Peoples and Cultures of Africa

Why is citing important?

It's important to cite sources you used in your research for several reasons:

• To be a responsible scholar by giving credit to other researchers and acknowledging their ideas
• To allow your reader to track down the sources you used by citing them accurately in your paper by way of footnotes, a bibliography or reference list
• To uphold BU's Academic Conduct Code, which establishes an environment of professionalism that helps to assure each individual receives appropriate recognition for their work

What is plagiarism?

• Plagiarism is using someone else’s ideas or words without giving them proper credit. Plagiarism can range from unintentional (forgetting to include a source in a bibliography) to intentional (buying a paper online, using another writer’s ideas as your own to make your work sound smarter)
• Beginning writers and expert writers alike can all plagiarize
• The best way to avoid plagiarism is to properly cite every source used in your work

What is academic integrity?

• The International Center for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity “as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to six fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals to action"
• For more information about plagiarism and academic integrity, see the Boston University Academic Conduct Code

APA stands for the American Psychological Association and is the format designed for use within the field of psychology. However, other disciplines use APA as well, so always use the format your professor chooses.

MLA stands for the Modern Language Association, and its style guidelines have been assisting authors since 1951. MLA style is most commonly used to cite sources within the language arts, cultural studies, and other humanities disciplines. For more information, please consult the official MLA Handbook (9th ed.).

Please note that MLA guidelines do change over time, so it’s important to be aware of the most current information. As always, follow the requirements of your teacher or professor; their requirements take precedence.

Citing Medicine: the NLM style guide for authors, editors, and publishers

The official style manual for the National Library of Medicine (NLM), and suggested when citing documents from the associated databases MedLine and PubMed. The online edition supercedes the print edition as the most up to date.