Citing Sources

Citations are a way to give credit to individuals for use of their ideas and work in order to support your own research. Plagiarism is using someone else's words or ideas without giving credit to that person.

We cite sources from books, journal articles, web pages, podcasts, images (and more!) that you did not create. This includes taking a direct quote from a book or referencing a study that is relevant to your research. 

Review these guidelines from Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

There are many different style guides for citations, so be sure to check that you're following the correct format of the one you've been assigned. 

So, what are the most common types of citations you'll be doing?

• MLA

Modern Language Association (or MLA) is mainly used for the arts/humanities. This format helps you to break down citing paintings, books, and other literature. Examples in use

• APA

American Psychological Association (or APA) is designed for technical works found in social sciences. This format is used to cite journals and technical reports. Examples in use

• Annotated Bibliography

A bibliography is a list of sources (like books, journals, websites, etc.) that you've used in your research. These usually include basic information about the source like author, title, and publisher. An annotation is a summary or an evaluation of a source. This means an annotated bibliography is a combination of both.

Examples in use from OWL Purdue, and from the English department