citation meaning in research

Citing sources: Overview

• Citation style guides

Manage your references

Use these tools to help you organize and cite your references:

• Citation Management and Writing Tools

If you have questions after consulting this guide about how to cite, please contact your advisor/professor or the writing and communication center .

Why citing is important

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

About citations

Citing a source means that you show, within the body of your text, that you took words, ideas, figures, images, etc. from another place.

Citations are a short way to uniquely identify a published work (e.g. book, article, chapter, web site).  They are found in bibliographies and reference lists and are also collected in article and book databases.

Citations consist of standard elements, and contain all the information necessary to identify and track down publications, including:

• author name(s)
• titles of books, articles, and journals
• date of publication
• page numbers
• volume and issue numbers (for articles)

Citations may look different, depending on what is being cited and which style was used to create them. Choose an appropriate style guide for your needs.  Here is an example of an article citation using four different citation styles.  Notice the common elements as mentioned above:

Author - R. Langer

Article Title - New Methods of Drug Delivery

Source Title - Science

Volume and issue - Vol 249, issue 4976

Publication Date - 1990

Page numbers - 1527-1533

American Chemical Society (ACS) style:

Langer, R. New Methods of Drug Delivery. Science 1990 , 249 , 1527-1533.

IEEE Style:

R. Langer, " New Methods of Drug Delivery," Science , vol. 249 , pp. 1527-1533 , SEP 28, 1990 .

American Psychological Association   (APA) style:

Langer, R. (1990) . New methods of drug delivery. Science , 249 (4976), 1527-1533.

Modern Language Association (MLA) style:

Langer, R. " New Methods of Drug Delivery." Science 249.4976 (1990) : 1527-33.

What to cite

You must cite:

• Facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge

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!

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.

Some useful links about plagiarism:

• MIT Academic Integrity Overview on citing sources and avoiding plagiarism at MIT.
• Avoiding Plagiarism From the MIT Writing and Communication Center.
• Plagiarism: What It is and How to Recognize and Avoid It From Indiana University's Writing Tutorial Services.
• Plagiarism- Overview A resource from Purdue University.
• Next: Citation style guides >>
• Last Updated: Jan 16, 2024 7:02 AM
• URL: https://libguides.mit.edu/citing

Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, citation – definition – introduction to citation in academic & professional writing.

• © 2023 by Joseph M. Moxley - University of South Florida

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

What is a Citation?

A “ citation ” refers to the act of integrating ideas or words from another source into your speech or writing , along with adhering to the specific discourse conventions (or standardized ways of acknowledging sources) in a particular academic or professional field . “Citations” are required in academic and professional writing when writers summarize , paraphrase , or quote the words or ideas others. Writers may also cite known experts to enhance the authority of their arguments and observations.

In both academic and professional settings, the practice of citing sources—whether through quotations , paraphrasing , or summarizing —is a fundamental mark of professionalism. Being capable of citing sources correctly and critiquing the citations of others is a basic literacy in a knowledge economy.

Most generally, “citation” refers to the act of crediting a source of information . While “citation” is the formal term, there are several colloquial synonyms that people might use interchangeably, such as “ attribution ,” “reference,” or “mention.” In more casual or conversational settings, phrases like “backing up” one’s claim or providing “proof” might be used. When writers or speakers incorporate information from an external source, they might say they are “citing,” “ attributing ,” or “referencing” that source.

Related Concepts: Academic Dishonesty ; Archive ; Authority in Academic Writing ; Canon ; Copyright ; Discourse ; Hermeneutics ; Information Has Value ; Intellectual Property ; Paraphrase ; Plagiarism ; Quotation ; Scholarship as a Conversation ; Summary

What Are The Three Major Ways of Citing Sources inside a Text?

While there are many different citation styles, as discussed below, there are only three major types of citations:

• In-text Citation (aka Parenthetical Citation)
• Numerical citation
• Note Citations

In-text Citation (aka Parenthetical Citation )

In-text Citation refers to the practice of placing bibliographical information in parentheses when sources/information are first introduced in a quote , paraphrase , or summary . The in-text citation is typically shorter and directs the reader to the full citation in the bibliography or reference list. In essence, all in-text citations are citations, but not all citations are in-text citations.

APA Example

When using APA style, writers place the author’s name, year, and page number (when available) in parentheses.

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than 9,400 are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” (Eagle, 2022).

And then at the end of their text, they list all of the sources they cited in the text, providing all of the bibliographical information users need to track down the source and read it:

• Eagle, J. (2022, March 21). Animated chart: Nuclear warheads by country (1945-2022). Visual Capitalist .

Numerical Citation

Numerical Citation refers to when writers use numbers in brackets or superscript rather than parentheses to indicate to readers when they are quoting , paraphrasing , or summarizing :

IEEE Example

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than 9,400 are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” [1]

Subsequently, in the reference list at the end of their text, writers provided the bibliographic information following the order of the citations in the text:

Chicago (Turabian) Example

• [1]J. Eagle, “Animated Chart: Nuclear Warheads by Country (1945-2022),” Visual Capitalist , Mar. 21, 2022. (accessed Jan. 03, 2023).

[ See Inclusive – Inclusive Language for a full-length example of Numerical Citations ]

Note Citation

Note Citations refers to when writers place citations numbers just as they do with numerical citations AND then provide all of the required bibliographical information in the text–as opposed to providing all that information at the end of the text in a list of references:

• “As of 2022, about 12,700 nuclear warheads are still estimated to be in use, of which more than  9,400  are in military stockpiles for use by missiles, aircraft, ships and submarines” J. Eagle, “Animated Chart: Nuclear Warheads by Country (1945-2022),” Visual Capitalist , Mar. 21, 2022. (accessed Jan. 03, 2023).

What Do All Citations Styles Have in Common?

Regardless of which citation style is used, attributions typically provide four types of bibliographical information :

• Name of Author(s)
• Title of source, whether it’s a book/article/website, etc
• Date of publication, if available
• Publisher information.

What Are the Most Popular Citation Styles?

Professional organizations (communities of practice) have unique ways of formatting citations. (See Wikipedia for a good listing of citation styles .)

Although style guides differ in regard to where the author’s name or publishing source is listed, they are all designed to ensure that proper credit is given to authors. As you know from your experience as a writer, developing insights and conducting original research is difficult and time consuming, so you can understand why people want to receive proper credit for their original ideas.

• MLA Handbook, 9th Edition Modern Language Association style is primarily used in the fields of English and foreign languages.
• Publication Manual of the APA: 7th Edition American Psychological Association’s style guide is used in psychology and education. Education and social science professors commonly ask students to follow the APA style for citing and documenting sources. APA differs from MLA in a number of ways, including the overall structure and format of the essay, but the major distinction between the two is APA’s use of the year of publication, rather than the page on which a particular quotation appears, for the in-text citation. APA requires in-text publication dates because of the particular importance of a study’s currency to research reports in the social sciences.
• Chicago Style is used in many social science fields.
• CSE (Council of Science Editors) is used by the scientific community
• IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) is used by the engineering community.

What Critical Perspectives Do Readers Use to Assess Your Citations?

