Thesis Referencing Question

tntcoder · 11 Aug 2010 at 13:41

Hi,

Got a quick referencing question for a thesis. If I refer to a term that I haven't yet defined should I provide a reference for it?

Are you supposed to define terms like 'cloud' with a reference (e.g point to some academic literature providing a reasonable definition of the term)?

I explain it in detail in my second chapter but it and similar words are used before my detailed definitions of them. Or can you simply assume the reader is aware of such definitions (or soon will be at a later reading point)?

I think it will look messy if I bracket terms with (See Chapter X), won't look right.

Thanks.

Vonhelmet · 11 Aug 2010 at 13:51

Just stick in a glossary. Define all unusual terms there.

Burnsy2023 · 11 Aug 2010 at 13:52

tntcoder said:
I explain it in detail in my second chapter but it and similar words are used before my detailed definitions of them. Or can you simply assume the reader is aware of such definitions (or soon will be at a later reading point)?

I would hope that any potential reader of your thesis would be comfortable with this widely used term and as such would not reference it.

AtticusFinch · 11 Aug 2010 at 13:54

+1 for leave it to the glossary and/or the later sections for definition. The audience should already have some idea what it means and you can later define it as part of your argument.

tntcoder · 11 Aug 2010 at 13:55

Ok brilliant thanks guys, I had completely forgotten about a glossary

Fortyseven · 11 Aug 2010 at 14:03

tntcoder said:
I explain it in detail in my second chapter but it and similar words are used before my detailed definitions of them. Or can you simply assume the reader is aware of such definitions (or soon will be at a later reading point)?

Since you explain, in detail, what it is, then there is no need for it to be in a glossary.

The point of the introduction is to describe what you are doing and why, so then anything that is ambiguous or unexplained can be covered in the "Background" or "Lit Reveiw" section of the report.

The other option is to put your detailed descriptions in when the words are first used. This can make the introduction rather heavy though.

AJK · 11 Aug 2010 at 14:23

tntcoder said:
Got a quick referencing question for a thesis. If I refer to a term that I haven't yet defined should I provide a reference for it?

In my opinion, if you are using a term relevant to your field of study, which your audience will understand, there is generally no need to do so.

HOWEVER I believe the main exception to this is if part of your thesis will discuss the definition of that word. In your case you say that your second chapter "explains in detail" the term cloud. If this chapter deals with the definition of "cloud", and what exactly constitutes "cloud based infrastructres" (which is a pretty generic term!), my opinion is that you should avoid using the word at all until you have completed your definition.

If that makes sense :-/