The purpose for citing is to let readers know that a specific piece of information you're providing has a source, other than your own observation or reasoning. In many cases, the strength and credibility of your work depends on the validity of your sources, as well as your ability to represent those sources clearly without plagiarizing. Even if you fail to cite a source, or cite improperly, without meaning to do so, the consequences can be just as dire as if you did it on purpose, especially in academic and professional settings.
Steps
1. Evaluate the credibility of the source. Don't drag down the credibility of your publication by cavalierly citing unreliable sources.
2. Gather the following information about each source. Find out what kind of information you'll need from each type of source. If you're using a strict format that requires the copyright year of each book you refer to, it can be a pain to go through all of your research without knowing this, then have to go back, find all the books at the library, and determine the copyright date. Generally, it's better to record more information than less, just in case.
* Books - Full names of all authors, title of book, city of publication, publisher's name, year of publication. If the book is published by an organization and the individual authors aren't listed, write down the full name of the organization. For electronic books, also record the URL and date of access.
o Encyclopedias and dictionaries - Also get the full name of the author who wrote the entry (if it is given), the entry title, the number of volumes in the set, and the edition. Write down the volume you're using and the page numbers, unless the content is organized alphabetically.
o Anthologies and collections - Note the author and the title of individual work you're citing (poem, play, short story, etc.), the full names of any editors and compilers, and the page number(s). If the work was previously published in another book, record the information for the original source as described above.
* Journal articles - Journal title, article title, author name(s), volume and issue number of the journal, date of publication, and page numbers of the article. If it is an online journal, also record the page or paragraph numbers (if applicable), URL, and the date you accessed the site. If you are accessing the article through a database, also record the database name.
* Magazine articles - Author(s), title of article, title of magazine, volume number (if applicable), date of publication, and page(s). For online magazines, get the date of access and URL as well. If you access the magazine through a database, find the vendor/supplier of database, database name, accession number of article (if applicable), and the date of access.
* Newspaper articles - Author of article, title of article, name of newspaper, date of publication, and the section, page and column location of article. If the newspaper is online, get the URL and date of access, too. If you found the newspaper article in a database, write down the URL, date of access, database, and library through which article was accessed (name, city, and state).
* Websites - Author (if given), title of work, group responsible for the site (if applicable), date site was last updated, date of access, and URL. If you have trouble finding everything except the last two items, you might want to reconsider the validity of this source. For postings, also get the title of posting, post number (if numbered), date of posting, URL the post was made to, and URL of message archives.
* Government documents - If published by the US government, get the issuing agency, title of the document, number of the Congress, session number of Congress, place of publication, date of publication, document number (if given), and SuDoc number.
* Letters and interviews - Names of author and recipient (or interviewer and interviewee), date written/conducted, name of collection, name of depository, and the depository's location.
3. Place a reference next to each statement that you've cited. When you're writing your final paper, be sure to keep track of which source each cited statement came from. How you do so depends on which format you're using.
* MLA - Author last name and page number in parentheses. If the author is already mentioned in the statement, just put the page number in parentheses. If there are two authors, name them both with "and" in the middle. Use commas if there are more than two authors. Place the citation before a punctuation mark.
o E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years (Alison 45).
* Turabian footnotes - Add a superscript number at the end of the statement to denote which source it is referring to. Even if you refer to the same source multiple times, it gets a new superscript number every time. Start the superscript numbers from 1 every time you start a new page.
o E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years.1
* APA - Author last name (or organization name) and year in parentheses. Use commas. Add "p." and a space before the page number if the statement is a direct quote. If the author is already mentioned in the statement, put the year in parentheses next to the name (and put the page number in parentheses at the end of the statement, if applicable). Place the citation before a punctuation mark. If there are two or three authors in parentheses, use "&" instead of "and".
o E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years (Alison, 1987).
o E.g. Allison (1987) asserted that "leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years" (p. 45).
