Citing SourcesCitations are often daunting, but don't be discouraged!
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While citations can feel daunting, it is important to understand how and when to cite your sources and how citations can be a practice in reciprocity and collective knowledge building.
When quoting or basing your ideas on another person's work, such as a book, article, or interview, you must document the source you used. Credit should also be given in cases where you are not quoting, but using ideas or terminology from another work as a basis for your original contributions. As authors, we also expect others to cite our work and provide information to other researchers and our readers about where we have drawn our conclusions and where to look for additional information.
In their article Citation Matters: Mobilizing the Politics of Citation toward a Practice of ‘Conscientious Engagement', Carrie Mott and Daniel Cockayne (2017) write:
Citation thought conscientiously can also be a feminist and anti-racist technology of resistance that demonstrates engagement with those authors and voices we want to carry forward.
We can both "forage" the bibliographies of works we read for traces of scholarship as well as leave traces for future readers. To explore an example of citational activism, visit the Cite Black Women Collective website.