If you haven't already, this is an excellent time to set up your citation generator, which means connecting it to your browser and downloading it to your desktop. Practice with the below citation examples in Word and check out how your citation generator quickly helps you get the work done. Note, it's important to check the in-text and references created through the generator. For example, sometimes the citation or reference created doesn't list a date for a website or journal article even though there is one.
Another author’s idea is in italic and you must cite.
Your contributing idea is in bold and you do not have to cite – it is a given that if you do not cite, it is your contributing ideas.
NOTE: To learn more about in-text citations, see the Purdue Owl, APA guide.
This video uses Word in Office 365, but if you are using an older version, the actions will be similar (“APA Document Formatting Video - University of Maryland University Global Campus Library - YouTube,” 2020). Retrieved from https://libguides.umgc.edu/apa-document-formatting
University of Maryland University Global Campus Library. (2020, Aug 5). APA References List Formatting Video - University of Maryland University College
Library [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/KoZV2efVdsM
Example 1. As Kosowatz (2019) notes, autonomous vessel operations will bring a number of opertaional changes to shipping, including the ability to monitor multiple ships from a central location, even sending a drone to view a situation.
Example 2. Autonomous vessel operation will bring a number of operational changes to shipping, including the ability to monitor multiple ships from a central location. As Kosowatz (2019) notes, a captain will be able to "respond to alerts, scanning the vessel through a series of cameras or even sending aloft a drone to view a particular area" (para. 32).
Kosowatz, J. (2019). Sailing Toward Autonomy: Future of Self-Driving Cargo Ships - ASME. Retrieved September 3, 2019, from
https://www.asme.org/topics-resources/content/sailing-toward-autonomy-future-of-self-driving-cargo-ships
Note: For more electronic source examples, such as interviews and graphics, see the Purdue OWL: Reference List: Electronic Sources
APA states that because databases change over time, you do not need to include information on the database you used to locate your article (p. 192). The majority of your articles, these days, are found through online databases. When you cite a journal article from an online database you found through the Purdue Libraries, the Hammer Research Repository, or Google Scholar, a URL is always included. By including the URL, the reader is taken to both the article and the location it came from, i.e. the database. If you are citing a print source, you do not need to include any more information other than the typical print citation information.
Note: For more information, see the Purdue Owl's Reference List: Electronic Resources.
You can also check out the book, Concise Rules of APA, from the Library for more information.
1. The most important reason to cite is that if your reader is interested in what you have written, your citations tell her exactly where to go to learn more.
2. The reader also wants to know what original thoughts you contributed to the paper. Maybe you are bringing something new to the conversation. As important as it is for you to credit other authors’ work, it is important you also get credit.
3. Whether on purpose or unknowingly, people plagiarize. Once you cite, your readers know you did not plagiarize the work. Oftentimes, people just do not know how to cite both their own ideas and others within a sentence and/or paragraph. Plagiarism can happen when there is a mixing of your own ideas with others within a sentence or paragraph without proper citation.
3. Citation styles are chosen, such as APA, so the format is easily understood across readership. Everyone follows the same rules, so there is no guesswork involved and no important information is left out due to a lack of format.
4. Lastly, just because you put an article or other source in your reference list, does not mean you gave proper attribution to an author(s). Whatever ideas and work you have included of others must be both cited in the body of the paper and included in the reference list.