following would always require a citation in a research paper

Appropriate Level of Citation

The number of sources you cite in your paper depends on the purpose of your work. For most papers, cite one or two of the most representative sources for each key point. Literature review papers, however, typically include a more exhaustive list of references.

Provide appropriate credit to the source (e.g., by using an in-text citation) whenever you do the following:

• paraphrase (i.e., state in your own words) the ideas of others
• directly quote the words of others
• refer to data or data sets
• reprint or adapt a table or figure, even images from the internet that are free or licensed in the Creative Commons
• reprint a long text passage or commercially copyrighted test item

Avoid both undercitation and overcitation. Undercitation can lead to plagiarism and/or self-plagiarism . Overcitation can be distracting and is unnecessary.

For example, it is considered overcitation to repeat the same citation in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed. Instead, when paraphrasing a key point in more than one sentence within a paragraph, cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences as long as the source remains clear and unchanged.

Figure 8.1 in Chapter 8 of the Publication Manual provides an example of an appropriate level of citation.

Determining the appropriate level of citation is covered in the seventh edition APA Style manuals in the Publication Manual Section 8.1 and the Concise Guide Section 8.1

Related handouts

• In-Text Citation Checklist (PDF, 227KB)
• Six Steps to Proper Citation (PDF, 112KB)

From the APA Style blog

How to cite your own translations

If you translate a passage from one language into another on your own in your paper, your translation is considered a paraphrase, not a direct quotation.

Key takeaways from the Psi Chi webinar So You Need to Write a Literature Review

This blog post describes key tasks in writing an effective literature review and provides strategies for approaching those tasks.

How to cite a work with a nonrecoverable source

In most cases, nonrecoverable sources such as personal emails, nonarchived social media livestreams (or deleted and unarchived social media posts), classroom lectures, unrecorded webinars or presentations, and intranet sources should be cited only in the text as personal communications.

The “outdated sources” myth

The “outdated sources” myth is that sources must have been published recently, such as the last 5 to 10 years. There is no timeliness requirement in APA Style.

From COVID-19 to demands for social justice: Citing contemporary sources for current events

The guidance in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual makes the process of citing contemporary sources found online easier than ever before.

Citing classical and religious works

A classical or religious work is cited as either a book or a webpage, depending on what version of the source you are using. This post includes details and examples.

Academic Writer—APA’s essential teaching resource for higher education instructors

Academic Writer’s advanced authoring technology and digital learning tools allow students to take a hands-on approach to learning the scholarly research and writing process.

APA Style webinar on citing works in text

Attend the webinar, “Citing Works in Text Using Seventh Edition APA Style,” on July 14, 2020, to learn the keys to accurately and consistently citing sources in APA Style.

Purdue Online Writing Lab Purdue OWL® College of Liberal Arts

In-Text Citations: The Basics

Welcome to the Purdue OWL

This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

Note:  This page reflects the latest version of the APA Publication Manual (i.e., APA 7), which released in October 2019. The equivalent resource for the older APA 6 style  can be found here .

Reference citations in text are covered on pages 261-268 of the Publication Manual. What follows are some general guidelines for referring to the works of others in your essay.

Note:  On pages 117-118, the Publication Manual suggests that authors of research papers should use the past tense or present perfect tense for signal phrases that occur in the literature review and procedure descriptions (for example, Jones (1998)  found  or Jones (1998)  has found ...). Contexts other than traditionally-structured research writing may permit the simple present tense (for example, Jones (1998)  finds ).

APA Citation Basics

When using APA format, follow the author-date method of in-text citation. This means that the author's last name and the year of publication for the source should appear in the text, like, for example, (Jones, 1998). One complete reference for each source should appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

If you are referring to an idea from another work but  NOT  directly quoting the material, or making reference to an entire book, article or other work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication and not the page number in your in-text reference.

On the other hand, if you are directly quoting or borrowing from another work, you should include the page number at the end of the parenthetical citation. Use the abbreviation “p.” (for one page) or “pp.” (for multiple pages) before listing the page number(s). Use an en dash for page ranges. For example, you might write (Jones, 1998, p. 199) or (Jones, 1998, pp. 199–201). This information is reiterated below.

Regardless of how they are referenced, all sources that are cited in the text must appear in the reference list at the end of the paper.

In-text citation capitalization, quotes, and italics/underlining

• Always capitalize proper nouns, including author names and initials: D. Jones.
• If you refer to the title of a source within your paper, capitalize all words that are four letters long or greater within the title of a source:  Permanence and Change . Exceptions apply to short words that are verbs, nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and adverbs:  Writing New Media ,  There Is Nothing Left to Lose .

( Note:  in your References list, only the first word of a title will be capitalized:  Writing new media .)

• When capitalizing titles, capitalize both words in a hyphenated compound word:  Natural-Born Cyborgs .
• Capitalize the first word after a dash or colon: "Defining Film Rhetoric: The Case of Hitchcock's  Vertigo ."
• If the title of the work is italicized in your reference list, italicize it and use title case capitalization in the text:  The Closing of the American Mind ;  The Wizard of Oz ;  Friends .
• If the title of the work is not italicized in your reference list, use double quotation marks and title case capitalization (even though the reference list uses sentence case): "Multimedia Narration: Constructing Possible Worlds;" "The One Where Chandler Can't Cry."

Short quotations

If you are directly quoting from a work, you will need to include the author, year of publication, and page number for the reference (preceded by "p." for a single page and “pp.” for a span of multiple pages, with the page numbers separated by an en dash).

You can introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by the date of publication in parentheses.

If you do not include the author’s name in the text of the sentence, place the author's last name, the year of publication, and the page number in parentheses after the quotation.

Long quotations

Place direct quotations that are 40 words or longer in a free-standing block of typewritten lines and omit quotation marks. Start the quotation on a new line, indented 1/2 inch from the left margin, i.e., in the same place you would begin a new paragraph. Type the entire quotation on the new margin, and indent the first line of any subsequent paragraph within the quotation 1/2 inch from the new margin. Maintain double-spacing throughout, but do not add an extra blank line before or after it. The parenthetical citation should come after the closing punctuation mark.

Because block quotation formatting is difficult for us to replicate in the OWL's content management system, we have simply provided a screenshot of a generic example below.

Formatting example for block quotations in APA 7 style.

Quotations from sources without pages

Direct quotations from sources that do not contain pages should not reference a page number. Instead, you may reference another logical identifying element: a paragraph, a chapter number, a section number, a table number, or something else. Older works (like religious texts) can also incorporate special location identifiers like verse numbers. In short: pick a substitute for page numbers that makes sense for your source.

Summary or paraphrase

If you are paraphrasing an idea from another work, you only have to make reference to the author and year of publication in your in-text reference and may omit the page numbers. APA guidelines, however, do encourage including a page range for a summary or paraphrase when it will help the reader find the information in a longer work. 

• FRONT MATTER
• TABLE OF CONTENTS

When Sources Must Be Cited (Checklist)

Information that always must be cited—whether web-based or print-based—includes:

• Quotations, opinions, and predictions, whether directly quoted or paraphrased.
• Statistics derived by the original author.
• Visuals in the original.
• Another author’s theories.
• Case studies.
• Another author’s direct experimental methods or results.
• Another author’s specialized research procedures or findings.

If you use specific information of the type just mentioned, document it; otherwise you could be plagiarizing. Better safe than lazy. By citing the source of your information you point to an authority rather than ask your reader to trust your memory or what might appear to be your own idea. Even though you can recall a statistic or a description of a process, for example, citation of such information—if it came directly from a source—gives more credibility to your writing and underscores the accuracy, timeliness, and even the potential bias of your information. In short, be honest, smart, and safe.

Research Process

• Choosing Your Topic / Background Info
• Information Sources
• Finding Information
• Evaluating Sources
• Writing & Revising

Cite Your Sources

Citation manuals, citation managers, the writing center.

We're here to help you! You can reach us by chat, email, or phone. You can also set up a one-on-one appointment with a librarian.

• Why Citing Sources is Important

Monmouth University Library Tutorial on Plagiarism

Complete the plagiarism tutorial below and you'll be an expert in less than ten minutes!

A citation serves two purposes: it gives credit to the author, artist, or creator and it enables your reader to locate the sources you cited. You should cite sources you have paraphrased, quoted, or otherwise used in your research paper. A style guide shows you how to format your footnotes, bibliography, or works cited lists, as well as how to structure your paper. The style you use (AMA, APA, Chicago, MLA) depends on your field of inquiry. Check with your professor to see which style is most appropriate.

Citation is your indication that certain material in your work came from another source. It also provides readers with the information necessary to find that source again. Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing.

The following situations almost always require citation:

• paraphrasing
• use of an idea not your own
• specific reference to the work of another
• use of someone else's work to develop your own ideas

Adapted from: Plagiarism.org

AMA Manual of Style

Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association

The Chicago Manual of Style, 17th Edition

MLA Handbook (9th ed.)

Citation Managers can help you keep track of your references and share your citations.  They can help you create a bibliography and organize your work more easily.

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• Knowledge Base
• Citing sources

How to Cite Sources | Citation Generator & Quick Guide

Citing your sources is essential in  academic writing . Whenever you quote or paraphrase a source (such as a book, article, or webpage), you have to include a  citation crediting the original author.

Failing to properly cite your sources counts as plagiarism , since you’re presenting someone else’s ideas as if they were your own.

The most commonly used citation styles are APA and MLA. The free Scribbr Citation Generator is the quickest way to cite sources in these styles. Simply enter the URL, DOI, or title, and we’ll generate an accurate, correctly formatted citation.

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Table of contents

When do you need to cite sources, which citation style should you use, in-text citations, reference lists and bibliographies.

Scribbr Citation Generator

Other useful citation tools

Citation examples and full guides, frequently asked questions about citing sources.

Citations are required in all types of academic texts. They are needed for several reasons:

• To avoid plagiarism by indicating when you’re taking information from another source
• To give proper credit to the author of that source
• To allow the reader to consult your sources for themselves

A citation is needed whenever you integrate a source into your writing. This usually means quoting or paraphrasing:

• To quote a source , copy a short piece of text word for word and put it inside quotation marks .
• To paraphrase a source , put the text into your own words. It’s important that the paraphrase is not too close to the original wording. You can use the paraphrasing tool if you don’t want to do this manually.

