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I'm doing bioinformatic analyses of my thesis with Ubuntu, should I cite Ubuntu in my thesis?

If so, how can I cite to Ubuntu?

Jorge Castro
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Alex Correa
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  • I don't know about this, does it belong on Ask Ubuntu? – fosslinux Jun 07 '16 at 00:43
  • @CollDue96 this is about Ubuntu and therefore on topic :) – Videonauth Jun 07 '16 at 00:47
  • If you're going to cite Ubuntu you could look up the meaning of the word here if it gives your thesis something of value. – Videonauth Jun 07 '16 at 00:48
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    It's late here, so I'm leaving these links: http://academia.stackexchange.com/questions/5482/how-do-i-reference-the-python-programming-language-in-a-thesis-or-a-paper and http://www.software.ac.uk/how-cite-and-describe-software?mpw Anyone feel free to form an answer from this. – Tim Jun 07 '16 at 00:52
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    Which style guide are you following? Example MLA - you might cite as part of the software - http://www.cws.illinois.edu/workshop/writers/citation/mla/software/ – Mateo Jun 07 '16 at 01:18
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    Even better http://www.citethisforme.com/cite/software – Tim Jun 07 '16 at 01:30
  • I used this site when I had to do citations: http://www.easybib.com/ perhaps the best is to cite http://www.canonical.com/ Easybib has the ability to site websites etc. – Christopher Angulo-Bertram Jun 07 '16 at 15:46
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    Good grief, of course not! Approximately 90% of all bioinformaticians in the world use some flavor of Linux. If we started citing our favorite distribution everywhere, it would never end. You don't need to and shouldn't cite Ubuntu in your thesis. Would you cite Dell for building the machine as well? Or Qiagen for making the pipettes? Just mention the tools you used in the Methods. – terdon Jun 11 '16 at 17:32
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    I'm voting to close this question as off-topic because it is about the norms of academic citations and has nothing to do with Ubuntu itself. – terdon Jun 11 '16 at 17:32

1 Answers1

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Yes. I think one of the best ways to cite it would be:

I used Canonical Ubuntu x.x to produce my _______. Some of the applications I used are ______. Ubuntu is a open-source Operating System using the Linux kernel and based on Debian.

The reasons for each bit:

I used Canonical Ubuntu x.x to produce my _______.

This is the main citation.

Some of the applications I used are ________.

This are extra citations for the applications you used.

Ubuntu is a open-source Operating System using the Linux kernel and based on Debian.

A short description of Ubuntu to tell the marker what Ubuntu is.

fosslinux
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