LibAnswers: Library and Research Lingo

Definition:

It supplies readers with the information needed to find the specific sources used in creating a work.

More Details:

• A citation should be used when directly quoting and when paraphrasing from another person or work. If it isn't your own idea - cite it!

• A citation for a book normally includes: the author(s) or editor, the title, the place of publication, the publisher, and the year of publication.

• A citation for an article normally includes: the author(s), the title of the article, the title of the periodical (journal, newspaper, etc.), volume and issue numbers, date of publication and the page numbers of the article.

• Citations should also be used for other types of resources as well: including, but not limited to, unpublished sources, websites, music, works of art*, blog posts, speeches, etc. - basically anything that is not your original work. These citations would contain similar identifying information as mentioned for books and articles.

• Citing and copyright are two separate issues. Out of copyright items should still be cited as you didn't create them.

• Fiction and non-fiction works both require citations.

• For information on what exactly to include in a citation and how to format the citation in your work, see the Writing & Citing LibGuide linked below, consult with The CNU's Randall Writing Center or find the style guide for the citation format suggested by your professor (APA, MLA, Turabian, etc.)

* Yes, art does include images, photos, graphics, etc. found online, unless they specifically say you can reuse them without citing (attribution.)

Remember failing to cite someone else's work that you used to create your own is plagiarism!