How to Cite Sources
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Welcome to McQuade's Citing Sources Resource Guide!
The citation style you use in your academic work will vary and is often dependent on the discipline of the individual course. If you're unsure about which citation style you should use, ask your instructor.
Each citation style has a style guide to help you. A style guide is a set of standards for the writing and formatting of documents. There are many different kinds of style guides, but three of the most commonly used are the American Psychological Association Publication Manual (APA), the MLA Handbook for Writers of Researcher Papers (MLA), and the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS).
- See the tabs on the left to explore more.
- If you have any questions, suggestions, or comments, contact a McQuade librarian.
Table of Contents:
Citation Basics
What are citations?
- A citation is short way to uniquely identify a published work
What do citations include?
- A citation consists of all standard bibliographic elements and includes all information necessary to identify a work.
- i.e. Title, author, publication date, location, volume, issue, page numbers, etc.
Why do we cite sources?
- To give credit to other researchers and to acknowledge their ideas
- To avoid plagiarism
- To provide a trail so others can consult the materials you've used / so they can do further reading
- To provide evidence of your own research
What should you cite?
- Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge
- Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used
- Images, photos, artwork, sculptures, media (i.e. videos, movies, television, podcasts, etc.)
- Anything that you did not create or think of on your own.