Use the Reference Examples tab above and select the specific example for your research inquiry from the drop-down menu .

You should cite resources that you used in your research paper. This provides acknowledgement of the author and allows the reader to locate the sources referenced. Furthermore, it reduces the likelihood of plagiarism. In most instances, plagiarism is unintentional; it can be confusing to know what to cite. In general, it is better to be safe than sorry.

• You have paraphrased from the original author. Is it necessary to cite the author?

              Yes, even if you don't use the authors' exact words, the ideas still originate with them. You must give them credit.

• Is copying just a sentence or two without crediting a source plagiarism?

              Yes, it is. You must give credit for any content you copy.

• Is it plagiarism to cut and paste from an electronic document without acknowledging the source?

              Absolutely. Just because it is easy to do, the information should still be cited!

• You’ve added a statistic found on the Statistics Canada website. Since it is a government site, you do not need to cite the source. Is that correct?

              No, it is not. Government information must also be cited.

• You include information that you think is “common knowledge” such as: Victoria is the Capital of British Columbia. Do you need to cite this information?

              No, information that is considered "common knowledge" does not need to be cited.

• There is no author listed so it is not necessary to cite. Is that correct?

              No, If there is no personal author given, then perhaps there is a corporate author (e.g. Health Canada). If there is no
              personal or corporate author, then you use the title to create a title entry citation.

• You included some text that you read on Twitter. Is it necessary to cite Twitter messages?

              Yes. Even though many Twitter messages are not archived, you should still give credit to the person you're quoting.