Citation in speech and writing serves as a barometer of ethos , especially trustworthiness . When audiences are engaged in critical literacy practices , they are likely to question a source’s

When audiences check the archive and find that authors are making inconsistent quotations , they are likely to question the character or ethos of the author.

In other words, subject matter experts tend to be well versed in the ongoing conversations that characterize the works of other subject matter experts. Experienced researchers tend to engage in strategic searching of the archive . They engage in critical literacy practices , asking questions, such as

• What is the status of knowledge on the topic ?
• What is the ebb and flow of research on the topic –over time?
• What are the canonical texts ?
• Who are the pioneers? How has their work changed the conversation?
• What knowledge claims are currently being debated?

Related Articles:

APA - Publication Manual of the APA: 7th Edition

Attribution - What Is The Role of Attribution In Academic & Professional Writing?

Citation Guide - Learn How to Cite Sources in Academic and Professional Writing

Citation Tools

MLA - MLA Handbook, 9th Edition

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• Joseph M. Moxley

Attribution refers to the practice of crediting original sources for information or ideas. It encompasses recognizing authors, understanding their credentials, and correctly citing their work in your own speech and...

Citation isn’t just about adhering to prescribed rules or ensuring each dot and comma is in its rightful place. It’s a rhetorical, fluid, intuitive process where writers must balance the...

Citation Tools (aka bibliography tools or citation managers) are software tools that (1) facilitate the processes of finding, tagging, and annotating sources and (2) automate the formatting processes for citations...

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• 11. Citing Sources
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A citation is a formal reference to a published or unpublished source that you consulted and obtained information from while writing your research paper. It refers to a source of information that supports a factual statement, proposition, argument, or assertion or any quoted text obtained from a book, article, web site, or any other type of material . In-text citations are embedded within the body of your paper and use a shorthand notation style that refers to a complete description of the item at the end of the paper. Materials cited at the end of a paper may be listed under the heading References, Sources, Works Cited, or Bibliography. Rules on how to properly cite a source depends on the writing style manual your professor wants you to use for the class [e.g., APA, MLA, Chicago, Turabian, etc.]. Note that some disciplines have their own citation rules [e.g., law].

Citations: Overview. OASIS Writing Center, Walden University; Research and Citation. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Citing Sources. University Writing Center, Texas A&M University.

Reasons for Citing Your Sources

Reasons for Citing Sources in Your Research Paper

English scientist, Sir Isaac Newton, once wrote, "If I have seen further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”* Citations support learning how to "see further" through processes of intellectual discovery, critical thinking, and applying a deliberate method of navigating through the scholarly landscape by tracking how cited works are propagated by scholars over time and the subsequent ways this leads to the devarication of new knowledge.

Listed below are specific reasons why citing sources is an important part of doing good research.

• Shows the reader where to find more information . Citations help readers expand their understanding and knowledge about the issues being investigated. One of the most effective strategies for locating authoritative, relevant sources about a research problem is to review materials cited in studies published by other authors. In this way, the sources you cite help the reader identify where to go to examine the topic in more depth and detail.
• Increases your credibility as an author . Citations to the words, ideas, and arguments of scholars demonstrates that you have conducted a thorough review of the literature and, therefore, you are reporting your research results or proposing recommended courses of action from an informed and critically engaged perspective. Your citations offer evidence that you effectively contemplated, evaluated, and synthesized sources of information in relation to your conceptualization of the research problem.
• Illustrates the non-linear and contested nature of knowledge creation . The sources you cite show the reader how you characterized the dynamics of prior knowledge creation relevant to the research problem and how you managed to effectively identify the contested relationships between problems and solutions proposed among scholars. Citations don't just list materials used in your study, they tell a story about how prior knowledge-making emerged from a constant state of creation, renewal, and transformation.
• Reinforces your arguments . Sources cited in your paper provide the evidence that readers need to determine that you properly addressed the “So What?” question. This refers to whether you considered the relevance and significance of the research problem, its implications applied to creating new knowledge, and its importance for improving practice. In this way, citations draw attention to and support the legitimacy and originality of your own ideas.
• Demonstrates that you "listened" to relevant conversations among scholars before joining in . Your citations tell the reader where you developed an understanding of the debates among scholars. They show how you educated yourself about ongoing conversations taking place within relevant communities of researchers before inserting your own ideas and arguments. In peer-reviewed scholarship, most of these conversations emerge within books, research reports, journal articles, and other cited works.
• Delineates alternative approaches to explaining the research problem . If you disagree with prior research assumptions or you believe that a topic has been understudied or you find that there is a gap in how scholars have understood a problem, your citations serve as the source materials from which to analyze and present an alternative viewpoint or to assert that a different course of action should be pursued. In short, the materials you cite serve as the means by which to argue persuasively against long-standing assumptions propagated in prior studies.
• Helps the reader understand contextual aspects of your research . Cited sources help readers understand the specific circumstances, conditions, and settings of the problem being investigated and, by extension, how your arguments can be fully understood and assessed. Citations place your line of reasoning within a specific contextualized framework based on how others have studied the problem and how you interpreted their findings in support of your overall research objectives.
• Frames the development of concepts and ideas within the literature . No topic in the social and behavioral sciences rests in isolation from research that has taken place in the past. Your citations help the reader understand the growth and transformation of the theoretical assumptions, key concepts, and systematic inquiries that emerged prior to your engagement with the research problem.
• Underscores what sources were most important to you . Your citations represent a set of choices made about what you determined to be the most important sources for understanding the topic. They not only list what you discovered, but why it matters and how the materials you chose to cite fit within the broader context of your research design and arguments. As part of an overall assessment of the study’s validity and reliability , the choices you make also helps the reader determine what research may have been excluded.
• Provides evidence of interdisciplinary thinking . An important principle of good research is to extend your review of the literature beyond the predominant disciplinary space where scholars have examined a topic. Citations provide evidence that you have integrated epistemological arguments, observations, and/or the methodological strategies from other disciplines into your paper, thereby demonstrating that you understand the complex, interconnected nature of contemporary research problems.
• Supports critical thinking and independent learning . Evaluating the authenticity, reliability, validity, and originality of prior research is an act of interpretation and introspective reasoning applied to assessing whether a source of information will contribute to understanding the problem in ways that are persuasive and align with your overall research objectives. Reviewing and citing prior studies represents a deliberate act of critically scrutinizing each source as part of your overall assessment of how scholars have confronted the research problem.
• Honors the achievements of others . As Susan Blum recently noted,** citations not only identify sources used, they acknowledge the achievements of scholars within the larger network of research about the topic. Citing sources is a normative act of professionalism within academe and a way to highlight and recognize the work of scholars who likely do not obtain any tangible benefits or monetary value from their research endeavors.

*Vernon. Jamie L. "On the Shoulder of Giants." American Scientist 105 (July-August 2017): 194.

