Citing Sources

Definition
A citation is a reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and obtained information
from while writing your research paper. The way in which you document your sources depends on the writing
style manual your professor wants you to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note
that some disciplines have their own citation method [e.g., law].
Importance of a Citing your Sources
Citations show your readers where you obtained your material, provides a means of critiquing your study, and
offers the opportunity to obtain additional information about the research problem under investigation.
Properly citing the works of others is important because:

1. Proper citation allows others to locate the materials you used. Citations to other sources helps
readers expand their knowledge on a topic. In some disciplines, one of the most effective strategies for
locating authoritative, relevant sources is to follow footnotes or references from known sources
["citation tracking"].
2. Citing other people's words and ideas indicates that you have conducted thorough review of the
literature on your topic and, therefore, you are operating from an informed perspective. This
increases your credibility as the author of the work.
3. Other researcher's ideas can be used to reinforce your arguments, or, if you disagree with them,
can act as positions from which to argue an alternative viewpoint. In many cases, another researcher's
arguments can act as the primary context from which you can emphasize a different viewpoint or to
clarify the importance of what you are proposing.
4. Just as other researcher's ideas can bolster your arguments and act as evidence for your ideas,
they can also detract from your credibility if they are found to be mistaken or fabricated.
Properly citing information not unique to you prevents your reputation from being tarnished if the
facts or ideas of others are proven to be inaccurate or off-base.
5. Outside academe, ideas are considered intellectual property and there can serious repercussions
if you fail to cite where you got an idea from. In the professional world, failure to cite other people's
intellectual property ruins careers and reputations and can result in legal action. Given this, it is
important to get into the habit of citing sources.

In any academic writing, you are required to identify for your reader which ideas, facts, theories,
concepts, etc., are yours and which are derived from the research and thoughts of others. Whether you
summarize, paraphrase, or use direct quotes, if it's not your original idea, the source needs to be
acknowledged. The only exception to this rule is information that is considered to be common knowledge
[e.g., George Washington was the first president of the United States]. If in doubt regarding whether something
is common knowledge, take the safe route and cite it, or ask your professor for clarification.

Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Referencing More Effectively. Academic
Skills Centre. University of Canberra.

Structure and Writing Style

Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you are quoting or
paraphrasing from another author’s work, and where they come from. You must cite research in order to
do research, but at the same time, you must indicate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the
thoughts and ideas of others.
Systems used to reference the sources you've used vary among different fields of study. However, always
speak with your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the
class because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it
consistently.

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Should I avoid referencing other people's work? No! Referencing other people's work is never an
indication that your work is poor or lacks originality if placed in the proper context. In fact, the
opposite is true. If you write your paper with no references to previous research, you are indicating to
the reader that you are not familiar with the research that has already been done, thereby undermining
your credibility as an author and the validity of your research. Including references in academic
writing is a way of demonstrating your knowledge of pertinent literature about the research problem.
2. What should I do if I find that my idea has already been published by another
researcher? Acknowledge the other researcher's work by writing in your reference something like
this: [see also Smith, 2002]. Do not ignore another author's work because doing so will lead your
readers to believe that you have either taken the idea or information without properly referencing it
[this is plagiarism] or that you have failed to conduct a thorough review of the literature in your field.
3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work? You still must cite
the original work. For example, maybe you are using a table of statistics from a journal article
published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or added new data to it. Reference the revised
chart as: [adapted from Smith, 1996]. You can also use other terms in order to specify the exact
relationship between the source and the version you have presented, such as, based on Smith [1996],
summarized from Smith [1996], etc.
4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas? You can
indicate that the idea or information can be found in the work of more than one author, by stating
something like: "Though in fact many authors have applied this theory to understanding economic
relations among nations [for example, Smith, 1989; Jones, 19991; Johnson, 1994], little work has been
done on applying it to understand the actions of non-governmental organizations." If you only
reference one author, then your readers may assume that only one author has published on this topic,
or, conclude that you have not read the literature thoroughly knowing that others have published
research in this area. Referencing multiple authors indicates to your readers a clear idea of the breadth
of analysis you conducted about the research problem, not a distorted or incomplete one.
5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher? It depends on what
it is; if someone else has investigated precisely the same research problem as you, then you likely will
have to change your topic, or at the very least, find something new to say about what you're
researching. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly with
what you are trying to say, then you can quote directly, citing the page reference as well as the author
and year of publication. Finding someone else who has stated or made the same point that you have is
an opportunity to reinforce your own interpretation of the research problem.

