Documenting sources within research papers, essays, and other works of writing is not just a polite gesture to give another author credit for his or her work — it's the law. Failure to correctly document any and all outside sources is called plagiarism, which is the presentation of another's words or ideas as one's own. Improper documentation of sources — or failure to do so at all — may not be intentional, but it is a breach of the Sweet Briar Honor Code.
Plagiarism can be avoided by correctly documenting quotations, ideas, and general references to another person's work. For instance, say you want to include some ideas from Geir Lundestad's The American "Empire" in your paper. This is the paragraph you want to use, and this is how you would cite it:
"Certain constant objectives can be found in American foreign policy. Three in particular are often picked out: the physical survival of the United States, the perpetuation of the American way of life, and the promotion of the economic well-being of the American society. At least since the Russian revolution of 1917, the containment of communism could be listed as a fourth objective."
(Lundestad, Geir. The American "Empire". Oxford, England: Oxford University Press, 1990. 120)
When do I have to document a source?
Direct Quotations
Whenever text is quoted directly from a source, and set off by quotation marks, this quotation must be documented. The accuracy of quotations is extremely important: changes must not be made in the punctation, spelling, or capitalization of the sentence (unless your changes are indicated by brackets or parentheses).
Paraphrasing
What if you find useful or relevant material in another author's work and choose to put it in your own words instead of using a direct quotation? Paraphrasing is perfectly fine AS LONG AS YOU INCLUDE A CITATION TO THE ORIGINAL TEXT AT THE END OF THE PARAPHRASE.
Here are some examples of paraphrases of the paragraph by Lundestad. Each of these paraphrases requires a citation.
Throughout its history, American foreign policy has had three main aims. A newer objective, the containment of communism, has also become important in the twentieth century (Lundestad 120).Remember, even when a paragraph is completely your own, simply mentioning an idea you read about without crediting its author is plagiarism. This mistake can be corrected with a simple in-text citation at the end of the sentence.
As Geir Lundestad reports in The American "Empire", American foreign policy has three principal objectives (120).
The principal aims of American foreign policy include, "the physical survival of the United States, the perpetuation of the American way of life, and the promotion of the economic well-being of the American society." (Lundestad 120).
How do I document a source?
There are several methods and styles used for documenting sources in your papers. Two of the most widely used styles are the Modern Language Association (MLA) and the American Psychological Association (APA). Many professors prefer a certain method of documentation and will instruct you as to which style to use in your papers.
The three methods for documenting sources in your papers are parenthetical (intext) citations, footnotes, and endnotes.
Parenthetical Citations
A parenthetical citation acknowledges your sources by providing a reference to the author and page number of the source within the text of your paper. The parenthetical citation follows the text that is being cited. Note that the citation comes before the period at the end of the sentence! Here are some examples of parenthetical citation:
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Normal Parenthetical Citation:
American foreign policy has three principal aims (Lundestad 120). |
If the name of the author is mentioned in the text, the citation includes only the page number:
As Geir Lundestad reports in The American "Empire", American foreign policy has three principal objectives (120). |
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Normal Parenthetical Citation:
American foreign policy has three principal aims (Lundestad, 1990, p. 120). |
If the name of the author is mentioned in the text, the citation includes only the date of publication and page number:
According to Lundestad, "Certain constant objectives can be found in American foreign policy" (1990, p. 120). |
Complete information and documentation for each source will be provided in your works-cited or bibliography page, which comes at the end of your paper. If your readers want more information about the book by Lundestad, they can look for its entry in your bibliography.
Footnotes
When footnotes are used, the parenthetical citations are replaced with small, superscript numerals (i.e., raised slightly above the line), which are numbered consecutively throughout the paper. Note that footnote numerals come after the period (or any other punctuation mark) at the end of the sentence. The footnote appears at the bottom of the page, below the text of your paper. Here are some examples of footnotes:
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American foreign policy has three principal aims.1
1Geir Lundestad, The American "Empire" (Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990) 120. |
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Note, the first footnote for a source contains complete bibliographic information about the source. All subsequent footnotes for that source contain simply the author's last name and the page number. For example:
2Lundestad 120. |
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| APA does not provide a format for footnotes. |
Endnotes
Endnotes are constructed in the same manner as footnotes. The only difference is that the endnotes are listed in sequence on their own page at the end of the paper, rather than appearing at the bottom of each page. Your page of endnotes should be titled "Notes", centered at the top of the page.
Note, if you use footnotes or endnotes to document your sources, you may not need a bibliography or works-cited page at the end of your paper, depending on your professor's preference.
How do I create a bibliography?
Your bibliography or works-cited page is a list of all the sources (i.e., books, journal or magazine articles, web sites, etc.) that you cited in your paper. Your professor may also ask you to include other sources that you used to research your paper, but did not cite. The bibliography page appears at the end of your paper, and each entry in your bibliography is listed alphabetically. Here are some examples of bibliographic entries:
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| In the MLA style, your list of sources is titled "Works Cited." Each entry uses a hanging indent (i.e., first line is at the margin, subsequent lines are indented five spaces). | |
| Book: | Lundestad, Geir. The American "Empire". Oxford: Oxford UP, 1990. |
| Magazine: | McGeary, Johanna. "Slamming Saddam Again." Time 16 Sept. 1996: 32-8. |
| Scholarly Journal: |
Fluehr-Lobban, Carolyn. "Islamization in Sudan: A Critical Assessment." Middle East Journal 44 (1990): 610-23.
(Note, "44" is the volume number.) |
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| In the APA style, the first line of each entry is indented five spaces, and all subsequent lines are at the margin. | |
| Book: | Lundestad, G. (1990). The American "Empire". Oxford: Oxford UP. |
| Magazine: | McGeary, J. (1996, month day). Slamming Saddam Again. Time, pp. 32-8. |
| Scholarly Journal: |
Fleuhr-Lobban, C. (1990). Islamization in Sudan: A Critical Assessment. Middle East Journal, 44, 610-23.
(Note, "44" is the volume number.) |
For more in-depth information about documenting sources, try these links:
WWW Links for Documenting Sources
Or, consult one of these style manuals:
Gibaldi, Joseph. MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. 6th ed. New York: The Modern Language Association of America, 2003.
Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. 5th ed. Washington: American Psychological Association, 2001.
The Chicago Manual of Style. 15th ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2003.
Hacker, Diana. Rules for Writers. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2008.
Turabian, Kate L. A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. 7th ed. Chicago: U of Chicago P, 2007.
O'Hare, Frank and Robert W. Funk. The Modern Writers Handbook. 5th ed. New York: Longman, 1999.
(Information in this document was adapted from the MLA Handbook and the Modern Writers Handbook.)
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