Whenever you do research to write a paper or create a project, it is essential that you document the sources that you used. When you cite your sources, you lend authority and credibility to your work by providing evidence for your research and by helping your reader to determine how you drew upon the work of others to support your own original argument and ideas. Citing your information sources also shows respect to the authors whose work you benefited from, and helps you avoid plagiarism (one form of academic dishonesty). Please see the Library Tutorials Guide for tutorials on citation and academic honesty.
You must include a citation if you quote directly from a source, but also if you paraphrase, summarize, or otherwise incorporate another author's opinions or ideas. It is also important that you cite the sources in which you found facts, information, data, and visuals (images, charts, or graphs) that you used in your work.