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12.8.0 |
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Reference Info As you look at the Reference List you will see that it is, probably, unlike any set of References you have ever seen. While it generally follows APA Style, 5th Edition (2001), I have made some idiosyncratic changes. There's usually a reason for doing that.
Why APA 5th Edition? Its the most recent edition I have available. I am retired. Sorta.
Web site listings There have been massive changes since I was in school. The dinosaurs died off. The Constitution was ratified. Al Gore created the internet. That last one was particularly disruptive of references. I was taught to do Reference Lists before the internet existed. Yes, I know, there really was a time before the internet. Trust me. With the internet available so many new resources became available that they had to be reflected on the Reference Lists. As a result, I've started adding them on my Reference List. I don't know what the APA Style guide, 37th Edition (or whatever they're up to by now) is currently specifying. This is how I'm doing it.
As you will probably notice I have included multiple web sites for several of the cited sources on this List. This is a 'tip of the hat' to the reality that web sites change. It may be that, should some of the sources I make note of disappear, having multiple sources cited should give you a fall-back position. Even if they all disappear, a good search engine (I recommend Startpage.com) should help you to find what you're looking for.
Type of file that was obtained You will likely notice that I include with many of the listings a set of codes describing the type of file used by the specified source to provide the needed information.
Why, you may ask? Well, as I've been accumulating all these quotes, I've been forced to return to my sources several times to validate their correctness, page citations, dates, etc. In doing so I've noticed that the different file types differed in their ability to be helpful in this process. As a result, I've fallen in love with PDF files. Yes, I know they have some major limitations, but they also have major benefits, particularly in this situation.
PDF – PREFERRED The benefit of PDF files is that their layout on the page does not change. Different persons will use different word processors, browsers, OSes, etc. As this occurs the pages displayed will change from one reader to another. As a result, a particular sentence in a specified original may move across several pages within that text, depending on how it's displayed. Thus, if you are looking in the original text for the exact quote that I cited, you may have real problems finding it. Even using exactly the same hardware and software that I do will not mean the page will be displayed in the same way. Even a simple thing like changing the page width on your display can force a re-pagination and move your target sentence wildly.
However, using a PDF file format to display your original means that, when I specify that a given sentence will be found on p. 284, you can know that when you get to p. 284 of the original copy on the PDF, you will find the sentence you are looking for on that page.
There is one complication with the above scenario, however. Due to the way that many of the PDF files are created, they MAY not begin their copying at the same spot. What this means is that, while the cited sentence may be on p. 284 as cited in the original, it is quite likely that if you asked the PDF display software to jump to p. 284, you may not find the needed sentence. Many (Most?) of the dedicated software for displaying PDFs will count the beginning pages, even blank ones, that appear in the file for page number searches. Thus, searches on the PDF display software will get you only so far. Once you get generally in the area of the quote you are looking for, you will have to page through the text till the page numbers displayed on the original text matches the cited page numbers. For this reason, for PDF files I've tried to list the page numbers in the original as a part of the standard APA citation format, but I've also added as an addendum the page numbers as displayed in the PDF display software. That way you should be able to jump directly to the exact page the quote appears on. Because of these benefits of working with PDF files, I will TRY to include citations for web addresses that have PDF files of the commentaries available. I will strongly favor free sources as opposed to sources behind a pay-wall.
Online/Text Many times, when you go to a website you will find the commentary you want, but it is displayed in HTML or available to download as HTML or a text file. Either of these file types are vulnerable to the display problems noted above. The Reference List may specify a sentence on p. 284 of the original, but when you open the file it may not be where you expect. Based on the software you use to display the desired file the location of a specified text may have been moved wildly. Sometimes, by setting the page width of the display software 'close' to where it was on the original, the locations will be 'similar' to what it was originally. Unlike the PDF files, with these file types you can do a simple 'find' for the quoted string within the larger body of text.
Xerox You will find that, sometimes, I could only find the article/chapter in hard copy printout. If I'm lucky this will give me the information I need. This kind of citation is of inconsistent benefit, depending on whether or not you can get access to your own copy from somewhere. As these are copies of the original, the page numbers on citations should be accurate to the originals. Traditionally these types of sources are considered adequate, as the interested reader is expected to be able to find the original sources. I will TRY to also include web page addresses for the sources when I can.
Owned These are hard copies I have available personally. Many of the newer commentaries are not online and so, if you want them, you have to pay the publisher to buy them. In the internet age this seems sorta strange. I'm reminded of a science fiction story about a community that had, as part of it's founding documents, a Constitutional Right that specified that 'access to information shall not be infringed.' While this feels like the thing to do now, there are consequences to such a policy!
LIB These specify copies that I could only find via the library I have available. Shout out to Librarians! If you haven't made friends of your local Librarian yet, do so NOW! They can be very helpful and seem genuinely pleased to assist you in obtaining the information you need. Sometimes these copies are in the stacks and sometimes they come via Inter-Library Loan. Sometimes they come as bound books and sometimes they are xeroxed copies. Either way, there will ALWAYS be things that you simply cannot get otherwise.
Dates web info retrieved In APA Style, 5th Edition (2001) they wanted to see the date the item was downloaded and the word 'from:' prior to listing the web address it was downloaded from. This was an 'early' attempt to indicate internet copies. I've decided to omit the word 'from:' as the source is obvious, given the web address.
One can almost understand the use of the 'date downloaded' entry. Key here is the understanding that the web is a dynamic space. It changes. As a result, web addresses change and the availability of information on a given site will change. Knowing the date that the information was on the site doesn't help the reader much in trying to find it. You'll be stuck doing a search in any event. Thus, I've decided to drop this entry, most of the time. Hey, you can't expect me to be consistent, now, can you?
Publication dates I will generally try to use the correct publication date for the volume or edition cited. As some of these references are ancient, publication dates for these should be thought of as approximate, which I've tried to indicate where possible. I'll TRY to use the abbreviation 'est.' for estimated. Sometimes I'll use 'n. d.' meaning 'no date'. Some times all I can get are author's birth and death dates, which are used in place of publication dates.
You will also see a single citation with a range of publication dates listed. This tends to occur when multiple volumes or editions have been published across the indicated range of dates.
Citations
When I'm doing in-text references, I'll TRY to add pages quoted from and line numbers for where the quote began on the page. When counting line numbers, the top line on the page will be 1 (one) and each horizontal line will be counted downwards, blank lines included, till the start of the text of interest is arrived at.
When I'm quoting, I'll provide a source in the text. It will, generally, take the form of: (Smith, 1947, Vol. 4, Page 123, Line 45). When the source is obvious (think Kittle), I'll omit the name and date (Vol. 4, Page 123, Line 45). When I'm repeatedly quoting from a single, specific, source, this format will be rapidly 'shrunk'. If there are no changes in the volume quoted from, it will become: (p. 123, l. 45). If the volume DOES change, it will become (v. 4, p. 123, l. 45). Rapidly this will 'shrink' again to become: (123, 45), OR (v. 4, 123, 45) if the volume changes. I'm doing this to minimize the disruption to the 'flow' of the text, making it easier on you, the reader.
Comments
Occasionally I'll make a comment. I'll generally put these in [brackets] to distinguish them from the rest of the text. You will also note that, when an another author uses a quote in a different language, without translating it, I will TRY to provide a (provisional) translation of it, again, making it easier on you, the reader. Be advised: I am NOT a linguist. These 'translations' are simply the best I could do, and may actually be BAD translations!
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