Transcript Strategies for Engineering Communication

Referencing Conventions
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Give credit to others for ideas and words
Important feature of scholarship
Vary from one field to another
Require attention to detail
Involves citations and reference lists
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Acknowledgements
 Use for general contributions to a document
 Keep the acknowledgement short and direct
Example: “I would like to thank John Smith for contributing
his expertise in the area of hydraulic erosion to
this report.”
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Footnotes
 Use smaller font (8 or 9 point) to distinguish it from the
text.
 Use 1.5 to 2 inch horizontal line to separate footnote from
text.
 If more than 2 or 3 footnotes, number them; if only a few
notes, use symbols such as * or †.
 Avoid footnotes if using footers; if you must use them,
leave 1/2 to 1 inch blank space between footnote and
footer.
 If possible, avoid more than one footnote per page.
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Citations
 Citations provide just enough information for a reader to
find the source of an idea or quotation in a reference list.
 Two common types of citations: Numbers or Author/Date
 Using numbers saves space, but provides little
information
Designing a robust controller requires a nominal
model of the controlled plant [1].
[10, 11, 12] propose alternative models.
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Author/Date Citations
 Author/date system acknowledges authors’ ideas and
words by last name(s) and year of publication.
 This information is useful to someone who knows the
literature in the field.
Recent research (Black & Johnston 2002) supports
this explanation.
One expert claims that such groups “can be the
forward-thinking, value-oriented, leading bodies we
claim them to be” (Carver 1997).
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Citing Sources
 Two or more publications by same author(s) in same
year
• (Chan 1999a; 1999b)
• Use these letters after dates in reference list.
 More than one author
• Two authors: (Santos and Martin 2001)
• Three authors: (Smith, Trinh, and Matsui 2001) for
first reference. (Smith et al. 2001) for subsequent
references
• Four or more authors, et al. for all references:
(McManus et al. 1998)
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Citing Sources
More Than One Source Cited
 Separate sources with semi-colons
(Vincent 1998; Wong 2000; Young and Rawicz 2001)
 If more than one source by the same author, give name
once and then just dates
(Carver 1986; 1992, 1995, 2000)
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Citing Sources
Author Unknown
 Substitute association, corporation, government agency,
or other group.
 If group name is in sentence, omit from citation.
(NRC 1999)
These estimates are based on data provided by the
National Research Council (1999).
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Citing Sources
Additional Information
 To help readers find information, include volume, page,
section, equation numbers, etc.
 Separate this additional information from the date with a
comma
(Singh 2001, 55) to refer to a single page
(Jones 2002, 63-65) to refer to more than one page
(Xu 1999, sec 11.5) to refer to a relevant section
(Peterson 2000, eq. 10) to refer to an equation
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Citing Sources
Unnecessary Information.
 Omit any information already given in the text.
Saif first proposed this method in 1994 (45-51).
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Citing Sources
Unconventional Sources
 For interviews, personal letters, mail or e-mail
exchanges, provide full name and nature and date of
communication.
(John Brown, letter to the author, July 2000)
(Bill Smith, telephone interview, 10 Sept 1999)
(Susan Eaglets, e-mail exchange, Aug-Sept 1998)
(Aaron Bates, e-mail to the author, 4 Nov 2000)
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Citing Sources
On-line Sources
 Provide author/date, author, short title, or name of
organization much as for text-based sources.
 Only use URL as the citation if the item is not in your
reference list and the site is stable.
 If not including item in reference list, provide enough
information for a reader to locate the information.
(XYZ Inc., Thermistor Price List, accessed 22 May 1999
<http://www.xyz.nz/~thermistors/pricelist/>
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Placing Citations in Sentences
 Whenever possible, place citations at the ends of
sentences or before a punctuation mark.
 Take care that citations are placed to clarify the points
they support.
Which of the following sentences is unclear?
Researchers (Lightfoot and Jackson 1998) have
reported findings that support this alternative
explanation.
Researchers have reported findings that support this
alternative explanation (Lightfoot and Jackson 1998).
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Quoting Sources
 If you borrow even a phrase from another writer,
acknowledge the source and use quotation marks.
 Incorporate short quotations into your sentences:
One of the requirements is that “Each bid must be
accompanied by a certified check or cash to the
among of nine thousand dollars” (Brantwurst 1989,
46).
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Quoting Sources
 For a longer quote, omit quotation marks, single space,
indent, and put citation after the period:
Eric Brantwurst notes the following requirement:
Each bid must be accompanied by a certified check
or cash in the amount of nine thousand dollars. All
certified checks must be drawn on some responsible
bank doing business in the city of Vancouver, and
shall be made payable to the City of Vancouver.
(1989, 45)
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Quoting Sources
 How to quote a passage that contains a quotation
depends on whether or not the quotation is part of a
sentence:
As part of a sentence:
Dagwood Brunster recalls an extraordinary
engineering feat: “Sam Williams, the chief engineer,
shrieked at all of the layabouts who were drinking
coffee laced with rum, ‘Get off your duffs, or I’ll recall
your engineering licenses, and throw you overboard
to boot!’” (1999, 47).
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Quoting Sources
Quoting within an indented quotation
Dagwood Brunster recalls an extraordinary engineering
feat:
Sam Williams, the chief engineer, shrieked at all of
the layabouts who were drinking coffee laced with
rum, “Get off your duffs, or I’ll recall your engineering
licenses, and throw you overboard to boot. Move it
before you lose it!” Shortly, they were all back at work,
sweating profusely under the warm Arctic summer
sun. (1999, 47–48)
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Quoting Sources
 Sometimes you need to make changes to quotations so
they match the grammar of your sentence.
 Indicate changes by placing them in square brackets.
As Humphrey’s explains, “Major investors [were]
pleased with [the President’s] successor.”
