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When starting your first research work, you will find that citations play one of the central roles in building originality, credibility, and respect for both your work and intellectual property in general. Understanding what a citation is and how to use it effectively is fundamental for anyone engaging in scholarly writing.

Definition of a Citation

A citation is a formal reference to a source from which information or ideas have been drawn. I t is a way to credit the original author and to provide the readers with the necessary information to find the source themselves. Citations are vital in academic writing as they lend support and credibility to the writer’s own ideas and arguments, and they can be created via a free citation generator .

The Role of Citations in Scholarly Work

Creating citations is an inseparable part of academic writing, primarily serving as a guard against the unethical practice of plagiarizing. Plagiarism is the act of using another person’s work or ideas without giving them due credit, and it is considered a serious offense in the academic world. Citing sources demonstrates that writers respect the original author’s intellectual property and acknowledge their contribution to the field.

Moreover, citations illustrate that the writer has engaged in extensive research, adding depth and credibility to their work. They act as a roadmap, allowing readers to follow the trail of research and thought processes that led to the conclusions drawn in the paper. This transparency contributes to the audience’s understanding and allows them to verify the data and ideas presented, making sure the integrity and reliability of the scholarly discourse. Therefore, citations are essential to maintaining the honesty and trustworthiness of academic communication.

Types of Citations

Understanding the different types of citations is key to crafting well-researched and credible work. Each citation style, whether it’s APA, MLA, or Chicago, serves a specific purpose and follows distinct guidelines that build clarity and uniformity in academic communication. From in-text citations that subtly acknowledge sources within your narrative, to detailed bibliographies that offer a comprehensive overview of your research, mastering these various forms enhances the integrity and impact of your writing.

In-text Citations

In-text citations are integral to most academic writing formats. An example of an in-text citation in APA style is:

> (Smith, 2020).

This format briefly acknowledges the source within the text, typically featuring the author’s last name and the publication year. The purpose of in-text citations is to point the reader towards the more detailed reference list entry, allowing them to easily locate the full source details without cluttering the main text with extensive information.

Reference List Citations

Reference list citations are found at the end of an academic paper and provide comprehensive details about each source. For instance, a typical APA reference list entry might look like:

> Smith, J. (2020). Title of the Work . Publisher.

This format includes the author’s name, publication year, title of the work, and publisher details. The reference list ensures that every source mentioned in the in-text citations is accounted for, with sufficient information for the reader to find the original work.

Footnotes and Endnotes

Footnotes and endnotes serve as supplemental tools for citations or additional comments. An example of a footnote in Chicago style might appear as a superscript number within the text, with the corresponding note at the bottom of the page:

> ¹Smith, Title of the Work , 45.

Footnotes are found at the bottom of the page where the reference is made, while endnotes appear collectively at the end of the chapter or document. They can include full citation details or additional insights related to the content, providing further depth and context to the main text.

Citation Styles and Formats

Common Issues and Mistakes in Citation

In the world of academic writing, navigating the intricacies of citation can often be challenging, and it’s all too easy to stumble into common pitfalls. Incorrect citation format is a frequent error, where writers might mix up the requirements of different citation styles, such as confusing APA with MLA. This can lead to confusion and misinterpretation of the source material. Another common issue is missing information in citations, like omitting the publication date or the publisher’s name. This lack of detail can make it difficult for readers to locate the original sources, thereby affecting the paper’s reliability.

Inconsistency in citation styles throughout a document is another area where writers often err. For instance, using APA style in one section and then inadvertently switching to Chicago style in another can create a disjointed reading experience. Such inconsistencies not only disrupt the flow of your writing but also question its scholarly rigor . To maintain the integrity and credibility of your work, it is crucial to be thorough and consistent in your citation practices, carefully adhering to the rules of the chosen citation style. Remember, in the realm of academic writing, precision, and attention to detail in citations are as important as the content itself.

Citations are more than just formalities. They are a testament to a writer’s integrity, attention to detail, and engagement with the scholarly community. Proper citation practices honor the originality of ideas while building a reliable and verifiable body of knowledge. As such, mastering the art of citation is a key skill in academic writing.

