Writing Research Papers

Citing Your Sources: When writing a research paper, you will often need to evaluate and refer to the work of other people (your "sources").  When you draw upon the work of others, you must give proper credit by citing their work in your paper.  Even when you do not quote another's work directly, if reading that source contributed to the ideas presented in your paper, you should give the author due credit by citing him or her.  

Other Reasons Why You Should Cite:  Citing sources in your paper shows that you have taken the time and effort to learn about what others have written about a research topic before putting forth your own ideas. This builds your credibility as a careful researcher and writer. Citations can also provide evidence for any factual claims you make in your paper, and they can be a useful source of more information for the paper's reader.

Think of including cited sources in your paper as similar to having a conversation with other researchers in the field.  You show you have read others' work on the topic, you acknowledge their research ideas with a citation, and then you add your own ideas on the topic.

How Do You Cite?  Your instructor will tell you what style guide to use when citing other's work in your paper. Two common styles are MLA and APA. For links to several citation style guides, please visit the Citation Guide.