**Blum, Susan D. "In Defense of the Morality of Citation.” Inside Higher Ed , January 29, 2024.

Aksnes, Dag W., Liv Langfeldt, and Paul Wouters. "Citations, Citation Indicators, and Research Quality: An Overview of Basic Concepts and Theories." Sage Open 9 (January-March 2019): https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244019829575; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; D'Angelo, Barbara J. "Using Source Analysis to Promote Critical Thinking." Research Strategies 18 (Winter 2001): 303-309; Mauer, Barry and John Venecek. “Scholarship as Conversation.” Strategies for Conducting Literary Research, University of Central Florida, 2021; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale University; Citing Information. The Writing Center. University of North Carolina; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; Newton, Philip. "Academic Integrity: A Quantitative Study of Confidence and Understanding in Students at the Start of Their Higher Education."  Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education 41 (2016): 482-497; Referencing More Effectively. Academic Skills Centre. University of Canberra; Using Sources. Yale College Writing Center. Yale University; Vosburgh, Richard M. "Closing the Academic-practitioner Gap: Research Must Answer the “SO WHAT” Question." H uman Resource Management Review 32 (March 2022): 100633; When and Why to Cite Sources. Information Literacy Playlists, SUNY, Albany Libraries.

Structure and Writing Style

Referencing your sources means systematically showing what information or ideas you acquired from another author’s work, and identifying where that information come from . You must cite research in order to do research, but at the same time, you must delineate what are your original thoughts and ideas and what are the thoughts and ideas of others. Citations help achieve this. Procedures used to cite sources vary among different fields of study. If not outlined in your course syllabus or writing assignment, always speak with your professor about what writing style for citing sources should be used for the class because it is important to fully understand the citation style to be used in your paper, and to apply it consistently. If your professor defers and tells you to "choose whatever you want, just be consistent," then choose the citation style you are most familiar with or that is appropriate to your major [e.g., use Chicago style if its a history class; use APA if its an education course; use MLA if it is literature or a general writing course].

GENERAL GUIDELINES

1. Are there any reasons I should avoid referencing other people's work? No. If placed in the proper context, r eferencing other people's research is never an indication that your work is substandard or lacks originality. In fact, the opposite is true. If you write your paper without adequate references to previous studies, you are signaling to the reader that you are not familiar with the literature on the topic, thereby, undermining the validity of your study and your credibility as a researcher. Including references in academic writing is one of the most important ways to demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of how the research problem has been addressed. It is the intellectual packaging around which you present your thoughts and ideas to the reader.

2. What should I do if I find out that my great idea has already been studied by another researcher? It can be frustrating to come up with what you believe is a great topic only to find that it's already been thoroughly studied. However, do not become frustrated by this. You can acknowledge the prior research by writing in the text of your paper [see also Smith, 2002], then citing the complete source in your list of references. Use the discovery of prior studies as an opportunity to demonstrate the significance of the problem being investigated and, if applicable, as a means of delineating your analysis from those of others [e.g., the prior study is ten years old and doesn't take into account new variables]. Strategies for responding to prior research can include: stating how your study updates previous understandings about the topic, offering a new or different perspective, applying a different or innovative method of data gathering, and/or describing a new set of insights, guidelines, recommendations, best practices, or working solutions.

3. What should I do if I want to use an adapted version of someone else's work? You still must cite the original work. For example, maybe you are using a table of statistics from a journal article published in 1996 by author Smith, but you have altered or added new data to it. Reference the revised chart, such as, [adapted from Smith, 1996], then cite the complete source in your list of references. You can also use other terms in order to specify the exact relationship between the original source and the version you have presented, such as, "based on data from Smith [1996]...," or "summarized from Smith [1996]...." Citing the original source helps the reader locate where the information was first presented and under what context it was used as well as to evaluate how effectively you applied it to your own research.

4. What should I do if several authors have published very similar information or ideas? You can indicate that the idea or information can be found in the works of others by stating something similar to the following example: "Though many scholars have applied rational choice theory to understanding economic relations among nations [Smith, 1989; Jones, 1991; Johnson, 1994; Anderson, 2003], little attention has been given to applying the theory to examining the influence of non-governmental organizations in a globalized economy." If you only reference one author or only the most recent study, then your readers may assume that only one author has published on this topic, or more likely, they will conclude that you have not conducted a thorough literature review. Referencing all relevant authors of prior studies gives your readers a clear idea of the breadth of analysis you conducted in preparing to study the research problem. If there has been a significant number of prior studies on the topic, describe the most comprehensive and recent works because they will presumably discuss and reference the older studies. However, note in your review of the literature that there has been significant scholarship devoted to the topic so the reader knows that you are aware of the numerous prior studies.

5. What if I find exactly what I want to say in the writing of another researcher? In the social sciences, the rationale in duplicating prior research is generally governed by the passage of time, changing circumstances or conditions, or the emergence of variables that necessitate a new investigation . If someone else has recently conducted a thorough investigation of precisely the same research problem that you intend to study, then you likely will have to revise your topic, or at the very least, review this literature to identify something new to say about the problem. However, if it is someone else's particularly succinct expression, but it fits perfectly with what you are trying to say, then you can quote from the author directly, referencing the source. Identifying an author who has made the exact same point that you want to make can be an opportunity to add legitimacy to, as well as reinforce the significance of, the research problem you are investigating. The key is to build on that idea in new and innovative ways. If you are not sure how to do this, consult with a librarian .

6. Should I cite a source even if it was published long ago? Any source used in writing your paper should be cited, regardless of when it was written. However, in building a case for understanding prior research about your topic, it is generally true that you should focus on citing more recently published studies because they presumably have built upon the research of older studies. When referencing prior studies, use the research problem as your guide when considering what to cite. If a study from forty years ago investigated the same topic, it probably should be examined and considered in your list of references because the research may have been foundational or groundbreaking at the time, even if its findings are no longer relevant to current conditions or reflect current thinking [one way to determine if a study is foundational or groundbreaking is to examine how often it has been cited in recent studies using the "Cited by" feature of Google Scholar ]. However, if an older study only relates to the research problem tangentially or it has not been cited in recent studies, then it may be more appropriate to list it under further readings .

NOTE:   In any academic writing, you are required to identify which ideas, facts, thoughts, concepts, or declarative statements are yours and which are derived from the research of others. The only exception to this rule is information that is considered to be a commonly known fact [e.g., "George Washington was the first president of the United States"] or a statement that is self-evident [e.g., "Australia is a country in the Global South"]. Appreciate, however, that any "commonly known fact" is culturally constructed and shaped by social and aesthetical biases . If you are in doubt about whether or not a fact is considered to be widely understood knowledge, provide a supporting citation, or, ask your professor for clarification about how the statement should be cited.

Ballenger, Bruce P. The Curious Researcher: A Guide to Writing Research Papers . 7th edition. Boston, MA: Pearson, 2012; Blum, Susan Debra. My Word!: Plagiarism and College Culture . Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2009; Bretag, Tracey., editor. Handbook of Academic Integrity . Singapore: Springer Singapore, 2020; Carlock, Janine. Developing Information Literacy Skills: A Guide to Finding, Evaluating, and Citing Sources . Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press, 2020; Harvard Guide to Using Sources. Harvard College Writing Program. Harvard University; How to Cite Other Sources in Your Paper. The Structure, Format, Content, and Style of a Journal-Style Scientific Paper. Department of Biology. Bates College; Lunsford, Andrea A. and Robert Connors; The St. Martin's Handbook . New York: St. Martin's Press, 1989; Mills, Elizabeth Shown. Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace . 3rd edition. Baltimore, MD: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2015; Research and Citation Resources. The Writing Lab and The OWL. Purdue University; Writing Tutorial Services, Center for Innovative Teaching and Learning. Indiana University; Why Cite? Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, Yale Univeraity.