Citations are needed whether you quote or paraphrase, and whatever type of source you use. As well as citing scholarly sources like books and journal articles, don’t forget to include citations for any other sources you use for ideas, examples, or evidence. That includes websites, YouTube videos , and lectures .

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Usually, your institution (or the journal you’re submitting to) will require you to follow a specific citation style, so check your guidelines or ask your instructor.

In some cases, you may have to choose a citation style for yourself. Make sure to pick one style and use it consistently:

• APA Style is widely used in the social sciences and beyond.
• MLA style is common in the humanities.
• Chicago notes and bibliography , common in the humanities
• Chicago author-date , used in the (social) sciences
• There are many other citation styles for different disciplines.

If in doubt, check with your instructor or read other papers from your field of study to see what style they follow.

In most styles, your citations consist of:

• Brief in-text citations at the relevant points in the text
• A reference list or bibliography containing full information on all the sources you’ve cited

In-text citations most commonly take the form of parenthetical citations featuring the last name of the source’s author and its year of publication (aka author-date citations).

An alternative to this type of in-text citation is the system used in numerical citation styles , where a number is inserted into the text, corresponding to an entry in a numbered reference list.

There are also note citation styles , where you place your citations in either footnotes or endnotes . Since they’re not embedded in the text itself, these citations can provide more detail and sometimes aren’t accompanied by a full reference list or bibliography.

A reference list (aka “Bibliography” or “Works Cited,” depending on the style) is where you provide full information on each of the sources you’ve cited in the text. It appears at the end of your paper, usually with a hanging indent applied to each entry.

The information included in reference entries is broadly similar, whatever citation style you’re using. For each source, you’ll typically include the:

• Author name
• Publication date
• Container (e.g., the book an essay was published in, the journal an article appeared in)
• Location (e.g., a URL or DOI , or sometimes a physical location)

The exact information included varies depending on the source type and the citation style. The order in which the information appears, and how you format it (e.g., capitalization, use of italics) also varies.

Most commonly, the entries in your reference list are alphabetized by author name. This allows the reader to easily find the relevant entry based on the author name in your in-text citation.

In numerical citation styles, the entries in your reference list are numbered, usually based on the order in which you cite them. The reader finds the right entry based on the number that appears in the text.

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Because each style has many small differences regarding things like italicization, capitalization , and punctuation , it can be difficult to get every detail right. Using a citation generator can save you a lot of time and effort.

Scribbr offers citation generators for both APA and MLA style. Both are quick, easy to use, and 100% free, with no ads and no registration required.

Just input a URL or DOI or add the source details manually, and the generator will automatically produce an in-text citation and reference entry in the correct format. You can save your reference list as you go and download it when you’re done, and even add annotations for an annotated bibliography .

Once you’ve prepared your citations, you might still be unsure if they’re correct and if you’ve used them appropriately in your text. This is where Scribbr’s other citation tools and services may come in handy:

Plagiarism Checker

Citation Checker

Citation Editing

Plagiarism means passing off someone else’s words or ideas as your own. It’s a serious offense in academia. Universities use plagiarism checking software to scan your paper and identify any similarities to other texts.

When you’re dealing with a lot of sources, it’s easy to make mistakes that could constitute accidental plagiarism. For example, you might forget to add a citation after a quote, or paraphrase a source in a way that’s too close to the original text.

Using a plagiarism checker yourself before you submit your work can help you spot these mistakes before they get you in trouble. Based on the results, you can add any missing citations and rephrase your text where necessary.

Try out the Scribbr Plagiarism Checker for free, or check out our detailed comparison of the best plagiarism checkers available online.

Scribbr Plagiarism Checker

Scribbr’s Citation Checker is a unique AI-powered tool that automatically detects stylistic errors and inconsistencies in your in-text citations. It also suggests a correction for every mistake.

Currently available for APA Style, this is the fastest and easiest way to make sure you’ve formatted your citations correctly. You can try out the tool for free below.

If you need extra help with your reference list, we also offer a more in-depth Citation Editing Service.

Our experts cross-check your in-text citations and reference entries, make sure you’ve included the correct information for each source, and improve the formatting of your reference page.

If you want to handle your citations yourself, Scribbr’s free Knowledge Base provides clear, accurate guidance on every aspect of citation. You can see citation examples for a variety of common source types below:

And you can check out our comprehensive guides to the most popular citation styles:

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

The abbreviation “ et al. ” (Latin for “and others”) is used to shorten citations of sources with multiple authors.

“Et al.” is used in APA in-text citations of sources with 3+ authors, e.g. (Smith et al., 2019). It is not used in APA reference entries .

Use “et al.” for 3+ authors in MLA in-text citations and Works Cited entries.

Use “et al.” for 4+ authors in a Chicago in-text citation , and for 10+ authors in a Chicago bibliography entry.

The Scribbr Citation Generator is developed using the open-source Citation Style Language (CSL) project and Frank Bennett’s citeproc-js . It’s the same technology used by dozens of other popular citation tools, including Mendeley and Zotero.

You can find all the citation styles and locales used in the Scribbr Citation Generator in our publicly accessible repository on Github .

APA format is widely used by professionals, researchers, and students in the social and behavioral sciences, including fields like education, psychology, and business.

Be sure to check the guidelines of your university or the journal you want to be published in to double-check which style you should be using.

MLA Style  is the second most used citation style (after APA ). It is mainly used by students and researchers in humanities fields such as literature, languages, and philosophy.

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Scribbr APA Citation Checker

An innovative new tool that checks your APA citations with AI software. Say goodbye to inaccurate citations!

Organizing and Creating Information

Citation and attribution, citations and scholarly conversations, citation management, further reading, learning objectives.

• Literature Reviews

This page was designed to help you:

• Understand the purpose of citation in the scholarly conversation
• Describe different ways to give credit to the original ideas of others, through attribution and/or formal citation conventions
• Locate help with citation practices

As students, you often hear about citations as something you have to do to avoid looking bad or getting a bad grade - but this page is meant to demonstrate that there is the positive side of citation which is an important part of scholarly communication.

Citation allows us to:

• Acknowledge our debt to the writers who've come before us and made it possible to make our own contributions
• Further the future research and writing of others by sharing information about the sources we used in our own research 

There are formal and informal citation practices, sometimes simply called attribution , or acknowledgement.

You will see formal citations in academic journal articles and some books. Trade literature, popular sources, and creative works might give credit in a more informal way - such as a dedication, rolling credits at the end of a movie, a sample in music, a footnote, a comment in parenthesis, or an editorial note.

Citations also allow us to demonstrate belonging to a particular disciplinary community and speak the "language of the group". This is the reason why there are different citation formats, such as MLA (humanities), APA (sciences) and Chicago (history). There are other citation styles for different fields, and even some publishers require unique styling. This page offers examples in MLA, APA, Chicago, and ACS.

In-Text and Full Citations

In writing, formal citations come in two forms: in-text citations and full citations.

For academic assignments, your instructor will usually specify which style you should use, and if they don't you can ask them to.

Whatever style you choose or are asked to use, remember to stick with it consistently throughout your report.

In-text citations

In-text citations are used within the text of your paper and indicate to your readers which source listed in your works cited or bibliography you are referencing.

The format of in-text citations is specified by the citation style you are using. APA uses the author-year format, while MLA uses the author-page number format. Other styles to be on the lookout for are footnotes or endnotes, which use continuously sequenced numbers that connect you to a list of citations somewhere else in the document.

In-Text Examples

In-text citations should always have a corresponding full citation on the Works Cited or References page at the end of a paper. APA : Students should choose their study locations carefully for best results (Lei, 2015).

MLA : Students should choose their study locations carefully for best results (Lei 197).

Chicago (Full Note) : Chicago offers multiple in-text citation options. Here is an example of a full footnote.

Students should choose their study locations carefully for best results 1

1  Simon A. Lei, “Variation in Study Patterns among College Students: A Review of Literature,” College Student Journal 49, no. 2 (2015): 195–98.

American Chemical Society (ACS) : ACS offers multiple options. Here is an example of numbers in parentheses on the line of text and inside the punctuation.

Students should choose their study locations carefully for best results ( 1 )

Full citations

Full citations generally have three major parts, though the order and formatting of these parts depends on the citation style you use.

Major parts

• Information about the person or body that created it – the author(s), editor(s), speaker(s), etc.
• Information that distinguishes the content of the specific work being cited – the title of an article, chapter, book, or presentation
• Information about the location or creation of the work – usually, where and when it was published or presented. This can include whether or not the work is part of a larger publication or series (volume and issue numbers), the number of printed pages it contains, or the web address (URL), and date it was accessed.

Below is an example of an article citation – the full citation for the in-text citation in the example – using MLA and APA styles. Notice the common elements that are present in both. You find the elements for a citation in the fields of a database or library catalog record or on the information item itself.

• Author – Lei, Simon A.
• Article Title – Variation in Study Patterns among College Students: A Review of Literature
• Source Title – College Student Journal
• Volume and Issue – Volume 49, Issue 2
• Publication Date – 2015
• Page Numbers – 195-198

Full-Citation Examples

Lei, S. A. (2015). Variation in study patterns among college students: A review of literature. College Student Journal, 49 (2), 195-198.

Lei, Simon A. “Variation in Study Patterns among College Students: A Review of Literature.” College Student Journal, vol. 49, no. 2, 2015, pp. 195-198. Academic Search Premier. Accessed 27 May 2016.

Lei, Simon A. “Variation in Study Patterns among College Students: A Review of Literature.” College Student Journal 49, no. 2 (2015): 195–98.

Lei, S. A.  Variation in study patterns among college students: A review of literature. Col. Stu. J ., 2015 , 49 (2), 195-198.

You do not need to memorize citation style formats.

There are excellent online guides and tools that will help you cite sources correctly. Additionally, you can always ask your instructor or a librarian for help if you have a question or a difficult source to cite.

Online guides and tools to consult:

• Chicago Manual of Style
• Citation Guide from the Brown University Library

In addition to these tools, many research databases and library catalogs offer citation tools that help you create a citation for an item you’ve located using that service. Look for a button or link labeled cite or citation. Again, with these automatically-generated citations, be sure to double check it for accuracy. They aren’t always correct.

