Tip:
Highlight text to annotate it
X
Hi, I’m Denise Bennett, an Engineering Librarian at UF’s Marston Science Library.
Let’s explore why and how we are required to cite articles.
Before we talk about why we cite, let’s review what is a citation.
It is the full description of an information source that you used while writing your paper.
There are many standards for how to format a citation, but they generally include:
the author names …
the article title …
the source title, such as a journal or report name, …
the volume or page range …
and the date.
Now you know what constitutes a citation, but why should you cite the information sources you use in your paper?
The first reason to cite is to prove that your information came from a credible source.
What makes a credible source?
Consider the source title, for one ….
Who are the authors? Are they experts; do they authority in their field?
How current is the information, and does that matter?
The second reason to always cite your sources is to place your work in context of others'.
Readers need to know how your work relates to previous papers and how it contributes to the field.
The third reason to cite your sources is so that your work and ideas can be distinguished from others’.
If you do not clearly identify which ideas are yours and which came from other sources,
readers will be unable to determine what exactly is your contribution and give you proper credit.
The fourth reason is to give your readers enough detail
so that they can identify and find for themselves
the precise version of the sources you used
if they wish to do so.
With a complete citation, your readers can track your sources quickly and easily.
For all these reasons, be sure to use a standard citation style
and be thorough, making sure to include all the information needed for the reader to locate your source.
Otherwise, it is like giving someone your phone number but not the area code!
The next video will show you how to manage your citations.
We are citing the images we used, to give credit and so you may track them back.