LibGuides: Home (McEntegart Library): Citing Sources

Citation Styles

When incorporating other's research into your own, you must cite their work.

The citation style you use may vary by subject. The most popular styles are:

Definitions

Annotated Bibliography
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A references list with a short description (apx. 3 to 7 sentences) of each source. The annotation can describe content and scope or detail the source’s reliability, currency, and relevance to a researcher’s purpose.
Bibliography
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A list documenting sources (book, article, website, etc.) used in research. Entries provide publication information so readers can find and examine sources later.
Citation
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A specific reference to a source that has produced a particular quote, concept, creative work, argument, statistic, analysis, or graphic material integrated into or referred to in a scholarly work. Citations are forms of acknowledgement or attribution. Citations in a paper must be given in a standard format (such as MLA, APA, Chicago, or CSE), depending on the discipline in which the paper is written.
In-text Citation
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A brief reference (consisting of the author's last name, year of publication, and frequently a page number), to a source within the body of a scholarly work that will be more fully described in the references section.
Peer Review
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Part of the publication process for scholarly publications in which a group of experts examines a document to determine whether it is worthy of publication.
Plagiarism
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The unattributed use of information that is not considered common knowledge. This may include (1) failing to cite quotations or borrowed ideas, (2) failing to use quotation marks, (3) failing to paraphrases in your own words, or (4) submitting someone else’s work as your own.
References
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The various items in the alphabetical list of sources at the end of your work that correspond to each in-text citation within the main body of your essay, report, or presentation. Each reference includes a full description of the source: author(s), date, title(s), editor(s), translator(s), edition, publishing data.
Source
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An informational resource; any text, web site, artwork, chart, map, report, lecture, or interview that contributes to a scholarly project.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is:

"...the act of copying, stealing, or representing the ideas or words [images or sounds] of another as one's own, without giving credit to the source." (From SJC Student Handbook)

Why Cite Your Sources:

To give credit where credit is due
To give credibility to your research
To enable your readers to retrace your research steps
To practice academic honesty and integrity

Do You Need to Cite Everything?

You do not need to cite common knowledge. Something is common knowledge if it can be found in many different sources and is a well known fact. Examples:

Water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit
George Washington was the first President of the United States

Integrating Sources

Academic Writer - Direct Quotations and Paraphrasing

Four main ways of incorporating sources into your paper:

Direct Quote: An exact, word-for-word excerpt from another's work set off by quotation marks ("quote") or in block quote format in your writing.
Block Quote: An exactly quoted excerpt of more than 40 words.
Paraphrase: To put source's words, ideas, and research into your own words.
Summary: As a kind of comprehensive paraphrase, a summary briefly condenses another author's main points into an overview or synopsis.

Represent the original source accurately, and cite it carefully!!!

Definitions excerpted from "APA Style of Documentation: a Pocket Guide" by M. Pringle & J. Gonzales (2010)

Paraphrasing, Summarizing & Quoting

How to Paraphrase a Source
Online Writing Center at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Paraphrase: Write it in your own words.
Online Writing Center at Purdue
Paraphrasing Sources
Online Writing Center at University of Wisconsin at Madison.
Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing
Online Writing Center at Purdue

NoodleTools

Use NoodleTools to create your References, Works Cited, or Bibliography page in APA, MLA or Chicago/Turabian format.