• 5.1: Citations. Humanities Libertexts , 1 Sept. 2019, LibreTexts which itself is a derived work.
• Citations: The Foundation of Scholarly Conversation New Literacies Alliance, 2017 . Online Module

There are several great tools to help you collect and manage documents and media when you are saving them and when you are writing. These tools save you time by taking care of the formatting challenges that come with citation, allowing you to focus on your ideas and on writing.

Citation Managers collect information about references and connect directly with writing programs like Word and Google Docs.

The Library supports and provides training on Zotero, an open source option, and EndNote .

Email us at [email protected] with citation questions or for help with EndNote , EndNote Online , or Zotero software.

• Annemarie Hamlin, Chris Rubio, and Michele DeSilva. 5.1: Citations. Humanities Libertexts , 1 Sept. 2019,  LibreTexts
• Robyn Hartman, Julie Hartwell, Geoffrey Iverson, Eric Kowalik, Kendall Roemer, and Matt Upson ( 2017) Citations: The Foundation of Scholarly Conversation . [Online Tutorial] New Literacies Alliance . Online Module
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Citation Guides

7th Edition APA Citation Style Guide

9th Edition MLA Citation Style Guide  

OWL of Purdue Guide to 17th Edition Chicago Citation Style Guide

What Is Citation?

In academic writing, authors must acknowledge their sources of information. Citations are how those acknowledgements are included in your writing. Instructors determine which style of citation is used. Although each citation style differs slightly, they provide the same basic information which helps people locate your information sources.

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Avoiding Plagiarism Guide from the APA
• Avoiding Plagiarism Guide from the MLA
• Preventing Plagiarism when Writing from Plagiarism.com

How can I avoid plagiarism? To avoid plagiarism, give credit whenever you:

• Directly quote written or spoken words. Be sure to enclose these words and/or sentences in quotations marks!
• Paraphrase spoken or written words. Paraphrase means to re-write in your own words; merely reordering or substituting words is still considered plagiarism!
• Use theories, ideas, opinions, research, etc. that are not your own.
• Use historical, statistical, or scientific facts or data that are not your own.

      (Source: Adapted from  "Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It"  from Writing Tutorial Services at Indiana University)

Avoiding plagiarism in Computer Programs

• Do not present the work of others as your own
• Determine when  copying code and collaborating is acceptable
• Learn when and how to use an outside reference and document your source

(Sources: Adapted from Avoiding Plagiarism from the Oregon Institute of Technology and Plagiarism in a Programming Context from Arkansas State University)

Why do I need to cite sources? Usually all research papers must include citations. Citations ensure that:

• Anyone reading your paper can easily find your sources.
• Words and ideas used from your sources are not assumed to be your own.
• Authors and researchers are properly credited for their original work.

Quoting, Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

• Quoting, Summarizing, Paraphrasing, from OWL of Purdue Three ways of incorporating the words and ideas of other people into your own writing as explained by Purdue University Online Writing Lab.

Examples and Exercises for Understand Paraphrasing and Summarizing

Practice identifying appropriately paraphrased passages with the University of Arizona's Global Campus Writing Center Paraphrasing Activity .

Practice summarizing and paraphrasing with this introductory exercise from the Owl of Purdue, answers provided.

Write your own paraphrases and evaluate then with the OWL of Purdue paraphrasing exercise and answers .

Examples of plagiarism and Tutorials to learn more

• Summarizing, Paraphrasing, and Quoting from the OWL of Purdue
• Academic Integrity Tutorial with examples  from NIU
• Examples of Plagiarism from Bowdoin College
• Plagiarism Tutorial from IU
• Plagiarism Tutorial playllist on YouTube from Texas A&M

Consequences for Plagiarism

• Buzzfeed senior reporter Ryan Broderick fired for plagiarism 2020
• Cornell scientist resigned following retractions for research misconduct 2019
• Der Spiegel reporter Claas Relotius fired for false reporting 2019
• Discredited researcher caught lying about lionfish 2019
• German Defense Minister stripped of doctorate and resigned over plagiarism 2011
• IGN Nintendo editor Filip Miucin fired for plagiarizing a game review 2018
• Jonah Lehrer fired from The New Yorker and Wired for plagiarism 2012
• Musical plagiarism cases 1960s-2020s
• NBC reporter fired for plagiarism, 2022
• New York Times returns Peabody after falsifications come to light 2020
• Plagiarism in coding at Northeast University 2019
• Publisher Elsevier retracts heavily plagiarized book, 2021
• Snopes co-founded suspended and investigated for plagiarism, 2021
• Study with falsified data by Michael LaCour retracted 2015
• University of South Carolina president resigns after plagiarized speech, 2021

OC Resources

• OC Libraries Librarians on duty on the Bremerton campus or the Live Chat widget, can assist you with your research and citation.
• The Writing Center If you're in doubt about whether you might be committing plagiarism, contact the Writing Center for an appointment.

AITools— ChatGPT, etc.

Your instructors determine if there are appropriate uses for AI tools in your assignments. Unauthorized use may be a violation of the Student Conduct Code . When you are permitted to use ChatGPT or other generative AI tools, be sure to properly cite your sources. 

APA- Citing AI Tools (U of GH)

MLA- How to cite AI

See our AI-Literacy Guide for more information.

Avoid Plagiarism in Coding

• Plagiarism and Writing Code from Carleton College By Dr. Jeff Ondich of Carleton College's department of Computer Science
• Moss- Measure of Software Similarity Checks for plagiarism in code written in: C, C++, Java, C#, Python, Visual Basic, Javascript, FORTRAN, ML, Haskell, Lisp, Scheme, Pascal, Modula2, Ada, Perl, TCL, Matlab, VHDL, Verilog, Spice, MIPS assembly, a8086 assembly, a8086 assembly, HCL2.

Collaboration, Copying, and Cheating

• Academic Integrity from MIT Handbook for Students Useful explanations in practical terms from MIT to help you avoid cheating.

Olympic College's Academic Dishonesty Policy

(1) Academic dishonesty. Any act of academic dishonesty including, but not limited to, cheating, plagiarism, and fabrication.

(a) Cheating includes any attempt to give or obtain unauthorized assistance relating to the completion of an academic assignment.

(b) Plagiarism includes taking and using as one's own, without proper attribution, the ideas, writings, or work of another person in completing an academic assignment. Prohibited conduct may also include the unauthorized submission for credit of academic work that has been submitted for credit in another course.

(c) Fabrication includes falsifying data, information, or citations in completing an academic assignment and also includes providing false or deceptive information to an instructor concerning the completion of an assignment.

Student Conduct Code /   Prohibited student conduct

Community Standards at OC

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13.2 Citing and Referencing Techniques

Learning objective.

• Apply American Psychological Association (APA) style formatting guidelines for citations.

This section covers the nitty-gritty details of in-text citations. You will learn how to format citations for different types of source materials, whether you are citing brief quotations, paraphrasing ideas, or quoting longer passages. You will also learn techniques you can use to introduce quoted and paraphrased material effectively. Keep this section handy as a reference to consult while writing the body of your paper.

Formatting Cited Material: The Basics

As noted in previous sections of this book, in-text citations usually provide the name of the author(s) and the year the source was published. For direct quotations, the page number must also be included. Use past-tense verbs when introducing a quote—“Smith found…” and not “Smith finds.…”

Formatting Brief Quotations

For brief quotations—fewer than forty words—use quotation marks to indicate where the quoted material begins and ends, and cite the name of the author(s), the year of publication, and the page number where the quotation appears in your source. Remember to include commas to separate elements within the parenthetical citation. Also, avoid redundancy. If you name the author(s) in your sentence, do not repeat the name(s) in your parenthetical citation. Review following the examples of different ways to cite direct quotations.

Chang (2008) emphasized that “engaging in weight-bearing exercise consistently is one of the single best things women can do to maintain good health” (p. 49).

The author’s name can be included in the body of the sentence or in the parenthetical citation. Note that when a parenthetical citation appears at the end of the sentence, it comes after the closing quotation marks and before the period. The elements within parentheses are separated by commas.

Weight Training for Women (Chang, 2008) claimed that “engaging in weight-bearing exercise consistently is one of the single best things women can do to maintain good health” (p. 49).

Weight Training for Women claimed that “engaging in weight-bearing exercise consistently is one of the single best things women can do to maintain good health” (Chang, 2008, p. 49).

Including the title of a source is optional.

In Chang’s 2008 text Weight Training for Women , she asserts, “Engaging in weight-bearing exercise is one of the single best things women can do to maintain good health” (p. 49).

The author’s name, the date, and the title may appear in the body of the text. Include the page number in the parenthetical citation. Also, notice the use of the verb asserts to introduce the direct quotation.

“Engaging in weight-bearing exercise,” Chang asserts, “is one of the single best things women can do to maintain good health” (2008, p. 49).

You may begin a sentence with the direct quotation and add the author’s name and a strong verb before continuing the quotation.

Formatting Paraphrased and Summarized Material

When you paraphrase or summarize ideas from a source, you follow the same guidelines previously provided, except that you are not required to provide the page number where the ideas are located. If you are summing up the main findings of a research article, simply providing the author’s name and publication year may suffice, but if you are paraphrasing a more specific idea, consider including the page number.

Read the following examples.

Chang (2008) pointed out that weight-bearing exercise has many potential benefits for women.

Here, the writer is summarizing a major idea that recurs throughout the source material. No page reference is needed.

Chang (2008) found that weight-bearing exercise could help women maintain or even increase bone density through middle age and beyond, reducing the likelihood that they will develop osteoporosis in later life (p. 86).

Although the writer is not directly quoting the source, this passage paraphrases a specific detail, so the writer chose to include the page number where the information is located.

Although APA style guidelines do not require writers to provide page numbers for material that is not directly quoted, your instructor may wish you to do so when possible.

Check with your instructor about his or her preferences.

