Academic Source Use Checklist

It's thesis season! Our LUMES master's students are turning in their last six months of academic blood, sweat and tears (AKA, their theses) in nine short days. 

Just in time- here's a checklist I've developed to help students give appropriate credit to their original sources. This is one of the most common problem areas I see in student writing. Following this checklist will help you contribute to scholarly conversation and avoid problems from unclear citations. 

This checklist aims to serve several purposes: 

1. Demonstrate appropriate research ethics in fairly crediting ideas to their original authors.
2. Give more credibility to your research by grounding it in established literature, and showing where you have added new knowledge.  
3. Help your reader follow your logic and understand your main claim, based on the evidence that supports it.  
4. Follow a well-established format for citation (APA style), to help readers find and understand the sources you have used and the way in which you've used them. 
5. Avoid plagiarism (which is every student's responsibility to avoid- even unintentional plagiarism can carry a penalty of up to six months' suspension at Lund University).  

Comments or corrections welcome. Happy revising!