Yale Center for Teaching and Learning

Using Sources

When you cite a source, you show how your voice enters into an intellectual conversation, and you demonstrate your link to the community within which you work. Working with sources can inspire your own ideas and enrich them, and your citation of these sources is the visible trace of that debt.

Why we cite sources, how to appraise sources during research, and why different fields have different citation conventions.
A discussion of what plagiarism is and guidelines for when you must cite. Includes a discussion of key concepts like fair paraphrase and common knowledge.
Principles and formats for citing books and parts of books. Includes guidelines for edited volumes and works in translation.
Principles and formats for citing articles. Includes guidelines for different media types and articles with multiple authors.
Principles and formats for citing online works. Includes guidelines for different types of websites, multimedia, and communication.
Principles and formats for citing a variety of material. Includes guidelines for multimedia works, live performances, and unpublished materials.