What information should be included in a citation?

A citation should typically include the author’s name, the title of the work, publication date, and other relevant details like the publisher’s name, journal title, volume and issue numbers, and page numbers. For digital sources, URLs or DOIs (Digital Object Identifiers) are also essential.

Can I use online citation generators?

Yes, online citation generators can be used and are quite helpful in automating the citation process. However, it’s important to double-check the generated citations for accuracy, as these tools can sometimes make errors or be outdated in terms of citation style guidelines.

What are the consequences of not citing sources?

Not citing sources can lead to accusations of plagiarism, which is a serious academic offense. It can result in various consequences ranging from loss of credibility and academic penalties to legal repercussions. Proper citation is essential to maintain the integrity and reliability of your work.

Is there a difference between citing books and websites?

Yes, there is a difference in citing books and websites. Book citations typically require the author’s name, book title, publisher, and publication year. Website citations, however, often include the author’s name, title of the web page or article, the name of the website, the publication date, and the URL or DOI.

When do I need to use in-text citations?

In-text citations are used whenever you quote, paraphrase, or refer to information from a source in the body of your text. These citations provide a brief acknowledgment of the source, typically including the author’s last name and publication year, which correspond to a more detailed entry in the reference list or bibliography.

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A Beginner’s Guide to Citations, References and Bibliography in Research Papers

As an academician, terms such as citations, references and bibliography might be a part of almost every work-related conversation in your daily life. However, many researchers, especially during the early stages of their academic career, may find it hard to differentiate between citations, references and bibliography in research papers and often find it confusing to implement their usage. If you are amongst them, this article will provide you with some respite. Let us start by first understanding the individual terms better.

Citation in research papers:  A citation appears in the main text of the paper. It is a way of giving credit to the information that you have specifically mentioned in your research paper by leading the reader to the original source of information. You will need to use citation in research papers whenever you are using information to elaborate a particular concept in the paper, either in the introduction or discussion sections or as a way to support your research findings in the results section.

Reference in research papers:  A reference is a detailed description of the source of information that you want to give credit to via a citation. The references in research papers are usually in the form of a list at the end of the paper. The essential difference between citations and references is that citations lead a reader to the source of information, while references provide the reader with detailed information regarding that particular source.

Bibliography in research papers:

A bibliography in research paper is a list of sources that appears at the end of a research paper or an article, and contains information that may or may not be directly mentioned in the research paper. The difference between reference and bibliography in research is that an individual source in the list of references can be linked to an in-text citation, while an individual source in the bibliography may not necessarily be linked to an in-text citation.

It’s understandable how these terms may often be used interchangeably as they are serve the same purpose – namely to give intellectual and creative credit to an original idea that is elaborated in depth in a research paper. One of the easiest ways to understand when to use an in-text citation in research papers, is to check whether the information is an ongoing work of research or if it has been proven to be a ‘fact’ through reproducibility. If the information is a proven fact, you need not specifically add the original source to the list of references but can instead choose to mention it in your bibliography. For instance, if you use a statement such as “The effects of global warming and climate changes on the deterioration of environment have been described in depth”, you need not use an in-text citation, but can choose to mention key sources in the bibliography section. An example of a citation in a research paper would be if you intend to elaborate on the impact of climate change in a particular population and/or a specific geographical location. In this case, you will need to add an in-text citation and mention the correct source in the list of references.

Now that you have understood the basic similarities and differences in these terms, you should also know that every journal follows a particular style and format for these elements. So when working out how to write citations and add references in research papers, be mindful of using the preferred style of your target journal before you submit your research document.

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What Are Citations?

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Last updated April 2018

Why Are Citations Important?

What Does a Citation Look Like?

A citation is typically found in two places:, in-text citations.

Reference Lists/Bibliographies

Authors use in-text citations after they have paraphrased, summarized, quoted or otherwise used another author’s work. Examples of in-text citations include parentheses, footnotes or endnotes.

