Why cite your sources?
Citing your sources is important for a variety of reasons, including:
- It gives credit to the authors of the sources you used
- It provides your reader with more information about your sources
- It shows your credibility
- It prevents plagiarism!
The easiest way to prevent plagiarism is by correctly noting your sources during research and citing your sources in your writing and presentations.
When to cite your sources
- When you use an exact quote
- When you restate or paraphrase an idea from a resource
- When you summarize a work
- All sources you use should be included in the References or Works Cited page
Different subject disciplines call for citation information to be written in very specific order, capitalization, and punctuation. There are therefore many different style formats. Three popular citation formats are MLA Style (for humanities articles) and APA or Chicago (for social sciences articles).
MLA style (print journal article):
Whisenant, Warren A. "How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX." Sex Roles Vol. 49.3 (2003): 179-182.
APA style (print journal article):
Whisenant, W. A. (2003) How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX. Sex Roles, 49 (3), 179-182.
Chicago style (print journal article):
Whisenant, Warren A. "How Women Have Fared as Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Since the Passage of Title IX." Sex Roles 49, no. 3 (2003): 179-182.
In general, you must document sources when you provide information that you ordinarily would not have known before conducting your research, and when you provide information that it cannot be assumed the reader knows. You must cite a reference when you:
- Discuss, summarize, or paraphrase the ideas of an author
- Provide a direct quotation
- Use statistical or other data
- Use images, graphics, videos, and other media
While you are doing research and locating sources, be sure to document materials thoroughly, noting the author, title, publisher, place of publication, date, and page numbers of all sources used. For electronic materials, you should also note the DOI number (Digital Object Identifier) if available. Note the URL of any website you consult; depending on the source, you may need it for the reference.
APA style no longer requires a database name for most references; MLA style still requires it as part of your citation. In either case, make a note of it in case you need to retrieve it at a later date.
Common Knowledge
Things that are common knowledge do not require citation. For example:
- Social networking sites such as Facebook allow people to communicate easily regardless of their location. (does not require citation)
- The Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. (does not require citation)
However, if someone draws an original conclusion from a common fact, then you must cite the source:
- The ability to share real-time news and video with the world via social networking sites has emboldened student movements in countries where there is very little freedom of the press. (requires citation)
- Japan's failure to sink any U.S. aircraft carriers in the otherwise devastating attack on Pearl Harbor assured Japan's eventual defeat. (requires citation)
Also, common sayings or proverbs need not be cited:
- "The early bird gets the worm." (common expression with no distinct origin)
Below is a famous saying you might recognize, but it's actually from a poem by Sir Walter Scott. If you read this in a book, of course, you would cite the book. If you already knew this expression, you should still give Sir Walter Scott credit for it because it has a distinct and identifiable origin.
- "Oh, what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive."
- Library
- Study and research support
- Referencing
- Referencing explained
Why and when to reference
Referencing is an important part of academic work. It puts your work in context, demonstrates the breadth and depth of your research, and acknowledges other people’s work. You should reference whenever you use someone else’s idea.
View video using Microsoft Stream (link opens in a new window, available for University members only)
These webpages explain what referencing is, why it is important and give an overview of the main elements of how to reference. Our Referencing made simple tutorial opens in a new window and covers how to identify your source and create a reference with interactive examples.
Why reference?
Referencing correctly:
- helps you to avoid plagiarism by making it clear which ideas are your own and which are someone else’s
- shows your understanding of the topic
- gives supporting evidence for your ideas, arguments and opinions
- allows others to identify the sources you have used.
When to reference
Whenever you use an idea from someone else's work, for example from a journal article, textbook or website, you should cite the original author to make it clear where that idea came from. This is the case regardless of whether you have paraphrased, summarised or directly quoted their work. This is a key part of good practice in academic writing.
Read more on:
- academic integrity
- quoting, summarising, paraphrasing, and synthesising
- citing direct quotations in Leeds Harvard or citing direct quotations in Leeds Numeric styles.
University and school policies
The University referencing policy (PDF) sets out the referencing requirements that all taught students and tutors are expected to follow.
Each school in the University requires students to use a specific style of referencing. Check the referencing style used in your school before you begin.
All your citations and references should match the style you are using exactly, including any punctuation, capitalisation, italics and bold, and you should use the same referencing style throughout your assignment.