Other Citation Research Guides

The following USC Libraries research guide can help you properly cite sources in your research paper:

• Citation Guide

The following USC Libraries research guide offers basic information on using images and media in research:

Listed below are particularly well-done and comprehensive websites that provide specific examples of how to cite sources under different style guidelines.

• Purdue University Online Writing Lab
• Southern Cross University Harvard Referencing Style
• University of Wisconsin Writing Center

This is a useful guide concerning how to properly cite images in your research paper.

• Colgate Visual Resources Library, Citing Images

This guide provides good information on the act of citation analysis, whereby you count the number of times a published work is cited by other works in order to measure the impact of a publication or author.

Measuring Your Impact: Impact Factor, Citation Analysis, and other Metrics: Citation Analysis [Sandy De Groote, University of Illinois, Chicago]

Automatic Citation Generators

The links below lead to systems where you can type in your information and have a citation compiled for you. Note that these systems are not foolproof so it is important that you verify that the citation is correct and check your spelling, capitalization, etc. However, they can be useful in creating basic types of citations, particularly for online sources.

• BibMe -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles
• DocsCite -- for citing government publications in APA or MLA formats
• EasyBib -- APA, MLA, and Chicago styles
• Son of Citation Machine -- APA, MLA, Chicago, and Turabian styles

NOTE:   Many companies that create the research databases the USC Libraries subscribe to, such as ProQuest , include built-in citation generators that help take the guesswork out of how to properly cite a work. When available, you should always utilize these features because they not only generate a citation to the source [e.g., a journal article], but include information about where you accessed the source [e.g., the database].

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Start your research.

• Research Process
• Find Background Info
• Find Sources through the Library
• Evaluate Your Info
• Cite Your Sources
• Evaluate, Write & Cite

• is the right thing to do  to give credit to those who had the idea
• shows that you have read and understand  what experts have had to say about your topic
• helps people find the sources  that you used in case they want to read more about the topic
• provides   evidence  for your arguments
• is professional and  standard practice   for students and scholars

What is a Citation?

A citation identifies for the reader the original source for an idea, information, or image that is referred to in a work.

• In the body of a paper, the  in-text citation  acknowledges the source of information used.
• At the end of a paper, the citations are compiled on a  References  or  Works Cited  list. A basic citation includes the author, title, and publication information of the source. 

From:  Lemieux  Library,  University  of Seattle 

Why Should You Cite?

Quoting Are you quoting two or more consecutive words from a source? Then the original source should be cited and the words or phrase placed in quotes. 

Paraphrasing If an idea or information comes from another source,  even if you put it in your own words , you still need to credit the source.  General vs. Unfamiliar Knowledge You do not need to cite material which is accepted common knowledge. If in doubt whether your information is common knowledge or not, cite it. Formats We usually think of books and articles. However, if you use material from web sites, films, music, graphs, tables, etc. you'll also need to cite these as well.

Plagiarism is presenting the words or ideas of someone else as your own without proper acknowledgment of the source. When you work on a research paper and use supporting material from works by others, it's okay to quote people and use their ideas, but you do need to correctly credit them. Even when you summarize or paraphrase information found in books, articles, or Web pages, you must acknowledge the original author.

Citation Style Help

Helpful links:

• MLA ,  Works Cited : A Quick Guide (a template of core elements)
• CSE  (Council of Science Editors)

For additional writing resources specific to styles listed here visit the  Purdue OWL Writing Lab

Citation and Bibliography Resources

• How to Write an Annotated Bibliography
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• Next: Evaluate, Write & Cite >>

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Land Acknowledgement

The land on which we gather is the unceded territory of the Awaswas-speaking Uypi Tribe. The Amah Mutsun Tribal Band, comprised of the descendants of indigenous people taken to missions Santa Cruz and San Juan Bautista during Spanish colonization of the Central Coast, is today working hard to restore traditional stewardship practices on these lands and heal from historical trauma.

The land acknowledgement used at UC Santa Cruz was developed in partnership with the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band Chairman and the Amah Mutsun Relearning Program at the UCSC Arboretum .

Research Basics: an open academic research skills course

• Lesson 1: Using Library Tools
• Lesson 2: Smart searching
• Lesson 3: Managing information overload
• Assessment - Module 1
• Lesson 1: The ABCs of scholarly sources
• Lesson 2: Additional ways of identifying scholarly sources
• Lesson 3: Verifying online sources
• Assessment - Module 2

Lesson 1: Creating citations

• Lesson 2: Citing and paraphrasing
• Lesson 3: Works cited, bibliographies, and notes
• Assessment - Module 3
• - For Librarians and Teachers -
• Acknowledgements
• Other free resources from JSTOR

Citing your sources means that you give credit for the ideas and information you’ve used in your paper. It builds credibility and helps readers understand where your ideas come from. In this lesson, you’ll learn what elements make up a citation, where to find the necessary information for a citation, and how to compose your own citations.  

After watching the videos below, you can take the practice quiz for this lesson to test what you've learned. Take the quiz as many times as you need before moving on to the next lesson.  You can  download the script  for the videos to help you study. Please note that these lessons and quizzes are based on citation style rules that were current in 2015, when the course was created. 

Practice Quiz

Watch the introduction to Lesson 1

Watch part 1: why cite / citation styles, watch part 2: elements of a citation / collecting citation elements, watch part 3: composing a citation / examples / special sources.

• << Previous: Module 3: Citing scholarly work
• Next: Lesson 2: Citing and paraphrasing >>
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What Are Citations?

After completing this tutorial, you will be able to:.

Navigate using your keyboard's left and right arrows or use the navigation links at the bottom of the screen. Pressing escape on your keyboard will show a slide view.

Continue with the tutorial

Last updated April 2018

Why Are Citations Important?

What Does a Citation Look Like?

A citation is typically found in two places:, in-text citations.

Reference Lists/Bibliographies

Authors use in-text citations after they have paraphrased, summarized, quoted or otherwise used another author’s work. Examples of in-text citations include parentheses, footnotes or endnotes.

Reference Lists

A reference list includes information on all of the sources an author used. It can also be called a bibliography or works cited. Each item in the list includes information such as title, author and publication date. A reference list is usually listed at the end of a paper with the exception of footnotes which are at the bottom of each page.

Reading a Citation

Knowing how to read a citation in a reference list or bibliography will help you identify different types of sources that an author used in their research. You can use a reference list from another researcher to find related sources on your topic, or to find counterpoints to your research. Let’s look at citations for three common types of sources:

Reading Citations: Article Citations

A citation for an article can include:.

Why is this important?

The journal title is often what is listed in library catalogs.

How do you know if it is an article?

The presence of two titles (article and journal) are the biggest clue that this is an article. Volume Number and Issue Number are also big clues as books will not have those pieces in a citation.

Reading Citations: Book Citations

A citation for a book can include:.

Year, edition, format, and publisher help distinguish between versions.

How do you know if it is a book?

Reading Citations: Website Citations

A citation for a website can include:.

To find and verify a website, you need to know the URL. Since websites change frequently, knowing the date accessed is similar to knowing a publication date.

How do you know if it is a website?

The date accessed and the presence of a URL are the biggest clues that you are looking at a citation for a website.

Citation Styles

Different disciplines cite in different ways which means that there are many different citation styles.

Your professor or department will tell you what style to use.

Style guides, manuals and handbooks are available both in print and online.

Citation Guides at the University Libraries

Examples of Citation Styles: Article Citations

Examples of Citation Styles: Book Citations

Knowledge Check

What are citations review, you are now able to:, do you have questions.

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Research Skills Tutorial

• Turning A Topic Into A Research Question
• Getting Background Information About Your Topic
• Portfolio Activity 1
• Types of Information Sources
• Scholarly, Popular and Trade Information Sources
• Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Information Sources
• Current and Retrospective Information Sources
• Information Sources for Different Audiences and Purposes
• Portfolio Activity 2
• Library Databases vs. the Web
• Creating a Concept Chart
• Boolean Operators
• Refining Results by Date, Peer Review and Document Type
• Advanced Searching
• Advanced Searching with Descriptors
• Descriptor Chaining
• Citation Chaining (or Reference Mining)
• Searching Outside the SUNY Empire Library
• Searching Google
• Portfolio Activity 3
• Understanding Search Results
• Saving Search Results
• Portfolio Activity 4
• Credible Sources
• What Does the Information Source Tell You About Itself?
• Reliability
• Some More About Validity
• Portfolio Activity 5
• What Is Citing?
• What Is a Citation?
• Citation Styles
• Citing Tools and Tips
• Practice Activity 6
• Practice Activity 7 - Final Project

What Is A Citation?

When to cite.

A citation is a reference to the source of information used in your research. Any time you directly quote, paraphrase or summarize the essential elements of someone else's idea in your work, an in-text citation should follow. An in-text citation is a brief notation within the text of your paper or presentation which refers the reader to a fuller notation, or end-of-paper citation , that provides all necessary details about that source of information. Direct quotations should be surrounded by quotations marks and are generally used when the idea you want to capture is best expressed by the source.  Paraphrasing and summarizing involve rewording an essential idea from someone else's work, usually to either condense the point or to make it better fit your writing style. You do not have to cite your own ideas, unless they have been published. And you do not have to cite  common knowledge , or information that most people in your audience would know without having to look it up.

In-Text Citations

In-text citations alert the reader to an idea from an outside source.  

Parenthetical Notes

In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations usually appear as parenthetical notes (sometimes called parenthetical documentation ). They are called parenthetical notes because brief information about the source, usually the author's name, year of publication, and page number, is enclosed in parentheses as follows:  

MLA style: (Smith 263)

APA style: (Smith, 2013, p. 263)  

Parenthetical notes are inserted into the text of the paper at the end of a sentence or paragraph:>

In MLA and APA styles, in-text citations are associated with end-of-paper citations that provide full details about an information source. Note: Different source types and situations require different information within the parentheses. Refer to a style guide for the style you are using for details.

Note Numbers

In Chicago and CSE styles, in-text citations usually appear as superscript numerals, or note numbers , as follows:

These note numbers are associated with full citations that can appear as footnotes (bottom of page), endnotes (end of chapter or paper), or lists of cited references at the end of the paper.  

End-of-Paper Citations

End-of-paper citations, as well as footnotes and endnotes, include  full details about a source of information.  Citations contain different pieces of identifying information about your source depending on what type of source it is. In academic research, your sources will most commonly be articles from scholarly journals, and the citation for an article typically includes:  

• article title
• publication information (journal title, date, volume, issue, pages, etc.)
• DOI (digital object identifier).
• URL of the information source itself
• URL of the journal that published the article

There are many other types of sources you might use, including books, book chapters, films, song lyrics, musical scores, interviews, e-mails, blog entries, art works, lectures, websites and more. To determine which details are required for a citation for a particular source type, find that source type within the style guide for the citation style you are using. At the end of your research paper, full citations should be listed in order according to the citation style you are using:

• In MLA style, this list is called a W orks Cited page.  
• In APA style, it is called a References page.
• In CSE style, it is called a C ited References page.
• And, in Chicago style, there may be both a Notes page and a Bibliography page. 

Citations  In Library Databases

When you search the library's databases for articles or e-books, the list of search results you see is actually a list of full citations. Instead of being formatted according to MLA, APA, CSE, or Chicago style, these citations are formatted according to the database vendor's style. It is up to you to take the source information you find in a library database (or elsewhere) and format it according to the citation style you are using.

Accessibility Note

Please note: If you need to request accommodations with content linked to on this guide, on the basis of a disability, please contact Accessibility Resources and Services by emailing them .  Requests for accommodations should be submitted as early as possible to allow for sufficient planning. If you have questions, please visit the Accessibility Resources and Services website .

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What Is a Citation?

Definition, Styles, and Examples

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• An Introduction to Punctuation
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• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

In any research paper, you draw on the work of other researchers and writers, and you must document their contributions by citing your sources, say Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers in "A Pocket Style Manual, Eighth Edition." Citations, then, are the means by which you credit other researchers and writers when you use their work in your papers. Understanding how to cite sources can be tricky, particularly since there are different styles for writing papers , including the American Psychological Association, Modern Language Association, and Chicago (Turabian) styles. Electronic sources also come with their own specific citation rules in each of these styles. It's important to learn proper citation styles to avoid  plagiarism  in your research papers.

APA Citations

American Psychological Association (APA) style is often used in social sciences and other disciplines. With APA or any of the styles listed in this paper, you need to use a citation if you quote text from another source, paraphrase an author or authors' ideas, or refer to her work, such as a study, original thinking, or even an elegant turn of phrase. When you cite a source, you can't simply repeat most of the words from the work to which you are referring. You have to put the ideas into your own words, or you need to quote the text directly.

There are two parts to citations for APA and other styles: the short-form in line, which directs readers to a full entry at the end of a chapter or book. An in-line citation differs from a footnote, which is a note placed at the bottom of a page. An in-line citation—also called the  in-text citation —is placed within a line of text. To create an in-line citation, cite the name of the author and the date (in parentheses) of the article, report, book, or study, as this example from "A Pocket Style Manual" shows:

Cubuku (2012) argued that for a student-centered approach to work, students must maintain "ownership for thier goals and activities" (p. 64).

Note how you list the page number at the end of the in-text citation in parentheses followed by a period (if it is at the end of a sentence). If there are two authors, list the last name of each, as in:

"According to Donitsa-Schmidt and Zurzovsky (2014), ..."

If there are more than two authors, list the last name of the first author followed by the words "et al.," as in:

Herman et al. (2012) tracked 42 students over a three-year period (p. 49).