Reference Lists

A reference list includes information on all of the sources an author used. It can also be called a bibliography or works cited. Each item in the list includes information such as title, author and publication date. A reference list is usually listed at the end of a paper with the exception of footnotes which are at the bottom of each page.

Reading a Citation

Knowing how to read a citation in a reference list or bibliography will help you identify different types of sources that an author used in their research. You can use a reference list from another researcher to find related sources on your topic, or to find counterpoints to your research. Let’s look at citations for three common types of sources:

Reading Citations: Article Citations

A citation for an article can include:.

Why is this important?

The journal title is often what is listed in library catalogs.

How do you know if it is an article?

The presence of two titles (article and journal) are the biggest clue that this is an article. Volume Number and Issue Number are also big clues as books will not have those pieces in a citation.

Reading Citations: Book Citations

A citation for a book can include:.

Year, edition, format, and publisher help distinguish between versions.

How do you know if it is a book?

Reading Citations: Website Citations

A citation for a website can include:.

To find and verify a website, you need to know the URL. Since websites change frequently, knowing the date accessed is similar to knowing a publication date.

How do you know if it is a website?

The date accessed and the presence of a URL are the biggest clues that you are looking at a citation for a website.

Citation Styles

Different disciplines cite in different ways which means that there are many different citation styles.

Your professor or department will tell you what style to use.

Style guides, manuals and handbooks are available both in print and online.

Citation Guides at the University Libraries

Examples of Citation Styles: Article Citations

Examples of Citation Styles: Book Citations

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What Is a Citation?

Definition, Styles, and Examples

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In any research paper, you draw on the work of other researchers and writers, and you must document their contributions by citing your sources, say Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers in "A Pocket Style Manual, Eighth Edition." Citations, then, are the means by which you credit other researchers and writers when you use their work in your papers. Understanding how to cite sources can be tricky, particularly since there are different styles for writing papers , including the American Psychological Association, Modern Language Association, and Chicago (Turabian) styles. Electronic sources also come with their own specific citation rules in each of these styles. It's important to learn proper citation styles to avoid  plagiarism  in your research papers.

APA Citations

American Psychological Association (APA) style is often used in social sciences and other disciplines. With APA or any of the styles listed in this paper, you need to use a citation if you quote text from another source, paraphrase an author or authors' ideas, or refer to her work, such as a study, original thinking, or even an elegant turn of phrase. When you cite a source, you can't simply repeat most of the words from the work to which you are referring. You have to put the ideas into your own words, or you need to quote the text directly.

There are two parts to citations for APA and other styles: the short-form in line, which directs readers to a full entry at the end of a chapter or book. An in-line citation differs from a footnote, which is a note placed at the bottom of a page. An in-line citation—also called the  in-text citation —is placed within a line of text. To create an in-line citation, cite the name of the author and the date (in parentheses) of the article, report, book, or study, as this example from "A Pocket Style Manual" shows:

Cubuku (2012) argued that for a student-centered approach to work, students must maintain "ownership for thier goals and activities" (p. 64).

Note how you list the page number at the end of the in-text citation in parentheses followed by a period (if it is at the end of a sentence). If there are two authors, list the last name of each, as in:

"According to Donitsa-Schmidt and Zurzovsky (2014), ..."

If there are more than two authors, list the last name of the first author followed by the words "et al.," as in:

Herman et al. (2012) tracked 42 students over a three-year period (p. 49).

At the end of your paper, attach one or more pages titled "References." That section is essentially your biography. Readers of your paper can then turn to the references listing to read the full citations for each of the works you cited. There are actually many variations for references citations depending, for example, on whether you are citing a book, journal article, or newspaper story, or the many different kinds of media, including audio recordings and film.

the most common citation is to books. For such a citation, list the last name of the author, followed by a comma, followed by the first initial(s) of the author(s), followed by a period. You would put the year the book was published in parentheses followed by a period, then the title of the book in italics using sentence case , followed by a comma, the place of publication, followed by a colon, and then the publisher, followed by a period. "A Pocket Style Manual" gives this example:

Rosenberg, T. (2011). Join the club: How peer pressure can transform the world . New York, NY: Norton.​

Though the citations here won't print this way, use a hanging indent for the second and any subsequent lines in each citation. In a hanging indent in APA style, you indent every line after the first.

