Skip to Main Content

Administration of Justice Research Basics

Learn to research with ease using credible, college-appropriate resources to frame, guide, and inform your projects

Tips for Citing Sources

Collect the Information You Need

It's important to make sure you collect all the information you need to cite a source as you gather your information so that you won't need to look it up again, so:

  • Take clear, accurate notes about where you found specific ideas
  • Write down the complete citation information for each book, article, etc. you use as you go along
  • Use quotation marks when directly stating another person's words
  • Always credit original authors for their information and ideas


Keep Track of Information About Your Sources

As you explore your topic, you'll discover and read information from many different sources. With each new source, you'll need to decide if you want to use it. To help you make this decision, you'll ask yourself questions about the source like:

  • Who is the author of this source?
  • What is the title of the source?
  • How was the source published?
  • Where did I find this source?
  • When was the source published?

Each of these elements (author, title, publisher, location, publication date) will become part of your citation. As you work, you'll want to keep track of each of these elements so that creating your citations will be easier.

Why Cite Your Sources?

When you write a research paper, you use information and facts from a variety of resources to support your own ideas or to help you develop new ones. Books, articles, videos, interviews, and Web sites are some examples of sources you might use. Citing these sources of information in your work is essential because:

  • It gives credit to the author of the original work who provided you with the information or idea
  • It allows your audience to identify and find the source material in order to learn more about your topic
  • It gives your paper more credibility because it shows you're supporting your arguments with high-quality sources and it also helps earn your readers' trust because you're telling your readers the source of your facts so that they can confirm them for themselves
  • It helps you avoid plagiarism

Choose a Citation Style to Get Started

Your instructor should tell you which citation style they want you to use. Click on the appropriate link below to learn how to format your paper and cite your sources according to a particular style.

Use NoodleTools to Create Citations

Use NoodleTools to help you create your citations.

It's easy; it's a form you fill out with the information about your source; it helps you catch mistakes.

NoodleTools image


NoodleTools Help: