Citations and Research

If youre seeking assistance with the McKendree Library databases and general research, please visit Holman Library or their website. 

 

Citing and Style Guides 

 

MLA Style is a citation and style guide set forth by the Modern Language Association of America. 

MLA Style Center: MLA

MLA Style Guide: Purdue OWL 

APA Style is from the American Psychology Association.

Style and Grammar Guidelines: APA

APA Style Guide: Purdue OWL 

ASA Style is a citation style set forth by the American Sociological Association. 

Quick Tips for ASA Style : ASA 

ASA Style: Purdue OWL 

ASA Style Guide: Taft University

 

Chicago Style is a style laid down by The Chicago Manual of Style.  

Chicago Style: Purdue OWL 

 

CSE Style comes from the Council of Science Editors. 

The CSE Manual Website

The CSE-Style Citation Quick Guide: CSE 

 

When to Cite Sources 

 Although you should use sources creatively and flexibly to help you generate ideas and sharpen your argument, there are some hard-and-fast rules about the way sources should be acknowledged in your project. ALWAYS CITE, in the following cases: 

1. When you quote two or more words verbatim, or even one word if it is used in a way that is unique to the source. 

Most writers realize that they must acknowledge a source when quoting a memorable phrase or sentence. And you probably also understand that you do not need to cite words that are very common to your topic. When writing about Hamlet, you do not need to put the words “Hamlet” or “Shakespeare” in quotation marks, or cite a source for them, even though you may have read sources that use these words. But when a single word or two are used in a distinctive way, so that the author is creating a new concept or applying it to a new topic, you must give acknowledge the source. When John Baker redefines the significance of the mirror test by saying that chimpanzees’ awareness of their reflection is not full consciousness, but a limited “kinesthetic self-concept,” it’s clear that those two words, as specialized terms of art, should appear in quotation marks in your paper. Even though neither “kinesthetic” nor “self-concept” is unusual on its own, as a phrase they belong to the author. But even a single, non-specialist term—such as “consilience”—may become tied to an author (in this case, E.O. Wilson) through an influential publication, in which case you should put the single word in quotation marks, at least in your first mention of it in your text. 

2. When you introduce facts that you have found in a source. 

Facts that are generally accessible (the date of the Declaration of Independence, for instance) need not be cited to a particular source, but once you go up one level of detail on the information ladder, you probably need to cite the source (the number of people who signed the Declaration, for instance). And note that commonly known facts found in a particular or unusual context should be cited, so that the reader knows how your argument may have been influenced by the context in which you found it.  

 

3. When you paraphrase or summarize ideas, interpretations, or conclusions that you find in a source.  

 

4. When you introduce information that is not common knowledge or that may be considered common knowledge in your field, but the reader may not know it.  

 

5. When you borrow the plan or structure of a larger section of a source’s argument (for example, using a theory from a source and analyzing the same three case studies that the source uses). 

You may not be used to thinking of the plan of a source as proprietary to its author, but if you follow a source’s plan too closely without acknowledging that you saw it there first, you’re presenting as your own an analysis that someone else shaped. For example, if use Mark Hauser’s discussion of primates’ knowledge of other minds from Wild Minds and you discuss the same three experiments that he analyzes, then you must acknowledge this debt. The simplest way to do this is to say “Like Mark Hauser, I find the three experiments carried out by X, Y, and Z groups to be useful in considering the extent of chimpanzee awareness.” An even better way—because it highlights your distinctiveness as a writer—is to distinguish the different use to which you will put the analysis. If, for instance, you’re focusing on primate social skills rather than strictly on their awareness of other minds, you might write: “Mark Hauser examines three experiments carried out by X, Y, and Z for what they can tell us about knowledge of other minds. For my purposes, though, these same experiments shed important light on the social capacities of primates.” These statements can come in a discursive footnote or in the main body, although if the statement distinguishes your argument from the source’s, it has an important role in the body of the argument. 

 

6. When you build on another’s method found either in a source or from collaborative work in a lab. 

Relying on someone’s research method is like #5 above: borrowing a text’s plan or structure. If your approach to a problem is inspired by someone else’s work on a similar or analogous case, credit the original researcher. Building on the work of others is appropriate and desirable, but methods, like specific words and phrases, are a form of intellectual property. 

 

7. When you build on another’s program or on a not-commonly-known algorithm in writing computer code. 

Although writing code may seem different from writing papers, the same standards of acknowledgment apply. If you rely on someone else’s program, you must credit that person. Some software algorithms are so well known that they rise to the level of Common Knowledge. Programmers use such pieces of code without acknowledgement. But if the code is not well known, someone reading your program might think you’ve authored parts that are borrowed.  

