Copyright, citations and references
What is copyright?
All original work - journal articles, music, essays, photographs, user guides, videos and PowerPoint presentations - has an author or creator who owns the copyright of the work.
It is important not to be frightened of or intimidated by copyright. Copyright gives authors certain rights to control the use of their creations, including distributing copies to the public. The purpose of copyright is to prevent others making a profit at the expense of the author.
Copyright crucials:
- Always check and abide by the "terms and conditions" section that appears on most websites and publications.
- Always cite the source of materials you make use of, for example in reports or training packs. If you don't you could be accused of plagiarism: passing off someone else's work as your own.
- A good rule of thumb is to think about whether your action is likely to harm the business, or commercial interests of the copyright holder. Reproducing a journal article, for example, is likely to harm the publisher who derives revenue from selling subscriptions. However, there will be circumstances where a copyright holder is likely to be 'pleased or indifferent' about you using their materials. A campaigning group, for example, may wish that their message reaches as many people as possible.
Citations
Citations show that you know how to consult other people's work and combine their findings with your own. They also provide anyone reading your report with the information they need to find the sources you have used.
Citations are in-text acknowledgements of a source. The following example is taken from a report: Looking beyond risk: parental substance misuse scoping study (Scottish Executive, 2006). The author of the report has used a finding from a study by Forrester & Harwin from 2004 and has used a citation to indicate this:
Substance misuse (particularly alcohol) contributes significantly to the number of children and families on social work caseloads (Forrester & Harwin, 2004).
References
Like citations, references also show that you know how to consult other people's work and combine their findings with your own. They also provide anyone reading your report with the information they need to find the sources you have used.
References include more information than citations and are an alphabetical list of all the sources you have used.
While citations appear in the text of your report and give the reader a quick indication of the author(s) and date of the source you are referring to, references give a full description of the source and can include the authors, date of publication, source of publication and publisher.
A reference list generally appears at the end of reports and articles and appears as follows:
Bancroft A., Wilson S., Cunningham-Burley S., Backett-Milburn, K. & Masters, H. (2004). Parental drug and alcohol misuse: resilience and transition among young people. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Banwell, C., Denton, B. & Bammer, G. (2002). Programmes for the children of illicit drug-using parents: issues and dilemmas. Drug and Alcohol Review 21(4); 381-386.
Please note that the above is for guidance only and does constitute legal advice.
