Citing Sources
It is necessary for you to give proper credit to all of the resources you use in your research papers. Plagiarism is a violation of Dickinson's Student Code of Conduct, and is a specific form of cheating defined in the code as follows:
1) To plagiarize is to use without proper citation or acknowledgment the words, ideas, or work of another. Whenever one relies on someone else for phraseology, even for only two or three words, one must acknowledge indebtedness by using quotation marks and giving the source, either in the text or in a footnote.
2) When one borrows facts which are not matters of general knowledge, including all statistics and translations, one must indicate one's indebtedness in the text or footnote. When one borrows an idea or the logic of an argument, one must acknowledge indebtedness either in a footnote or in the text. When in doubt, footnote. (Academic Standards Committee, November, 1965)
You should include appropriate citations in all of your research. Sometimes, your professor will specify how he or she wants the citations to look. The following websites will help you cite your papers properly. If you are in doubt as to which style guide to use, please check your syllabus or ask your professor.
- APA (American Psychological Association)
- Chicago
- MLA (Modern Language Association)
- GSA (Geological Society of America)
The library also has the most recent style guide editions.
The following resource is good for understanding plagiarism:
Georgetown University defines plagiarism, paraphrasing, and copyright. How to cite web resources, and what to do if someone helps you with your research.
