Why do you have to cite your sources?
No research paper is complete without a list of the sources that you used in your writing. Scholars are very careful to keep accurate records of the resources they’ve used, and of the ideas and concepts they’ve quoted or used from others. This record keeping is generally presented in the form of citations.
A citation is a description of a book, article, URL, etc. that provides enough information so that others can locate the source you used themselves. Citations usually include: author(s), date of publication, title, and publisher’s name and location (and for articles: journal title, volume, issue and page numbers). They allow you to credit the authors of the sources you use and clarify which ideas belong to you and which belong to other sources. And providing a citation or reference will allow others to find and use these sources as well. Most research papers have a list of citations or cited references and there are special formatting guidelines for different types of research.
The Library has guides specific to certain fields of study, or your professor or instructor may request a specific bibliographic and citation style. Always check with your professor regarding the citation style he or she prefers!
- Citation help: Links to online help for common styles
- Citation management tools: Store your research in one place
- Style manuals: Learn where to find the Library’s style manuals
- Writing guides: General and discipline specific guides for academic writing
The following resources are excellent tools for quick look-ups on how to properly cite and format bibliographies.
Citation Management Tools
Citation management tools allow you to organize your research. In addition to saving citation information and linking to PDFs, many programs also assist with in-text citations and bibliography formatting.
The Yale-NUS Library is a rich resource for citation help! We have style guides on the most popular citation styles, as well as dozens of books about academic writing. Need help getting started? Ask A Librarian! Here are some of our most popular guides:
The Yale-NUS College Library is building a comprehensive collection of resources to help you with questions or issues about writing, citing and academic integrity. Visit the Library to explore our growing collection of writing guides and citation style manuals. Here is an abridged list of helpful titles:
“Citing Sources” is a portion of Starting Your Research by University of California Santa Cruz, University Library . This tutorial is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Some content has been modified to suit the curricular and research needs of Yale-NUS College. All changes are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.