When to cite the sources you find and use in your writing
Advice on identifying the type of source you're working with
Step 1: Use
Did any information from the resource make it into your paper or project?
If you're paraphrasing or quoting directly from the source, cite it!
Did you summarize or even briefly mention the resource as an example?
Even if you only mention the source in passing, cite it!
Step 2: Identify
What kind of source are you citing?
Sometimes it's obvious. Sometimes--not so much.
Common Source Types:
Books and ebooks -- the whole book or just a chapter
Scholarly Articles -- from databases, online journals, and print journals
News or magazine articles -- from databases, the publication's website, or in print
Videos -- from YouTube, a streaming service, or on DVD
Websites and blogs -- freely accessed on the Internet
Not-so-common Source Types:
Conference Proceedings
Personal Interviews
Datasets
How do I tell what kind of source I have?
Where did you find it?
Library databases and the catalog have indicators for what type of publication the source is (icons, tabs of the search results)
Look for clues within the source itself
Pay attention to publication titles ("Journal of...")
Volume and issue numbers are good indicators of serial publications like scholarly journals
Are there ads? Popular sources will have ads, while scholarly sources generally will not
How is the source organized? (books will have chapters; scholarly articles will have typical sections like background, methods, results, discussion; blogs/news/magazine articles will be shorter, have links)
Look it up
A quick Google search might help you identify what kind of publication you're working with
Ask
Still not sure? You can always ask a librarian or talk to your professor
In this section, you'll find: