Are in-text citations and references needed (or at least highly encouraged) for

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   Digital MDposted 9 years ago

   Are in-text citations and references needed (or at least highly encouraged) for informative hubs?
   
   I was wondering whether it is highly encouraged that hubbers put in specific references within the texts as how they are written in scientific papers or simply put references at the end. Maybe it  would be less stern-looking if they are not added? What are your thoughts on this?
   
   Of course this is for the information-providing hubs in general.

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2. 89

   Victoria Lynnposted 9 years ago

   If there are references to other sources in a hub, I would say they definitely should be cited to avoid plagiarism. I would do something like "According to . . . " and give the link for it within the text but then also give the full bibliographical information at the end. Others might handle it differently. I'll be curious to follow your question and see.

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      Digital MDposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I've been practicing (or should I say, I've been used to) the insertion of in-text citation using the APA format added with the references at the bottom part of the page. However, as I skim through the site, I seldom see them on many hubs.

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      Victoria Lynnposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I don't write many hubs that require research, but some people do. I have seen some citations on hubs, but not many. Probably more people should be using them, I would think. (I'm familiar somewhat with APA but use MLA in my field.)

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   junksellerposted 9 years ago

   Encouraged or popular doesn't mean correct and right. All references should be cited in-text, whether that be by a citation (e.g. superscript notes or parenthetical) or by hyperlinks. People are very lazy and sloppy about it. I wouldn't go by what the majority does.
   
   For a while I resisted hyperlink citations, but that is the way things are going, so I think it is fine for Hubpages.
   
   As far as I know there are no actual rules about citations from Hubpages. It is just the right thing to do as an author and it provides valuable information to your reader.
   
   I wouldn't worry about looking "stern". Citations are expected in scholarly and professional writing. I think your hubs could use some additional information/citation. For instance, your hub with "Mrs. A" reads as if she were your patient, but I don't know if she was, or if you are describing someone else's case. Further on, you describe the ranking of likely gastrointestinal causes, but again it isn't clear to me if that is you speaking as an expert or you reporting from a source.

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      Digital MDposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I do have same thoughts on the use of citations.
      Regarding Mrs. A, she was a real-life referred patient, and everything not cited are from personal & my colleague analysis. Relevant information were cited as well (as seen in the figures).

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      junksellerposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      I think I would include an author blurb somewhere on each hub (beginning or end) stating "the author is a health practitioner; case studies are from personal experience..." Or something to that effect. Overall, I think they are very good articles.

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   Niko Linniposted 9 years ago

   Depending on what you're talking about - Yes! I say depending because...well you don't really need citations if you're blogging about how to kill badguys in Contra, do you? Unless you're referencing what some Pro Gamer said in an article...then yes I'd say you'd need a reference.
   
   If you're providing info, I would say add in those sources. It helps to show that you've done your research and homework on things, in my opinion. If you're wondering on how to do it, I'd have a little superscript text link that goes down to the bottom where your references are, or at the very least links to wherever it was you got the info from.

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