7. Citing Your Sources
In any research assignment, you will find that it is necessary to give proper credit to those whose works you have relied on to develop your ideas. If you use someone else's words, you must present those words as quotes or paraphrases. Using ideas without proper credit in research papers is called plagiarism, a punishable, serious offense. A helpful guide to avoid plagiarism by properly crediting sources can be found at the Purdue University Online Writing Lab site: owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/r_plagiar.html
Materials created in print or on the Web are protected by the United States copyright laws. These materials can be text, pictures, sound, etc. and cannot be used or copied without proper credit and permission from the copyright holders.
For an explanation of copyright laws and how they relate to the academic community, take a look at these pages:
University of Colorado Student FAQ on Copyright and Fair Use
University of Maryland University College Information and Library Services Copyright and Fair Use in the Classroom, on the Internet, and the World Wide Web umuc.edu/library/copy.html
If you have quoted or paraphrased from a source, you will need to cite the source according to the format required by your instructor. Here at Arapahoe Community College, there are two common ways to cite sources: MLA (Modern Language Association) and APA (The American Psychological Association). Your instructor will indicate which style is appropriate for your specific assignment. Our Library has MLA and APA citation manuals available in the reference area and also for checkout.
Some of the online database article sources such as ProQuest, EBSCOhost, and Encyclopedia Britannica Online, actually have citations already made for each article (just click on "cite this" link).
The following links explain how to cite sources for MLA, APA and other styles:
Online! A Reference Guide to Using Internet Sources
A Guide for Writing Research Papers based on Modern Language Association (MLA) Documentation
Using MLA Format
The are also citation generator sites, where by filling out a form a citation is created for you (not all instructors approve of these).
A good one is KnightCite calvin.edu/library/knightcite (found easiest by Googling "KnightCite"). Be careful to fill out these citation forms correctly or you will get a faulty citation!
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