Wednesday 8 February 2023

Exercise: Writing for research

Using technology to manage a bibliography, referencing and in-text citations.
This exercise looks at MS Word style sheets and References... while the example illustrations are from MS Word for MacOS the same function is available for Windows and for Microsoft 365 web versions albeit with minor differences in screen layouts and functionality.

1. Save a copy of the ECIS template to your own drive (ECIS-inspired-template.doc in Google Drive link).
2. Rename your file using the following pattern "Surname_MyResearchProject_2019.doc".
For example my own paper is saved as "HigginsEtAl_WorkingInVirtualLight_2019.doc". I have used the author convention "SurnameEtAl" as there are three or more authors.
3. From the MS Ribbon "Home" open the Styles Panel. The "Current style" field show the current text style wherever the cursor is in your Word file. Alternately navigate to top menu "Format>Style" for similar.
The current style at cursor location

4. Select section 1 "First level heading" and rename it "Introduction"

5. Paste and match formatting using following unformatted text as new paragraphs for section 1
Critical management studies appreciate that products and services, produced with technologies, by organisations, and the involvement of users, rely upon "actors having formal and symbolic resources for the exercise of... systematic forms of control over organisational participants, and indirectly over other groups and non-human objects"\citep{AlvDee2000aa}. The techniques and skill of management for producing digital goods and services (through software, hardware and systems) at its best aims to resolve this through the delicate, democratic balancing of power, control of resources, shaping of work culture, and leadership \citep{Kid1981aa}. The following brief introduction to the literature positions this study within the broad field of management information systems and seeks to inform further creative, design, and development initiatives.This study looks at...


6. Confirm that the paragraph current style is "Basic text"

7. Select the following text and change its style to "Subtle Emphasis". You many need to filter the style list selection at the bottom of the styles window.
“actors having formal and symbolic resources for the exercise of... systematic forms of control over organisational participants, and indirectly over other groups and non-human objects”
8. With the MS Ribbon "References" active...
Select the LaTeX citation command \citep{AlvDee2000aa} and replace it with the MS Word equivalent citation, i.e. from the References Ribbon select "Insert Citation". You may need to create a new entry in the Word file's Citations collection
Create a new citation source record

Enter a new source record as follows (n.b. add ", p. 7" to be thorough)
MS Word's new citation source editor

9. Similarly replace the LaTex/Bibtex command for Kidder "\citep{Kid1981aa}" with
Adding Tracy Kidder's Soul of a New Machine to the citation list in your MS Word document
10. Now regenerate the bibliography at the end of the draft paper by navigating to the "References" section, and selecting "Bibliography" to insert a new bibliography. You'll end up deleting the previous copy. You'll also need to reapply the style "Reference" to this text
n.b. the bibliography style-type (Harvard - Anglia) and the insert "Bibliography" command
Note that some data entries in your reference database will not be displayed in the bibliography/references generated by Word. This is entirely normal as each reference style presents a selective subset of the data entered. It is what makes each referencing (e.g. APA, Harvard, Chicago, Numbered etc) style unique and distinctive.