Citing Sources

What is a citation?  

Citations give credit for the work of others you used to build your research argument.  They include common elements such as author, title, publication date, page number, etc. t o identify the sources from which you derived quotes, ideas, images, and other material.    

Most citation styles   require that citations be provided “In-Text”, at the point within your paper where you used a source and in a list of references at the end of the paper called “References”, “Reference List”, “Works Cited” or “Bibliography” depending on the citation style used. Each in-text citation should be fully cited in the list of references.    

Examples  

In-text citation in the APA style:  

Although it involves a lot of work, citing sources is worth the time and effort. (Brown, 2020).  

Reference list citation in the APA style:  

Brown, B. (2020).  The joy of citing sources . University Press   

When to Cite  

Cite sources anytime you use the work of others and for anything that is not your own original thought,   whether it’s from a book, article, video, website, broadcast, an interview you conducted, etc.     

Examples of source material that require citations include:     

• Quotations  

• Paraphrasing or summarizing ideas not your own  
• Referring to the work of others  
• Using data or statistics     

When not to cite:   

• Your own thoughts, ideas or original research  
• Well-known facts or common knowledge  
• Common sayings  

Why Cite Sources?  

You must cite the works of others you used to avoid plagiarism, including accidental plagiarism and to demonstrate your academic integrity.  

In addition, using citations:   

• • Adds strength and authority to your work and documents the depth of your research   
  • Sets your work in the context of existing research and makes you part of the scholarly conversation     
  • Gives readers a roadmap to follow your research and find the source again  

See the Plagiarism Tutorial and Quiz in this guide.