Reference Notes

Scholarly research is a communal as well as an individual activity. The primary purpose of notes and bibliographies is not to protect the author against charges of plagiarism—although that is important!—or even to show that he or she has an adequate grasp of existing sources—although that is important too! Rather, notes and bibliography are tools used by a community. Scholars do not work in a vacuum, but as part of a body, each one enhancing the work of others. Every article or book represents a contribution to a much larger field of knowledge, and every scholar working in that field is responsible for clearly setting out where he or she found certain information so that other scholars can locate and use it too.

Use of notes

Notes are used in a manuscript for the following purposes:

• To cite the source of a quote or other information. It is extremely important both to give credit where it is due, and to give the reader the most complete directions possible so that the source may be located again for other research.
• To add comments that cannot appropriately be included in the text itself, such as definitions, explanations, references to other parts of the text, and so on.
• To refer the reader to other sources of related interest.