Sources 101

In-text citation:  part of a citation that is found in the text of a piece of work that indicates which bibliographic citation to look at to find the source of that information, and where in the original source to find it. Has two types, parenthetical citation and narrative citation. Learn more here.

Paraphrase/Paraphrasing:  providing information gotten from a source using your own words with proper reference to the source the information is from. 

Parenthetical citation:  a type of in-text citation that provides the citation information after information from the source has been provided contained within a set of parentheses. For example "you can return or sell your textbooks to the bookstore at the end of the semester (Pine Technical & Community College, 2022)."

Plagiarism/Plagiarize:  failing to properly give credit for information that is learned or received from a source; can include (but is not limited to) taking credit for someone else's work or ideas, quoting without citation OR without indicating that it is a quote, failing to adequately paraphrase information, or improperly creating citations.

Narrative citation:  a type of in-text citation that is formated to provide the necessary citation information in a sentence while following the flow of a sentence. For example, "as Granite (2022) suggests..."

Quote/Quoting:  providing information gotten from a source using the exact phrasing the source used, indicating which information is being quoted by using quotation marks at the beginning and end of the information, and a proper citation to the source the quotation is from. 

Summary/Summarizing:  using your own words to give a review of information received from a source with proper citation to the source the information was originally stated in. 

In-text citations have two main formats, called parenthetical citations and narrative citations. Parenthetical citations follow a piece of information with the information contained in a set of parentheses. Narrative citations introduce information about the citation in the body of the sentence with the information (i.e. in the narrative), though they likely still contain a part or two in parentheses, as it can be difficult to include all of the information in the narrative.

If I am citing an article whose bibliographic citation is as follows in APA (7th edition):

Kogan, L. R., Little, S., & Oxley, J. (2021). Dog and cat owners’ use of online Facebook groups for pet health information. Health Information & Libraries Journal, 38(3), 203–223. https://doi.org/10.1111/hir.12351

in-text citations for this source could look like any of the following: 

• Paraphrase/Paraphrasing
  • For both dogs and cat owners, their preferred source when seeking information about their pet's health is veterinarians (Kogan et al., 2021, pp. 208-214).
  • Kogan et al. (2020) found that cat owners most queried their Facebook groups about behavior problems, while dog owners asked mostly questions about dermatological issues (pp. 207-212).
• Quote/Quoting
  • Kogan et al. (2021) asserts, "findings indicate that approximately half of dog and cat owning respondents either give or receive pet advice through Facebook groups" (p. 216).
  • Studies have suggested that, "findings indicate that approximately half of dog and cat owning respondents either give or receive pet advice through Facebook groups." (Kogan et al., 2021, p. 216)
  • In 2021, Kogan et al. found, "that approximately half of dog and cat owning respondents either give or receive pet advice through Facebook groups." (p. 216)
• Summary/Summarizing
  • The article by Kogan et al. (2021), analyzes the ways that dog and cat owners use Facebook to exchange information regarding their animals' health. Their results found that the majority of owners report giving and receiving information through Facebook (Kogan et al., 2021).

If you're unsure about how to use a source or are wondering how sources can make your work stronger, here are some great, easy best practices for incorporating sources into your work!

• Start early:  looking for, reading, and incorporating sources takes time. That's why it's best to start on assignments early, and so you can ask any questions you have ahead of the due date!
• Defer to authority:  if a source is written by a well-known person or organization with good, appropriate credentials to your topic, don't be afraid to mention them by name in the text and/or quote them directly with a proper citation. This can give credibility to your work by tying it to the author in question. 
• Have other people look over your work:  it's always good to have a second (or more!) set of eyes on your work, to check for anything that may not make sense or be incorrect. It can feel weird, but a lot of times it can work out great, especially if they're also in need of help! It doesn't have to be someone in your class or field either, depending on the intended audience of your work!
• Look for people you disagree with:  sources with information you don't agree with can be just as valuable as sources you do! Pointing out flaws in arguments or a lack of credibility from an author can do a lot for your work, and is generally expected in persuasive writing. 
• Take notes:  in order to keep your notes straight and make the writing process easier, take notes as you go through sources, and refer back to these as you write. 
• Think critically:  here is a great resource with questions you can ask to help you think critically; think about them as you're researching and writing!

Remember, it's good to reference the work of others! You are one person and cannot know or learn everything; you should be referencing others when you do work, and doing so will make you, your work, and the field you work in stronger.