LSAMP Summer Research Program Library Resources Guide: Collecting & Citing Sources
Once you start to find information, it's important to keep those sources together and (ideally) organized! This will help you a great deal when you write your paper or put together your citation list for a presentation or poster (and yes, if you are using information sources for a poster or presentation, you should be citing that information too!).
This portion of the Guide will talk about citation styles, plagiarism, and managing your sources and citations using citation management software like EndNote.
Citation Styles
Thousands of different citation styles exist, but there are a few more popular ones. Always use the citation style required (by your professor or advisor, or by the journal you want to publish in). When in doubt, ASK! If it's for a class or project, ask the professor. If it's for a journal article and you're stuck, ask your librarian for help or reach out to the journal editor directly.
The UB Center for Excellence in Writing is a great place to ask for help with your writing. See more information about the Center, their hours, and make an appointment online on their website.
For examples on citing in APA, MLA, Chicago, and CSE styles refer to the Guide linked below.
- UB Libraries Guide on Citing SourcesA Guide providing examples for citing sources in APA, MLA, Chicago, and CSE citation styles.
Citing Sources
What is Plagiarism?
Plagiarism is the act of using another person's ideas or work without acknowledging the original source and giving proper credit. It is unethical and, in some cases, it is illegal. Plagiarism is a form of academic dishonesty, and is considered by the University at Buffalo to be a serious offense. University policies related to plagiarism are available on the University's Academic Integrity web site. The UB Libraries has created a plagiarism guide to further assist you in detecting and correcting plagiarism in your work.
It is the nature of college coursework that students are engaged in the ideas and works of other people. However, using another person's works or ideas without citing the original source and giving proper credit, whether intentional or not, and regardless of the context or format, is plagiarism.
(Thanks goes to the Brock University Library)
Avoiding Plagiarism
Students should always provide proper citations for all quotations, summaries, paraphrases, or any other work or idea that is borrowed from others. The following links are designed to educate students on how UB defines plagiarism, how to avoid it, and what the potential consequences are:
- UB plagiarism policies and Frequently Asked Questions.
- UB Libraries' Citing Sources Web Guide.
- Fun Plagiarism game from Lycoming College
- How to Avoid PlagiarismHarvard College Writing Program's strategies for avoiding accidental plagiarism,
- Note MakingStrategies for effective note taking which will help with "accidental" plagiarism.
Managing your Sources & Citations
Citation management software allows you to collect, store, organize, and retrieve your information sources. It also automatically formats references to items like journal articles, news articles, books, patents, and more in your papers by working with Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
UB has a site license for EndNote. You can download it from the Libraries website by clicking this link.
For information on how to use EndNote, visit the EndNote Basics Guide where there is introductory information on getting started with EndNote, including short videos on how to use it.
More Resources on Plagiarism
- Is It Plagiarism Yet?Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) has put together a web page, "Is It Plagiarism Yet?".
- Academic Integrity and PlagiarismExcellent interactive tutorial from the University of Leeds Library in the UK that provides information on note taking, proper paraphrasing, references, collaboration, and avoiding plagiarism.
- Academic IntegrityUB's page on what constitutes plagiarism.
Engineering Librarian
University at Buffalo
Buffalo, NY 14260
epautler@buffalo.edu