MLA Citations

MLA style is often used in English and other humanities papers. MLA follows the author-page style for in-text citations, notes Purdue OWL, an excellent citation, grammar, and writing website operated by Purdue University. Purdue gives this example of an in-text citation, which is also called parenthetical citation in MLA style. Note that in MLA style, page numbers don’t typically appear unless the sentence or passage is a direct quote from the original, as is the case here:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

At the end of the paper, attach a "Works Cited" page or pages, which is equivalent to the "References" section in APA style. "Works Cited" section citations are very similar in MLA and APA style, as in this example of a work with multiple authors from Purdue OWL:

Warner, Ralph, et al.  How to Buy a House in California . Edited by Alayna Schroeder, 12th ed., Nolo, 2009.

Note that you would also use a hanging indent in MLA, but it tends to be a bit shorter; move the second and subsequent lines in by three spaces. Spell out the first name of the author(s) in MLA style; add a comma before "et al."; use title case for the book, journal, or article title; omit the place of publication information; follow the name of the publisher with a comma; and list the date of publication at the end.

Chicago Style Citations

Chicago is the oldest of the three major writing and citation styles in the United States, having begun with the 1906 publication of the first Chicago style guide. For in-text citations, Chicago style, which comes from the "Chicago Manual of Style" from the University of Chicago Press, is pretty simple: the author's last name, date of publication, a comma, and page numbers, all in parentheses, as follows:

(Murav 2011, 219-220)

At the end of the paper, insert a list of references, which in Chicago style is called a bibliography. Books, journals, and other articles are cited in a manner similar to APA and MLA style. List the author's last name, a comma, and the full first name, followed by the title of the book in italics and title case, the place of publication, followed by a colon, followed by the publisher's name, a comma, and the date of publication, all in parentheses, followed by a comma and the page numbers.

Kate L. Turabian, in "A Manual for Writers" (a student-geared version of Chicago style), gives the following example:

Gladwell, Malcolm,  The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference  (Boston: Little Brown, 2000), 64-65.

You also use a hanging indent in the bibliography section of a Chicago style paper, with the indent moved in three spaces. For article or journal titles, list the title in regular (not italic) type encased in quotation marks.

Electronic Sources

Electronic source citations are similar to citations of published works except for two issues: You need to include the URL of the source, and a large percentage of online sources may not list an author. 

In APA style, for example, list an online source in the same way you would cite a book or article, except that you need to include the type of information you are accessing (in parentheses), as well as the URL. If the online source lacks a listed author, start with the name of the group or agency providing the information. "A Pocket Manual of Style" provides the following example of an APA electronic source citation:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2011). Daily intake of nutrients by food source: 2005-08 . ​[Data set]. Retrieved from http:www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-consumption-and-nutrient-intakes.aspx.

As with other citations, use a hanging indent for the second, third, and fourth lines of this source. For Chicago style, use the same method as described previously but add the URL, as in this example:

Brown, David. "New Burden of Disease Study Shows World's People Living Longer but with More Disability," Washington Post , December 12, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/.

Note that Chicago style includes only the home-page URL and not the full URL; that can change, however, from one regime to the next.

MLA style used to require you to list the date you accessed the information, but that's no longer the case. To cite an electronic source, use the same style as discussed previously, but replace the period after the date with a comma and then list the URL.

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Research Skills Tutorial

• Turning A Topic Into A Research Question
• Getting Background Information About Your Topic
• Portfolio Activity 1
• Types of Information Sources
• Scholarly, Popular and Trade Information Sources
• Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Information Sources
• Current and Retrospective Information Sources
• Information Sources for Different Audiences and Purposes
• Portfolio Activity 2
• Library Databases vs. the Web
• Creating a Concept Chart
• Boolean Operators
• Refining Results by Date, Peer Review and Document Type
• Advanced Searching
• Advanced Searching with Descriptors
• Descriptor Chaining
• Citation Chaining (or Reference Mining)
• Searching Outside the SUNY Empire Library
• Searching Google
• Portfolio Activity 3
• Understanding Search Results
• Saving Search Results
• Portfolio Activity 4
• Credible Sources
• What Does the Information Source Tell You About Itself?
• Reliability
• Some More About Validity
• Portfolio Activity 5
• What Is Citing?
• What Is a Citation?
• Citation Styles
• Citing Tools and Tips
• Practice Activity 6
• Practice Activity 7 - Final Project

What Is A Citation?

