LibGuides: Citing Your Sources: Citation

Cite Your Research

Doing research presents a real organizational challenge:

1. You have to keep track of all the sources from which you have borrowed ideas, facts, opinions, or quotations, and...

2. You have to create a formal list, called a "Works Cited" page, of all of the sources you used in your paper for your reader.

IF YOU KEEP TRACK OF EVERYTHING AS YOU USE IT, IT WILL SAVE YOU LOADS OF TIME LATER!

Tips for keeping track of sources:

1. Add links and titles to a Word doc or Google docs

2. Create a folder in your browser bookmarks for each assignment and save as you go. Or use browser extensions like Diigo or Wakelet to keep track of websites

3. Keep a running list of sources in a document in Google Drive

4. Make citations as you go using NoodleTools (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED)

5. All of the above

Do This Not That

DO:

Keep track of your sources as you go along

Use NoodleTools to create citations and SAVE YOUR WORK!

Use MLA consistently (make all your citations looks the same)

Export a Bibliography to MS Word (let NoodleTools do the formatting for you!)

DON'T:

List a URL as a citation. URLs change all the time. Your reader might not be able to find it.

Create citations on your own. There is too much room for error.

Copy and paste citations one-at-a-time. You will lose consistency!

Checking Your Work

Check your paper to ensure you have not missed any citations or have any plagiarism issues.

Why We Cite

We cite sources for several reasons:

prove we haven't made stuff up (like facts or statistics)
support our ideas and opinions from reputable sources
give credit to authors you have borrowed ideas or words from
PROTECT yourself from accusations of plagiarism!
help readers who want to know more find your sources

It's also just what people in schools and universities do to show they are using information ethically. When you get your driver's license, you will follow the rules, right? You will agree not to run a red light. Well, when you are a student, this is just what you do. It's part of the rules.