Chapter 7: Citing Sources
Acknowledging the Ideas of Others
Every scholarly discipline has established norms about how and when to cite the work of others. In Forestry and Land and Food Systems, we use citation practices established by the American Psychological Association (APA). But perhaps you’re using this text and you’re in a different discipline. What citation conventions does your discipline use? MLA? Chicago?
Getting citation practices just right takes commitment, attention to detail and above all, practice. You may have some experience in APA citation practices or this might be the very first time you’re trying it. Wherever you’re at in your citation journey, remember that it’s a process! We get there faster by going slow.
Need additional help with citation?
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Here are some resources at UBC that may help you:
Questions for Reflection
- Why do you think the rules around citing sources exist?
- What does academic integrity mean to you?
- What do you think it means to decolonize citation practices?
- Who owns an idea? What does it mean to respectfully use someone else’s ideas and words?
- What questions do you have around citation?
Adaptations
Some material in this section has been adapted from Business Writing For Everyone by Arley Cruthers, licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.
Media Attributions
- slow down © Sincerely Media is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
- Think © Kirby Wu is licensed under a CC BY (Attribution) license
Either quoting or referencing information from another source in an academic writing or work.