 On rare occasions, you may want to note an error in a
quotation by using [sic].
Before you use this convention, assess its affect [sic]
on your readers.
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Reference Lists
 Prepare a reference list if you have more than a few sources
in a document; otherwise consider using footnotes
 Refer to the list as References in the Sciences and as a
Bibliography in the Humanities
 Create an alphabetical list by author’s last name for the
author/date citation system
 Organize a list according the numbers assigned to sources for
a numbered citation system
 Pay careful attention to details such as punctuation,
capitalization, indentation, and the use of quotation marks and
italics
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Reference Lists
Two works by the same author (or by the same
authors in exactly the same order)
Burnett, R.E. 1993. Conflict in collaborative decision
making. Professional Communication: The Social
Perspective, eds. N.R. Blyler and C. Thralls.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, 144-162.
------. 1997. Collaboration in workplace communication.
Chapter 5 in Technical Communication, 4th ed.
Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 85-114.
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Reference Lists
Journal articles
Harney, M. 2000. Is technical writing an engineering
discipline? IEEE Trans. Prof. Commun. 43:2, 210212.
Markus, L. 1994. Electronic mail as the medium of
managerial choice. Organization Sci. 5:4, 504.
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Reference Lists
Articles in collections other than journals
Barchilon, M.G. Sept. 1998. Technology’s impact on
online résumés. Proc. Int. Professional
Communication Conf. Quebec City, Que. Canada.
Burnett, R.E. 1993. Conflict in collaborative decision
making. Professional Communication: The Social
Perspective, eds. N.R. Blyler and C. Thralls.
Newbury Park, CA: Sage, 144-162.
Robey, D., M.C. Boudreau, and V.C. Storey. 1998.
Looking before we leap. Electronic Commerce:
Papers from the Third International Conference on
Management of Networked Organizations, eds. G.
St Amant and M. Amani. 275-290.
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Reference Lists
Unpublished conference papers
Divsalar, D. and J.K. Omura. June 1979. Performance of
mismatched Viterbi receiver on satellite channels.
Presented at Int. Conf. Commun., Boston MA.
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Reference Lists
Unpublished theses or dissertations
Newland, P.A. 1990. Understanding Designers’
Knowledge Acquisition Processes: A Potential for
Enhancing Information Transfer. PhD dissertation.
Portsmouth Univ., Portsmouth, UK.
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Reference Lists
Books
Austin, J.L. 1975. How to Do Things with Words, 2nd ed.,
J.O. Urmson and M. Sbisá editors. Cambridge MA:
Harvard University Press.
Berners-Lee, T. and M. Fischetti. 1999. Weaving the
Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of
the World Wide Web by Its Inventor. New York:
Harper Collins.
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Reference Lists
On-line sources
 Conventions still evolving
 Include as much of same information as for text-based
source as possible
 Include date you accessed site and the URL
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Reference Lists
Web articles
Beverley, C. 1993. The ethics of technology in
education. 30 Aug. 2000 <http://rgfn.epcc.edu/
programs/trainer/ethics.html>
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Reference Lists
Published articles accessed on the web
Whitbeck.C. Fall 1996. Problems and cases: New
directions in ethics 1980-1996. 30 Aug. 2000
<http://www.onlineethics.org/essays/education/
index.html>.
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Reference Lists
On-line publications
Greenleaf, G. June 1996. A proposed privacy code for
Asia-Pacific cyberlaw. Journal of ComputerMediated Communication, ed. A.W. Branscomb. 2:1.
30 Aug 2000 <http://www.ascusc.org.vol2/issue1>.
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Reference Lists
On-line discussion groups
Adamowski, T. Writer’s resource. IEEE PCS Online
Discussion Forum. 14 Dec. 1999 <http//ieeepcs.org/
wwwboard/>,
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Sample Reference List
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Variations
 Referencing conventions vary among disciplines, fields,
publications, and companies
Wise, Penelope. “Money Today: Two Cents for a Dollar.”
No Profit Review 2 (1987): 123-42.
Wise. P. Money Today: Two cents for a dollar. No Profit
Rev. 2: 123-42.
Wise. P. 1987. Money today. No Profit Rev. 2: 123-42.
Wise, P. 1987. No Profit Rev. 2: 123-42.
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Disciplinary Differences in Ref. Lists
Arts/Humanities Style
Science/Social Science Style
Author’s given name spelled out Only uses initials for given names
Date of publication at the end
Date after author’s name
Titles of publications in full
Titles of publications abbreviated
Full titles for books and articles
Subtitles usually omitted
Article titles in quotation marks
Titles not in quotation marks
Main words in titles capitalized
1st word, proper nouns capitalized
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IEEE Style
[1] B. Oakley, II, “HyperCard courseware for introduction to
circuit analysis,” in Proc. ASEE Annu. Meet., 1991, pp.
496-500.
[2] Microsoft Video for Windows, Microsoft Corp. 232-100901, 1994.
[3] K.L. Conway, “Putting technology in its place: the
classroom,” Institute for Academic Technology, Spring
1991, p. 5.
[4] P.R. Keller and M.M. Keller, Visual Cues, Los Alamitos,
CA, IEEE Computer Society Press, 1993.
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ASEE Style
1. Tonso, K.L. “Becoming Engineers While Working
Collaboratively: Knowledge and Gender in a NonTraditional Engineering Course,” part of Margaret
Eisenhart’s Final Report to the Spencer Foundation
entitled “The Construction of Scientific Knowledge
Outside School,” 1993.
2. Lunsford, A. Ede L., “Why Write . . . Together: A
Research Update,” Rhetoric Review, 5, 1986, pp. 71-76.
3. “Learning Together Makes a Difference,” The
Teaching Professor, June/July 1995, p. 5.
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