CIM3: Citing research methods: basic skills & checklist

 Associate Professor Sama Low-Choy

Citation is an inescapable part of Western academic practice. Indeed, all HDR candidates must include a signed statement at the front of their thesis to declare that they have adequately acknowledged all sources of information, including their own (whether internal or external to the thesis). This training was motivated by our observation that many academics do not adequately cite methods, when justifying, explaining or documenting their methods-based choices.

This workshop aims to provide you with basic skills (and a checklist) to help ensure that you cite method adequately within your research in any field, to achieve transparency, towards more reproducible and replicable sharing of research methods. The session begins by addressing high-level issues: developing text which includes citations, a typology of methods-based citations, critical thinking to support citation, and avoiding parroting and plagiarism on research methods. Then we will cover some finer points, such as: how to cite software, basic "grammar" for citing method, and the appropriate level of detail for methods-based citations. We refer to some popular software used for managing references.

Audience Anyone interested in reading/writing up empirical research, who has undergraduate-level mastery of citation for academic writing.

Preparation
1. Homework. Please identify an article which uses a research method that you are interested in, and supply a citation here, along with some other questions to help tailor the workshop content: https://forms.office.com/r/bKmXfSicCU

2. Background. We do not cover academic citation practices in general, so refer you to Griffith University's guidelines on referencing: https://www.griffith.edu.au/library/study/referencing.

Related RED Workshops Griffith University's Research Methods Advisors (GURMAs) address literacy for specific methods, eg mixed methods, meta-analysis and structural equation models. GURMAs will soon have a suite of 5 workshops within the theme of Critical Inquiry about Method, two introduced in 2024 and two more in 2025. The GU Library also provides workshops and/or self-paced tutorials on related topics: referencing, ethical use of generative AI, academic integrity, and critical thinking.

REGISTER NOW

This session is open to current staff and students only