When to cite.

A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else's idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. An in-text citation is a brief notation within the text of your paper or presentation which refers the reader to a fuller notation, or end-of-paper citation , that provides all necessary details about that source of information. Direct quotations should be surrounded by quotations marks and are generally used when the idea you want to capture is best expressed by the source.  Paraphrasing and summarizing involve rewording an essential idea from someone else's work, usually to either condense the point or to make it better fit your writing style. You do not have to cite your own ideas, unless they have been published. And you do not have to cite  common knowledge , or information that most people in your audience would know without having to look it up.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations alert the reader to an idea from an outside source.  

Parenthetical Notes

In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations usually appear as parenthetical notes (sometimes called parenthetical documentation ). They are called parenthetical notes because brief information about the source, usually the author's name, year of publication, and page number, is enclosed in parentheses as follows:  

MLA style: (Smith 263)

APA style: (Smith, 2013, p. 263)  

Parenthetical notes are inserted into the text of the paper at the end of a sentence or paragraph:>

In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations are associated with end-of-paper citations that provide full details about an information source. Note: Different source types and situations require different information within the parentheses. Refer to a style guide for the style you are using for details.

Note Numbers

In Chicago and CSE styles, in-text citations usually appear as superscript numerals, or note numbers , as follows:

These note numbers are associated with full citations that can appear as footnotes (bottom of page), endnotes (end of chapter or paper), or lists of cited references at the end of the paper.  

End-of-Paper Citations

End-of-paper citations, as well as footnotes and endnotes, include  full details about a source of information.  Citations contain different pieces of identifying information about your source depending on what type of source it is. In academic research, your sources will most commonly be articles from scholarly journals, and the citation for an article typically includes:  

• article title
• publication information (journal title, date, volume, issue, pages, etc.)
• DOI (digital object identifier).
• URL of the information source itself
• URL of the journal that published the article

There are many other types of sources you might use, including books, book chapters, films, song lyrics, musical scores, interviews, e-mails, blog entries, art works, lectures, websites and more. To determine which details are required for a citation for a particular source type, find that source type within the style guide for the citation style you are using. At the end of your research paper, full citations should be listed in order according to the citation style you are using:

• In MLA style, this list is called a W orks Cited page.  
• In APA style, it is called a References page.
• In CSE style, it is called a C ited References page.
• And, in Chicago style, there may be both a Notes page and a Bibliography page. 

Citations  In Library Databases

When you search the library's databases for articles or e-books, the list of search results you see is actually a list of full citations. Instead of being formatted according to MLA, APA, CSE, or Chicago style, these citations are formatted according to the database vendor's style. It is up to you to take the source information you find in a library database (or elsewhere) and format it according to the citation style you are using.

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Encyclopedia for Writers

Writing with artificial intelligence, citation – definition – introduction to citation in academic & professional writing.

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Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Table of Contents

What is a Citation?

A “ citation ” refers to the act of integrating ideas or words from another source into your speech or writing , along with adhering to the specific discourse conventions (or standardized ways of acknowledging sources) in a particular academic or professional field . “Citations” are required in academic and professional writing when writers summarize , paraphrase , or quote the words or ideas others. Writers may also cite known experts to enhance the authority of their arguments and observations.

In both academic and professional settings, the practice of citing sources—whether through quotations , paraphrasing , or summarizing —is a fundamental mark of professionalism. Being capable of citing sources correctly and critiquing the citations of others is a basic literacy in a knowledge economy.

