For instance, it is still very common to find books where an
author uses footnotes or endnotes in the main text, but when
you turn to the note there is a Harvard referencing system
in use, showing only Smith (2001). This means that you have
to look further on again in the bibliography at the end to find
out which source this is. Another example of two-stage look-up
occurs often in humanities disciplines (like history) where
many authors still use pointless and anachronistic Latin abbre-
viations. Here you may find in an endnote or footnote a refer-
ence such as ‘White, op. cit.’ or ‘White, loc. cit.’, where the Latin
bits mean ‘the same work as when White was last cited’. You
then have to embark on a complete magical mystery tour of
looking back through dozens of previous notes, trying to find
the last time White was cited. The most careless and discourte-
ous authors will pursue this op. cit.logic across several chapters,
asking you to ransack possibly hundreds of notes to find the
last time White was referenced. This approach would be a very
rash one to adopt with PhD examiners or assessors. Both these
examples illustrate the dangers to you as an author of not using
a one-stop look-up system. If readers have to dig around in sev-
eral different places to track down where you got a point from,
they will form a worse view of your text and of your compe-
tence as an author compared with if you make their task
straightforward.
Within the two principles of meeting the examiners’ need to
know precise sources for everythingquoted or cited, and provid-
ing a one-stop look-up, try to guard against a tendency towards
over-referencing. A classic ‘thesis paranoia’ symptom is insert-
ing supporting literature for every point, even ones that no one
in their right mind would dispute or need to do further reading
about, such as: ‘The United Kingdom is a country with a long
and chequered history (Davies, 1999; Trevelyan, 1966;
Chesterton, 1923).’ If you find this problem in your text, check
whether you are overciting more generally. Later on an exces-
sively overcautious referencing approach also signals ‘PhD thesis’
immediately to journal editors and reviewers, and to book pub-
lishers. So it may make it harder than it otherwise would be to
get your work published. Referencing details are also generally
unattractive, so if overdone they can detract quite a lot from
the ‘look and feel’ of your text.
122 ◆AUTHORING A PHD