Tekstiviittausjärjestelmä

Tekstiviittausjärjestelmä, often translated as "in-text citation system," is a method used in academic and professional writing to acknowledge the sources of information within the body of a text. It provides readers with a concise reference directly at the point where borrowed material appears, indicating who wrote the information and when it was published. This system is crucial for academic integrity, preventing plagiarism and allowing readers to easily locate the original sources for further study.

There are several common types of in-text citation systems, each with its own specific format. The most prevalent are author-date systems, such as the APA (American Psychological Association) style and the Harvard referencing system, where the author's last name and the year of publication are placed in parentheses. Another widely used system is the numeric system, exemplified by the Vancouver style and IEEE, which assigns a number to each source and uses that number to refer to it within the text, with a corresponding numbered list of references at the end of the document.

The primary purpose of an in-text citation is to give credit to the original author and to guide the reader to the full bibliographic details of the source, which are typically found in a reference list or bibliography at the end of the work. Proper use of a tekstiviittausjärjestelmä demonstrates scholarship and strengthens the credibility of the writer's own work by showing it is built upon existing knowledge and research. The specific style guide chosen by an institution or publication dictates the precise format of these citations.