Self Determinig Test for Corporate Finance and Equity Valuation

I.Incorporating the ideas of others

There are 3 principal means of incorporating the work of others within your own writing:  

1. Quoting: using someone else’s exact words. Quoting should be used sparingly and mostly by way of exemplifying or reinforcing a point you have already made yourself (or introducing one you are about to make). Only quote when the material quoted is especially pertinent, memorable, evocative or pithy. In all other cases, if the point being made remains an important one, find a way to say it in your own words (that is, paraphrase).

2. Paraphrasing: expressing someone else’s ideas in your own words. Paraphrasing is not a matter of altering odd words in an otherwise structurally unchanged sentence or paragraph. Good paraphrasing comes first and foremost from a good understanding of the original text. Concentrate on understanding what you are reading first; then, with the original text put aside, explain it as YOU understand it and as applied to the particular point you are seeking to make.

3. Summarising: there is inevitable overlap between ‘summarising’ and ‘paraphrasing’ but they are not the same thing. Summarising means to give a brief account of the main points of an argument, whilst paraphrasing - whilst it may entail a degree of abbreviation - relates specifically to the act of restating something in other words - your own words.

II.When to reference and when not?

This is an issue that students sometimes struggle with at first. You may understandably reason: “if everything I know on a subject comes from other people – from books, lectures and so on – surely it follows that I must also have to reference everything?” It is necessary to make a distinction between the following:

1.Common knowledge - information that is very well-established and generally accepted such as facts and dates for example, an understanding of which is shared by everyone, or at least by all those working in a particular field.                                  2. Individual perspectives - ideas, theories and arguments put forward by individual writers that are specific to them and must therefore be attributed as such.

III. Referencing systems

The main referencing systems which are used in academic texts are:

1.Footnotes and Endnotes 2.Vancouver Style (numeric system) 3.Harvard System (author-date method)

International students may find adapting to a British Higher Education environment especially difficult. Macqueen acknowledges this, by stressing that 'there are many who are experiencing cultural differences, homesickness and a sense of personal isolation, whilst at the same time trying to meet all the requirements of their courses'. (1) (or 1)

1. The source of the quotation will be given as a footnote at the bottom of the same page, usually under a line to show that it is separate from the text on the page, F.E: Notes 1. Chris Macqueen, Getting Ahead in Tertiary Study, Sydney: UNSW Press, 1998, p.6

2. This referencing system also uses numbers to indicate sections of text where the author has incorporated source material. The numbers relate to a list of references at the end of the text which correspond with the numerical order of the marked sections. F.E: List of References (1) Macqueen, C (1998) Getting Ahead in Tertiary Study Sydney: UNSW Press

HARVARD REFERENCING SYSTEM (HRS)

1. How to format in-text citations Harvard-style

 - The basic format for in-text citations is as follows: (Author surname, Year) e.g. (Smith, 2012)

 - Or, when you are ‘quoting’, including the page number/s: (Author surname, Year: Page number/s) e.g. (Jones, 2012: 14-15)

1.2 Quoting 

Shorter quotations (a single sentence or a section of a sentence) can be built into your own text. Note: it is generally good practice to keep quotations short; this way the emphasis is on your own understanding of an idea, with the quotation used to illlustrate or offer supporting evidence.

F.E. Underlying this universalistic account is the essentialist assumption that ‘life precedes security’ (Delphy, 1993: 5).

Longer quotations (2 or more lines) should be single-spaced and indented. As a general rule, avoid the frequent inclusion of lengthy quotes, or your work may begin to feel rather ‘derivative’ (over-reliant on other people’s words). Look instead for ways to build the section into your own writing.

1.3 Formatting secondary citations

A secondary citation refers to an idea or quote that you have found cited in a work by another author and would like to use yourself although you haven’t read the original. In this instance, you need to acknowledge the original author as usual, but you must also state where you found the quote cited.

F.E: Basaglia (1981) seems to have noted the contradiction of the reforms stating that ‘the law can only ever be the result of the rationalisation of a revolt’ but he goes on to add that ‘it can also succeed in diffusing the message of a practice, rendering it a collective heritage’ (cited in Sheper-Hughes and Lovell, 1986: 173).

Note that, in your reference list, it is Sheper-Hughes and Lovell who will appear, not Basaglia, since they are responsible for the actual source, as opposed to the quote found within it.

1. Reference to a book: Fry, H, Ketteridge, S and Marshall S (1999) A Handbook for Teaching and Learning in Higher Education. London. Kogan Page.
2. Reference to unpublished work: Smith, J (2004) The role of reflection in learning and teaching. (unpublished PhD Thesis) University College London
3. Reference to personal communication: Brown, I (5 July 2006) (personal communication)
4. Reference to a journal: Park, C (2003) In Other (People's) Words: plagiarism by university students-literature and lessons. Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education, 28 (5): 471-489.
5. Reference to newspaper articles: McCabe, MM and Smith, B (June 27, 2006) The way the money goes. The Guardian. 11
6. Reference to films, videos and broadcasts: British Broadcasting Corporation (2006) The Great Ossian Hoax - McCall Smith Investigates. British Broadcasting Corporation (Transmitted on BBC4 Television on 3 July and Sunday 9 July)
7. Reference to World Wide Web: Hart M & Friesner T (2004) Plagiarism and Poor Academic Practice - A Threat to the Extension of e-Learning in Higher Education? Online at: http://ejel.org/volume-2/vol2-issue1/issue1-art25-hart-friesner.pdf Accessed 2 July 2006                                                                                                                                         Or: Football mania, (n.d.) Online at: http://www.footballersanonymous.com/centre-for- fanatics%40and%40beautifulgame.doc Accessed 3 July 2006                                                                                               Or: "http://www.footballersanonymous.com/centre-fo-fanatics%40and%40beautifulgame.doc" (n.d.) Accessed 3 July 2006
8. Images/Photographs: O’Meara, S. (2014) Orchid [Photograph]. Co. Clare: Collins Press.
9. Blog: O’Connor, John (2010) ‘Global warming and the future’, Jane Murphy Blog, 14 January. Available at: http://janemurphyblog.com/blogs/archive/2010/01/14/115/aspx [Accessed 13 April 2010]
10. Lectures or Presentations: De Burca, M. (2014) Geriatric radiography services in Ireland [Lecture to BSc Radiography Stage 3], RDGY30300: Clinical Practice of Radiography. University College Dublin. 11 May.
11. Interviews (television): Kenny, E. (2013) ‘Ireland’s lost generation’. Interviewed by Miriam O’Callaghan for Prime Time, RTE One Television, 15 March.
12. Interviews (newspaper): O’Brien, M. (2014) ‘Achieving success in parenting’. Interview by Siobhan Moynihan for Irish News Weekly, 6 June, p. 56.
13. Government agency publication: Department of Health and Children (2006) ‘A Vision for Change’ Report of the Expert Group on Mental Health Policy'. Dublin: Stationary Office. Available at: http://www.dohc.ie/publications/vision_for_change.html [Accessed 11 April 2010].
14. Conferences: O’Connor, J (2009) ‘Towards a greener Ireland’, Discovering our natural sustainable resources: future proofing. University College Dublin, 15 – 16 March. Dublin: Irish Environmental Institute, pp. 65 – 69.
15. Audio-visual material: The Lives of Others. (2007) Florien Henckel von Donnersmarck [DVD]. Santa Monica: Lionsgate.

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