Organizing Academic Research Papers: Avoiding

Plagiarism
Definition

According to SHU's Academic Integrity Policy, plagiarism is: any act of misrepresenting the
sources of one's information and ideas. When writing essays, it is the act of presenting
another person's written words or ideas as one's own. When reporting experimental work, it
includes the acts of falsifying data and presenting another's data as one's own. In speeches,
it involves quoting passages of others' speeches or written words without mention of the
author.
Forms of plagiarism therefore include, but are not limited to:

• Copying whole papers or passages from another student or from any source.
• Allowing another student to copy or submit one's work.
• Buying or obtaining a paper from any source, including term-paper sellers and internet
sources, and submitting that paper or passages of it as one's own work.
• Pasting a passage from the internet or any computer source into one's paper without quoting
and attributing the passage.
• Fabricating or falsifying a bibliography.

Strategies for Avoiding Plagiarism

Credit must be given when using one of the following in the own research paper:

• another person's idea, opinion, or theory

• any facts, statistics, graphs, drawings or other non-textual elements used or that you
adapted from another source
• any pieces of information that are not common knowledge
• quotations of another person's actual spoken or written words
• paraphrase of another person's spoken or written words

Organizing Academic Research Papers: Footnotes or

Endnotes?
Definition

Endnote
Note citing a particular source or making a brief explanatory comment placed at the end of a
research paper.
Footnote
Note citing a particular source or making a brief explanatory comment placed at the bottom of a
page corresponding the item cited.
Structure and Writing Style

Advantages of Using Endnotes

• Endnotes are less distracting to the reader and allows the narrative to flow better.
• Endnotes don't clutter up the page.
• As a separate section of a research paper, endnotes allow the reader to read and
contemplate all the notes at once.

Disadvantages of Using Endnotes

• If you want to look at the text of a particular endnote, you have to flip to the end of the
research paper to find the information.
 • Depending on how they are created [i.e., continuous numbering or numbers that start over
for each chapter], you may have to remember the chapter number as well as the endnote
number in order to find the correct one.
• Endnotes may carry a negative connotation much like the proverbial "fine print" or hidden
disclaimers in advertising. A reader may believe you are trying to hide something by burying
it in a hard-to-find endnote.

Advantages of Using Footnotes

• Readers interested in reviewing the footnote can just glance down the page to find what they
are looking for.
• A footnote immediately connects the reader to the citation or your specific thought, concept,
or idea related to the text.
• Footnotes are automatically included when printing off specific pages.

Disadvantages of Using Footnotes

• Footnotes can clutter up the page and, thus, negatively impact the overall look of the page. If
there are multiple columns or charts or tables below only a small segment of text that
includes a footnote, then you must decide where the footnotes should appear.
• If the footnotes are lengthy, there's a risk they could dominate the page, although this issue
is considered acceptable in legal scholarship.

Things to keep in mind when considering using either endnotes or footnotes in your research
paper:

1. Footnotes are numbered consecutively throughout a research paper, except for those
notes accompanying special material (e.g., figures, tables, charts, etc.). Numbering of
footnotes are "superscript"--arabic numbers typed slightly above the line without periods,
parentheses or slashes. They can follow all punctuation marks except dashes. In general, to
avoid interrupting the continuity of the text, footnote numbers are placed at the end of the
sentence, clause or phrase containing the quoted or paraphrased material.
2. Depending on the writing style used in your class, endnotes may take the place of a
list of resources cited in your paper or they may represent non-bibliographic items, such as
comments or observations, followed by a separate list of references to the sources you cited
and arranged alphabetically by the author's last name.
3. In general, the use of footnotes is now considered outdated and has been replaced by
endnotes, which are much easier to place in your paper, even with the advent of word
processing programs. However, some disciplines, such as law and history, still
predominantly utilize footnotes. Consult with your professor about which form to use and
always remember that, whichever system you choose, apply it consistently throughout your
paper.