Most generally, “citation” refers to the act of crediting a source of information . While “citation” is the formal term, there are several colloquial synonyms that people might use interchangeably, such as “ attribution ,” “reference,” or “mention.” In more casual or conversational settings, phrases like “backing up” one’s claim or providing “proof” might be used. When writers or speakers incorporate information from an external source, they might say they are “citing,” “ attributing ,” or “referencing” that source.

Related Concepts: Academic Dishonesty ; Archive ; Authority in Academic Writing ; Canon ; Copyright ; Discourse ; Hermeneutics ; Information Has Value ; Intellectual Property ; Paraphrase ; Plagiarism ; Quotation ; Scholarship as a Conversation ; Summary

What Are The Three Major Ways of Citing Sources inside a Text?

While there are many different citation styles, as discussed below, there are only three major types of citations:

• In-text Citation (aka Parenthetical Citation)
• Numerical citation
• Note Citations

In-text Citation (aka Parenthetical Citation )

In-text Citation refers to the practice of placing bibliographical information in parentheses when sources/information are first introduced in a quote , paraphrase , or summary . The in-text citation is typically shorter and directs the reader to the full citation in the bibliography or reference list. In essence, all in-text citations are citations, but not all citations are in-text citations.

APA Example

When using APA style, writers place the author’s name, year, and page number (when available) in parentheses.

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than 9,400 are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” (Eagle, 2022).

And then at the end of their text, they list all of the sources they cited in the text, providing all of the bibliographical information users need to track down the source and read it:

• Eagle, J. (2022, March 21). Animated chart: Nuclear warheads by country (1945-2022). Visual Capitalist .

Numerical Citation

Numerical Citation refers to when writers use numbers in brackets or superscript rather than parentheses to indicate to readers when they are quoting , paraphrasing , or summarizing :

IEEE Example

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than 9,400 are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” [1]

Subsequently, in the reference list at the end of their text, writers provided the bibliographic information following the order of the citations in the text:

Chicago (Turabian) Example

• [1]J. Eagle, “Animated Chart: Nuclear Warheads by Country (1945-2022),” Visual Capitalist , Mar. 21, 2022. (accessed Jan. 03, 2023).

[ See Inclusive – Inclusive Language for a full-length example of Numerical Citations ]

Note Citation

Note Citations refers to when writers place citations numbers just as they do with numerical citations AND then provide all of the required bibliographical information in the text–as opposed to providing all that information at the end of the text in a list of references:

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than  9,400  are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” J. Eagle, “Animated Chart: Nuclear Warheads by Country (1945-2022),” Visual Capitalist , Mar. 21, 2022. (accessed Jan. 03, 2023).

What Do All Citations Styles Have in Common?

Regardless of which citation style is used, attributions typically provide four types of bibliographical information :

• Name of Author(s)
• Title of source, whether it’s a book/article/website, etc
• Date of publication, if available
• Publisher information.

What Are the Most Popular Citation Styles?

Professional organizations (communities of practice) have unique ways of formatting citations. (See Wikipedia for a good listing of citation styles .)

Although style guides differ in regard to where the author’s name or publishing source is listed, they are all designed to ensure that proper credit is given to authors. As you know from your experience as a writer, developing insights and conducting original research is difficult and time consuming, so you can understand why people want to receive proper credit for their original ideas.

• MLA Handbook, 9th Edition Modern Language Association style is primarily used in the fields of English and foreign languages.
• Publication Manual of the APA: 7th Edition American Psychological Association’s style guide is used in psychology and education. Education and social science professors commonly ask students to follow the APA style for citing and documenting sources. APA differs from MLA in a number of ways, including the overall structure and format of the essay, but the major distinction between the two is APA’s use of the year of publication, rather than the page on which a particular quotation appears, for the in-text citation. APA requires in-text publication dates because of the particular importance of a study’s currency to research reports in the social sciences.
• Chicago Style is used in many social science fields.
• CSE (Council of Science Editors) is used by the scientific community
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) is used by the engineering community.

What Critical Perspectives Do Readers Use to Assess Your Citations?

