Citing Your Sources   Tags: apa, citations, citing_sources, mla, plagiarism, style_manuals  

Did you know...

• A study by The Center for Academic Integrity found that almost 80% of college students admit to cheating at least once.


• According to a survey by the Psychological Record 36% of undergraduates have admitted to plagiarizing written material.


• A poll conducted by US News and World Reports found that 90% of students believe that cheaters are either never caught or have never been appropriately disciplined.

Read more facts at plagiarism.org

Citing the sources you use when writing any paper is all about giving credit where credit is due. Using the words and ideas of other people without giving them credit is plagiarism and is considered academic misconduct which may result in serious disciplinary consequences. But learning to cite your sources isn't just about avoiding consequences, it's about developing adacemic integrity, a quality that will benefit you in every aspect of your education.

Once you have decided on a topic for your research, here are tips to help you decide which citation style to use.

1. Follow the format your professor suggests.
   
   
2. Ask your professor what to use if no format was assigned.
   
   
3. If you have no advice from your professor, try these:
   
   

   Humanities (especially literature or languages)

   Modern Language Association (MLA) Handbook
   
   

   Social sciences (especially psychology and behavioral science)

   American Psychological Association (APA) Publication Manual
   
   

   Physical and natural sciences

   CSE (Council of Scientific Editors) Manual
   
   

   History

   A Student's Guide to History
   

   
   

   A general guide

   Turabian is used by students in all disciplines. It is designed to complement the Chicago Manual of Style, but be simpler and easier to use.
   
   

   A very detailed guide

   The Chicago Manual of Style is used by scholarly writers in all disciplines. It contains two separate styles, one for writers in literature, history, and the arts, and one for writers in the physical, natural and social sciences.

Have you ever ... ? Check any where your answer is YES.