NOTE: Always think critically about the information you place in a footnote or endnote. Ask yourself,
is this supplementary or tangential information that would otherwise disrupt the flow of the text or is
this essential information that I should integrate into the main text? If you are not sure, it's better to
work it into the text. Too many notes implies a disorganized paper.
 APA: Sample References Page
Spacing
APA style dictates that the references page should be double-spaced, and that entries should be
formatted with a hanging indent. A hanging indent is formatted so that the first line of each entry is at
the left margin and subsequent lines in the same entry should be indented.

Order
For titles starting with articles ("a" and "the"; and equivalents in other languages), the article is not
considered when alphabetizing. Numerals and numbers are alphabetized as though they are spelled
out.

What to include
In APA style, every reference cited in your text must be reflected in an entry on your references
page. The only exceptions to this rule are personal communications with the author such as e-mails,
conversations, and letters which need only be cited in text. Likewise, every item on the references
page must correspond to an in-text citation somewhere in your work. Do not include works that you
do not cite in the body of your paper.
References

Bass, R. (1997). Technology & learning: A brief guide to interactive multimedia and the study of the United

States. Retrieved from http://www.georgetown.edu/crossroads/mltmedia.html

Delaroche, Paul (1829) Portrait of a Woman, [Pastel Drawing]. From European Drawings from the Collection of

the Ackland Art Museum (p. 93) by Carol C. Gillham and Carolyn H. Wood, 2001, Chapel Hill: The Museum,

University of North Carolina.

Denmark, F. L. (1999). Enhancing the development of adolescent girls. In N. G. Johnson & M. C. Roberts

(Eds.), Beyond appearance: A new look at adolescent girls (pp. 377-404). Washington, DC: American

Psychological Association Press.

Don't even think about turning here. (2002, October 3). The New York Times.
Dorman, S. M. (1997). Video and computer games: Effect on children and implications for health

education. Journal of School Health, 67(4), 133-138. Retrieved from

http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?action=interpret&v=2.1&u=unc_main&it=JIourl&issn=0022-

4391&p=AONE&sw=w&authCount=1

Fechner, P. Y. (2002). Gender differences in puberty. Journal of Adolescent Health, 4, 44-48.

Franklin, M. L. (1991). A motivational approach to exercise. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,

USA, 73, 21-28.

Freud, S. (1950). Beyond the pleasure principle (J. Strachey, Trans.). New York, NY: Liveright. (Original work

published 1920).

Gene therapy to be tried. (2002, October 11). The News & Observer, p. 9A.

Hardy, J. (Producer) & Brest, M. (Writer/Director). (2003). Gigli [Motion picture]. United States: Columbia

Pictures.

Kurlansky, M. (2002). Salt: A world history. New York, NY: Walker.

Posner, M. I. (1993, October 29). Seeing the mind. Science, 262, 673-674.
Scholnick, E. K. (Ed.). (1999). Conceptual development: Piaget's legacy. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum

Associates.

Schwartz, J. (1993, September 30). Obesity affects economic, social status. The Washington Post, pp. A1, A4.

Scott, William Bell (Artist). (1861) Incoming Tide on the Northumberland Coast [Painting]. Chapel Hill, NC;

Ackland Art Museum. Retrieved November 30, 2010, from http://www.ackland.org

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries. (2007, March 23). Introduction to Library Research. Retrieved

from http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/tutorial/

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries. (2007, July 12). APA Citation Style. Citing

Information (section 3). Retrieved from http://www.lib.unc.edu/instruct/citations/apa/index.html

Wilson, T. L., Rohlfs, K. & Hüttemeister, S. (2009). Tools of radio astronomy [SpringerLink version]. doi:

10.1007/978-3-540-85122-6

APA: In-Text Citations

For all in-text citations except for those following block quotations (see below), the reference is
placed immediately before the final punctuation mark of the sentence that refers to that source. In all
citations, elements (such as author, publication year, and page number) are separated from each
other by commas.

