in the reference citation should be indented one-half inch from the left margin. This is called hanging indentation.
MLA (Modern Language Association) Style
The Modern Language Association (MLA) format is generally used in the humanities, particularly in English studies, literature, comparative literature, literary criticism, media studies, cultural studies, and other related disciplines. MLA format emphasises authorship and pages in citations.
- Paper Structure: MLA-style papers generally include a header, title, and four main sections: Introduction, Body of the paper, Conclusion, and Works Cited.
- Running Head: The running head at the top right of each page includes the author’s last name followed by a space and the page number.
- In-Text Citation: In MLA style, in-text citations include the last name of the author and a page number like this: (Smith 123).
- Works Cited: MLA uses a Works Cited page at the end of the essay that provides full details of every source. They are alphabetically sorted by author surname, or by title if no author.
- MLA does not require the URL in website entries unless the source cannot be found without it or if the instructor requires it.
- Headings: While not necessary for MLA papers, they can organise content. The first level of headings is left-justified and bold; major words are capitalised. The second level is left justified and italic; again, capitalise major words.
- Figures: Any images used in the paper need to be labelled as ‘Fig.’ and assigned a number (e.g., Fig. 1, Fig.2).
MLA uses present-tense verbs unless a specific logic calls for the past tense. Unlike APA, MLA does not require an abstract.
Print Book Reference: Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year.
E.g., Smith, John. The Book of Knowledge. Publishing House, 2019.
Website Reference: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Web Page.” Title of Website, Date Published, URL.
E.g., Johnson, Alexandra. “Web Page Title.” Company Name, 2020, www.example.com.
Electronic Journal Article: Last Name, First Name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal, volume number, issue number, year, pages. Database Name, URL.
E.g., Brown, Barbara. “Article Title.” Journal Name, vol. 22, no. 8, 2018, pp. 12-19. Name of Database, www.journalwebsite.com/article.
In MLA, the second and subsequent lines of each citation should be indented and include the URL without “https://”.
Chicago Style
The Chicago style, also known as the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), is commonly used in history, economics, and some social sciences. This format provides guidelines for grammar, punctuation, and citation. It includes two options: the Notes-Bibliography System (used mainly in the humanities) and the Author-Date System (used in the social, physical, and natural sciences).
- Paper Structure: Chicago-style papers typically include a title page, an abstract, the main body, and references. Chicago style also includes endnotes and footnotes.
- Page Numbers: These are generally placed in the upper-right corner of every page, except the title page.
- Two Documentation Systems: The CMS offers two methods of source citation: 1) Notes and bibliography system, typically used in the arts, history, and literature fields. It requires the use of footnotes or endnotes along with a bibliography at the end of the work; 2) Author-Date system, typically used in the physical, natural, and social sciences, constitutes the in-text citation and reference list similar to the APA style.
- In-Text Citation: For the author-date system, the source is cited within parentheses (author’s last name, year of publication, page number). For the note system, the citation in the text consists of a superscript numeral.
- Reference List/Bibliography: The bibliography lists the sources used in the research. Each entry should be single-spaced with a blank space between entries.
- Titles and Headings: Chicago style doesn’t have a prescribed system of headings for books. For subdividing specific content, you can simply use a regular title case.
Both the notes-and-bibliography system and the author-date system emphasise a clear, consistent approach, with thoroughness and detail.
Print Book Reference: Last name, First name. Title of Book. Place of Publication: Publisher, Year.
E.g., Smith, John. The Book of Knowledge. New York: Publishing House, 2019.
Website Reference: Last name, First name. “Title of Web Page.” Publisher or Site Name.
Publication date or access date, if available. URL.
E.g., Johnson, Alexandra. “Web Page Title.” Company Name, 2020. www.example.com.
Electronic Journal Article: Last name, First name. “Title of Article.” Title of Journal volume number, Issue number (Year): page numbers. URL or DOI.
