Literatur und Zitieren
In general, the Marketing Department recommends citing from academic journals and suggests using specific electronic databases as well as press and web sources for literature research. A corresponding list can be found here. The two most important sources for literature research are electronically available databases and library catalogs (i.e., the university library). In addition, there are a variety of other sources. The emphasis on which sources to prioritize in literature research also depends on the specific topic.
Examples of electronically available databases:
Search engines: e.g., Google Scholar
In general, for seminar papers and theses in the field of marketing, it is recommended to use international journals that ensure the scientific quality of articles through an anonymous peer-review process.
There are also differences in quality among journals. Journal rankings provide guidance for evaluating journal quality. We recommend the VHB-Rating 2024 for publication outlets of the Association of Professors of Business Administration.
Internet sources should be used very sparingly and purposefully. In some cases, such as when illustrating current trends or statistics, they can effectively support the relevance of a topic, for example news articles, company websites, or Statista. However, for citing definitions and theories or for illustrating the state of research, internet sources should be avoided.
Correct citation serves as evidence of scientific work. This means that references to existing literature must be complete and comprehensible. It reflects both the author's honesty and their ability to substantiate their arguments with appropriate sources. Whenever someone else's text or idea is used, it must be cited. This applies to both direct and indirect quotations.
For seminar and final papers in the Marketing Department, you should use the citation style of the American Psychological Association (APA). References are given as short citations directly in the text (i.e., not as footnotes). In any case, consistency of citation style throughout the paper must be ensured.
If you use a reference management program (e.g., Mendeley, Citavi, Endnote, Zotero), you can set APA as the citation style. This way, APA is applied automatically in both the text and the reference list.
Literal quotes reproduce the content of a source word for word. It is important that such quotes are placed in quotation marks. Paraphrased quotes, on the other hand, convey the content of a source in your own words and do not use quotation marks. The source must be cited for both literal and paraphrased quotes.
Examples of literal quotes:
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Sherry (1983), for example, differentiates between whether giving is altruistically motivated, i.e., “where the donor attempts to maximize the pleasure of the recipient” (Sherry, 1983, p. 160), or agonistically motivated, i.e., “where the donor attempts to maximize personal satisfaction” (Sherry, 1983, p. 160).
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Attitudes are thus described as “the extent to which one likes or dislikes something – for example a product, company, or brand” (Tormala & Brinol, 2015, p. 29).
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Customer gratitude is understood as “the emotional appreciation for benefits received” (Palmatier et al., 2009, p. 1).
Examples of paraphrased quotes:
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In an unstandardized interview, there is no fixed set of questions. The interviewer instead adapts the questions according to the course of the conversation. A standardized interview, by contrast, follows a predetermined set of questions (Mayring, 2002, p. 66).
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The last function of giving mentioned by Belk (1979, pp. 104-105) is socialization.
If you are not citing the original source – which should generally be used (!) – but instead must cite a secondary source because the original is no longer accessible, both sources must be listed. The original work is cited first, followed by the reference “cited in” for the source from which the original reference was obtained. Here is an example in APA style:
Penrose states: “it is never resources themselves that are the 'inputs' to the production process, but only services that the resources can render” (Penrose, 1959, pp. 24–25, cited in Vargo & Lusch, 2004, p. 326).
In the bibliography (sometimes also called the list of sources), all sources used in the main text are listed. Dividing sources into different types, e.g., monographs, journals, and online sources, is not desired.
The bibliography lists sources in alphabetical order by the authors’ last names. If there are multiple texts by the same author or author team, they are sorted chronologically. If an author or author team has multiple publications in the same year, the individual sources are distinguished by adding lowercase letters in alphabetical order of the titles, e.g., Churchill, G. A. (1979a); Churchill, G. A. (1979b). This labeling is also retained in in-text citations.
An overview of using APA citation style in the bibliography can be found here.
For works written in German, the abbreviations “p./pp.” for page(s) and “Ed./Eds.” for editor are replaced with the German terms “S.” for Seite(n) and “Hrsg.” for Herausgeber:innen.
Using a reference management program (e.g., Citavi, EndNote) is not strictly necessary, but it is strongly recommended. Such programs save time and reduce the likelihood of errors when citing sources.
Nevertheless, before submitting your work, you should carefully review the bibliography to ensure that all required information is included. Additionally, you should check whether the formatting (e.g., capitalization or italics) complies with the citation guidelines.
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You can download Citavi and Endnote for free via the Zedat portal. Zotero is an open-source application.
The library of the Wiwiss department regularly offers training sessions on using EndNote.
The library of the Faculty of Business and Economics regularly offers finalist training sessions (in-person or self-study courses) that prepare students for literature research. Completion of the finalist training is mandatory for bachelor’s theses.