Documenting sources that you use in your paper is an essential part of the research process. This documentation acknowledges borrowed intellectual content. In a research paper acknowledgements are made through footnotes, a bibliography and parenthetical citations. A bibliography is a general list of the sources that you used to write your paper, while footnotes and citations are incorporated into the body of a paper.

There is no single method for citing sources in a paper. Your professor may recommend that you follow a certain format or citation style. The Reference Department has copies of several different style manuals or you may want to consult our Citing Electronic Resources links.

Module 6: Using the Internet Module 8: Getting Help