At the end of your paper, attach one or more pages titled "References." That section is essentially your biography. Readers of your paper can then turn to the references listing to read the full citations for each of the works you cited. There are actually many variations for references citations depending, for example, on whether you are citing a book, journal article, or newspaper story, or the many different kinds of media, including audio recordings and film.

the most common citation is to books. For such a citation, list the last name of the author, followed by a comma, followed by the first initial(s) of the author(s), followed by a period. You would put the year the book was published in parentheses followed by a period, then the title of the book in italics using sentence case , followed by a comma, the place of publication, followed by a colon, and then the publisher, followed by a period. "A Pocket Style Manual" gives this example:

Rosenberg, T. (2011). Join the club: How peer pressure can transform the world . New York, NY: Norton.​

Though the citations here won't print this way, use a hanging indent for the second and any subsequent lines in each citation. In a hanging indent in APA style, you indent every line after the first.

MLA Citations

MLA style is often used in English and other humanities papers. MLA follows the author-page style for in-text citations, notes Purdue OWL, an excellent citation, grammar, and writing website operated by Purdue University. Purdue gives this example of an in-text citation, which is also called parenthetical citation in MLA style. Note that in MLA style, page numbers don’t typically appear unless the sentence or passage is a direct quote from the original, as is the case here:

Romantic poetry is characterized by the "spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings" (Wordsworth 263).

At the end of the paper, attach a "Works Cited" page or pages, which is equivalent to the "References" section in APA style. "Works Cited" section citations are very similar in MLA and APA style, as in this example of a work with multiple authors from Purdue OWL:

Warner, Ralph, et al.  How to Buy a House in California . Edited by Alayna Schroeder, 12th ed., Nolo, 2009.

Note that you would also use a hanging indent in MLA, but it tends to be a bit shorter; move the second and subsequent lines in by three spaces. Spell out the first name of the author(s) in MLA style; add a comma before "et al."; use title case for the book, journal, or article title; omit the place of publication information; follow the name of the publisher with a comma; and list the date of publication at the end.

Chicago Style Citations

Chicago is the oldest of the three major writing and citation styles in the United States, having begun with the 1906 publication of the first Chicago style guide. For in-text citations, Chicago style, which comes from the "Chicago Manual of Style" from the University of Chicago Press, is pretty simple: the author's last name, date of publication, a comma, and page numbers, all in parentheses, as follows:

(Murav 2011, 219-220)

At the end of the paper, insert a list of references, which in Chicago style is called a bibliography. Books, journals, and other articles are cited in a manner similar to APA and MLA style. List the author's last name, a comma, and the full first name, followed by the title of the book in italics and title case, the place of publication, followed by a colon, followed by the publisher's name, a comma, and the date of publication, all in parentheses, followed by a comma and the page numbers.

Kate L. Turabian, in "A Manual for Writers" (a student-geared version of Chicago style), gives the following example:

Gladwell, Malcolm,  The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference  (Boston: Little Brown, 2000), 64-65.

You also use a hanging indent in the bibliography section of a Chicago style paper, with the indent moved in three spaces. For article or journal titles, list the title in regular (not italic) type encased in quotation marks.

Electronic Sources

Electronic source citations are similar to citations of published works except for two issues: You need to include the URL of the source, and a large percentage of online sources may not list an author. 

In APA style, for example, list an online source in the same way you would cite a book or article, except that you need to include the type of information you are accessing (in parentheses), as well as the URL. If the online source lacks a listed author, start with the name of the group or agency providing the information. "A Pocket Manual of Style" provides the following example of an APA electronic source citation:

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service. (2011). Daily intake of nutrients by food source: 2005-08 . ​[Data set]. Retrieved from http:www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/food-consumption-and-nutrient-intakes.aspx.

As with other citations, use a hanging indent for the second, third, and fourth lines of this source. For Chicago style, use the same method as described previously but add the URL, as in this example:

Brown, David. "New Burden of Disease Study Shows World's People Living Longer but with More Disability," Washington Post , December 12, 2012. http://www.washingtonpost.com/.

Note that Chicago style includes only the home-page URL and not the full URL; that can change, however, from one regime to the next.

MLA style used to require you to list the date you accessed the information, but that's no longer the case. To cite an electronic source, use the same style as discussed previously, but replace the period after the date with a comma and then list the URL.

• What Is a Bibliography?
• Bibliography: Definition and Examples
• MLA Bibliography or Works Cited
• What Is a Senior Thesis?
• APA In-Text Citations
• Turabian Style Guide With Examples
• How to Write a Bibliography For a Science Fair Project
• MLA Sample Pages
• How to Use Parentheses in Writing
• 36 Common Prefixes in English
• Title Page Examples and Formats
• MLA Style Parenthetical Citations
• Formatting Papers in Chicago Style
• Formatting APA Headings and Subheadings
• Tips for Typing an Academic Paper on a Computer
• Examples of Signal Phrases in Grammar and Composition

Citation Guide

What is a citation, scholarly versus popular publications, citation components (credo), writing help.

• Citation Generator
• Chicago/Turabian Style
• Paraphrasing and Quoting
• Examples of Plagiarism
• What is a Bibliography?
• Writing Center
• Writer's Reference Center
• Helpful Tutorials

A citation is the way you tell your readers that certain material in your work came from another source and gives your readers the information necessary to find that source again. Citations may include: Information about the Author(s) or Editor(s).

• The Title of the work
• The Publisher
• The Date published
• The Page Numbers of the material you are referencing
• Why should I cite sources?

Giving credit to the original author by citing sources is the only way to use other people's work without plagiarizing. But there are a number of other reasons to cite sources:

• Citations are extremely helpful to anyone who wants to find out more about your ideas and where they came from.
• Not all sources are good or right for your project -- your own ideas may often be more accurate or interesting than those of your sources. Proper citation will keep you from taking the rap for someone else's bad ideas.
• Citing sources shows the amount of research you've done.
• Citing sources strengthens your work by lending outside support to your ideas.

Doesn't citing sources make my work seem less original?

Not at all. Citing sources actually helps your reader distinguish your ideas from those of your sources. This will emphasize the originality of your own work. It also gives you greater credibility because you are demonstrating your knowledge on the subject and your understanding of the work that's already been done by others on the subject.

When do I need to cite?

Whenever you borrow words or ideas from another source, you need to acknowledge that source. The following situations almost always require a citation:

• Whenever you use quotes
• Whenever you paraphrase
• Whenever you use an idea that someone else has already expressed
• Whenever you make specific reference to the work of another
• Whenever someone else's work has been critical in developing your own ideas
• How to tell the difference between Scholarly, Popular and Trade publications
• Search engines vs. databases A video explaining the difference between using a search engine versus a database for scholarly research.
• What is Peer Review? Video explaining peer review, (scholarly) articles in three minutes.
• Citation Components APA and MLA aren't just your instructor's way of punishing you. These style guides ensure you give proper credit and avoid plagiarism.

The Limestone University OWL (online writing lab) is the virtual extension of the Writing Center on the main campus. The LU OWL offers live peer tutorial sessions to all students. On campus students may visit the Writing Lab in person. 

• Next: Online Citation Generators >>
• Last Updated: May 2, 2024 1:23 PM
• URL: https://libguides.limestone.edu/citation

University of Pittsburgh Library System

• Collections

Course & Subject Guides

Citation styles: apa, mla, chicago, turabian, ieee.

• APA 7th Edition
• Turabian 9th
• Writing & Citing Help
• Understanding Plagiarism

Quick Links

Listed below are a few quick links to resources that will aid you in citing sources.

