MONT 199N-F03: Modeling the Natural World (Roberts)

Why Cite Sources?

Citing sources is about more than avoiding plagiarism. You should also cite sources to make sure people reading your work know where you find information and what sources you are building on. Research and scholarship is one big conversation - you are building your research with the support of another researcher who built their research with the support of another researcher who built their research with the support of another researcher... And so on. By citing sources, you are putting your work into that legacy and conversation. And who knows, maybe in the future someone will be citing your work in their research.

By citing sources, you're acknowledging the time, effort, and labor that went into creating the information you're using. Think of how much time you spend researching and writing your class assignments. The time you put into it and the information you create has value! Scholars and writers often spend years researching and studying in their field before publishing information. Citing your sources recognizes everything that went into creating them.

In addition, citation helps you:

• Give a road map to other sources. Your professor or others who read your work can see where you found your information and can review those sources themselves.
• Give credit to the hard work of other researchers. Research and publication take a lot of time and effort. Citing your sources helps other researchers continue to do their work and shows respect for the time they put into their research.
• Boost your own credibility. When you are evaluating how credible or accurate a source is, you may check the source’s citations to see if they are using scholarly sources and using them effectively. The same is true for your work - citing your sources makes you more credible and helps you build a stronger argument.
• Demonstrate academic integrity. Education at Holy Cross is a cooperative process. Using information honestly and ethically is one way to contribute to that cooperation and create a strong academic standard across campus. Everyone at Holy Cross is part of this educational conversation and has a responsibility to uphold academic integrity.
• Follow school policy. The College takes issues of academic integrity seriously. Violating the Academic Integrity Policy can result in a failing grade and disciplinary action. So make sure to cite your sources and present your own original work!

Citation Styles

Different scholarly fields use different styles for citation. Citation styles are established formats for citing sources. Some common citation styles include American Psychological Association (APA), Chicago, and Modern Languages Association (MLA).

Your professor may require a specific style, or may give you the option to choose which style you use. Either way, you should keep your citations consistent with the style you choose.

Finding Citation Templates

Each citation style has a style guide, which is a publication where they detail how papers and citations should be formatted in that style. Holy Cross Libraries have print copies of citation style guides available in the reference collection (ask at the desk in any library!) and you can access citation information online.

APA Citation Resources

Chicago Citation Resources

Chicago has two different citation styles. Author-Date uses in-text parenthetical references that correspond to a complete list of references at the end of the paper. Notes-Bibliography uses footnotes for in-text references that correspond to a complete bibliography at the end of the paper.

MLA Citation Resources

How to Cite

You should include a citation for any source you quote, paraphrase, or summarize. It can be helpful to create full citations for sources as you find and read them, so you have a running list to pull from while you write your paper.

This section includes set of steps to take when you are citing sources. The specific formatting will depend on what citation style you are using. Make sure to see the resources for each citation style above to help you get the correct format.

1. Identify what type of source you are using.

Different source types will need different information included in their citation. Are you citing a scholarly journal article? A newspaper article? A web page? A book? A chapter in a book? Take a look at your source and identify what type of source it is.

2. Go to the style guide for your citation style and find the format for that type of source.

Style guides will include formatting templates for citations for all types of sources. View the style guide or an online citation resource and find the format for the type of source you are citing.

3. Identify the components of the citation.

Most citation styles will have some core components - typically the source's author, title, publication date, and publisher. The citation template you found in step two will show you what they are. For some types of sources, these components may require more information. For example, the publisher component for scholarly journal articles typically includes the name of the journal, the volume number, and the issue number. For books, it may include the publication company and its location.

4. Find those components on your source.

Look on the source you are citing to find the components needed. Highlight or write them down. Sometimes information may be missing - for example, a source may not have a visible author, or you may not be able to find a publication date. Each citation style will have guidance for what to do when information is missing.

5. Put the citation components in order based on the template.

Use the template and the components you found on your source to put your citation together. Pay attention to things like punctuation, capitalization, and formatting. If the template has something in italics, make sure you also put it in italics. Placement of periods and commas will also be included in the template. These are all ways the citation signals what component of the source someone is looking at.

6. Create an in-text citation from your full citation.

In-text citations are included in the body of your paper. Some citation styles use parenthetical references, where in-text citations appear in (parentheses), while others use footnotes that appear at the bottom of the page. See your style guide for in-text citation formatting and make one that matches your full citation.

Incorporating Information from Sources into Your Research Paper

The video below describes how to incorporate sources into a research paper, including how to use direct quotes, paraphrasing, and summary. It also provides suggestions for organizing your thoughts and synthesizing information to make a cohesive research paper.

From the APA Style Blog

The links below provide information about paraphrasing and quoting with examples of how to use these tools in your writing. There is also a link to the APA Style Blog's description of plagiarism.