Lecture
The bibliographic apparatus of a scientific work is represented by a bibliographic list and bibliographic references, which are formatted in accordance with the requirements of the state standard.
Let us consider the formatting of the bibliographic list, which is sometimes incorrectly called "the literature."
Bibliographic list — an element of the bibliographic apparatus that contains bibliographic descriptions of the sources used and is placed after the conclusion. Such a list constitutes one of the essential parts of a scientific work, reflecting the independent creative work of its author, and therefore makes it possible to judge the researcher's degree of familiarity with the subject and the thoroughness of the research conducted.
A bibliographic description is compiled directly from the printed work itself, or copied out from catalogues and bibliographic indexes in full, without omitting any elements or abbreviating titles, etc. This makes it possible to avoid repeat checks and insertions of missing information.
In scientific works, the bibliographic list does not include encyclopedias, reference books, popular-science publications, and sources that are not referenced in the main text and were in fact not used in the work.
In scientific works the following methods of constructing bibliographic lists are used:
- alphabetically by authors' surnames or titles,
- by subject,
- by type of publication,
- by chronology of publication,
- by nature of content,
- lists of mixed construction.
The alphabetical method of grouping literary sources is characterized by the fact that authors' surnames and titles (if no author is indicated) are arranged alphabetically. Foreign sources are placed alphabetically after the list of all sources in the language of the scientific work.
In an alphabetical bibliographic list, the arrangement of sources is recommended to be as follows:
a) when the first words coincide - alphabetically by the second words, etc.;
b) for several works by the same author - alphabetically by title;
c) for authors with identical surnames - by identifying characteristics (junior, senior, father, son - from the older to the younger);
d) for several works by an author written in co-authorship with others - alphabetically by the co-authors' surnames.
A bibliographic list constructed by subject, is used when it is necessary to reflect a large number of bibliographic descriptions and makes it possible to quickly locate a reference on a given topic.
The arrangement of descriptions in such a list can vary:
a) by the topics of the chapters of the works, with a separate section set aside for general works covering all or a significant part of the topics;
b) by the sections of one or another division of the thematic classification of literature that corresponds to the general topic of the work.
In a thematic bibliographic list, the arrangement of descriptions within sections may be:
a) alphabetically by authors' surnames or by the first words of titles (when described by title);
b) by nature of content (from sources general in content to particular ones);
c) by type of publication and alphabetically by authors' surnames or the first words of titles.
The form of linking the description to the main text is here done by the numbers of the entries in the list.
The bibliographic list by type of publication is used in scientific works to systematize thematically homogeneous literature.
When compiling such lists, the following groups of publications are usually distinguished: official state publications, normative-instructional materials, reference works, etc. Their order and composition are determined by the purpose of the list and the content of its entries.
The principle of arranging descriptions within sections is the same as in the thematic list, and the form of linking the description to the main text is by their numbers in the list.
A bibliographic list constructed by the nature of the content of the sources described in it is used in scientific works with a small volume of literature used. The order of arrangement of the main groups of entries here is as follows: first general or fundamental works, then more particular sources of a specific nature, arranged either as component parts of the general topic of the master's thesis or according to its more particular questions. The form of linking descriptions to the main text is by the numbers of the descriptions in the list.
In scientific works one quite often encounters bibliographic lists of mixed construction, when other types of construction are applied within the main sections of the list:
- alphabetical-chronological within (for works by one author),
- within the list by type of publication - alphabetical,
- by nature of content,
- by subject.
Other combinations of types and subtypes of construction are also possible, determined by the intended purpose and readership of the list, as well as by the particulars of its construction.
Let us now consider the rules for formatting bibliographic references. A bibliographic reference - a set of bibliographic information about a document that is cited, discussed, or mentioned in the text of another document (or its component part or a group of documents), necessary for its general characterization, identification and retrieval.
By location relative to the main text of the scientific work, bibliographic references are:
1) in-text, i.e. an inseparable part of the main text;
2) footnotes, i.e. moved from the text to the bottom of the page;
3) endnotes, i.e. moved outside the text of the entire work or of its part.
In-text references are used when a significant part of the reference has become part of the main text of the scientific work so organically that it cannot be removed from that text without replacing it with other text. In this case, the parentheses indicate only the publication data and the page number on which the cited passage is printed, or only the publication data (if the page number is indicated in the text), or only the page number (if the reference is a repeat one).
Footnote references to sources are used in the text of a master's thesis when references are needed in the course of reading but it is impossible or undesirable to place them within the text, so as not to complicate reading and hinder the search when consulting them.
In cases where references are given at the bottom of each page of the work in the form of footnotes, footnote marks in the form of an asterisk or a number are used to link them with the text. The footnote mark should be placed at the point in the text where, in terms of meaning, the author's thought ends.
There are several ways of linking the main text of a scientific work with the description of a source. Most often, the serial number of the source as indicated in the bibliographic list serves this purpose; in the main text this number is enclosed in square brackets. When a page of the source is indicated in the main text, the page number is likewise enclosed in a square bracket. For example: [24, p. 44], meaning: source 24, page 44.
Endnote bibliographic references are used in cases where the researcher has to work with a large number of sources. Although the list of endnote references cannot be regarded as a bibliographic list, such a list, in appearance and in substance, comes close to a bibliographic list. There is therefore no point in repeating the material already set out in the characterization of the bibliographic list.
Self-test questions
1. What are the basic requirements for the formatting of a scientific work?
2. What are the rules for formatting enumerations?
3. What are tables? Into what groups are tables divided by content?
4. In which tables can certain regularities be identified and formulated, and which contain unprocessed data?
5. Are repetitions permissible in table headings? What is the procedure for carrying a table over to the next page?
6. Should a table be duplicated by the text?
7. Should all formulas be numbered? What punctuation marks are used in formatting formulas?
8. How should a scientific work be properly illustrated?
9. How are illustrations numbered? What elements make up the caption under an illustration?
10. What types of illustrative material are used in scientific works?
11. What illustrative materials are used for the visual representation and analysis of mass data?
12. How are the results of processing numerical data presented?
13. What requirements apply to the construction of graphs?
14. What purpose do quotations serve? List the main requirements for quoting.
15. How are references formatted in the text?
16. What does the bibliographic apparatus of a master's thesis consist of?
17. What sources are not included in the bibliographic list of a master's thesis?
18. What characterizes the alphabetical method of grouping literary sources?
19. When is a bibliographic list constructed by subject used?
20. What is the order of arrangement of the main groups of entries in a bibliographic list constructed by the nature of the content of the sources described in it?
21. What are bibliographic lists of mixed presentation?
22. What are the rules for formatting bibliographic references?
23. When are in-text, footnote, and endnote bibliographic references used?
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