There are many aspects to consider when writing an academic text. Whether it is your undergraduate thesis, article, essay, or other form of academic writing, one common denominator in determining whether or not the writing is good is the references being used. Finding a good academic publication for your writing can be a tricky task. Some things to consider are the searching platform, tools, and perhaps most importantly the keyword used when looking for a publication. To help you navigate your way to finding a good publication, here are a few tips and tricks.
Scholarly Database Platforms: Where to Look?
Choosing credible sources is very important to ensure that the publications you find are also credible. Universitas Padjadjaran provides access to some of the most renowned digital libraries that you, its students, can access through Universitas Padjadjaran E-Journal Services. There are also digital libraries that open some of its access such as JStore or search engines that can help you look through the internet for publications you might need such as Google Scholar.
When using the search feature, please be sure to select the “Show Everything” option to ensure that all available entries for a particular platform are displayed. Should the publication you are looking for is not accessible, you can then search for it elsewhere. This is how it might look on one of the platforms, JStore.
Quick Tips & Tricks!
Remember to use Universitas Padjadjaran internet network when trying to access the E-Journal Services feature. While access to some publications might be limited, you can always fill the Academic Publication Access Request Form and we will help you get the access for the publication.
Finding the Right Publication: the Magic of Keyword
In the seemingly endless pool of information the internet provides, looking for references for your writing can be overwhelming. Therefore, it is important to know how to use keywords to help you narrow your search and find the reference you need quickly. To help you put together your keyword, here are some tips we gathered from our lecturer, Bu Ari
- Find out what you are looking for
While the initial trigger for each person may vary, the two key elements to define before starting your writing are the object and the issue. The object is the central focus of your study, it could be a text, author, or cultural phenomenon, while the issue is the critical question or problem related to that object. Understanding how these elements interact is crucial for you to construct your analysis. Once you have set the object and issue, the next step is to engage with relevant theoretical frameworks, which will guide your argument and provide the scholarly tools necessary for your analysis, ensuring your work is both grounded in relevant academic discourse and capable of offering original insights. - Finding Reference: Where to Start?
The search engine in most digital libraries would sort their result based on the relevancy of their entries to the keyword given. That is why it is important for you to use the right keywords in order to get relevant entries. One of the strategy you can apply is to construct your keyword based on 3 elements: the object (e.g., Shakespeare’s Hamlet, 19th-century American literature, Black American humour), the Issue (e.g., racism and black oppression, race and identity, gender representation), and the theory (e.g., postcolonial theory, performativity, queer theory)
You can also search them individually to look for publications that only contain one or some elements that you are looking for. Once you have set those elements, your keyword should look something like this:
“19th-century American literature AND race and identity AND postcolonial theory“
Be mindful that the search engine in each digital library might have different methods when trying to look for entries with multiple keywords. Some offer a dedicated menu where you can input multiple keywords that you wanted to search while others relies on certain special characters to execute advanced searches.
Quick Tips & Tricks!
Almost every digital library gives you the option for an advanced search to further narrow your search. Make sure to take advantage of this feature and set a tag for your search when possible. There is also special character input when using the search engine that you need to look out for. Here are some examples for Google Scholars. - Finding your Main Reference
The first, and perhaps the easiest, step in looking for the right reference you need is to read the title. A title should give a general description of what the publication is about. A good indicator of whether or not a publication is relevant to you or not is to see if it contains your keyword in the title.
After you have read the title you can then move on to the abstract. In this section, the writer generally outlines the entirety of their writing, including the reference they use. This is very convenient for you as if you stumbled upon the same reference being used by different authors that are writing about similar topics, it is a good indication that the reference is a prominent text in the discourse and you should consider using it as your main reference.
While there are stylistic differences on how authors write their reference, in general, they would put a list of references in the latter end of their writings. In this section, you can get crucial information about the references used by the author and where to look for them.
Quick Tips & Tricks!
While there are quite a few citation styles out there, publicists or journals would usually require people who want to submit their writing to us a certain citation style. Make sure that your writing follows the requirements needed, be it by a publicist or your lecturer, before submitting it. There are a bunch of Applications, Chrome Extensions, and AI that can help you cite correctly. Read more about citation styles here.
Knowing the Tools at Your Disposal: the Power of AI
In the last couple of years, there has been a huge leap in the Artificial Intelligence sector, especially in how they are used in our daily lives. However, integrating them into academic uses has proven to be a challenge as you might run into other problems such as plagiarism and unreliable sources if you do not use them correctly. Here is a list of tools that you can use along with some tips on how to utilise them.
