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:
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:
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.
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:
Watch this short video from The Learning Portal to learn why you cite and when you cite. Watch, Learn, and Enjoy!
"Why You Need to Cite Sources" by The Learning Portal is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
The citation style you use will affect your paper in several ways as shown in this image.
Click on this document to read the text of the image.
Cite all outside sources you use in your research paper! Citing is required for sources you:
Quote word-for-word,
Paraphrase (rewrite using your own words), and
Summarize (rewrite the main concept or idea in your own words).
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.