For Exact Quotations:

In the examples below, the citations indicate page number (using the abbreviation "p."). One may
also use chapter numbers ("Chapter 6"), paragraph numbers ("para. 4"),section numbers, equation
numbers, table numbers, or any other organizational numbering that exists in the source to indicate
the reference for a citation.
Rule: Introduce the quotation with a signal phrase that includes the author's last name followed by
the date of publication in parentheses. Put the page number in parentheses at the end of the
quotation before the ending punctuation mark.
Example:

As Davis (1978) reported, "If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also
startling news for animal behaviorists" (p. 26).
Rule: When the author's name does not appear in the signal phrase, place the author's name, the
date, and the page number in parentheses at the end of the quotation. Use commas between items
in the parentheses.
Example:

"If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also startling news for animal
behaviorists" (Davis, 1978, p. 26).
Rule: When the quotation is more than 40 words in text, do not use quotation marks, but indent the
quotation into its own block of text. Note that for blocks of text, the citation follows the final
punctuation of the quoted text.
Example:

Students having a hard time finding databases isn't a new phenomenon. At the University of
Washington, they have problems too.
With the addition of so many new databases to the campus online system, many students were
having difficulty locating the database they needed. At the same time, the role of Session Manager
had evolved. The increased importance of the Session Manager as a selection tool made it a part of
the navigation process itself. (Eliasen, 1997, p. 510)

For Paraphrased Ideas:

In general, no quotation marks are required when paraphrasing ideas. Likewise, page numbers or
other indication of specific parts of a source are not necessary unless a specific part of the text is
being referenced.
Examples:

According to Davis (1978), when they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists
and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise.
When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign language, both linguists and animal behaviorists
were taken by surprise (Davis, 1978).

Additional Circumstances:
Rule: Work with two authors: In the first reference to work, list both authors.
Examples:

Patterson and Linden (1981) agreed that the gorilla Koko acquired language more slowly than a
normal speaking child.
Koko acquired language more slowly than a normal speaking child (Patterson & Linden, 1981).
Rule: Work with 3-5 authors: In the first reference to such a work, list all authors.
Example:

The study noted a fluctuating divorce rate in Middletown between the 1920s and the 1970s (Caplow,
Bahr, Chadwick, Hill, & Williamson, 1982).
In subsequent citations, use the first author's name followed by "et al." (note the period after the
word "al").
Example:

While the incidence of wife abuse may not be higher than in the past, the researchers found that
women were more willing to report it (Caplow et al., 1982).
Rule: Work with 6+ authors (for first and subsequent citations).
Example:

Communes in the late 1960s functioned like extended families, with child-rearing responsibilities
shared by all adult members (Berger et al., 1971).
Rule: Work by an association, government agency, or corporation.
Examples:

First citation: (National Institute of Mental Health [NIMH], 1996)

Later citations: (NIMH, 1996)
Rule: When citing from a source that does not provide page numbers (such as an electronic
source), use paragraph numbers if available, or the name of the section followed by the number of
the paragraph within that section.
Examples:

(Myers, 2000, para. 5)

(Beutler, 2000, Conclusion section, para. 1)
Rule: When citing from a source with no author given, or when citing from legal materials, use the
first few words of the reference list entry (usually the title) and the year as your citation. Place article,
web page, chapter, and section titles in double quotation marks, and italicize the titles of books,
periodicals, reports, and websites. When a work's author is designated as "Anonymous," cite in text
the word Anonymous followed by a comma and the date: (Anonymous, 1998).