Formatting Longer Quotations

When you quote a longer passage from a source—forty words or more—use a different format to set off the quoted material. Instead of using quotation marks, create a block quotation by starting the quotation on a new line and indented five spaces from the margin. Note that in this case, the parenthetical citation comes after the period that ends the sentence. Here is an example:

In recent years, many writers within the fitness industry have emphasized the ways in which women can benefit from weight-bearing exercise, such as weightlifting, karate, dancing, stair climbing, hiking, and jogging. Chang (2008) found that engaging in weight-bearing exercise regularly significantly reduces women’s risk of developing osteoporosis. Additionally, these exercises help women maintain muscle mass and overall strength, and many common forms of weight-bearing exercise, such as brisk walking or stair climbing, also provide noticeable cardiovascular benefits. (p. 93)

Review the places in your paper where you cited, quoted, and paraphrased material from a source with a single author. Edit your citations to ensure that

• each citation includes the author’s name, the date of publication, and, where appropriate, a page reference;
• parenthetical citations are correctly formatted;
• longer quotations use the block-quotation format.

If you are quoting a passage that continues into a second paragraph, indent five spaces again in the first line of the second paragraph. Here is an example:

In recent years, many writers within the fitness industry have emphasized the ways in which women can benefit from weight-bearing exercise, such as weightlifting, karate, dancing, stair climbing, hiking, and jogging. Chang (2008) found that engaging in weight-bearing exercise regularly significantly reduces women’s risk of developing osteoporosis. Additionally, these exercises help women maintain muscle mass and overall strength, and many common forms of weight-bearing exercise, such as brisk walking or stair climbing, also provide noticeable cardiovascular benefits.

It is important to note that swimming cannot be considered a weight-bearing exercise, since the water supports and cushions the swimmer. That doesn’t mean swimming isn’t great exercise, but it should be considered one part of an integrated fitness program. (p. 93)

Be wary of quoting from sources at length. Remember, your ideas should drive the paper, and quotations should be used to support and enhance your points. Make sure any lengthy quotations that you include serve a clear purpose. Generally, no more than 10–15 percent of a paper should consist of quoted material.

Introducing Cited Material Effectively

Including an introductory phrase in your text, such as “Jackson wrote” or “Copeland found,” often helps you integrate source material smoothly. This citation technique also helps convey that you are actively engaged with your source material. Unfortunately, during the process of writing your research paper, it is easy to fall into a rut and use the same few dull verbs repeatedly, such as “Jones said,” “Smith stated,” and so on.

Punch up your writing by using strong verbs that help your reader understand how the source material presents ideas. There is a world of difference between an author who “suggests” and one who “claims,” one who “questions” and one who “criticizes.” You do not need to consult your thesaurus every time you cite a source, but do think about which verbs will accurately represent the ideas and make your writing more engaging. The following chart shows some possibilities.

Review the citations in your paper once again. This time, look for places where you introduced source material using a signal phrase in your sentence.

• Highlight the verbs used in your signal phrases, and make note of any that seem to be overused throughout the paper.
• Identify at least three places where a stronger verb could be used.
• Make the edits to your draft.

Writing at Work

It is important to accurately represent a colleague’s ideas or communications in the workplace. When writing professional or academic papers, be mindful of how the words you use to describe someone’s tone or ideas carry certain connotations. Do not say a source argues a particular point unless an argument is, in fact, presented. Use lively language, but avoid language that is emotionally charged. Doing so will ensure you have represented your colleague’s words in an authentic and accurate way.

Formatting In-Text Citations for Other Source Types

These sections discuss the correct format for various types of in-text citations. Read them through quickly to get a sense of what is covered, and then refer to them again as needed.

Print Sources

This section covers books, articles, and other print sources with one or more authors.

A Work by One Author

For a print work with one author, follow the guidelines provided in Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.1 “Formatting a Research Paper” . Always include the author’s name and year of publication. Include a page reference whenever you quote a source directly. (See also the guidelines presented earlier in this chapter about when to include a page reference for paraphrased material.)

Two or More Works by the Same Author

At times, your research may include multiple works by the same author. If the works were published in different years, a standard in-text citation will serve to distinguish them. If you are citing multiple works by the same author published in the same year, include a lowercase letter immediately after the year. Rank the sources in the order they appear in your references section. The source listed first includes an a after the year, the source listed second includes a b , and so on.

Rodriguez (2009a) criticized the nutrition-supplement industry for making unsubstantiated and sometimes misleading claims about the benefits of taking supplements. Additionally, he warned that consumers frequently do not realize the potential harmful effects of some popular supplements (Rodriguez, 2009b).

If you have not yet created your references section, you may not be sure which source will appear first. See Chapter 13 “APA and MLA Documentation and Formatting” , Section 13.3 “Creating a References Section” for guidelines—or assign each source a temporary code and highlight the in-text citations so you remember to double-check them later on.

Works by Authors with the Same Last Name

If you are citing works by different authors with the same last name, include each author’s initials in your citation, whether you mention them in the text or in parentheses. Do so even if the publication years are different.

J. S. Williams (2007) believes nutritional supplements can be a useful part of some diet and fitness regimens. C. D. Williams (2008), however, believes these supplements are overrated.

According to two leading researchers, the rate of childhood obesity exceeds the rate of adult obesity (K. Connelley, 2010; O. Connelley, 2010).

Studies from both A. Wright (2007) and C. A. Wright (2008) confirm the benefits of diet and exercise on weight loss.

A Work by Two Authors

When two authors are listed for a given work, include both authors’ names each time you cite the work. If you are citing their names in parentheses, use an ampersand (&) between them. (Use the word and , however, if the names appear in your sentence.)

As Garrison and Gould (2010) pointed out, “It is never too late to quit smoking. The health risks associated with this habit begin to decrease soon after a smoker quits” (p. 101).

As doctors continue to point out, “It is never too late to quit smoking. The health risks associated with this habit begin to decrease soon after a smoker quits” (Garrison & Gould, 2010, p. 101).

A Work by Three to Five Authors

If the work you are citing has three to five authors, list all the authors’ names the first time you cite the source. In subsequent citations, use the first author’s name followed by the abbreviation et al. ( Et al. is short for et alia , the Latin phrase for “and others.”)

Henderson, Davidian, and Degler (2010) surveyed 350 smokers aged 18 to 30.

One survey, conducted among 350 smokers aged 18 to 30, included a detailed questionnaire about participants’ motivations for smoking (Henderson, Davidian, & Degler, 2010).

Note that these examples follow the same ampersand conventions as sources with two authors. Again, use the ampersand only when listing authors’ names in parentheses.

As Henderson et al. (2010) found, some young people, particularly young women, use smoking as a means of appetite suppression.

Disturbingly, some young women use smoking as a means of appetite suppression (Henderson et al., 2010).

Note how the phrase et al. is punctuated. No period comes after et , but al. gets a period because it is an abbreviation for a longer Latin word. In parenthetical references, include a comma after et al. but not before. Remember this rule by mentally translating the citation to English: “Henderson and others, 2010.”

A Work by Six or More Authors

If the work you are citing has six or more authors, list only the first author’s name, followed by et al. , in your in-text citations. The other authors’ names will be listed in your references section.

Researchers have found that outreach work with young people has helped reduce tobacco use in some communities (Costello et al., 2007).

A Work Authored by an Organization

When citing a work that has no individual author(s) but is published by an organization, use the organization’s name in place of the author’s name. Lengthy organization names with well-known abbreviations can be abbreviated. In your first citation, use the full name, followed by the abbreviation in square brackets. Subsequent citations may use the abbreviation only.

It is possible for a patient to have a small stroke without even realizing it (American Heart Association [AHA], 2010).

Another cause for concern is that even if patients realize that they have had a stroke and need medical attention, they may not know which nearby facilities are best equipped to treat them (AHA, 2010).

• Review the places in your paper where you cited material from a source with multiple authors or with an organization as the author. Edit your citations to ensure that each citation follows APA guidelines for the inclusion of the authors’ names, the use of ampersands and et al. , the date of publication, and, where appropriate, a page reference.
• Mark any additional citations within your paper that you are not sure how to format based on the guidelines provided so far. You will revisit these citations after reading the next few sections.

A Work with No Listed Author

If no author is listed and the source cannot be attributed to an organization, use the title in place of the author’s name. You may use the full title in your sentence or use the first few words—enough to convey the key ideas—in a parenthetical reference. Follow standard conventions for using italics or quotations marks with titles:

• Use italics for titles of books or reports.
• Use quotation marks for titles of articles or chapters.

“Living With Diabetes: Managing Your Health” (2009) recommends regular exercise for patients with diabetes.

Regular exercise can benefit patients with diabetes (“Living with Diabetes,” 2009).

Rosenhan (1973) had mentally healthy study participants claim to be experiencing hallucinations so they would be admitted to psychiatric hospitals.

A Work Cited within Another Work

To cite a source that is referred to within another secondary source, name the first source in your sentence. Then, in parentheses, use the phrase as cited in and the name of the second source author.

Rosenhan’s study “On Being Sane in Insane Places” (as cited in Spitzer, 1975) found that psychiatrists diagnosed schizophrenia in people who claimed to be experiencing hallucinations and sought treatment—even though these patients were, in fact, imposters.

Two or More Works Cited in One Reference

At times, you may provide more than one citation in a parenthetical reference, such as when you are discussing related works or studies with similar results. List the citations in the same order they appear in your references section, and separate the citations with a semicolon.

Some researchers have found serious flaws in the way Rosenhan’s study was conducted (Dawes, 2001; Spitzer, 1975).

Both of these researchers authored works that support the point being made in this sentence, so it makes sense to include both in the same citation.

A Famous Text Published in Multiple Editions

In some cases, you may need to cite an extremely well-known work that has been repeatedly republished or translated. Many works of literature and sacred texts, as well as some classic nonfiction texts, fall into this category. For these works, the original date of publication may be unavailable. If so, include the year of publication or translation for your edition. Refer to specific parts or chapters if you need to cite a specific section. Discuss with your instructor whether he or she would like you to cite page numbers in this particular instance.

In New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis , Freud explains that the “manifest content” of a dream—what literally takes place—is separate from its “latent content,” or hidden meaning (trans. 1965, lecture XXIX).

Here, the student is citing a classic work of psychology, originally written in German and later translated to English. Since the book is a collection of Freud’s lectures, the student cites the lecture number rather than a page number.

