When Should Sources Be Cited?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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In general, you must document sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research , and when you provide information that it cannot be assumed the reader knows. You must cite a reference when you: Discuss, summarize, or paraphrase the ideas of an author.

What sources must be cited?

  • Quotations, opinions, and predictions, whether directly quoted or paraphrased.
  • Statistics derived by the original author.
  • Visuals in the original.
  • Another author's theories.
  • Case studies.
  • Another author's direct experimental methods or results.

Why sources must be cited?

Why citing is important

To show your reader you've done proper research by listing sources you used to get your information. To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas. To avoid by quoting words and ideas used by other authors.

Should all sources be cited?

Basics. Citing sources properly is essential to avoiding plagiarism in your writing. Not citing sources properly could imply that the ideas, information, and phrasing you are using are your own, when they actually originated with another author. Plagiarism doesn't just mean copy and pasting another author's words.

How many times should a source be cited?

According to the APA 7th edition, on page 254, β€œit is considered overcitation to repeat the same in every sentence when the source and topic have not changed.” So generally, as long as the reader can tell which source you are drawing on or responding to, you don't need to keep adding .

What are the four things MLA citations do?

  • Help curious readers retrace your research steps.
  • help you build your credibility and be more likely to win an argument.
  • give credit to the people who've done the work you want to talk about.
  • allow you to avoid a charge of plagiarism.

What are five things that do not need to be cited?

  • Writing your own lived experiences, your own observations and insights, your own thoughts, and your own conclusions about a subject.
  • When you are writing up your own results obtained through lab or field experiments.

What are the 4 purposes of citation?

Citations have several important purposes: to uphold intellectual honesty (or avoiding plagiarism) , to attribute prior or unoriginal work and ideas to the correct sources, to allow the reader to determine independently whether the referenced material supports the author's argument in the claimed way, and to help the ...

What are the three main reasons for referencing?

  • To distinguish your own ideas from those of someone else.
  • To cite different points of view.
  • To validate what you are writing, by referring to documented evidence. ...
  • To inform readers of the scope and depth of your reading.

What are the four main reasons you should cite your sources?

Answer: Sample Response: You should use citations to give authors proper credit for their work, document your sources, show that you used credible sites, and provide a guide for your readers .

What is the purpose of a works cited page?

The Works Cited page, alphabetized by author's last name, should appear at the end of your essay. It provides the information necessary for a reader to locate and retrieve any sources you cite in the essay . Each source you cite in the essay must appear in your Works Cited list.

What is citation example?

Include an in-text citation when you refer to, summarize, paraphrase, or quote from another source. ... APA in-text citation style uses the author's last name and the year of publication , for example: (Field, 2005). For direct quotations, include the page number as well, for example: (Field, 2005, p. 14).

Do you have to cite your source if you rewrite the sentence in your own words?

If you rewrite that perfect paragraph or sentence (aka you paraphrase or summarize it), remember that the ideas in the reworded version still came from the original author(s)...so you must cite the original source ! ... Don't forget to cite the source that the quote comes from!

Is it bad to cite the same source multiple times?

Technically, you can cite it many times . However, citing too many articles too many times in the same article can clutter an article. After citing an article once, you've basically accomplished your job of giving credit. A source is only credited with one citation regardless of how many times you cite it in your paper.

Is it bad to use one source?

In general, citing a single source can be reasonable if it is a really original work and the only possible source for much information.

Do I need to cite the same source multiple times?

Appropriate level of citation

Instead, when paraphrasing a key point in more than one sentence within a paragraph, cite the source in the first sentence in which it is relevant and do not repeat the citation in subsequent sentences as long as the source remains clear and unchanged .

Juan Martinez
Author
Juan Martinez
Juan Martinez is a journalism professor and experienced writer. With a passion for communication and education, Juan has taught students from all over the world. He is an expert in language and writing, and has written for various blogs and magazines.