All academic research builds on the work that went before it. No matter what your research subject, it is very important to appropriately credit the sources of the ideas that you express in your papers.
All academic papers need to include a Bibliography, Works Cited, or List of References, with in-text citations that refer to the identified sources. However, various academic disciplines have different conventions for what style to use.
Your instructor will usually tell you what citation style he or she expects you to use. The most common citation styles used by undergraduates are MLA, Chicago and APA.
To find style manuals that show you how to format your bibliography and cite your sources, go to Style Manuals.
To learn about bibliographic management software applications, go to Software.
For websites on specific citation styles and how to avoid plagiarism, go to Additional Resources.
When your instructor tells you to use a particular citation style for a research paper, the style manual tells you how.
Style manuals provide rules for correctly formatting a "works cited" list (also known as a bibliography) and for how to properly cite your sources in the text of your paper.
When you're tackling a major research paper (maybe even a thesis or dissertation for a graduate degree), bibliographic management software can make the job easier.
These software applications let you save citations that you find online in one place, format them according to your chosen style, and create bibliographies to turn in with your paper.
If you're looking for more help with citations, here are some good websites to visit.
Plagiarism (using another person's work without giving them credit) is a violation of academic integrity. Violations of academic integrity are treated very seriously at Rowan University.