• Sign up for a Mendeley, EndNote, or Zotero training class.
• APA 7th Edition Published in October 2019. Visit this page for links to resources and examples.
• MLA Need help with citing MLA style? Find information here along with links to books in PittCat and free online resources.
• Chicago/Turabian Need help with citing Chicago/Turabian style? Find examples here along with links to the online style manual and free online resources.

Getting Started: How to use this guide

This LibGuide was designed to provide you with assistance in citing your sources when writing an academic paper.

There are different styles which format the information differently. In each tab, you will find descriptions of each citation style featured in this guide along with links to online resources for citing and a few examples.

What is a citation and citation style?

A citation is a way of giving credit to individuals for their creative and intellectual works that you utilized to support your research. It can also be used to locate particular sources and combat plagiarism. Typically, a citation can include the author's name, date, location of the publishing company, journal title, or DOI (Digital Object Identifier).

A citation style dictates the information necessary for a citation and how the information is ordered, as well as punctuation and other formatting.

How to do I choose a citation style?

There are many different ways of citing resources from your research. The citation style sometimes depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:

• APA (American Psychological Association) is used by Education, Psychology, and Sciences
• MLA (Modern Language Association) style is used by the Humanities
• Chicago/Turabian style is generally used by Business, History, and the Fine Arts

*You will need to consult with your professor to determine what is required in your specific course.

Click the links below to find descriptions of each style along with a sample of major in-text and bibliographic citations, links to books in PittCat, online citation manuals, and other free online resources.

• APA Citation Style
• MLA Citation Style
• Chicago/Turabian Citation Style
• Tools for creating bibliographies (CItation Managers)

Writing Centers

Need someone to review your paper? Visit the Writing Center or Academic Success Center on your campus.

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• Last Updated: Mar 22, 2024 9:53 AM
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What is a Citation in Writing? Definition, Examples

• Posted on June 7, 2023

Writing is not only about expressing your own thoughts but also about using information from other sources to support them. But how do you show your readers where you got that information from? 

That’s where citations come in. Citations are a way of giving credit to the original authors and avoiding plagiarism. They also help your readers to find the original sources if they want to learn more. 

A proper citation includes:

• The author’s name.
• The title of the source.
• The publication date.
• The page number.
• The references page is where all the sources are listed.

You can use different citation styles depending on your writing purpose and audience.

You can also visit a writing lab to get help with citations and other aspects of writing. Citations can make your writing more credible and authoritative because they show that you have done the research and used reliable sources. They can also help search engines to rank your writing higher in the search results.

By the end of this article, you will have gained valuable insights into crafting accurate citations that adhere to formatting guidelines while effectively avoiding plagiarism throughout your writing process.

What is a Citation?

A citation is a way of giving credit to the source of information that you use in your writing. It shows your readers where you got the information from and how they can find it. It also helps you avoid plagiarism, which is copying someone else’s work without permission. A citation usually includes the following information:

• Original author information : This tells your readers who wrote the original source that you are using. For example, if you are citing a journal article, you would include the author’s name and affiliation.
• Date of publication of your copy : This tells your readers when you accessed the source that you are using. For example, if you are citing a web page, you would include the date that you visited the page.
• Year of publication of original copy : This tells your readers when the original source that you are using was published. For example, if you are citing a book, you would include the year that the book was printed.
• Page numbers you are using : This tells your readers which part of the source that you are using. For example, if you are citing a chapter in a book, you would include the page numbers that you are quoting or paraphrasing.
• The material you are using in the citation : This tells your readers what kind of information you are using from the source. For example, if you are citing a quote , a paraphrase, or a summary.

You should include citations in the text of your paper and on a separate references page at the end of your paper. 

Why is it Important to Cite Original Sources?

Citing original sources is important for several reasons. First, it shows respect and honesty to the original authors and sources you use, and it acknowledges their contribution and gives them credit for their work. 

Second, it helps you avoid plagiarism , which is using someone else’s work as your own without permission. Plagiarism is a serious academic offense that can negatively affect your reputation and career. 

Third, it shows the credibility and quality of your own work. It demonstrates that you have researched and used reliable and relevant sources to support your arguments. It also indicates that you have followed the writing style and format of your discipline and source type. 

Finally, it helps your readers to find and evaluate your sources. It provides them with a reference list where they can access the original sources if they want to learn more or check your information.

When Do You Need to Cite?

You must cite whenever you borrow ideas, words, or images from another source. Some examples of when you need to cite are:

• When you borrow an idea that someone else has already presented in their work
• When you use a direct quote from a source, using the same words as the author
• When you restate the author’s words in your own words
• When you mention a specific detail from the work of another, such as the title, date, or page number
• When you rely on the research and work of another to create your own ideas or arguments

You can cite your sources in different ways, such as using parentheses with the author’s last name and the year of publication or using footnotes or endnotes. You can also use Libguides to help you with citing your sources correctly for your research paper.

The Most Common Citation Style Guides

In today’s academic and professional world, various citation styles are used to appropriately credit the original authors of the sources referenced in a piece of writing. These citation style guides provide standardized formats for referencing sources, ensuring consistency and clarity across different disciplines.

MLA (Modern Language Association) Style

The MLA citations are popular among humanities scholars like literature and language researchers and use parenthetical citations within text along with an alphabetically arranged Works Cited page at the end.

APA (American Psychological Association) Style

APA citations are commonly used in social sciences such as psychology, education, and sociology. It emphasizes the author-date system for in-text citations and includes a detailed reference list at the end of the document.

In-Text Citation

In-text citations are references in your work that show the source of other authors’ ideas and words. They help readers find more information and avoid plagiarism. There are different in-text citation formats, such as parenthetical and narrative. They usually include the author’s name and publication year, and sometimes page numbers. They should match your reference list, which has all the sources you used.

Chicago Manual of Style

Chicago-style citations are a way of referencing sources in writing, especially in the humanities. They are based on the guidelines of The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS), a style guide for American English. There are two types of Chicago-style citations: notes and bibliography and author-date. Notes and bibliography use footnotes or endnotes and a bibliography to cite sources, while author-date use parenthetical references and a reference list. Chicago-style citations help writers avoid plagiarism and show respect to the original authors and sources.

Turabian Style

Chicago/Turabian style, favored by historians and other fields that use extensive primary source material, offers two options: notes-bibliography system or author-date system, depending on discipline-specific preferences.

In conclusion, a citation is an essential aspect of writing that helps to acknowledge the original sources used in creating content. It ensures that credit is given where it’s due and prevents plagiarism. Knowing when to cite and which citation style guide to use can be crucial for businesses and marketing teams looking to create high-quality content.

Citing sources can be challenging, but you don’t have to do it alone. Quetext is a trusted tool and partner that can help you avoid plagiarism and generate quality citations. Quetext has a citation generator that can create citations in various styles, such as APA, MLA, Chicago, and more. You can also use Quetext to check your work for plagiarism and improve your writing skills. 

Try Quetext today!