* CSE Citation-Sequence - Add a superscript number at the end of the statement to denote which source it is referring to. Unlike with the Turabian footnotes, there's only one superscript number for each source. It's possible to have superscript numbers on one page that are out of order if a source was cited on a previous page. You can also cite multiple sources at once by specifying a range, or using a comma. The citation can go in the sentence or at the end, after punctuation.
o E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years.3 As discussed earlier in this paper, the root system of the sod aerates the soil.1 Multiple studies suggest that this is a phenomenon observed in every soil type.8-12
* CSE Name-Year - Author last name and publication year in parentheses. If the author is already mentioned in the statement, just put the year in parentheses. If there are two authors, name them both with "and" in the middle. Use commas only if there are more than two authors. Place the citation before a punctuation mark.
o E.g. Leaving the ground in sod increases the organic matter of the soil by 15% in 10 years (Alison 1987).
* Chicago Manual of Style, author-date style recommended for natural and social sciences
o Similar to MLA as described above.
* Chicago Manual of Style, notes-bibliography format recommended for the humanities (literature.
o Similar to Turabian footnotes as described above.
* Legal / Blue Book format used for citations to and in legal documents.
o Depending on the type of work, may use in-line citations or footnotes/endnotes. The general format follows the form of case name or author and article name, followed by a comma, then [Volume Number] Authority Name [Page number of start of case/article or section number of statute], followed by the date in parenthesis. For example, Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. 137 (1803) (a case named Marbury v. Madison, found in the fifth volume of the reports of the U.S. Supreme Court, starting at page 137), 12 U.S.C. §3401 et seq. (a statute beginning at section 3401 of the 12th volume of the United States Code) and Warren and Brandeis, The Right to Privacy, 4 Harvard L.R. 193 (1890) (a journal article from the fourth volume of the Harvard Law Review).
4. Assemble the list of works cited or references. This is what the reader will refer to when they see a citation and want to find out where you got the information. It usually goes at the end of the work (except when you use Turabian footnotes) and is sometimes referred to as a bibliography (when it includes sources that were not directly cited). The following links contain guidelines and examples for commonly used styles:
* APA
* Turabian
* MLA
* Chicago Manual of Style
Tips
* Organize your notes by source. This will make it easier later on, so that you're not scratching your head and wondering "Where did I get this conclusion from...?" As you write down or type any ideas or observations from a source, be sure to paraphrase. Don't just switch around a word or two, substituting a noun here and a verb there with a synonym. Putting what you've read in your own words is not only a good habit to prevent unintentional plagiarism, but it's also a useful learning technique.
* Widely known facts don't need to be cited, but ideas, observations, conclusions, unique expression, and even questions and opinions do. Generally, if the statement is even marginally questionable or subjective, a citation should be provided. When in doubt, cite.
* With the Internet becoming more popular, questionable web sites are becoming more common. Using citations can help establish your site as a credible source, as long as the references you make are to established experts and peer-reviewed studies. For example, both Wikipedia and wikiHow have systems for incorporating sources into the body of the text.
* If you're making a presentation and you have slides to show the audience, it's appropriate to cite your sources on the slides (any format is usually acceptable) as well as to mention the source when you speak (e.g. "Rudford found that when Japanese beetles emerge from their winter location..."). Have a list of sources ready in case anyone asks for them after the presentation.
Warnings
* All the citing in the world, even if in impeccable format, won't improve the credibility of your work if your sources themselves are weak.
* Don't cite someone else's citation. If you read a statement in a book or any other source that is cited from yet another source, find that original source, verify that the statement is accurate, and cite it directly. If you can't find the original source, some guidelines allow for making note of it in the format, such as "Johnson, LR as cited in Peterson, GS"
* Copyright law in most countries protects unique expression in any form. When it comes to writing, this is why it's especially important to paraphrase. If the idea itself is unique, though, you can avoid copyright infringement by expressing the idea in your own unique way, but you may still be guilty of plagiarizing if you don't acknowledge the source that you got the idea from.
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