Citation

When writers fail to cite their sources, they commit undercitation, as the APA (n.d.) calls it.
This leads to plagiarism. This is really frowned upon not just in the academic research
community. It is also a no-no in every type of publication, from films to music. So, it is best
to be really thorough in collecting and referencing your sources. Learning how to cite papers
is simple. But, you also have to be careful not to be too thorough. Too much care or fear of
undercitation can lead to overdoing them.
Overcitation usually happens when writers repeat the same citation in every sentence even
though the topic and source have not changed at all. To avoid overdoing citations when
paraphrasing, remember to place a citation for a key point in a paragraph only in the first
sentence where it is relevant. Do not repeat the citation when the source of the material
remains clear and the same.
When to Cite a Source
The components in a citation or reference entry are devised to allow the reader to identify or
locate the specific source that is cited (Lanning, 2016). Whenever you use another
individual’s work, you really must cite a source. Forgetting to or intentionally not doing so
can lead to a serious dent on your reputation. Thus, remember to cite properly when you:

 Quote the exact words of authors

 Paraphrase or state the ideas of others in your own words
 Refer to data or data sets
 Reprint a long text passage or a copyrighted test item
 Reprint or adopt a figure or a table, including free images and diagrams from the
internet even when free or licensed via Creative Commons

Use of citation

- To Avoid Plagiarism – Citations allow researchers to properly quote the work of

others. It helps them acknowledge where the information came from.
- Respect for Intellectual Property Rights – Research work can include industry
information legally protected by intellectual property rights. These include
trademarks, patents, industrial designs, and geographical indications. Creative works
for entertainment are also included, ranging from films to architectural designs.
- To Provide Evidence – Citing studies and data properly allows you to provide
evidence for key points of your work. This is especially important when making a
case for a position you take.
- To Give Details on Source Documents – Citations make it easier for reviewers to
check for data and even the line of arguments. Also, it helps direct the readers to
original sources where they can find more detailed information about the point you
cited and the subject matter.
Basic Citation Elements

 Author(s)
 Title(s)
 Source or venue name (e.g. name of the journal  it was published or conference where
it was presented)
 Editor(s)
 Volume and edition
 Date or year of publication
 Page numbers
 City and country
 Publisher or university for theses
 URL for online sources
 DOI
 Retrieval date for online sources with dynamic content subjected to change

Citation Style

- APA referencing style is an author-date referencing system published by the

American Psychological Association. This form of writing research papers is used
mainly in the social sciences, like psychology, anthropology, sociology, as well as
education and other fields.
- Chicago style is an "author-date" style, so the citation in the text consists of the
author(s) name and year of publication given wholly or partly in round brackets.
Use only the surname of the author(s) and the year of publication. Include page,
chapter or section numbers, preceded by a comma, if you need to be specific.
- Harvard referencing style is used primarily in education area. Harvard referencing
style uses references in two places in a piece of writing: in the text and in a reference
list at the end. In general, each author name that appears in the text must also appear
in the reference list, and every work in the reference list must also be referred to in the
main text. 
- The MLA in-text citations have two elements: the author’s surname and the page or
page-range where the reference is found. MLA style in-text citations also come in two
forms: parenthetical and narrative.