Wiki Page, GOTT Clover II: Use Responsibly (2 of 6): Why Cite?

Wiki Page
2016-08-14T21:35:24-06:00

We've mentioned citations in previous modules, but why is it necessary and important for you to cite your sources in your paper? Citing sources is part of being an ethical information user, in other words using information responsibly.

Information ethics are the social rules or standards that determine how we use, create, organize, and share information.

You were probably warned in school that you could fail a class if you were caught plagiarizing or didn't cite your sources. Plagiarism is the intentional or inadvertent act of taking someone else's work or ideas and presenting them as your own.

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The best way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite your references. Citation information and styles provides a consistent way of crediting researchers for their ideas and work. They also document your own research process, and help you find useful articles, websites, and other resources when you need them again..

Citations are like stars in a constellation. They connect similar sources to one another and shape the development of an idea or argument. Citations also trace the conversation around a topic as it is discussed by different researchers over time. Your readers can then use citations to look back at the original source and use the information to continue the conversation.

In academic writing, you will include in-text citations and reference lists that include all of the works cited in your paper. You will need to know how to format each citation, and how to assemble the complete list according to the style your professor assigns. The Writing Center here at IUS is a great resource to ask about when to cite and how to cite different formats of information.