An Introduction, Foreword, Preface, or Afterword

To cite an introduction, foreword, preface, or afterword, cite the author of the material and the year, following the same format used for other print materials.

Electronic Sources

Whenever possible, cite electronic sources as you would print sources, using the author, the date, and where appropriate, a page number. For some types of electronic sources—for instance, many online articles—this information is easily available. Other times, however, you will need to vary the format to reflect the differences in online media.

Online Sources without Page Numbers

If an online source has no page numbers but you want to refer to a specific portion of the source, try to locate other information you can use to direct your reader to the information cited. Some websites number paragraphs within published articles; if so, include the paragraph number in your citation. Precede the paragraph number with the abbreviation for the word paragraph and the number of the paragraph (e.g., para. 4).

As researchers have explained, “Incorporating fresh fruits and vegetables into one’s diet can be a challenge for residents of areas where there are few or no easily accessible supermarkets” (Smith & Jones, 2006, para. 4).

Even if a source does not have numbered paragraphs, it is likely to have headings that organize the content. In your citation, name the section where your cited information appears, followed by a paragraph number.

The American Lung Association (2010) noted, “After smoking, radon exposure is the second most common cause of lung cancer” (What Causes Lung Cancer? section, para. 2).

This student cited the appropriate section heading within the website and then counted to find the specific paragraph where the cited information was located.

If an online source has no listed author and no date, use the source title and the abbreviation n.d. in your parenthetical reference.

It has been suggested that electromagnetic radiation from cellular telephones may pose a risk for developing certain cancers (“Cell Phones and Cancer,” n.d.).

Personal Communication

For personal communications, such as interviews, letters, and e-mails, cite the name of the person involved, clarify that the material is from a personal communication, and provide the specific date the communication took place. Note that while in-text citations correspond to entries in the references section, personal communications are an exception to this rule. They are cited only in the body text of your paper.

J. H. Yardley, M.D., believes that available information on the relationship between cell phone use and cancer is inconclusive (personal communication, May 1, 2009).

At work, you may sometimes share information resources with your colleagues by photocopying an interesting article or forwarding the URL of a useful website. Your goal in these situations and in formal research citations is the same. The goal is to provide enough information to help your professional peers locate and follow up on potentially useful information. Provide as much specific information as possible to achieve that goal, and consult with your professor as to what specific style he or she may prefer.

Revisit the problem citations you identified in Note 13.55 “Exercise 3” —for instance, sources with no listed author or other oddities. Review the guidelines provided in this section and edit your citations for these kinds of sources according to APA guidelines.

Key Takeaways

• In APA papers, in-text citations include the name of the author(s) and the year of publication whenever possible.
• Page numbers are always included when citing quotations. It is optional to include page numbers when citing paraphrased material; however, this should be done when citing a specific portion of a work.
• When citing online sources, provide the same information used for print sources if it is available.
• When a source does not provide information that usually appears in a citation, in-text citations should provide readers with alternative information that would help them locate the source material. This may include the title of the source, section headings and paragraph numbers for websites, and so forth.
• When writing a paper, discuss with your professor what particular standards he or she would like you to follow.

Writing for Success Copyright © 2015 by University of Minnesota is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

General Library Research Tutorial: Module 6: Citing Sources

• Module 1: Library Orientation
• Module 2: Developing a Topic
• Module 3: Understanding Source Types
• Module 4: Searching a Database
• Module 5: Evaluating Sources
• Module 6: Citing Sources

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Learning Objectives

• Understand when and why to cite sources.
• Identify the bibliographic elements essential for properly citing a source.
• Define plagiarism.
• Understand the concept of fair use.
• Choose the appropriate citation style for your discipline.

A citation is a reference to a book, article, video, website, or other information source for the purpose of giving credit to the author. Citations also give your work more credibility because your readers can find out exactly where you got your information from. Citations typically include: author names, title, publisher, publisher location, date of publication, journal title, volume, issue, and/or page numbers. Citing your sources is a fundamental research skill.

Example book citation:

Example article citation:

We recommend watching this two-minute video:

“Citation: A (Very) Brief Introduction” by North Carolina State University Libraries is published under a Creative Commons 3.0 BY-NC-SA US license.

If you use other people's ideas without giving them credit by citing their work, you are committing plagiarism. Plagiarism is using someone else's ideas or words and presenting them as your own, whether intentionally or unintentionally. Plagiarism is a violation of the Benedictine University Academic Honesty Policy .

To avoid plagiarism, always provide a proper citation when you quote or paraphrase the idea of another person in your research paper, speech, slide presentation, etc. What constitutes a proper citation will depend on which citation style you're using. You'll learn more about citation styles later in this module.

For further information on avoiding plagiarism, see Frequently Asked Questions Regarding Plagiarism by Purdue OWL.

The Copyright Law of the United States provides legal protection for intellectual property. In your search for information, you should assume that all materials you find are copyrighted, unless the document specifies that it is public domain , which can be used freely by anyone. An information source does not have to be registered with the Copyright Office to be covered by copyright. It is copyrighted as soon as it is created.

The doctrine of fair use allows copyrighted works to be used for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research. Fair use generally applies to nonprofit, educational purposes that do not affect the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. Section 107 of the Copyright Law describes four factors to consider in deciding when fair use applies . When an information source is copyrighted, you should cite it if you quote or paraphrase it in your paper or speech.

For further information see the Copyright Act and other important documents relating to the law and its interpretation.

Citation Styles

A citation style determines the information to include in the citation, the order of the information, the punctuation, and other formatting. Each discipline tends to use one or two citation styles. Always ask your professors which style they prefer.

Frequently-used citation styles:

• APA - Used by nursing, business, and the social sciences, including psychology, education, sociology, and economics
• MLA - Used by many humanities disciplines, including languages and literature
• Chicago / Turabian - Used by history and the arts
• CSE - Used by many disciplines in the natural sciences, including biology, geology, chemistry, mathematics, and physics
• AMA - Used by medicine, health, and the sciences
• APSA - Used by political science

For further information, see our Citation Research Guide .

Citation Generators

There are tools available to help you generate citations. Always review citations generated by these tools to make sure they're accurate and meet the exact formatting and punctuation guidelines of the style you're using.

Quick Citation Generators

Use a citation generator when you need to build a citation but don't need to save it long term.

Citation Managers

Use a citation manager when you're collecting many citations and you want to save and organize them for later use.

Module 6 Quiz

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APA Style Guide

• In-Text Citations
• Student Paper Format
• In-Text Citation Style
• Paraphrasing and Quotations
• Tables and Figures
• Periodicals (Journals, Newspapers, Magazines, Blogs, Etc.)
• Reference Works (Dictionaries, Encyclopedias, Etc.)
• Webpages & Online Media
• Audiovisual Media
• Reports and Gray Literature
• Mental Measurements Yearbook
• Class Material
• Punctuation
• Numbers, Statistics, Mathematics, and Equations
• Avoiding Biased Language

General Guidelines

Citing a reference within the text of your paper is called an "in-text citation." You must cite your references both in your reference list and in the text of your paper where that source is used. You will present the information from your source in your paper as either a direct quotation or paraphrased (re-written in your own words). As a rule, "cite only works that you have read and ideas that you have incorporated in your writing" (ALA, 2020, p. 235). You do not need to cite common knowledge, that is, information that most people know or established facts.

Always provide in-text citations for the following:

• Quotations and paraphrases of other sources.
• Facts and figures that are not common knowledge. 
• Tables and images, even if they are open source. 

Things to keep in mind regarding in-text citations:

• Except for literature reviews, usually one or two resources is enough for each piece of evidence. Literature reviews require as many as is necessary. 
• You do not need to re-cite the same resource over and over in sequential sentences. Cite a resource after the first sentence in which it is used and again after a different resource is used, unless it is unclear.
• It is not usually necessary to cite whole websites, periodicals, or common software or apps when they are mentioned in the text. 
• Not properly citing a resource is considered plagiarism. 
• A resource must be credited even when it is not published, e.g. an interview, email, text message, etc., but only in-text (not in your reference list). 
• If you are referencing your own work, you need to cite yourself.
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Citations - APA: General

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• Artificial Intelligence: AI
• Audio Materials
• Books, eBooks & Pamphlets
• Class Notes, Class Lectures and Presentations
• Encyclopedias & Dictionaries (Reference Works)
• Government Documents
• Images, Charts, Graphs, Maps & Tables
• Magazine Articles
• Newspaper Articles
• Pesonal Communication (Interviews, Emails, & Telephone)
• Social Media
• Videos & DVDs
• When Creating Digital Assignments
• When Information Is Missing
• Works in a Foreign Language
• Works Quoted in Another Source (Secondary Source)
• In-Text Citations - Quoting & Paraphrasing
• Formatting - Essay, Reference List, Appendix, & Sample Paper
• Annotated Bibliography

On This Page

Commonly used terms.

Reference Sources

What is a Citation? 

A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including: 

• Information about the author.
• Title of the work.
• Name and location of the company that published your copy of the source.
• Date your copy was published.
• Page numbers of the material you are borrowing.

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:

• Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from.
• Not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas.
• Citing sources shows the amount of research you've done.
• Citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

When to Cite?

Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:

• Quotations.
• Paraphrasing.
• Using an idea that someone else has already expressed.
• Making specific reference to the work of another.
• Someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

"What is a Citation?."  Plagiarism.org . iParadigms, LLC, 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.  http://www.plagiarism.org/ .

APA style was created by the American Psychological Association. It is a set of rules for publications, including research papers.

In APA, you must cite sources that you have paraphrased, quoted or otherwise refer to in your research paper.

Cite your sources in two places:

• In the body of your paper with an in-text citation.
• In the References list at the end of your paper.

APA is commonly used by the follow subjects:

• Social Sciences, such as Psychology, Linguistics, Sociology, Economics, and Criminology

This research guide is based on the  Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association  (6th ed.) . The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge.

This guide is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca College Libraries. For information please contact  [email protected] .

Note: When copying this guide, please retain this box.

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• Last Updated: May 31, 2024 10:28 AM
• URL: https://libguides.lahc.edu/apa

Using Information Sources Ethically and Legally

• Understanding Plagiarism
• Avoidance Tips

When do I need to cite sources?