E.g., Brown, Barbara. “Article Title.” Journal Name 22, no. 8 (2018): 12-19. www.journalwebsite.com/article.
Harvard Referencing Style
The Harvard Referencing Style is widely used across many universities as the standard for writing and citation. It adopts an author-date approach.
- Two Types of Citations: The Harvard system requires two types: in-text citations and reference lists.
- In-Text Citations: These are placed within the text of the paper and contain a fragment of the full citation. The format is (author’s surname, year of publication, page number). For example (Smith, 2015, p. 32).
- Reference Lists: At the end of your essay, a complete reference list should be provided. Entries are listed in alphabetical order by the author’s last name.
- Each citation in the reference list must include the author’s surname and initials, year of publication, title of work, place of publication, and publisher.
Titles of books and reports should be in italics, and titles of articles, chapters, and web pages should be in quotation marks. When citing multiple works by the same author, arrange them in the order of publication. A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) or a URL (if a DOI is not available) should be provided for online sources.
Print Book Reference: Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title. Edition (if not the first). Place of publication: Publisher.
E.g., Smith, J. (2019). The Book of Knowledge. 3rd ed. New York: Publishing House.
Website Reference: Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year). Title of webpage/document. Site Name/Publisher. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year).
E.g., Johnson, A. (2020). Web Page Title. Company Name. Available at: www.example.com (Accessed: 23 November 2021).
Electronic Journal Article: Author(s) Last name, Initial(s). (Year). ‘Title of article’, Title of Journal, Volume number (Issue number), Page numbers. Available at: URL (Accessed: day month year).
E.g., Brown, B. (2018). ‘Article Title’, Name of Journal, 22(8), pp. 12-19. Available at: www.journalwebsite.com/article (Accessed: 23 November 2021).
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) Style
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) format is often used in technical fields, particularly engineering and computer science. This form uses numbered references and has detailed rules on citing different kinds of technical standards and patent information.
- In-Text Citations: IEEE citation style includes in-text citations, numbered in square brackets, which refer to the full citation listed in the reference list at the end of the paper. The reference numbers are sequential, with [1] being the first reference.
- Reference List: All references are listed at the end of the paper in the order they were cited in the text. The reference list is headed as ‘REFERENCES’.
- Formatting of References: Each reference should be in a ‘hanging indent’ format. Begin the entry flush against the left margin and indent the subsequent lines.
- Journal Articles: The format for journal articles in the reference list is – Author(s), “Title of article,” Title of Journal, vol. x, no. x, pp. xx-xx, Month Year.
- Books: The citation format for books is: Author(s), Title of Book, Publisher, year. Conference Papers: The format for citing conference papers is – Author(s), “Title of paper,” in Name of Conference, city, country, year, pp. xx-xx.
- Online Sources: For online sources, the format is – Author(s), “Title of document,” Site Name/Publisher. Available: URL.
Print Book Reference: [1] Initial(s). Last name, Title of Book, xth ed. City of Publication, (U.S. State/Country if city is not well-known): Publisher, Year.
E.g., [1] J. Smith, The Book of Knowledge, 3rd ed. New York, USA: Publishing House, 2019.
Website Reference: [2] Title of Site. (Year). [Online]. Available: URL
E.g., [2] “Web Page Title,” Company Name. (2020). [Online]. Available:
www.example.com.
Electronic Journal Article: [3] Initial(s). Last name, “Title of article,” Title of Journal, vol. number, no. Issue, pp. page number, Month Year.
E.g., [3] B. Brown, “Article Title”, Journal Name, vol. 22, no. 8, pp. 12-19, Aug. 2018.
In the IEEE style, each reference is numbered, and each citation in the text corresponds to the numbered reference in the bibliography.
Without adequate documentation, research outcomes may not be credible, reproducible, or buildable upon by other researchers. It’s a crucial part of maintaining scientific integrity, fostering transparency, and contributing to global knowledge.