APA: Print Sources

Presented below are examples of citations as they may appear in a works-cited page. The examples
are meant to be illustrative and do not encompass every possible situation. If you have questions
about citing particular types of sources or dealing with particular situations, you should consult
the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association or contact a reference librarian.
Note that titles of periodicals (newspapers, journals, magazines) are capitalized as they normally
are; book titles and article titles have only the first word of the title (and of any subtitles), as well as
proper nouns, capitalized. Use single spaces between all words/items within each citation.
Book:

Edited Book:

Chapter from an Edited Book

Article from a Scholarly Journal:

Article from a Newspaper:

Newspaper Article with No Author Given

Article from a Magazine

Proceedings of Meetings and Symposia Published Regularly Online

Images from a Book:

APA: Online Sources

Note: Changes in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association are described below. Further details about can be found on
the APA Style website.
• The number of authors included in a reference entry has changed. Now include up to 20
author names before omitting names with an ellipsis.
• For sources with more than 20 authors, after the 19th listed author, any additional authors'
names are replaced with an ellipsis (…) followed by the final listed author's name.
• Do not place an ampersand before the final author's name.
• Both DOIs and URLs are now presented as hyperlinks.
• The label “DOI:” is no longer used.
• The words “Retrieved from” are used only when a retrieval date is also needed.
 • Updated guidance explains when to include DOIs and URLs for works retrieved from most
academic research databases as well as from proprietary databases such as ERIC or
UpToDate
• In short, you should end the database/archive portion of the citation entry with a period, then
provide the DOI or URL.
• Note that, though database/archive information is typically not included in citation entries, it
should be included when writers need to cite sources that are only available within a certain
database.

APA: Online Sources

Note: Changes in the seventh edition of the Publication Manual of the American
Psychological Association are described below. Further details about can be found on
the APA Style website.
• The number of authors included in a reference entry has changed. Now include up to 20
author names before omitting names with an ellipsis.
• For sources with more than 20 authors, after the 19th listed author, any additional authors'
names are replaced with an ellipsis (…) followed by the final listed author's name.
• Do not place an ampersand before the final author's name.
• Both DOIs and URLs are now presented as hyperlinks.
• The label “DOI:” is no longer used.
• The words “Retrieved from” are used only when a retrieval date is also needed.
• Updated guidance explains when to include DOIs and URLs for works retrieved from most
academic research databases as well as from proprietary databases such as ERIC or
UpToDate
• In short, you should end the database/archive portion of the citation entry with a period, then
provide the DOI or URL.
• Note that, though database/archive information is typically not included in citation entries, it
should be included when writers need to cite sources that are only available within a certain
database.

Multi-Document Published on the Internet

If the document is composed of multiple web pages, give the URL of the home page or entry page
for the document. If no publication or "last modified" date is apparent, use n.d. in place of the
publication date.
Specific Chapter or Section of Document Published on the Internet
Give chapter or section numbers (if available) in place of page numbers. Provide the URL that points
to the first page of the chapter or section you are citing.

E-Book
When citing books or chapters only available online, the electronic retrieval statement replaces the
publisher location and name.
Article from a Scholarly Journal, Retrieved from an Online Database

Full-text Newspaper Article with No Author Given, Retrieved from an Online

Database
Provide the URL of the newspaper home page when the online version of the article is available by
search to avoid nonworking URLs

Entry in an online reference work, no author or editor

If the online version refers to an existing print edition, include the edition number of the print version
after the title.
Motion Picture
For a motion picture, the first executive producer and the first director should be listed as the
responsible parties. If one of these parties fulfilled multiple creative roles in the film, all such roles
should be listed. If credits for director and producer are not available, provide the name of the
individual or organization most responsible for the work.

Software
Do not italicize the names of software, programs, or languages. Include the version number (if any)
in parentheses immediately after the title. Also, provide the location and name of the organization
that produced the work (if applicable).

NOTE: For the following three entries, Provide the author's full name (if available) in the form of
last name followed by first initials. If only a screen name is available, provide the screen name in
place of the author. Include the exact date of the posting followed by the subject line of the message
or "thread." Also, if available, provide the name of the list to which the message was posted if this
information is not already included in the URL.
Message posted to a newsgroup, online forum, or discussion group

Blog post

YouTube / Video blog post

Images From A Website/Image Database