Does everything need to be cited, all you need to know about citing sources, get help from libraries and writing centers.

Always give credit where credit is due. If the words that you are including in your research belong to someone else, give credit. 

Here is  a brief list of what needs to be credited or documented :  

• Words or ideas presented in a magazine, book, newspaper, song, TV program, movie, website, computer program, letter, advertisement, or any other medium  
• Information you gain through interviewing or conversing with another person, face to face, over the phone, or in writing  
• When you copy the exact words or a unique phrase  
• When you reprint any diagrams, illustrations, charts, pictures, or other visual materials  
• When you reuse or repost any digital media, including images, audio, video, or other media  

There are certain things that  do not need documentation or credit, including :  

• Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject  
• When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments  
• When you use your own artwork, digital photographs, video, audio, etc.  
• When you are using "common knowledge," things like folklore, common sense observations, myths, urban legends, and historical events (but  not  historical documents)  
• When you are using generally accepted facts (e.g., pollution is bad for the environment) including facts that are accepted within particular discourse communities (e.g., in the field of composition studies, "writing is a process" is a generally accepted fact).  

(From Plagiarism FAQs - Purdue Writing Lab )

The following chart from the UT Arlington Library Acknowledging Sources tutorial will guide you in your decision:

What is common knowledge? This refers to facts well known by many people and verifiable in five or more sources. Examples:

• Bill Gates is the founder of the Microsoft Corporation.
• There are 60 minutes in an hour.
• Columbus is the capital of Ohio.
• The whole is greater than the part.
• Common Knowledge inforgraphic

If you have any doubts or questions, ask your professor or librarian. Err on the side of caution: when in doubt, cite!

The online guide Citing Your Sources provides information on citation, style guides, citation tools, and more.

• Ask a Question (UC Libraries form) Email you reference question and get a response within 24 hours.
• Subject librarians Contact a specialist in your discipline.

Writing Centers

• Academic Writing Center (UC Clifton) Trained writing center tutors provide UC students with free writing assistance.

Schedule an appointment

AWC Tutor Feedback (submit a paper of six double-spaced pages or less and get  feedback from a tutor within 48 hours)

Email: [email protected]

• UC Clermont Learning Commons Support Services

Email: [email protected]

• UC Blue Ash Writing and Study Skills Center

Submit your work (submit a paper of six double-spaced pages or less and get  feedback from a tutor within 24-48 hours)

Email: [email protected]

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• Introduction to Academic Research
• East Tennessee State University
• Citing Sources
• Picking a Topic
• Background Research
• Evaluating Sources
• Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary Sources
• Popular and Scholarly Sources
• Find Articles and Books
• Internet Sources

Citation Help

• MLA Center The Modern Language Association website can help you cite sources in MLA style.
• APA Style Blog The American Psychology Association can help you cite sources in APA style.
• Chicago Manual of Style Use this site to help you site sources in Chicago Manual of Style.
• Purdue's Online Writing Lab (OWL) Purdue's Online Language Writing Lab contains up-to-date information on MLA and APA styles.

Sherrod Library Citation Tools

• Writing and Citation Style Guides and Tools
• APA Style 7th Edition
• Citation Management Tools

Avoiding Plagiarism

• Paraphrase: Write It in Your Own Words
• Patchwriting 
• How to Paraphrase a Source
• What is Common Knowledge?
• How to Avoid Plagiarism and Find Your Own Voice 

Things to Site

Why citation is important, what is citation.

A "citation" is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source. It also gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again, including:

• information about the author
• the title of the work
• the name and location of the company that published your copy of the source
• the date your copy was published
• the page numbers of the material you are borrowing

Why should I cite sources?

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:

• citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from.
• not all sources are good or right -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas.
• citing sources shows the amount of research you've done.
• citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

Doesn't citing sources make my work seem less original?

Not at all. On the contrary, citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will actually emphasize the originality of your own work.

When do I need to cite?

Whenever you borrow words or ideas, you need to acknowledge their source. The following situations almost always require citation:

• whenever you use quotes
• whenever you paraphrase
• whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
• whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
• whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas.

From: Plagiarism.org   http://www.plagiarism.org/learning_center/what_is_citation.html   Accessed on September 21, 2008.

"The Punishable Perils of Plagiarism" from TED-Ed

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• URL: https://libraries.etsu.edu/research/intro

Research Tutorial

• Introduction
• Understanding Your Assignment
• Developing Key Term from Your Topic
• Creating Searches
• Searching the Library Catalog
• Finding Books on the Shelf
• The Call Number System
• What Are Databases?
• Accessing Databases
• Off Campus Access
• Choosing a Database
• The Mechanics of Searching
• Finding Websites
• Evaluating Websites

What Every Citation Needs

• Citation Formats
• Making the Databases Work for You
• Resources for Citation Formats

No matter what type of source you are using, you need to keep track of the following things for a citation:

• Who Wrote It  (the author might be one or more people, or it could be an organization)
• What It's Called  (the title of the article or chapter itself AND the book or journal you found it in)
• Who Published It and When  (the publisher name and publication date)
• Exactly Where You Found the Informatio n (the page number(s))

For traditional printed materials like books and journal articles, this information is pretty easy to find (even if you're accessing them electronically, like through a database). For websites, finding this information can be a little trickier but that list above should look pretty familiar. It's nearly the same list of things that you need to look for when you are evaluating that website.

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• Next: Citation Formats >>
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• URL: https://libguides.hartford.edu/ResearchTutorial

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• USC Libraries
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Organizing Your Social Sciences Research Paper

• 11. Citing Sources
• Purpose of Guide
• Design Flaws to Avoid
• Independent and Dependent Variables
• Glossary of Research Terms
• Reading Research Effectively
• Narrowing a Topic Idea
• Broadening a Topic Idea
• Extending the Timeliness of a Topic Idea
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• Applying Critical Thinking
• Choosing a Title
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• The C.A.R.S. Model
• Background Information
• The Research Problem/Question
• Theoretical Framework
• Citation Tracking
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• Evaluating Sources
• Primary Sources
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• Qualitative Methods
• Quantitative Methods
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• Common Grammar Mistakes
• Writing Concisely
• Avoiding Plagiarism
• Footnotes or Endnotes?
• Further Readings
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• USC Libraries Tutorials and Other Guides
• Bibliography

A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your research paper. It refers to a source of information that supports a factual statement, proposition, argument, or assertion or any quoted text obtained from a book, article, web site, or any other type of material . In-text citations are embedded within the body of your paper and use a shorthand notation style that refers to a complete description of the item at the end of the paper. Materials cited at the end of a paper may be listed under the heading References, Sources, Works Cited, or Bibliography. Rules on how to properly cite a source depends on the writing style manual your professor wants you to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note that some disciplines have their own citation rules [e.g., law].

Citations: Overview. OASIS Writing Center, Walden University; Research and Citation. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Citing Sources. University Writing Center, Texas A&M University.

Citing Your Sources

Reasons for Citing Sources in Your Research Paper

English scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, once wrote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”* Citations support learning how to "see further" through processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time and the subsequent ways this leads to the devarication of new knowledge.

Listed below are specific reasons why citing sources is an important part of doing good research.

• Shows the reader where to find more information . Citations help readers expand their understanding and knowledge about the issues being investigated. One of the most effective strategies for locating authoritative, relevant sources about a research problem is to review materials cited in studies published by other authors. In this way, the sources you cite help the reader identify where to go to examine the topic in more depth and detail.
• Increases your credibility as an author . Citations to the words, ideas, and arguments of scholars demonstrates that you have conducted a thorough review of the literature and, therefore, you are reporting your research results or proposing recommended courses of action from an informed and critically engaged perspective. Your citations offer evidence that you effectively contemplated, evaluated, and synthesized sources of information in relation to your conceptualization of the research problem.
• Illustrates the non-linear and contested nature of knowledge creation . The sources you cite show the reader how you characterized the dynamics of prior knowledge creation relevant to the research problem and how you managed to identify the contested relationships between problems and solutions proposed among scholars. Citations don't just list materials used in your study, they tell a story about how prior knowledge-making emerged from a constant state of creation, renewal, and transformation.
• Reinforces your arguments . Sources cited in your paper provide the evidence that readers need to determine that you properly addressed the “So What?” question. This refers to whether you considered the relevance and significance of the research problem, its implications applied to creating new knowledge, and its importance for improving practice. In this way, citations draw attention to and support the legitimacy and originality of your own ideas and assertions.
• Demonstrates that you "listened" to relevant conversations among scholars before joining in . Your citations tell the reader where you developed an understanding of the debates among scholars. They show how you educated yourself about ongoing conversations taking place within relevant communities of researchers before inserting your own ideas and arguments. In peer-reviewed scholarship, most of these conversations emerge within books, research reports, journal articles, and other cited works.
• Delineates alternative approaches to explaining the research problem . If you disagree with prior research assumptions or you believe that a topic has been understudied or you find that there is a gap in how scholars have understood a problem, your citations serve as the source materials from which to analyze and present an alternative viewpoint or to assert that a different course of action should be pursued. In short, the materials you cite serve as the means by which to argue persuasively against long-standing assumptions promulgated in prior studies.
• Helps the reader understand contextual aspects of your research . Cited sources help readers understand the specific circumstances, conditions, and settings of the problem being investigated and, by extension, how your arguments can be fully understood and assessed. Citations place your line of reasoning within a specific contextualized framework based on how others have studied the problem and how you interpreted their findings in support of your overall research objectives.
• Frames the development of concepts and ideas within the literature . No topic in the social and behavioral sciences rests in isolation from research that has taken place in the past. Your citations help the reader understand the growth and transformation of the theoretical assumptions, key concepts, and systematic inquiries that emerged prior to your engagement with the research problem.
• Underscores sources that were most important to you . Your citations represent a set of choices made about what you determined to be the most important sources for understanding the topic. They not only list what you discovered, but why it matters and how the materials you chose to cite fit within the broader context of your research design and arguments. As part of an overall assessment of the study’s validity and reliability , the choices you make also helps the reader determine what sources of research may have been excluded.
• Provides evidence of interdisciplinary thinking . An important principle of good research is to extend your review of the literature beyond the predominant disciplinary space where scholars have previously examined a topic. Citations provide evidence that you have integrated epistemological arguments, observations, and/or methodological strategies of other disciplines into your paper, thereby demonstrating that you understand the complex, interconnected nature of contemporary research topics.
• Forms the basis for bibliometric analysis of research . Bibliometric analysis is a quantitative method used, for example, to identify and predict emerging trends in research, document patterns of collaboration among scholars, explore the intellectual structure of a specific domain of research, map the development of research within and across disciplines, or identify gaps in knowledge within the literature. Bibliometrics data can also be used to visually map relationships among published studies. An author's citations to books, journal articles, research reports, and other publications represent the raw data used in bibliometric research.
• Supports critical thinking and independent learning . Evaluating the authenticity, reliability, validity, and originality of prior research is an act of interpretation and introspective reasoning applied to assessing whether a source of information will contribute to understanding the problem in ways that are persuasive and align with your overall research objectives. Reviewing and citing prior studies represents a deliberate act of critically scrutinizing each source as part of your overall assessment of how scholars have confronted the research problem.
• Honors the achievements of others . As Susan Blum recently noted,** citations not only identify sources used, they acknowledge the achievements of scholars within the larger network of research about the topic. Citing sources is a normative act of professionalism within academe and a way to highlight and recognize the work of scholars who likely do not obtain any tangible benefits or monetary value from their research endeavors. Your citations help to validate the work of others.

*Vernon. Jamie L. "On the Shoulder of Giants." American Scientist 105 (July-August 2017): 194.

**Blum, Susan D. "In Defense of the Morality of Citation.” Inside Higher Ed , January 29, 2024.

Aksnes, Dag W., Liv Langfeldt, and Paul Wouters. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories." Sage Open 9 (January-March 2019): https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019829575; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; D'Angelo, Barbara J. "Using Source Analysis to Promote Critical Thinking." Research Strategies 18 (Winter 2001): 303-309; Donthu, Naveen et al. “How to Conduct a Bibliometric Analysis: An Overview and Guidelines.” Journal of Business Research 133 (2021): 285-296; Mauer, Barry and John Venecek. “Scholarship as Conversation.” Strategies for Conducting Literary Research, University of Central Florida, 2021; Öztürk, Oguzhan, Ridvan Kocaman, and Dominik K. Kanbach. "How to Design Bibliometric Research: An Overview and a Framework Proposal." Review of Managerial Science (2024): 1-29; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; Newton, Philip. "Academic Integrity: A Quantitative Study of Confidence and Understanding in Students at the Start of Their Higher Education."  Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 41 (2016): 482-497; Referencing More Effectively. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Using Sources. Yale College Writing Center. Yale University; Vosburgh, Richard M. "Closing the Academic-practitioner Gap: Research Must Answer the “SO WHAT” Question." H uman Resource Management Review 32 (March 2022): 100633; When and Why to Cite Sources. Information Literacy Playlists, SUNY, Albany Libraries.

Structure and Writing Style

Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you acquired from another author’s work, and identifying where that information come from . You must cite research in order to do research, but at the same time, you must delineate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the thoughts and ideas of others. Citations help achieve this. Procedures used to cite sources vary among different fields of study. If not outlined in your course syllabus or writing assignment, always speak with your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the class because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it consistently. If your professor defers and tells you to "choose whatever you want, just be consistent," then choose the citation style you are most familiar with or that is appropriate to your major [e.g., use Chicago style if you are majoring in history; use APA if its an education course; use MLA if it is literature or a general writing course].

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Are there any reasons I should avoid referencing other people's work? No. If placed in the proper context, r eferencing other people's research is never an indication that your work is substandard or lacks originality. In fact, the opposite is true. If you write your paper without adequate references to previous studies, you are signaling to the reader that you are not familiar with the literature on the topic, thereby, undermining the validity of your study and your credibility as a researcher. Including references in academic writing is one of the most important ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of how the research problem has been addressed. It is the intellectual packaging around which you present your thoughts, ideas, and arguments to the reader.

2. What should I do if I find out that my great idea has already been studied by another researcher? It can be frustrating to come up with what you believe is a great topic only to find that it's already been thoroughly studied. However, do not become frustrated by this. You can acknowledge the prior research by writing in the text of your paper [see also Smith, 2002], then citing the complete source in your list of references. Use the discovery of prior studies as an opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the problem being investigated and, if applicable, as a means of delineating your analysis from those of others [e.g., the prior study is ten years old and doesn't take into account new variables]. Strategies for responding to prior research can include: stating how your study updates previous understandings about the topic, offering a new or different perspective, applying a different or innovative method of gathering and interpreting data, and/or describing a new set of insights, guidelines, recommendations, best practices, or working solutions.

3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work? You still must cite the original work. For example, you use a table of statistics from a journal article published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or added new data to it. Reference the revised chart, such as, [adapted from Smith, 1996], then cite the original source in your list of references. You can also use other terms in order to specify the exact relationship between the original source and the version you have presented, such as, "based on data from Smith [1996]...," or "summarized from Smith [1996]...." Citing the original source helps the reader locate where the information was first presented and under what context it was used as well as to evaluate how effectively you applied it to your own research.

4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas? You can indicate that the topic, idea, concept, or information can be found in the works of others by stating something similar to the following example: "Though many scholars have applied rational choice theory to understanding economic relations among nations [Smith, 1989; Jones, 1991; Johnson, 1994; Anderson, 2003; Smith, 2014], little attention has been given to applying the theory to examining the influence of non-governmental organizations in a globalized economy." If you only reference one author or only the most recent study, then your readers may assume that only one author has published on this topic, or more likely, they will conclude that you have not conducted a thorough review of the literature. Referencing all relevant authors of prior studies gives your readers a clear idea of the breadth of analysis you conducted in preparing to study the research problem. If there has been a significant number of prior studies on the topic [i.e., ten or more], describe the most comprehensive and recent works because they will presumably discuss and reference the older studies. However, note in your review of the literature that there has been significant scholarship devoted to the topic so the reader knows that you are aware of the numerous prior studies.

5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher? In the social sciences, the rationale in duplicating prior research is generally governed by the passage of time, changing circumstances or conditions, or the emergence of variables that necessitate new investigations . If someone else has recently conducted a thorough investigation of precisely the same research problem that you intend to study, then you likely will have to revise your topic, or at the very least, review this literature to identify something new to say about the problem. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly with what you are trying to say, then you can quote from the author directly, referencing the source. Identifying an author who has made the exact same point that you want to make can be an opportunity to validate, as well as reinforce the significance of, the research problem you are investigating. The key is to build on that idea in new and innovative ways. If you are not sure how to do this, consult with a librarian .

6. Should I cite a source even if it was published long ago? Any source used in writing your paper should be cited, regardless of when it was written. However, in building a case for understanding prior research about your topic, it is generally true that you should focus on citing more recently published studies because they presumably have built upon the research of older studies. When referencing prior studies, use the research problem as your guide when considering what to cite. If a study from forty years ago investigated the same topic, it probably should be examined and considered in your list of references because the research may have been foundational or groundbreaking at the time, even if its findings are no longer relevant to current conditions or reflect current thinking [one way to determine if a study is foundational or groundbreaking is to examine how often it has been cited in recent studies using the "Cited by" feature of Google Scholar ]. However, if an older study only relates to the research problem tangentially or it has not been cited in recent studies, then it may be more appropriate to list it under further readings .

7. Can I cite unusual and non-scholarly sources in my research paper? The majority of the citations in a research paper should be to scholarly [a.k.a., academic; peer-reviewed] studies that rely on an objective and logical analysis of the research problem based on empirical evidence that reliably supports your arguments. However, any type of source can be considered valid if it brings relevant understanding and clarity to the topic. This can include, for example, non-textual elements such as photographs, maps, or illustrations. A source can include materials from special or archival collections, such as, personal papers, manuscripts, business memorandums, the official records of an organization, or digitized collections. Citations can also be to unusual items, such as, an audio recording, a transcript from a television news program, a unique set of data, or a social media post. The challenge is knowing how to cite unusual and non-scholarly sources because they often do not fit within consistent citation rules of books or journal articles. Given this, consult with a librarian if you are unsure how to cite a source.

NOTE:   In any academic writing, you are required to identify which ideas, facts, thoughts, concepts, or declarative statements are yours and which are derived from the research of others. The only exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a commonly known fact [e.g., "George Washington was the first president of the United States"] or a statement that is self-evident [e.g., "Australia is a country in the Global South"]. Appreciate, however, that any "commonly known fact" or self-evidencing statement is culturally constructed and shaped by specific social and aesthetical biases . If you have any doubt about whether or not a fact is considered to be widely understood knowledge, provide a supporting citation, or, ask your professor for clarification about whether the statement should be cited.

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Carlock, Janine. Developing Information Literacy Skills: A Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Citing Sources . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2020; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; How to Cite Other Sources in Your Paper. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Lunsford, Andrea A. and Robert Connors; The St. Martin's Handbook . New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989; Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace . 3rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2015; Research and Citation Resources. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale Univeraity.

Other Citation Research Guides

The following USC Libraries research guide can help you properly cite sources in your research paper:

• Citation Guide

The following USC Libraries research guide offers basic information on using images and media in research:

Listed below are particularly well-done and comprehensive websites that provide specific examples of how to cite sources under different style guidelines.

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• Southern Cross University Harvard Referencing Style
• University of Wisconsin Writing Center

This is a useful guide concerning how to properly cite images in your research paper.

• Colgate Visual Resources Library, Citing Images

This guide provides good information on the act of citation analysis, whereby you count the number of times a published work is cited by other works in order to measure the impact of a publication or author.

Measuring Your Impact: Impact Factor, Citation Analysis, and other Metrics: Citation Analysis [Sandy De Groote, University of Illinois, Chicago]

Automatic Citation Generators

The links below lead to systems where you can type in your information and have a citation compiled for you. Note that these systems are not foolproof so it is important that you verify that the citation is correct and check your spelling, capitalization, etc. However, they can be useful in creating basic types of citations, particularly for online sources.

