Summary
Highlights
If no author is identified, the document title replaces the author's name. If no publication date is found, "n.d." (no date) is used. For multiple works by the same author in the same year, lowercase letters are added to the year (e.g., 2015a, 2015b) to distinguish them.
The author-date method is flexible, simplifying bibliography updates. The ETS website offers resources for graduate students, including an FAQ on source identification and an English guide on writing reports, dissertations, or theses, with chapter three detailing bibliographic record creation with examples.
It's crucial to cite all sources, regardless of whether they are found online, to help readers evaluate the information's credibility. The video emphasizes the need for critical thinking and discerning reliable sources, cautioning against unreliable sources like Wikipedia due to lack of verification.
A story is shared about a professor who deliberately inserted errors into a text to highlight how easily false information can spread and how students can unknowingly propagate it. This illustrates the importance of using recognized and validated sources.
For two authors, both names are listed with an ampersand. For three to five authors, all names are listed initially, and subsequent citations shorten to the first author's name followed by "et al." For six or more authors, only the first author's name followed by "et al." is used.
The video introduces the author-date method for identifying reference sources, consistent with APA style. All citations, whether direct quotes or paraphrases, must include the author's name, publication year, and page number, placed immediately after the citation.