Welcome to the Cite Sources Research Guide! This research guide is designed to get you started with creating citations for a variety of sources in several different styles. Use the tabs at the top to navigate different styles. If you need more help, use the button below to make an appointment with one of our helpful librarians!
There's a variety of different citation styles, and it can be confusing to switch between them. Different disciplines usually use different styles: MLA style is typically used by the Humanities, APA style is often used by Education and Psychology, and Chicago/Turabian is generally used by History, Business, and some of the Fine Arts. However, these are not hard and fast rules. If you're not sure what style you should use, ask your professor!
You do need to cite anything that you quote directly from another source, whether that's a movie, an audio clip, a newspaper, or a scholarly article. You should also cite information that you learned from another source. If you're paraphrasing or summarizing someone else's information, you still need to give them credit for coming up with the idea.
You don't need to cite things that are considered "common knowledge", meaning basic facts or other things most people know. For example: you wouldn't need to cite the fact that the capital of Tennessee is Nashville. You also don't need to cite your own experiences, thoughts, or conclusions about a subject.
When in doubt - cite it!
More information can be found in the Bruin Guide.