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• Ann Med Surg (Lond)
• v.72; 2021 Dec

Significance and implications of accurate and proper citations in clinical research studies

Citations are an essential component of clinical research studies. In health sciences most articles will refer to over 20 other peer-reviewed publications [ 1 ]. Citations are a core part of the entire research process. Citations fuel literature reviews [ 2 , 3 ] and they allow researchers to link their experiments to previous results and conclusions and establish credibility [ 2 , 4 , 5 ]. Citations can help authors contribute to the growing compilation of literature and prevent plagiarism [ 6 , 7 ]. However, prior studies have acknowledged a prevalence of improper citation [ [8] , [9] , [10] , [11] ]. Studies report citation inaccuracy rates of approximately 20–26% in biomedical literature [ 8 , 9 ]. Some studies have also reported citation inaccuracies within field-specific journals such as pediatric orthopaedics [ 8 ], neurosurgery [ 12 ], spine surgery [ 13 ], and foot and ankle surgery [ 14 ]. This trend is especially alarming as citation inaccuracies can diminish research validity [ 15 ]. Recognizing the causes or instances of inaccurate citations can prevent further improper citation [ 16 ].

1. What are the root causes of citation inaccuracies?

Citation misuse can originate in literature reviews, as authors can find and choose references in arbitrary fashions. This can stem from keyword choice; many authors use broad keywords to garner a large audience, but this can hurt the number of references they receive [ 17 ]. Language can also be a barrier: one study found over 30% of systematic reviews excluded studies not published in English, which dramatically decreases the scope of literature reviews [ 18 ]. Researchers may also be biased towards articles with many citations. This can be described as the ‘Matthew effect:’ the more a paper is referenced, the more it will continue to be referenced [ 19 , 20 ]. This is concerning as citation rate of articles is not necessarily an indicator of quality or significance [ 21 ]. While papers with many citations continue to receive attention, less cited articles may be neglected, potentially hindering research advancements.

Literature reviews may also be influenced by other arbitrary factors. For example, an author's social media presence showed a positive correlation with the rate at which they were cited [ 22 , 23 ]. Another consideration for citation rate is the primacy effect, which describes how citations listed earlier in a study are used more frequently than those that appear toward the end of a study [ 24 ]. The reputation of the author(s), organization(s), journal, or country represented by a paper may also play a role in the number of times it is cited [ 25 ]. Some authors or groups of authors may receive an increased number of citations based on their production level or experience in the field of study [ 25 ]. Additionally, luck and last name may inevitably affect the rate at which someone is repeatedly cited.

2. What are examples of citation inaccuracies?

Selective citation, whether purposeful or subconscious, is an endemic problem [ 11 , 26 , 27 ]. Studies showing positive results are cited more often than those with neutral or negative results, a phenomenon known as citation bias [ 26 ]. This gives readers a biased view and overrepresents positive findings [ 26 ]. Other common forms of improper citation usage include: secondary citation, incorrect/opposite conclusion, back door invention, fact not found, and inaccurate population. Secondary citation, or “amplification,” is the act of citing a fact in a paper that was itself supported by a citation instead of going to the original article [ 16 ]. Amplification leads to the expansion of a belief without additional primary data [ 10 ]. Incorrect/opposite conclusion occurs when inaccurate or missing information is cited. Specifically, an author may cite an article presenting the opposite conclusion referred to in the study [ 16 ]. This error is especially detrimental as studies make claims contradicting the citation, yet this contradiction may be further perpetuated in future studies via amplification. “Back door invention” is the error of citing abstracts while leading the reader to believe it is a peer-reviewed article [ 10 ]. Fact not found consists of a claim that a cited article has stated a fact or statistic, when in reality did not mention it at all and is therefore unsupported [ 16 ]. Lastly, inaccurate population involves the referencing of a study which may have found the results reported, but the results obtained in the cited article may not be generalizable to the population in the new study [ 16 ]. Research has also shown that citation of retracted studies occurs in many fields and these studies are often cited positively [ [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] ]. One study showed that even after 5 years, retracted studies by an author were still being cited, with only 25% of citations acknowledging it had been retracted [ 31 ].

3. What can be done to prevent or correct citation inaccuracies?

Solutions to many of these problems have been shared [ [15] , [16] , [17] , 22 , 23 ]. Authors can help others find their research by using targeted rather than generic keywords [ 17 ]. Similarly, a social media presence by journals and authors may be warranted to improve discoverability [ 22 , 23 ]. While not feasible for all literature reviews, machine learning has been used in finding relevant references for systematic reviews [ 32 ]. In short, machine learning is a form of artificial intelligence that allows systems to create algorithms based on data received. Future improvements in machine learning may allow for widespread use in finding and citing references in a way that is both efficient and accurate. One solution that has been proposed is the development of a tool named MyCites [ 33 ]. This tool would allow for the ability to mark citations as inaccurate and have these notations travel with the digital document so that future readers are aware of the accuracy of any contested citations [ 33 ]. These capabilities may help to stifle early citation inaccuracies and prevent the amplification of inaccurate citations.

Given the prevalence of citation inaccuracies, it is imperative those involved in the peer review process review submissions with an eye toward citation accuracy. At the start, authors must thoroughly recheck their citations and verify the relevance and validity of each reference. [ 34 ] One survey showed that only 4% of published scientists regularly check citations in articles they read [ 3 ]. Some authors have suggested that a simple checklist would avoid most errors [ 16 ]. It has also been suggested that editors develop training courses for authors outlining the acceptable citation styles pertinent to a particular journal [ 34 ]. Reviewers are in the unique role of making sure that new submissions are, evidence-based, in publishable condition, and add to the current body of knowledge. Such responsibility also includes evaluating the references of these submissions and suggesting the alteration, removal, or addition of references which would ensure citation accuracy [ 34 ]. The peer review process can help correct citation mistakes, especially through increased spot checks by editors/reviewers [ 9 ]. Lastly, the publisher's role in citation accuracy has started to include the use of software to process, link, and check the quality of references. [ 35 ] The increased utilization of new technology to verify citation accuracy will be of great benefit to both researchers and readers.

We also seek to share common guidelines for proper citation. First, ensure the citation provides correct publication details, including name, article title, and journal [ 15 ]. Second, the citation must substantiate the claim [ 15 ]. Next, authors should use unbiased sources that provide reliable data [ 15 ]. Articles from prestigious journals should not be assumed as reliable; analysis of the article itself is critical [ 15 ]. Additionally, be mindful of reconciling evidence. Authors should present the information in an objective manner [ 15 ]. In research it is crucial for “evidence to guide conclusions.” [ 36 ] Citations are an important part of the scientific process. They allow researchers to support and share findings, helping to further innovation. However, citations can be misused, slowing progress in clinical research and circulating unsupported beliefs. Many problems with citations can be fixed with increased attention to detail by authors and editors, ultimately strengthening credibility of the literature.

Ethical approval

Not applicable.

Sources of funding

Author contribution.

Study design and conception: AE. Data collection, interpretation and analysis: MN, CA, AE. Manuscript preparation: MN, CA, AE, MM. Critical revision of manuscript: MN, CA, MM, AE. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Trial registry number

• 1. Name of the registry:
• 2. Unique Identifying number or registration ID:
• 3. Hyperlink to the registration (must be publicly accessible):

Adel Elkbuli.

Mark McKenney

Declaration of competing interest