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How to Cite Sources |
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Why Cite?Almost every student knows that plagiarism is wrong. If you are not familiar with that term, plagiarism refers to copying someone else's material and trying to pass it off as your own. This is, for obvious reasons, frowned upon by the intellectual community. What you may not realize, hwever, is that plagiarism is not limited to copying someone else word-for-word, but rather can also include taking someone else's ideas without citing them. If you truly came up with an idea on your own then you are in the clear; however, it is dishonest to simply take someone else's thoughts without giving them credit.Similarly, if you did not create an image yourself then you need to give credit to whomever you borrowed that image from. However, with images, it is not a simple matter of citing the source; rather, you also must ask for permission to use the image on your page unless the site specifically states that the images are in the public domain (free for anyone's use) or that anyone can use it with certain stipulations. How to Cite SourcesIf you are borrowing an image from someone else's site, first look for that site's Terms of Usage--chances are if there are many images on the site there will be some sort of statement regarding the images. For example: "You may use any image on this page as long as you provide a link back to our site." If you don't see anything like that, then you need to contact the webmaster, probably using email. Write a polite letter explaining why you need to use the image(s) and then wait for a reply. You should still cite the page you got the image from even after the webmaster gives you permission to use the image.If you visit this site's About Page you can see our references and create a similar page for your own site. |