Library Research Tutorial - The Basics

When developing your research papers and other assignments, it is important to be sure that you give credit where credit is due. Throughout scholarly communication, you will notice that researchers cite the sources of information they use. By citing sources, we not only give credit to the original authors of information we use, but we show our readers (this includes our professors!) that we've done thorough research and have used quality sources.

There are two components to citing sources:

• In-text Citations are used when paraphrasing or quoting an author in your assignments.
• The Reference List (APA) or Works Cited (MLA) page is the bibliography at the end of your assignments.
  

There are specific guidelines (citation styles) to follow when citing and referencing. Which guidelines you use depends on your course or program of study. The most commonly used citation styles are APA and MLA. Remember, the Library' Discover search has a citation builder within it - but make sure you use with caution - there will be errors in any citation builder that you will need to correct. Use the guides below to help support you.