Citing SourcesCitations are often daunting, but don't be discouraged!
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.
The UCB Library Guide to Citing Your Sources discusses why you should cite your sources and links to campus resources about plagiarism. It also includes links to guides for frequently used citation styles. Also:
Citation management tools help you manage your research, collect and cite sources, organize and store your PDFs, and create bibliographies in a variety of citation styles. Each one has its strengths and weaknesses, but all are easier than doing it by hand!
Tip: After creating a bibliography with a citation management tool, it's always good to double check the formatting; sometimes the software doesn't get it quite right.