Citing Sources
It's very important to cite your sources. Just remember that anything you read or watch (yes, even online) was created by someone. You may never meet them, but it's still good to give them credit for their work! Citing your sources boosts your credibility, helps people track down your information, and prevents you from plagiarizing.
What's "citing sources"?
Citing sources involves sharing information about the original source or location of something. In academic writing, citing sources usually involves adding some documentation or a note in your paper that credits the original author. It also shares important information about the source such as the author, title, publisher's name, copyright date, and page number of the part you used.
Information paraphrased from http://www.plagiarism.org/citing-sources/whats-a-citation/ (See? That's a citation!)
Why is citing sources important?
There are many reasons for citing your sources when you do research. According to the book, The Research Virtuoso, we cite sources in order:
to be honest about where our work and ideas come from;
to build trust between ourselves and our readers;
to avoid plagiarizing someone else's work; and
to help future researchers trace our information back to the source (Toronto Public Library, 85).
If you're still uncertain about why citing sources is important, you can check here for more information. For more information about plagiarism, visit here and here.
Which citation style are you using? (Click the title for more resources and information)