MC 396 - Strategic Communication Research

Keep track of the sources you use for your research so you can cite them in your paper and bibliography. It is very important to cite your sources for three reasons:

1. To avoid plagiarism
2. To provide credit for the ideas of other researchers
3. So others reading your work can find and refer back to the sources you used

You will create a citation whenever you use the words (direct quote) or ideas (paraphrase) from another author. Failing to do so is a violation of the K-State Honor Code.

You will use APA format to cite the materials you find. Purdue University's Online Writing Lab (OWL) is a great source for information about APA and other formats.

Many databases have a "cite" link on the records that will help you create a citation in the appropriate format, like this one in Communication and Mass Media Complete:

Find more citation tools on our Citations and Bibliographies LibGuide.

You might want to consider using a citation manager. It will help you keep track of all your sources and save time in writing your bibliographies, but be sure to proofread - it isn't perfect! Zotero is a good (free) citation management option.  Zotero has a quick start guide, and you can find many Zotero tutorials online. 

Note: As of Fall 2019, K-State will be canceling its subscription to RefWorks