Why is it important to Cite sources?
- In citing sources, you acknowledge ideas that are not your own
- This helps those reading your work to locate your sources, in order to learn
more about the ideas that you are presenting
- It helps you to avoid committing plagiarism in your writing
A good citation makes it easy for the reader to figure out the who, what, when,
and where of the source.
"Plagarism is the act of presenting someone else's words, ideas, or work - whether accidentally or deliberately - as your own work. Source material obtained from internet sources requires the same attentiveness to documentation as from all other sources. Student must properly document the sources of information and ideas received. When in doubt, a good rule is to document any assistance in question."
Always document in detail as you work. This will ensure complete citations and will
preclude forgetting the specific passage, page or URL of original idea. Document all
numbers, facts and direct quotes. Follow specific guidelines as laid out by your instructor
with regard to formatting. When in doubt document.
If the information is Common Knowledge a citation is not required. Some examples are:
Well known quotes, axioms, proverbs and sayings
Widely known information (i.e. Portia Simpson Miller was the 1st Prime Minister of Jamaica; water freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit)
Take careful note of your sources during your research process. Include author(s), title, place of publication, publisher, internet source if applicable, page numbers. More is better; you can always discard unneeded information later.
Be sure to indicate which phrases and ideas are yours and which are the work of others.
Decide on a strategy for documenting your resources and follow this procedure throughout your research.
Why should I evaluate these sources? As you perform research for your assignments, you will encounter all of these types of resources. However, not everything you find on your topic will be suitable for your research, or meet the criteria given by your instructors for use in writing college-level papers.
How do you make sense of what is out there and evaluate its authority and appropriateness for your research?
Using the wrong source, or a source that's not appropriate for your level of research, can cause a multitude of problems. If you use an encyclopedia as a sole source for a college-level paper, you will likely do poorly, and if you do not use a scholarly source when one is specifically required, you will not fulfill the assignment criteria - again, another reason to lose points. But bad grades are not the only adverse consequence of not evaluating the sources you plan to use. Outdated information, sources with biases and sources without backup from research or other primary or secondary information and data can result in your paper being one-sided, your arguments being indefensible, or the facts you quote plain WRONG.
Check your sources for these potential problem areas, and ask for help if the sources you've found turn out to have issues:
