Quality of literature and the trustworthiness of the information

I. The process of research and its relationship with writing: the preconditions to have something

4. Fact-finding and literature review

4.3. Quality of literature and the trustworthiness of the information

Research results can be published in various ways, e.g., as articles in journals, as research reports, dissertations, books. As regards journals, it is important to distinguish between scholarly, popular and other types of journals, e.g., trade magazines. There are many different publishers and various target groups. Especially the difference between a scholarly journal and a popular magazine is not always easy to determine at first glance or to determine if a trade magazine may contain scholarly articles. To determine the quality and reliability of a scientific publication you need to know if the document has been reviewed by other researchers to ensure the highest levels of academic merit, research value, quality, and accuracy. The publishing in the journal is usually preceded by a thorough examination, known as peer review, of the content and format of the article. The journal has an editorial board or advisory board, consisting of researchers within the journal's subject field.

These researchers review submitted articles and assess the scientific quality of the article. They evaluate the method, the observations, the conclusions, and the scientific theory approach. They assess if the author's conclusions are supported by the presented result and if they can be related to the purpose of the research. They also assess if the article is written in such a fashion that it is easy to follow how the researcher has worked to get these results. If anything is unclear the researcher needs to add clarification to the article before it will be accepted for publishing.

If the document has been examined by experts in the field for accuracy and research validity before publication, it is considered having greater scientific weight than those which have not been subjected to such scrutiny.

So, what may help to decide if it is a reliable source or not?

 The text reports on or refers to the author's research.

 The author aspires to give an objective, scientific presentation.

 Statements beyond the author's research are confirmed by referencing the source.

The next question to decide is online or paper sources. Nowadays, for most of the sources it just a matter of format as many publishers have online editions or also have online available material in pdf in databases like HeinOnline, or Jstor, there is a choice of buying e-books, or old ones are scanned for better availability.

However, some other types of sources are only available online, like news events, blogs, Wikipedia, etc. It is important to filter the reliable sources of information and make a distinction

seem to give us useful information). When you find non-journal format source on the internet, you shall always ask yourself the following question: is the information up to date/reliable? Also pay attention to the following features that will give you the alert that you should rely on other sources that the one in front of you: unknown author/ no connection with science; no sources/references/citation is seen; its style shows that it is for the people and not for academists;

the website is full of advertisements.

In the next chapter, the main topic will be how the sources shall be used and to create your publication.

13 II.WRITING

Writing of a paper/essay/dissertation is usually a later, if not the last, phase of research work;

however, before your start to build up the structure of your final work (paper), you already start writing, taking notes, drawing up ideas, etc. So, the structure of your paper (dissertation) is continuously formulating before it reaches its final shape. By the way, this is the reason why the introduction is usually getting its final content in the last phase of the work.

Therefore, first, let us see what you shall bear in mind when you start working on your paper (dissertation) and later, it will be explored how you shall put the pieces together!

1. Plagiarism and the ethical aspects of academic work

Many people think of plagiarism as copying another's work or borrowing someone else's original ideas by performing the following acts either deliberately or accidentally:

• stealing and passing off (the ideas or words of another) as one's own

• using (another's production) without crediting the source

• committing literary theft

• presenting as new and original an idea or product derived from an existing source

• turning in someone else's work as your own

• copying words or ideas from someone else without giving credit

• failing to put a quotation in quotation marks

• giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation

• changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source without giving credit

• copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes up most of your work, whether you give credit or not (see our section on "fair use" rules)

Most cases of plagiarism, especially the accidental ones, can be avoided by correctly citing sources. Simply acknowledging that certain material has been borrowed and providing your audience with the information necessary to find that source is usually enough to prevent plagiarism.

3. Source: https://hu.pinterest.com/plagtracker/why-students-plagiarize/

How to avoid plagiarism? Each scientific are has its typical source of research, but most of the time, the books, paper articles are the main sources.

The ‘Decalogue’ of citing sources are.

 All quotes you have in your text shall be reproduced verbatim from each primary source

 All quotations shall be marked as quotations

 Each source shall correspond to a complete reference in the bibliography

 You shall - as far as possible - replace quote with a paraphrase, still with a clear indication of the source

 Illustrations - make sure that

o you are allowed to use the illustrations you want o You are allowed to use them as you intend to do To avoid plagiarism,

 Always cite every source no matter if already note down the sources during the prewriting process citing it directly or with own words!

 Do not “copy & paste” text segments. Do not copy text segments or paragraphs without assigning them to the original author´s work!

 Quote exact wording only if the specific words are very significant! Exactly quoted wording must always be in quotation marks (”…”)!

 Never let someone else write a Thesis for you!

 Consider correct citation styles!

   Check your knowledge with a test of multiple choices in Appendix I!

2. Citation

Citations are a way to identify a published work, whether it is a written document or artwork.

There are many reasons why it's important to cite the sources used in your research:

• To be responsible and credit other researchers and acknowledge their ideas

• To let your reader know that you have conducted proper research

• To avoid plagiarism

• To provide the information your reader needs to track down the sources you used By using references, you show that at you can find and evaluate appropriate sources and support your arguments with facts and ideas from credible sources. Referencing adds weight to your argument and helps you avoid plagiarism.

2.1. Standard elements of a citation

Citations include standard elements, as well as the information necessary to track down publications. Standard elements are:

 author name(s)

 titles of books, articles, and journals

 date of publication

 city of publication

 page numbers

 volume and issue numbers (for articles)

 The URL address for internet sources and date of access (if it has no other distinctive character listed above)

You don’t have to refer to common knowledge: if most people would know the information without looking it up, it is considered “common knowledge,” but cite it if you’re not sure.

P. e.x. The sky is blue – no citation is needed; but: any scientific data on the sky- needs a reference or mass-energy equivalence formula (E = mc2). As this equation is widely known, there is no need to cite Albert Einstein’s original research in which he developed the equation.

2.2. Citation style

There are many different style manuals, and each has different rules for the style of writing, citation, and overall format used in a paper. [In Hungary, there is no generally accepted, obligatory style; each forum has its guidance for authors] Citations may look different, depending on which citation style you are using but the main content is always the same that aims the full traceability of the source.

So, you may see a colourful variation of solutions for:

 the order of information

o date of publication, name-surname, information on place and printing house,

 the mode of separation of the information elements [dot (.); semicolon (;) comma (,)]

 the font of the names (H.C. Lodge or H.C.LODGE)

 the possibility of usage of abbreviations or everything shall be written out o Oxford University Press or OUP

o Henry Cabot Lodge or H.C. Lodge

 the number of authors allowed: only the first/2 authors are allowed + et al. or all of them o Smith, A. et al.:….: or

 usage of formation (italics, ‘…’, “…”) for titles, journal titles (see: Oxford-style)

 additional information:

o the number of editions [3^rd ed.]

o translated works, if the edition was issued as a translation, translated by…

Hugo Grotius: De Jure Belli ac Pacis Libri Tres. Translated by Francis W. Kelsey, Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1925.

In the USA, the most widely expanded styles are the APA, MLA and Chicago.

➢ MLA (Modern Language Association) is for arts and humanities.

➢ APA (American Psychological Association) is designed for technical works found in social sciences.

➢ The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is most commonly used by those working in literature, history, and the arts.

4. The difference between APA and MLA styles. Source: https://www.bibliography.com/mla/apa-vs-mla-citation-page/

5. Chicago Manual of Style - examples. Source https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-2.html

In the UK, it is Oxford Style (OSCOLA - Oxford University Standard for Citation of Legal Authorities)

6. Source: https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/oscola_4th_edn_hart_2012quickreferenceguide.pdf

20 2.3. Types of citation

Footnotes: are listed at the bottom of the page on which a citation is made. A numeral is placed in the text to indicate the cited work and again at the bottom of the page in front of the footnote.

A footnote lists the author, title of work, date, etc. What you include depends on the citation style.

Citation styles using footnotes: Chicago A, OSCOLA, Turabian, ACS

7. Example for footnotes. Fragment from: Mayeur, Coralie: Le pouvoir des États membres en matière de sécurité et défense commune dans l’Union européenne. Jurisdoctoria n° 5, 2010. pp. 88-111.