Citation in speech and writing serves as a barometer of ethos , especially trustworthiness . When audiences are engaged in critical literacy practices , they are likely to question a source’s

When audiences check the archive and find that authors are making inconsistent quotations , they are likely to question the character or ethos of the author.

In other words, subject matter experts tend to be well versed in the ongoing conversations that characterize the works of other subject matter experts. Experienced researchers tend to engage in strategic searching of the archive . They engage in critical literacy practices , asking questions, such as

• What is the status of knowledge on the topic ?
• What is the ebb and flow of research on the topic –over time?
• What are the canonical texts ?
• Who are the pioneers? How has their work changed the conversation?
• What knowledge claims are currently being debated?

Related Articles:

APA - Publication Manual of the APA: 7th Edition

Attribution - What Is The Role of Attribution In Academic & Professional Writing?

Citation Guide - Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Citation Tools

MLA - MLA Handbook, 9th Edition

Recommended.

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Structured Revision – How to Revise Your Work

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Authority & Credibility – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Research, Speech & Writing

Citation Guide – Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

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• Joseph M. Moxley

Attribution refers to the practice of crediting original sources for information or ideas. It encompasses recognizing authors, understanding their credentials, and correctly citing their work in your own speech and...

Citation isn’t just about adhering to prescribed rules or ensuring each dot and comma is in its rightful place. It’s a rhetorical, fluid, intuitive process where writers must balance the...

Citation Tools (aka bibliography tools or citation managers) are software tools that (1) facilitate the processes of finding, tagging, and annotating sources and (2) automate the formatting processes for citations...

Featured Articles

Citing sources: Overview

• Citation style guides

Manage your references

Use these tools to help you organize and cite your references:

• Citation Management and Writing Tools

If you have questions after consulting this guide about how to cite, please contact your advisor/professor or the writing and communication center .

Why citing is important

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

• To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information
• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
• To avoid plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list

About citations

Citing a source means that you show, within the body of your text, that you took words, ideas, figures, images, etc. from another place.

Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work (e.g. book, article, chapter, web site).  They are found in bibliographies and reference lists and are also collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to identify and track down publications, including:

• author name(s)
• titles of books, articles, and journals
• date of publication
• page numbers
• volume and issue numbers (for articles)

Citations may look different, depending on what is being cited and which style was used to create them. Choose an appropriate style guide for your needs.  Here is an example of an article citation using four different citation styles.  Notice the common elements as mentioned above:

Author - R. Langer

Article Title - New Methods of Drug Delivery

Source Title - Science

Volume and issue - Vol 249, issue 4976

Publication Date - 1990

Page numbers - 1527-1533

American Chemical Society (ACS) style:

Langer, R. New Methods of Drug Delivery. Science 1990 , 249 , 1527-1533.

IEEE Style:

R. Langer, " New Methods of Drug Delivery," Science , vol. 249 , pp. 1527-1533 , SEP 28, 1990 .

American Psychological Association   (APA) style:

Langer, R. (1990) . New methods of drug delivery. Science , 249 (4976), 1527-1533.

Modern Language Association (MLA) style:

Langer, R. " New Methods of Drug Delivery." Science 249.4976 (1990) : 1527-33.

What to cite

You must cite:

• Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge

Publications that must be cited include:  books, book chapters, articles, web pages, theses, etc.

Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit 

When in doubt, be safe and cite your source!

Avoiding plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words (or ideas) and do not acknowledge that you have done so. In this culture, we consider our words and ideas intellectual property; like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and cannot be used without our permission.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense. If it is found that you have plagiarized -- deliberately or inadvertently -- you may face serious consequences. In some instances, plagiarism has meant that students have had to leave the institutions where they were studying.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources - both within the body of your paper and in a bibliography of sources you used at the end of your paper.

Some useful links about plagiarism:

• MIT Academic Integrity Overview on citing sources and avoiding plagiarism at MIT.
• Avoiding Plagiarism From the MIT Writing and Communication Center.
• Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It From Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services.
• Plagiarism- Overview A resource from Purdue University.
• Next: Citation style guides >>
• Last Updated: Jan 16, 2024 7:02 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/citing