34 Why Cite Sources?

As a student, citing is important because it shows your reader (or professor) that you have invested time in learning what has already been learned and thought about the topic before offering your own perspective. It is the practice of giving credit to the sources that informs your work.

Our definitions of academic integrity, academic misconduct and plagiarism, also give us important reasons for citing the sources we use to accomplish academic research. Here are all the good reasons for citing.

There has been an ongoing discussion about cultural differences with regard to the concept of plagiarism. While these might be lively discussions, the fact is that in the United States and elsewhere, the expectation is that engage in the scholarly or academic conversation is conducted in an honest and open exchange where academic integrity is a part of the social contract among those engaging in an academic disciplinary discussion.

To Avoid Plagiarism & Maintain Academic Integrity

Misrepresenting your academic achievements by not giving credit to others indicates a lack of academic integrity. This is not only looked down upon by the scholarly community, but it is also punished. When you are a student this could mean a failing grade or even expulsion from the school.

To Acknowledge the Work of Others

One major purpose of citations is to simply provide credit where it is due. When you provide accurate citations, you are acknowledging both the hard work that has gone into producing research and the person(s) who performed that research.

Think about the effort you put into your work (whether essays, reports, or even non-academic jobs): if someone else took credit for your ideas or words, would that seem fair, or would you expect to have your efforts recognized?

Simply put, it is not cool to plagiarize. You are stealing from others, but even more damaging, you are putting your own credibility and reputation at risk.

To Provide Credibility to Your Work & to Place Your Work in Context

Providing accurate citations puts your work and ideas into an academic context. They tell your reader that you’ve done your research and know what others have said about your topic. Not only do citations provide context for your work but they also lend credibility and authority to your claims.

For example, if you’re researching and writing about sustainability and construction, you should cite experts in sustainability, construction, and sustainable construction in order to demonstrate that you are well-versed in the most common ideas in the fields. Although you can make a claim about sustainable construction after doing research only in that particular field, your claim will carry more weight if you can demonstrate that your claim can be supported by the research of experts in closely related fields as well.

Citing sources about sustainability and construction as well as sustainable construction demonstrates the diversity of views and approaches to the topic. In addition, proper citation also demonstrates the ways in which research is social: no one researches in a vacuum—we all rely on the work of others to help us during the research process.

More formally, in peer-reviewed, scholarly journal articles contain a section called the literature review.  This section of a scholarly article essentially captures and summarizes the most significant scholarship that has been done on the particular research question/hypothesis investigated in the paper. The literature review achieves several outcomes 1) shows readers that the author has done all the background research in order to understand how the present project fits within the context of the area of study, thus showing that the author can speak authoritatively about the research in question, 2) informs and provides context to her/his readers on the research question, 3) shows where and how the current study adds value to the field of disciplinary knowledge by adding to the field, taking it in a different directions, or confirming or negating existing findings from what has been done before. This entire process is the heart of the scholarly conversation that takes place over time.

To Help Your Future Researching Self & Other Researchers Easily Locate Sources

Having accurate citations will help you as a researcher and writer keep track of the sources and information you find so that you can easily find the source again. Accurate citations may take some effort to produce, but they will save you time in the long run. So think of proper citation as a gift to your future researching self!

Here is another example of participating in the scholarly conversation. Citing sources acknowledges the contribution of others in the field and continues the conversation.