The References Cited in a paper have several purposes. This section gives credit for ideas. In addition, the interested reader can find the original article for further information or verification that the ideas cited are correct. The References Cited section reflects the author's knowledge and helps make the writing more authoritative. There is a distinction between a bibliography and a references cited section. The bibliography is a list of references on the position statement. Some of the references in a bibliography may not be cited in the paper. In contrast, the References Cited section lists only papers that are cited in the text of the paper. Your paper will use References Cited. This section will contain only references which are specifically cited in the text of your paper.
There are as many formats for a References Cited section as there are journals to write papers in. When you write for a journal or a company, there is usually a style manual you must follow exactly. The objectives are complete citation information so a reference can be found, and uniformity of product. The companies and journals are quite proud of their reports and show them to others as examples of their consistently fine work. In this course we will follow the Geological Society of America Bulletin (GSA) format. There are two sources of information on GSA format. One is a recent issue of the Geological Society of America Bulletin. An example is Lamb et al (2007) on electronic reserve in the library. A second source is the Information for Contributors to Publications of the Geological Society of America (Geological Society of America, 2002). This second source is somewhat dated. The best advice is that of the Geological Society of America, which suggests you look a a recent issue of the Bulletin which is why Lamb et al. (2007) is on electroic reserve. Remember, you can check on the most recent format by going to the Library web page, clicking on the Journal List link and searching by title for the Geological Society of America Bulletin.
Many ask about the world wide web. Citation formats for the Geological Society of America (GSA) are not yet established for such references. The following is adapted from the library web page on APA style. This is modified from the APA style manual. Other styles are listed at the library web page on style in general. Until GSA sets a citation format, please use this format:
With a person as an author:
Custer, S.G, 2007, ReferencesCited [Online]:
http://www.homepage.montana.edu/~uessc/esci301/referencescited.htm
[accessed
on August 24, 2007].
With an organization as an author:
World Wildlife Fund, 1998, Help stop
global warming! [Online]:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/frame_gl.htm [accessed on April 5, 1999].
While data from the web is acceptable and more and more web pages
contain valuable information, the web remains largely unreviewed.
Your paper must still depend on the published, peer-reviewed literature
in the library. Citation of web-based information is expected to
be rare or non-existent
in your paper. A majority of references in your paper should come
from journals in the Renne Library (and the Library JournalList).