When writing assignments, you sometimes refer to the observations and works of others. Citations can be used to back up your findings and arguments.
Note that a citation should never be detached from the rest of the text; you need to comment on it and explain it as part of your overall argumentation. It is important that you cite correctly and consistently throughout your assignment so your reader can see to what and to whom you are referring.
Read more about AU’s principles for referencing (see p. 4 of the publication (in Danish).
Is clearly marked in the text by means of quotation marks, formatting or indents, for example.
Includes clear specification of source.
Is always in the original language
How you cite depends primarily on the type of Reference/Literature reference you choose.
A cituation can be marked in different ways, for example by using quotation marks, indentation, smaller line spacing or changed font. If you leave out a part of your citation, it can be marked with (…) or […]. You can also leave out the brackets.
There are special rules for the length of quotes in relation to how they can be included in your assignment. You can read more about the difference between short and longer quotes below.
The special rules for how to include citations in your assignment differ depending on the length of the citation.
Short citations:
Example:
The main purpose if this study was to examine "one of the leading causes of death worldwide" (Fleuren et al. 2020), and furthermore...
The rules for how to include citations in your assignment differ depending on the length of the citation.
Long citations:
Example:
The study proposes further investigations to determine clinical impact:
"Finally, future research is needed to determine effective integration strategies of these models into the clinical workflow and assess the effect on relevant clinical outcomes. Interestingly, most models only use a small subset of the wealth of available data to clinicians, which may present an opportunity for future models to further increase predictive performance." (Fleuren et al. 2020).
Further investigations are necessary to not only enlighten the potential these models hold but also provide information about...
It is important when citing that the citation is not detached from the rest of the text, but is commented on and integrated into the text. Below is an excerpt from an assignment where the citation is discussed in the following text.
Example:
The purpose of art is defined as follows:
"with the means of materials, to wrest the percepts from the perceptions of objects and the states of a perceiving subject, wrest affects from the affections as a transition from one state to another. To extract a block of sensations, a pure being consisting of sensation" (op. cit. p.211ff.).
Deleuze and Guattari thus operate with a definition of a work in which the work – as far as I can see – is largely autonomous and independent of both the artist and recipient (the work must be able to stand on its own), and also independent of any contextual connection.
The example is taken from “Koncept-Poetik. Undersøgelser af en dramaturgisk term med The Wooster Group og Remote Control som eksempler”, Master's thesis from 1998, Department of Dramaturgy, Aarhus University, by Kjetil Sandvik, Master of Arts, dramaturgy, aesthetics and culture, PhD and associate professor of media studies at University of Copenhagen
The information about formalities is written in collaboration between Center for Educational Development (CED) and AU Library and is general guidelines for formal requirements. They do not replace the provisions in your academic regulations, your lecturers' guidance or information on your course's website. If in doubt ask your supervisor.