• BibMe -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles
• DocsCite -- for citing government publications in APA or MLA formats
• EasyBib -- APA, MLA, and Chicago styles
• Son of Citation Machine -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles

NOTE:   Many companies that create the research databases the USC Libraries subscribe to, such as ProQuest , include built-in citation generators that help take the guesswork out of how to properly cite a work. When available, you should always utilize these features because they not only generate a citation to the source [e.g., a journal article], but include information about where you accessed the source [e.g., the database].

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• Last Updated: Jun 18, 2024 10:45 AM
• URL: https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide

• High School

1. Which of the following would always require a citation in a research paper? a. thesis statement b. an anecdotal experience c. a quotation d. a humorous statement 2. Which of the following shows the correct parenthetical citation for information from page 57 of an article in the March 1999 issue of Popular Science magazine called “Designer Fuels,” written by Dan McCosh? a. (Designer Fuels 57) b. (Popular Science 57) c. (McCosh 57) d. (“Designer Fuels,” Popular Science 15) 3. All of the following are ways to cite sources used in a research report except. a. parenthetical citations. b. expert quotations. c. footnotes. d. endnotes.

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Do all references in a reference list need to be cited in text?

Can a reference list for a research paper contains references for resources that are never cited in the text but was useful for the research?

• 5 Why would you want to provide a reference when you in fact never reference it? –  Ian Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 8:04
• Can you insert a mention of it into the writing? Even a single sentence, e.g. "This issue was further supported in, for example, X (1990) and Y (1992)." –  Jeff Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 14:49
• This question is stated in a misleading way, because answering "no" to the title means the complete opposite of answering "no" to the question text. –  Federico Poloni Commented Nov 19, 2016 at 9:39
• 1 @FedericoPoloni I don't think that is such a big problem. An answer shouldn't just say 'no' anyway, and it's not that hard to phrase an answer to make sense. It's a lot better than the ones where the question text says 'see title'. –  Jessica B Commented Nov 20, 2016 at 7:00

5 Answers 5

A reference list is the list of things that are referenced . A list containing other items that were used is called a bibliography.

No, a reference list only provides the list of references that were cited in the main text. If additional literature was useful for the research, it should be cited accordingly. Unlike a syllabus, a reference list is not just a collection of literature on a certain topic.

No, it can't. This is actually checked during the proofreading step and you are asked to remove all items from the reference list that have not been cited in the text. That is actually pretty common to happen (as is the opposite of missing items in the reference list) since it's easy for citations and reference list to be out of sync if you don't use a reference manager and have a lot of revisions.

• This is pretty common? This would mean a lot of people don't use reference managers? –  user64845 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 9:45
• 1 Correct. I know many older colleagues who don't use them at all. There is also the problem of different reference managers used by collaborators and resulting compatibility problems. –  user9482 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 9:58
• @DSVA Yes, many people write references without a reference manager. For documents with several authors and a number of references in the 20-30 range, a reference manager is actually more hassle than help. –  Cape Code Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 13:07
• In my experience even for 10 references using a manager is less work than doing it manually. And it's also quite easy to coordinate with others, the main author handles the references and everyone else just puts down the DOI if they want to add a reference. –  user64845 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 13:25
• 2 @DSVA I agree. But that doesn't change that I have coauthored a number of papers where no reference manager was used. –  user9482 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 13:36

Yes, all references in a reference list need to be cited at least once in the text. If you wish to include other sources that were helpful but not cited, you need a bibliography, which can include references, as well as sources not referred to. A useful source on this is Cite Them Right by Pears & Shields, from Bloomsbury.

I think it's technically ok, but It's defininitely bad style. How was it useful and yet not worth refering to in your manuscript? It also leaves unclear which part of your research it supported.

Elsevier e.g. actually state in their author guidelines that cited references must be mentioned in the text and vice versa: https://www.elsevier.com/journals/learning-and-instruction/0959-4752/guide-for-authors#68000

• 1 No, it's not technically OK. –  user9482 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 9:12
• I'd go further: It is downright unethical to pad the list of references, even, or perhaps especially, if a publisher requests it to bring up a journal's impact factor. That is, unless there is a clear connection between the cited material and the current paper, the citation should be removed. –  user3697176 Commented Nov 18, 2016 at 20:40
• @Roland You are right. I added a link to the author guidelines of an Elsevier journal to respond to your criticism. –  akid Commented Nov 19, 2016 at 8:03

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Critically Thinking About “Citing Up”

Considering credibility, familiarity, and patience when citing research..

Posted June 12, 2024 | Reviewed by Davia Sills

• What Is a Career
• Find a career counselor near me
• Newer studies tend not to be referenced as frequently as more established scientific research.
• Credibility, familiarity, and implicit bias all play a role in which research gets cited more often.
• With patience and hard work, researchers can build their reputations as worthy of citation.

I came across an interesting social media post recently in preparation for a professional skills development workshop that I was presenting. The post discussed how academics tend to “cite up” in terms of referencing older, more famous scholars relative to more junior researchers. I thought about this proposition in light of my own citation strategies and knowledge of bibliometrics and concluded that this statement is likely true, but probably not for any explicit bias against junior researchers, as some might posit.

First and foremost, we must consider the purpose of citing research—to represent a source of evidence and indicate that someone didn’t just make up what they’re saying. It’s been established in previous work, and we pay that research kudos to further our argument in context. References are also useful for “ cutting a long story short”—one can cite another’s work that can more fully explain a concept without having to reiterate the whole thing. When I use a reference in my arguments, given that I’m trying to convince the reader of my point, I want to use the most credible source(s) that I can find.

Possible reasons for “citing up”

If Author A is at the apex of credible sources in the field, I’m going to cite them where appropriate. Indeed, if I was reviewing a relevant paper and didn’t see Author A cited, I might be concerned. Of course, one can include multiple citations, but perhaps the reason why more junior or early career researchers are not cited (relative to the Author As out there) is that other researchers may not be as familiar with the early career researchers”—Author Es’—research.

Maybe the citing researcher remembers the research but not the name of the author. Obviously, Author E’s work hasn’t seemed to “stick” yet, maybe because they’re yet to make a bigger impact in the field. Sure, that’s largely the citing researcher’s issue for not having better organized their reading and note-taking, but simply, it’s also an issue of accessibility. If a researcher can’t remember Author E’s name in this context, the credibility of Author A will more than suffice. “Citing up” is not a slight here; it’s just that Author E’s contribution might not be that impactful, accessible, or memorable to a more established researcher. Moreover, I must admit there might be a level of laziness here.

For example, the scenario above is context-dependent. If I can’t remember Author E, that’s fine; I have Author A to cite. However, if Author E is the only appropriate citation, the citing strategy will change. If I know a claim is fundamental to my rationale but I can’t remember where it came from, despite knowing I’ve seen solid evidence for it in the past, I will search for Author E’s paper until I find it (because I have to if there’s no Author A to rely on). This might take time and effort.

I can imagine that some researchers will be reading this and thinking, “Surely, others are reading the new literature and taking notes as they go along or maybe even writing the rationale as they engage the new literature.” Ideally, this should be the case; indeed, it’s a handy way of keeping up-to-date with the literature. However, this does not always happen.

I imagine more established researchers in a field are “familiar enough” with it to write a rationale without having to look up papers every few lines and, instead, are more likely to write what they know. Such is human nature. When they eventually get some free time, they might dedicate a few hours to reading recently published papers. I’m also aware that some researchers are better at this than others. Obviously, this is worrying in the realm of research—perhaps more worrying altogether than the issue of “citing-up.”

With that, what are the chances that a researcher has read every paper in their field? Slim-to-none. Given the exponential increase in the amount of information available to people in the past 25 years and, likewise, the increase in the amount of Ph.D. degrees awarded and research being conducted, being up-to-date with all work in a field just isn’t feasible.

So, maybe “lazy” is unfair in context. Maybe these researchers are indeed reading as much as they can, but because the amount that’s feasible is finite relative to the seemingly endless new research that’s coming out, they might be “pickier” in what they read; for example, prioritizing known and credible researchers in their field. So, there’s a good chance that when only Author A is cited regarding a particular finding, it’s quite possible that it’s because the citing researcher has never even heard of Author E’s paper, let alone read it.

Takeaways for early-career researchers

“New” papers—regardless of when and by whom they’re read, need “sticking power,” and by that, I mean that the research is well-conducted: It is well-written, and interesting food for thought is provided. I compile and read new papers every month—maybe one per session has any sticking power—and that’s not because I’m some kind of research snob; rather, it’s the case that much of it failed some of the criteria above. With that, if the paper had well-conducted research, was well-written, and provided either something novel or some food for thought, then regardless of familiarity, this paper (and its author) would be on my radar for the future. So, just as much as older researchers may be set in their bibliographies or “lazy” referencing, it is most definitely up to younger researchers to publish impactful work.

I completely understand how this is frustrating for early career researchers. I was there once, too. Even though it’s been well over 10 years since I received my Ph.D., I still find myself trying to make the aforementioned impact necessary to be considered one of those “A” researchers in the field. Of course, I get annoyed when I see missed opportunities for other researchers to cite my work. But I’m realistic enough to recognize that maybe they have not come across my work, I have not made a large enough impact for it to be noticed, or the research they did cite was sufficient to make their point. I don’t take it personally, and neither should young researchers. Their time will come, but they must be patient.

Consider the research by Morris, Wooding, and Grant (2011), where it was suggested that it takes approximately 17 years on average for health research implementation from “bench to bedside.” That’s a long time for “research to be realized.” I know citations are different and should be more visible quicker in the land of research, but the same logic applies. Patience—and continued hard work (i.e., to advance one’s research acumen)—are necessary for citation success.

Again, I don’t think that “citing up” is consciously done to slight early career academics; researchers are not conspiring against their junior colleagues—at least, not in my field. If anything, they want to see them and their field flourish. Instead, I think it’s more likely that this issue boils down to an implicit bias (which we all face on a day-to-day basis) toward what we know as familiar, accessible, and credible.

Morris, Z. S., Wooding, S., & Grant, J. (2011). The answer is 17 years, what is the question: understanding time lags in translational research. Journal of the royal society of medicine , 104 (12), 510-520.

Christopher Dwyer, Ph.D., is a lecturer at the Technological University of the Shannon in Athlone, Ireland.

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