References – frequently asked questions

Whenever you insert other people’s thoughts into your text either literally or as a paraphrase (i.e. with your own words), it’s called a reference. In the text body, you must indicate the source (author, year) and at the end of your paper, within the reference list, you must provide all important data regarding the work you have referred to. That way you will avoid plagiarism and others will be able to retrieve the work you have referred to.

(The order of data depends on the reference standard.)

If you quote a complete sentence, close it with a full stop, and put the source after it in brackets. If you quote an unfinished excerpt from a text, insert the source after the text in brackets, and then put a full stop.

If you copy into your paper parts of text that were written by someone else, or you insert a paraphrase, you must provide in brackets the author of the source (surname only) and the year; in the case of a word-for-word reference, you have to indicate the page number as well. It is from these data that the reference list is created at the end of your paper.

In the case of word-for-word quotations, the author’s surname, the year the quoted work was published in, and the page number where you located your quote.
In the case of a paraphrase (the original thought in your own wording), you must provide the author’s surname and the year the quoted work was published in.

It depends on the topic and the field of knowledge. It is generally advised that a quote should not be longer than 3-5 sentences. Any quotes longer than that are better to be paraphrased.

It’s not necessary to put 3-5 sentences into a new paragraph, but don’t forget about the quotation marks. Texts longer than that should be put into a new paragraph in italics (unless you paraphrase the text), or you can separate them from the rest of the text with a different font size.

Rewriting someone else’s thoughts with your own words. According to the scientific standard, paraphrasing is advised in the case of quotes longer than 3-5 sentences. But be careful. The length of all paraphrases used in your paper should not exceed 50% of your text, as it might qualify as a case of plagiarism.

Write an introductory part and make it obvious that someone else’s thoughts are to follow. At the end of the paraphrase, give the surname of the author and the year of publication for the quoted work.

When you copy a text into your paper word for word. Besides using quotation marks, you must also provide the source right after the quote (surname of author, the year of publication of quoted work, and the page number where the quote is located).

In the case of a longer text (longer than 3-5 sentences) you should separate the quotation from your text (italics, indentation, new paragraph, etc.), no need to use quotation marks.

“Taking over the ideas, methods, or written words of another, without acknowledgement and with the intention that they be taken as the work of the deceiver.” (American Association of University Professors, 1989)

Examples for plagiarism

The University subscribes for a text-similarity checker programme (Urkund). It is run on every thesis, but in the case of a similarity, the opinion of the consultant is definitive.

See: reference.

Footnotes are used for showing any additions or explanations that would interrupt the original train of thought. However, they have become common in scientific practice as a form of intertextual reference as well. When you quote word for word, indicate at the bottom of the page the surname of the author, the year in which the quoted work was published, and the page number where you found the quote. When inserting a paraphrase, the surname of the author and the quoted work’s year of publication is to be put into the footnote.

The list of works used in the paper’s text, literally or as a paraphrase. List the works in alphabetical order, according to the authors’ names, or, in absence of names, according to titles.

The list of all literature used in the paper, even the ones from which word-for-word quotes or paraphrases were not necessarily applied. It includes the reference list, but it is more extensive.

You usually need to make a reference list, but ask your consultant (or check the Study and Exam Regulation).

You have to create the reference list (or bibliography) according to international standard. The most commonly used standards in social sciences are APA and Harvard.

Corvinus does not have a standard of its own. Check the Study and Exam Regulation or ask your consultant.

We don’t have a standard of our own, but based on conventional practice, the translation of these is not necessary. Check with your consultant.

This is to be avoided. If an author quotes from another author, which you also want to use in your text, try to find the original work.

This happens when an author quotes another author, and you want to insert this into your paper. In brackets, you must indicate both the author of the quoting and the author of the quoted work, and the years of publication regarding both, while in the reference list you only have to provide the data of the quoting work. We highly recommend that you avoid this, try to find the original work.

Under the figures and tables the original source has to be indicated the same way as in the case of intertextual references. If you edit the figure or table based on primary data, you have to indicate that it’s your own edition (e.g. Source: self-editing). If you use secondary research data, you must also indicate their source(s): Source: KSH (2015); Self-editing based on Eurostat (2017).

After the translated piece of text, in brackets, along with the source, you have to put the phrase “author’s own translation”. In the reference list you only have to indicate the data of the quoted work. The original text can be referred to in the index or the footnote.

In the case of an intertextual reference, the same work might be referred to many times, but it should only be indicated once, at the end of the paper, in the reference list.

In the case of an intertextual reference, and also in the reference list, after the year of publication, you should write a, b, c, etc.

It’s not advised to refer to works that don’t have an author, as their scientific authenticity can be questioned. If the name of the publishing body (e.g. IMF, IBRD), or the website (Portfolio) is obvious, then you can use those in place of an author. For example, PORTFOLIO (2013). If you can’t find data like that either, then you should put the text into the reference list according to its title.

If you found the article in a scientific literary database, it is enough to use the name of the database when indicating the source. If the text has a DOI (digital object identifier), use that as a link.

In the case of web content, it’s compulsory. Don’t forget to record it.

Digital Object Identifier, a unique identity code for electronic documents. If the paper has a DOI, you should use it as a link, thus providing a permanent access route to the document. You can look up the DOI numbers in the CrossRef system.

Use aid programmes like Zotero, Mendeley, EndNote (can be used together with a Web of Science subscription from the university network).

No, there isn’t. Regarding the standards and styles of reference used at the various departments, ask your consultant, or check the Study and Exam Regulation.

If the paraphrase runs through various paragraphs, then it’s enough to indicate the source once, at the end. If the paraphrase is interrupted by parts of text derived from other places, then the source has to be provided at the end of each paraphrase.