Skip to Main Content

AST 336 Engaged Ethnography: Citation Styles & Avoiding Plagiarism

Talk to a Librarian

Library Links

Reference Desk 610.902.8537

Citation Styles

Though it is best to consult the your style guide when writing your papers and building your citations, citation “cheat sheets” are provided by the library to help you format your your in-text and reference list citations. If the citation style you're using doesn't appear below, there are other citation styles available on the library's website.

Citations and Avoiding Plagiarism

There are two main reasons why making sure you properly cite all of your sources is imperative, especially when presenting research:

The first is that accurate citations will allow your readers to find the sources you used and read them for themselves. This form of research, known as citation-chaining, can be useful for you as well. If you find an article that is the especially great for your topic, you should scan the bibliography, looking for additional sources which may be of use to you. Along these same lines, properly formatted in-text citations will allow your reader to connect the sources that you mention in your paper to the correct citation on your reference list.

The second reason that you must properly cite all of your sources is to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism is, in its simplest form, passing off someone else's ideas as your own. The easiest way to avoid accidentally plagiarizing someone else's work is to be sure that you properly cite all of your sources, whether you are directly quoting them or not. As you do your research, make it a habit to write down all pertinent information about the sources you are considering so that you can create your citation later. Emailing articles to yourself from the databases, and selecting the proper citation style when doing so, is another good way to ensure that you have all the citation information you may need as you write your paper.

If you have questions about what needs to be cited, Plagiarism.org offers some great examples of instances in which you should cite a source. The downfall of this cite is that it assumes that almost all plagiarism is intentional, but looking through their preventing plagiarism while writing guide and types of plagiarism will help you avoid accidental plagiarism as well. You can also, as always, contact me (Lawral) or the library with any questions or concerns.

Librarians are here to help

Profile Photo
Holy Spirit Library
Contact:
610.902.8537

Library Hours

Library Hours
Mon- Thu 8am-10pm
Fri 8am-5pm

Sat  Closed

Sun 12pm-6pm