CRIM 1208: Research Methods

Citing your sources properly shows that you have done your research and consulted appropriate sources for your topic. It also acknowledges that all research builds on work that has come before. You are giving credit to sources that have influenced or informed your work. If you do not do this, you are essentially stealing another person's ideas, which is called plagiarism.

Whenever you use another person's ideas (even if you put this into your own words), you must give them credit. You do this by CITING the source you used in two places:

1. First, you give a brief in-text citation right in (or after) the sentence where you mention the idea or words.
2. Then, you provide a detailed reference at the end of your document so that whoever reads it will be able to locate the exact source you used. 
   • note: the exact formatting of a reference will depend on the type of information source you are citing, but every reference should tell the reader WHO created the work, WHEN it was created, WHAT the work is called, and WHERE it can be found.