There are many reasons why you must cite your sources when conducting research. The major reasons you must use citations are:
A citation entry generally has four parts:
There are many websites you can go to in order to learn how to cite sources. Here is are a few places you can go to for help.
You must cite your sources whenever you use anything that originated from someone or someplace else. This includes:
You do not need to cite "common knowledge". (i.e. George Washington was the first president of the United States.)
When paraphrasing, only a small piece from an author's work is paraphrased. (i.e. only paraphrase two paragraphs from a five page article)
A summary is a broad overview of an author's work and is considerably shorter than the original. A proper summary includes: