Medical Scholarship: Citations/References

Why do we cite?

Scholars use citations not only to give credit to the original creator,, but also to add strength and authority to their own work.  By citing their sources, scholars are placing their work in a specific context to show where they “fit” within the larger conversation.  Citations are also a way to leave a trail to help others who may want to use the sources in their own work and scholarship.

In short, citations

• Demonstrate responsible scholarship by giving credit for others' work
• Add authority to your work by showing you’ve done the research
• Place your work in a specific context
• Leave a trail for other scholars and researchers to follow
• Avoids Plagiarism

Cite original, or primary, sources. For example, A website makes reference to an article published in a medical journal, and you want to include the article's conclusions in your work. You must retrieve and cite the medical article in your work.  You can’t cite the article’s conclusions as coming from the website. You need to give credit to the original author(s) and source.

See section 3.0 References for more information. 

Quoting

Are you quoting two or more consecutive words from a source? Then the original source must be cited and the words or phrase placed in quotes.

Paraphrasing

If an idea or information comes from another source, even if you put it in your own words, you still need to credit the source.

General vs. Unfamiliar Knowledge

You do not need to cite material which is accepted common knowledge. If in doubt whether your information is common knowledge or not, cite it.

Formats

We usually think of books and articles. However, if you use material from web sites, films, music, graphs, tables, etc. you'll also need to cite these as well.