What is a citation?
A citation is a reference to a specific published or unpublished source. The most commonly cited academic sources are books, chapters or essays in a book, journal articles and web sources.
Why citations matter
Citing your sources is a matter of information ethics and intellectual integrity. It is also important for those interested in pursuing your topic.
- It ensures that you give credit for ideas that are not your own.
- It allows others to find the exact sources you used in order to:
- independently decide if they agree with the way you have interpreted the information.
- independently determine the validity of your source.
- continue to pursue the idea presented.