- Chat GPT
ChatGPT is a versatile AI tool that can assist in a variety of academic tasks, from brainstorming ideas and generating outlines to providing explanations of complex topics. It can help with drafting content, refining writing style, and even answering questions based on existing academic knowledge. Tips: When using ChatGPT, always specify your requirements clearly (e.g., “Explain the theme of identity in The Great Gatsby using psychoanalytic theory”). After receiving responses, verify the information with trusted academic sources. ChatGPT is a great starting point, but it’s crucial to cross-check facts and ensure the language and structure are appropriate for your academic writing. - MyBib
MyBib is a citation tool that allows you to quickly generate accurate bibliographies for your research papers. It supports a variety of citation styles, including MLA, APA, and Chicago, and can help save time by automating the formatting process. Tips: To find the right reference, always search for the exact title or DOI of the publication you are referencing. If the tool is unable to automatically detect the citation, you can manually input publication details, such as author names, journal titles, and page numbers, to ensure accuracy. Always double-check your generated bibliography for consistency with your institution’s citation guidelines. - Grammarly
Grammarly is an AI-powered tool designed to improve your writing by checking for grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style. It also provides suggestions for clarity and tone, making it particularly useful for academic writing. Tips: Grammarly can be a valuable resource, but don’t rely on it entirely for your academic writing. For more formal academic writing, ensure that you manually adjust the tone and complexity, as Grammarly’s suggestions may occasionally skew towards a more casual style. Use Grammarly’s “Clarity” and “Engagement” suggestions to enhance readability, but always read through its suggestions and use your judgment. - Turnitin
Turnitin is widely used in academic institutions for plagiarism detection. It checks your work against a large database of academic content to ensure originality. Tips: To avoid unintentional plagiarism, always ensure that you properly cite any ideas, quotes, or paraphrased content. Before submitting your work, use Turnitin to check for similarities and ensure that all sources are correctly attributed. Turnitin also offers feedback on areas of high similarity, so review these closely to make sure that your paraphrasing and citations are correct. - EndNote
EndNote is a reference management tool that helps you organize and format citations for your research. It integrates with word processors to insert citations and generate bibliographies. Tips: When adding references, ensure that the metadata (author names, journal titles, etc.) is correct. If importing from online databases, double-check the accuracy of the citation details, as errors can occur during the import process. EndNote can also link directly to academic databases, so use it to find relevant references by searching for specific keywords, titles, or authors. - Zotero
Zotero is another reference management tool that helps you collect, organize, and cite your sources. Unlike EndNote, it’s open-source and integrates with your browser to automatically capture citation data from websites, books, and articles. Tips: Use Zotero’s “Save to Zotero” browser extension to quickly collect citation information while browsing academic articles or online databases. When saving references, ensure that the full citation information (e.g., DOI, publication date) is correctly imported, as incomplete data could cause formatting errors in your bibliography. - Mendeley
Mendeley is a reference manager and academic social network that allows you to organize and annotate PDFs, collaborate with colleagues, and generate citations. Tips: Take advantage of Mendeley’s “Suggested Readings” feature to find articles related to your research. You can upload your PDFs to MRefWorksendeley and annotate them directly, which is particularly helpful for keeping track of key ideas and quotes. Mendeley also provides citation styles and integrates well with word processors to insert references into your document. - Google Scholar
Google Scholar is a free academic search engine that indexes scholarly literature across many disciplines. Tips: When searching for articles, use advanced search filters (by author, year, or publication) to narrow down results. Always evaluate the credibility of the sources you find, as Google Scholar includes both peer-reviewed and non-peer-reviewed content. To find the most relevant references, make sure to read abstracts carefully and look for high citation counts, which can indicate the article’s influence in the field. - RefWorks
RefWorks is a cloud-based reference management tool designed for academic research. It allows you to collect, organize, and cite sources in various citation styles. Tips: Import references from online databases directly into RefWorks to ensure accuracy and save time. Use its “Write-N-Cite” feature to automatically insert citations into your documents while writing. Always review citations for formatting accuracy, as RefWorks may occasionally format some entries incorrectly, especially for non-standard sources.
Hopefully this posting can help you to find references you need for your publication. I wanted to remind you that Gemasi has an Academic Publication Access Request Form, where you can ask for access for publications you cannot open. Feel free to leave comments in this posting and share your own strategy or tips & tricks to find references for academic writing. Thank you and best of luck to you all!
