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(ECC) Citation Guide

This Research Guide connects you with resources to assist with citing your sources. Click on the navigation tabs to explore style-specific resources.

Overview

Whether writing a paper for an introductory writing course or an internationally recognized scientific journal, your credibility is important. Using and citing trustworthy information are building blocks to being a reliable source. 

What should you cite?

  • Referring to a source and stating someone else's opinions, thoughts, ideas, or research
    • Directly Quoting
    • Summarizing
    • Paraphrasing
  • Using an image or media file that you did not create

What don't you need to cite?

  • Your thoughts and interpretations
  • Common knowledge​

2.4 Citing sources – Introduction to Professional Communications

Some of the databases that we subscribe to will create citations automatically for the articles, essays, or books you are viewing. Others will allow you to export the citations to a citation manager, such as RefWorks.

Look for a "Cite This" or "Citation" button on the record for the viewing article or chapter. Unfortunately, not all databases have this link.

EBSCOhost Databases 

ProQuest Databases 

CQ Researcher

 

 

Many different tools exist to assist you in creating a citation entry. There are advantages and challenges to working with these tools. 

Common mistakes include:

  • Selecting the wrong type of information source
  • Inputting information incorrectly or leaving information out
  • Misplaced or incorrect punctuation
  • Improper capitalization

The biggest mistake is completely trusting a citation generator to make no errors. Make sure you closely review all citations created in this way. You will also still want to refer to your citation style guide to learn how to format your works cited/reference page.

There are quite a few different ways to properly cite resources in your paper. The citation style usually depends on the academic discipline involved. For example:

  • MLA style (Modern Language Association) is typically used by the Humanities.
  • APA style (American Psychological Association)  often is used by Education, Psychology, and Business.
  • Chicago/Turabian (Professor Turabian, University of Chicago) is generally used by History and some of the Fine Arts.