Endnotes: the same as footnotes just the notes are enlisted at the end of the chapter or the end of the whole work. Citation styles using endnotes: Vancouver, IEEE, AMA, NLM, AAA, ABNT

8. Example for endnotes. Fragment from: Koldo Unceta, Unai Villena, Irati Labaien: The Municipalities' Decentralized Cooperation: The Case of the Basque Country. Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities Vol. 1, No. 5, 2015, pp. 470-479.

In text-citation (Harvard style): briefly identifies the source of information in the body text. The amount of information given in the parenthetic (name, year, page number like in Chicago style or just name and year APA and MLA style) depends on the style you use.

They correspond to a full reference entry at the end of your paper.

9. Example for in-text citation. Fragement from: Csatlós, Erzsébet: EU ETD: Towards a New Chapter in EU Citizens’ Rights and a Better Administrative Cooperation. International Law Review, 10 (2) 2019. pp. 60-81.

The in-text citation can be placed in parentheses or naturally integrated into a sentence.

• Parenthetical: There is a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers (Parker, 2019).

• Narrative: Parker (2019) found a correlation between social media usage and anxiety symptoms in teenagers.

Even if your citation style uses parenthetical citation instead of footnotes, you might choose to include footnotes to provide the reader with supplementary information.

2.4. Special citing rules: Legal norms and texts

Each country has its style and format of naming their legislative texts and public documents. The main rule is to be as transparent and traceable as possible.

However, the reference to international documents and some prominent international organisations or judicial forum has developed their structure of referring to their documents. here are some examples.

2.4.1. International conventions and treaties:

The international conventions and treaties are cited by

 their title,

 the place and date of conclusion

 Reference to treaty series in the following order of preference:

 United Nations Treaty Series (U.N.T.S. or UNTS)

 League of Nations Treaty Series (L.N.T.S./LNTS– before the UNTS);

 Official treaty series of a state involved (e.g. Canada Treaty Series (Can. T.S.),

 United Kingdom Treaty Series (U.K.T.S./UKTS)

 Other sources of international treaties (e.g. International Legal Materials (I.L.M.

or ILM)

 Additional information may be provided at the end of the citation, e.g.

✓ the names of the parties to a multilateral treaty,

✓ the date of entry into force,

✓ the number of ratifications, and

✓ the status of particular countries;

✓ declarative normative acts of a particular country (dualist countries)

✓ popular name [GATT; NAFTA; ICCPR; ECHR…]

The UNTS reference is the generally accepted and most widely expanded form of referring to an international agreement or treaty notified to the Secretary-General of the UN.

For example,

Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, 18/04/1961, Vienna, 500 UNTS 95.

Where 500 is the volume number of UNTS and 95 is the number of the page where the convention text starts.

See further examples for citing international agreements below.

10. References to international agreements. Examples taken from: Canadian Guide to Uniform Legal Citation. 6th edition Excepts provided for the benefit of participants in the “The Philip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition” McGill

Law Journal. Thomson – Carswell, Toronto, 2006. p. 15 (E-127).

As for non-convention documents of an international organization, you shall add as much information as you can read on it:

 the name of the organization and its body (if there is any, like the United Nations Security Council – UN SC)

 the title of the document

 the session when it was adopted

 official publication (if there is any)

 year of publication

 article/point/paragraph

2.4.2. International Court of Justice (ICJ)

The documents contain the mode of their official citation including the page number in the Recueil/Reports.

11. Official citation of ICJ cases. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en

2.4.3. European Court of Human Rights

The HUDOC database provides access to the case-law of the Court (Grand Chamber, Chamber and Committee judgments and decisions, communicated cases, advisory opinions and legal summaries from the Case-Law Information Note), the European Commission of Human Rights (decisions and reports) and the Committee of Ministers (resolutions).

From 1 November 1998, the Reports of Judgments and Decisions of the European Court of Human Rights contain a selection of judgments delivered and decisions adopted after the entry into force of Protocol No. 11 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. All judgments and decisions of the Court (except for decisions taken by committees of three judges under Article 28 of the Convention), including those not published in this series, are available in the Court’s case-law database (HUDOC) which is accessible via the Court’s website (http://www.echr.coe.int).

 The form of citation for judgments and decisions published in this series from 1 November 1998 to the end of 2007 follows the pattern:

name of the case (in italics), the application number, paragraph number (for judgments), an abbreviation of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), year and number of the volume.

p. ex. Campbell v. Ireland, no. 45678/98, § 24, ECHR 1999-II.

 From the beginning of 2008 to the end of 2015, there is no volume number (e.g., ECHR 2008, ECHR 2009, etc.).

In the absence of any indication to the contrary, the cited text is a judgment on the merits delivered by a Chamber of the Court. Any variation from that is added in brackets after the name of the case:

 “(Dec.)” for a decision on admissibility,

 “(just satisfaction)” for a judgment concerning only just satisfaction,

 “(revision)” for a judgment concerning revision,

 “(interpretation)” for a judgment concerning the interpretation,

 “(striking out)” for a judgment striking the case out, or

 “(friendly settlement)” for a judgment concerning a friendly settlement.

 “[GC]” is added if the judgment or decision has been given by the Grand Chamber of the Court.

See more here.

2.4.4. EU law

The Official Journal of the European Union (OJ) is the main source of EUR-Lex content. It is published daily (from Monday to Friday regularly, on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only in urgent cases) in the official languages. There are 2 series:

→ L (legislation)

→ C (information and notices)

See more on the EUR-lex and the numbering system here.

12. Method of assigning legal materials. See: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/content/help/faq/intro.html#top

Effective 1 July 2013, the electronic edition of the OJ (e-OJ) is authentic and produces legal effects.

The numbering and referencing of documents published before 1 January 2015 or in a series other than the L series of the OJ do not change. The only element affected by the change is the number assigned by the Publications Office; other elements in the title remain unchanged. CELEX numbers (document identifiers used in the EUR-Lex database) continue to be built in the same way, based on the components of the number assigned by the Publications Office. For more information on CELEX numbers, see http://eurlex.europa.eu/content/help/faq/intro.html#top.

Special cases

1. The new numbering does not apply to certain documents such as:

▪ international agreements and information on the date of their entry into force;

▪ corrigenda.

These documents remain unnumbered.

Office at the moment of their publication in the OJ and a number previously assigned by the author:

▪ ECB legal acts and instruments, for example, Decision (EU) 2015/33 of the European Central Bank … (ECB/2015/1)

▪ Political and Security Committee decisions, for example, Political and Security Committee Decision (CFSP) 2015/258 … (EUBAM Libya/1/2015)

The number assigned by the Publications Office to the following documents will not contain the domain element and will be placed at the end of the title in square brackets:

▪ acts adopted by bodies created by international agreements, for example, Decision No 2/2015 of the ACP–EU Committee of Ambassadors … [2015/45]

▪ acts adopted within the framework of the European Economic Area (EEA), for example, Decision of the EEA Joint Committee No 58/2015 … [2015/100]

▪ acts adopted within the framework of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), for example, Decision of the EFTA Surveillance Authority No 02/10/COL … [2015/101]

▪ regulations of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UN/ECE), for example, Regulation No 28 of the Economic Commission for Europe of the United Nations (UN/ECE) … [2015/46]

a) Method of citing EU legal sources: OJ via EUR-lex

Check the website of the EU: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en

13. EUR-Lex. Opening page. Source: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/homepage.html?locale=en

b) Method of citing caselaw: ECLI via EUR-lex

A European Case-Law Identifier (ECLI) is intended to provide an unambiguous reference to both national and European case-law and to define a minimum set of uniform metadata for case-law. It thus facilitates the consultation and citation of case-law in the European Union.

The ECLI is composed of the following four mandatory elements, in addition to the prefix ‘ECLI’:

• the code corresponding to the Member State of the court or tribunal concerned or to the European Union where it is an EU Court;

• the abbreviation corresponding to the court or tribunal which delivered the decision;

• the year of the decision;

• an ordinal number of a maximum of 25 alphanumeric characters, in a format decided by each Member State or by the supranational court or tribunal concerned. The ordinal number

In document WRITING A PAPER (Pldal 12-0)