Citing Sources

When you do research for papers and projects, you always need to cite your sources. To cite means to point to the evidence. You need to show where you found the information you used in your research. It doesn't matter what type of source it is. It can be in print or online. It can be an image or a conversation. If it is an idea that comes from an outside source, meaning it's not your own original thought, you need to cite it. Most of us know that if we want to quote text or idea from a print copy of a textbook, a book, newspaper, magazine, or journal, we'll need to cite it. We make this assumption because we recognize that the material has been published and there is a clear indication of ownership, author, and publication information. Citing digitized information can be a bit more confusing. You may be thinking "I found all this stuff on the Internet. The Internet is free and belongs to everybody, so why do I need to cite it?" Material on the Web may be openly accessible, but that doesn't mean you can use it or copy it without providing a citation. Material that is posted or uploaded to the Web is technically published on the Web so it may be under copyright and is the intellectual property of another person or organization. In addition to websites, you may want to use Internet-based periodicals and eBooks which are housed in online library databases. Academic libraries subscribe to these collections so students, staff, and faculty can access news, magazine, and journal articles, and eBooks. The material in library databases has been published in print and then digitized and uploaded to databases for easier access. Digitized content you find on the Web or in library databases is often the exact same content that you'd find in the print versions, but it can look different because it's been digitized. This may mean you use a slightly different way to cite the information, but you still cite it, regardless of how you've access it. There are many reasons why you need to cite your sources. First, it lets the reader know what the original source of your information is. This lends authority to your work and lets the instructor know that you did your research. Second, it gives your reader information about how you accessed the source you're referring to. You want to let your reader identify and retrieve the sources you used for their own analysis. This is an important part of the academic research process Finally, you want to give credit to the person whose ideas you have quoted, summarized, or paraphrased. Not doing so constitutes plagiarism and is a violation of copyright law. Within your paper, there are two places where you need to cite your sources. You need to cite your source in the body of your document and in a list of sources, also known as the bibliography, at the end of your paper. Style manuals are guides that tell you where and how to properly cite your sources. There are several different styles, so you should check your course syllabus or ask your instructor which one to use. Remember, if it was found in print or online, if it was free or you paid for it, if you quoted it directly or just used basic ideas from it, you always need to cite the information you use in your paper.