 

8. When you collaborate with others in producing knowledge. 

You may sometimes co-author a paper or other text during college; these opportunities are often more frequent in the professional world. When two or more people all contribute substantially to a piece, they normally list all their names as authors. But there are also occasions when someone gives help that does not rise to the level of co-authorship. If you work with a lab partner to set up an experiment, for instance, but run and analyze the results yourself, you should credit the lab partner in a footnote or by reference within your paper. Similarly, if you and a partner present a scene from a play, and you later write a paper using some of the insights you gained during production, you should credit the other actor. University life is structured so that your ideas will receive constant testing and refinement in discussion with others. You do not need to cite in your papers every conversation you have about the ideas or evidence. But you do need to develop a judgment about which conversations are incidental and which result in ideas that merit reference in your texts. If you take this warning as an opportunity and make an effort to reveal the trail of your thinking in footnotes and acknowledgements, you’ll soon develop a sense of how to credit collaboration appropriately. 

Adapted from: https://poorvucenter.yale.edu/undergraduates/using-sources/understanding-and-avoiding-plagiarism/warning-when-you-must-cite  

 

Research 

 ICE: Introduce, Cite, and Explain Your Evidence 

Body paragraphs in academic essays contain evidence that supports debatable main ideas that appear in topic sentences, and responsible writers make sure to introduce, cite, and explain quotes and paraphrases used as evidence. 

 INTRODUCE: Introduce all your quotes and paraphrases using introductory phrases. Here are some examples: 

• • • According to Michael Smith, “you should use the author’s first and last name when you cite that author for the first time in your paper” (1). 

• • • As Smith explains, “you can introduce your quotes with a number of different phrases” (1). 

• • • Smith suggests that “if the introduction to your quote isn’t a dependent clause, it doesn’t need to be followed by a comma” (1). 

• • • Smith observes the following in his article: “When you use a colon to introduce a quote, you need a complete sentence preceding the colon” (1).  

• CITE: Provide appropriate parenthetical citations for all quotes and paraphrases (but not summaries). Check the appropriate style guide for guidelines, e.g. MLA, APA, and Chicago. Here are some guidelines for MLA style citation: 

• • • If the author’s name appears in the introduction to the quote or in the paraphrase, it doesn’t have to appear in the parenthetical reference, as the citations above illustrate. 

• • • If the author’s name does not appear in the introduction to the quote, the name must appear in the parenthetical reference. See the following example of a cited paraphrase: Some professors take points off of your final paper grade if you don’t cite paraphrased or quoted material correctly (Smith 1). 

 EXPLAIN: Make sure to explain your quotes. Provide analysis that ties them back to your main idea/ topic sentence. In other words, comment on the evidence to incorporate it into the argument you’re making. Here’s an example of a whole academic body paragraph that illustrates ICE: introduction, citation, and explanation: 

• • • Despite their competence as readers and writers, these young teachers have just begun to understand and participate in the changing ecology of literacy described above, particularly in adopting a view that digital writing is worthy of attention in schools. Grabill and Hicks argue that “[u]sing ICTs (Information Communication Technologies) isn’t enough; critically understanding how these writing technologies enable new literacies and meaningful communication should also be a core curricular and pedagogical function of English education” (307). While our experience as teacher educators, especially in the context of Kristen’s course, shows us that adopting this perspective is difficult, we feel that there are compelling social reasons to do so. 

 Paraphrasing and Summarizing Tips 

 Paraphrasing: When you paraphrase, you keep the same meaning of the original text, but you restate the meaning in a way that it makes sense to you.  

 When paraphrasing: 

• • DO NOT use paraphrasing software--it does not create accurate paraphrases and can create meaningless communications. 

• • Read the text carefully. Be sure you understand the text fully. 

• • Put the original text aside and write your paraphrase in your own words. Considering each point of the original text, how could you rephrase it if you were explaining it to one of your classmates who hadn’t read it? 

• • Do not simply replace every third or fourth word of the original passage. This is a form of plagiarism.  

• • Review your paraphrase. Does it reflect the original text but is in your own words and style? Did you include all the main points and essential information? 

• • Include an in-text citation in the expected formatting style (APA, MLA, etc.)   

• • Explain why the paraphrased information is important. To do so, ask yourself the following questions: 

• • What am I trying to show or prove with this information? 

• • Why is it important to what I am saying? What is its significance? 

• • How does this information add to what I am trying to prove in this paragraph? 

 Summarizing: If summarizing, state the overall main idea in your own words, but leave out specific examples and details. A summary should provide general information only and it is not commonly used for presenting evidence to support your argument.  

When summarizing: 

• • Start by reading the text and highlighting the main points as you read. 

• • Reread the text and make notes of the main points, leaving out examples, evidence, etc. 

• • Without the text, rewrite your notes in your own words. Restate the main idea at the beginning of your summary plus all major points. Include the conclusion or the final findings of the work. 

• • Do not include your interpretation/analysis within the summary. 

• • Include an in-text citation in the expected formatting style (APA, MLA, etc.).