LibGuides: IT-100-01 Coles: Citations

Citing Sources - Introduction & Purpose

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

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 plagiarism by quoting words and ideas used by other authors
To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list

You must cite:

Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge
Ideas, words, theories, or exact language that another person used in other publications
Publications that must be cited include: books, book chapters, articles, web pages, theses, etc.
Another person's exact words should be quoted and cited to show proper credit

When in doubt, be safe and cite your source!

MLA Citations

MLA Handbook by The Modern Language Association of America
Call Number: LB2369 .G53 2016
ISBN: 9781603292627
Publication Date: 2016-04-01
The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook, the official guide to MLA format. Works are published today in a dizzying variety of ways: a novel, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to as an audiobook. Writers of research papers routinely need to know how to cite works on Web sites, videos on platforms like YouTube, interviews and other works created by multiple authors, journal articles contained in databases, online images, posts on social media sites, song lyrics, and more. Instead of providing separate instructions for each format, the MLA's unique, innovative approach recommends one set of guidelines that writers can apply to any type of source.This groundbreaking edition of the MLA's best-selling handbook is short and designed for easy use. It guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research and thus focuses on the key skills of information and digital literacy. It then shows writers how to cite sources in their writing, offering detailed guidance on in-text citations, quoting and paraphrasing, avoiding plagiarism, and more. Intended for students, teachers, librarians, and advanced scholars, the handbook is an indispensable resource in composition, communication, literature, language arts, film, media studies, digital humanities, and related fields.

The MLA Style Center website provides useful resources including notices on recent updates and sample papers. Updated for brand new 9th edition released in 2021!

Quick links:

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism occurs when you borrow another's words (or ideas) and do not acknowledge that you have done so. In this culture, we consider our words and ideas intellectual property; like a car or any other possession, we believe our words belong to us and cannot be used without our permission.

Plagiarism is a very serious offense. If it is found that you have plagiarized -- deliberately or inadvertently -- you may face serious consequences. In some instances, plagiarism has meant that students have had to leave the institutions where they were studying.

The best way to avoid plagiarism is to cite your sources - both within the body of your paper and in a bibliography of sources you used at the end of your paper.

Tutorial: Avoiding Plagiarism

Zotero - Citation Management Application

Zotero (pronounced "zoh-TAIR-oh") is an open-access, easy-to-use reference management tool that serves as your personal research assistant and helps you collect, organize, cite, and share your research sources.

Zotero allows you to:

Save references from library catalogs, research databases, and the Web.
Add PDFs, images, audio and video files, snapshots of web pages, and more.
Write annotations and attach them to citations.
Create bibliographies using most major citation styles.

Designed by Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media and initially funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, Zotero runs on several operating systems including Windows, Mac X, and Linux.

You will need to open the Zotero download page and install the browser extension for Chrome, Firefox, or Safari. You may also need to restart your browser before start working with Zotero. Be sure to back up your work by creating a Zotero account or saving it your flash drive.

Use this Zotero tutorial, created by Jason Puckett and licensed by Georgia State University Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License.