Printed Page 231(cont.)
18fKnow which sources to acknowledge.
18f
Know which sources to acknowledge.
As you carry out research, it is important to understand the distinction between materials that require acknowledgment (in in-text citations, footnotes, or endnotes; and in the works-cited list or bibliography) and those that do not.
Materials that do not require acknowledgment
- Common knowledge. If most readers already know a fact, you probably do not need to cite a source for it. You do not need to credit a source for the statement that Barack Obama was elected in 2008, for example.
- Facts available in a wide variety of sources. If a number of encyclopedias, almanacs, or textbooks include a certain piece of information, you usually need not cite a specific source for it.
- Your own findings from field research. If you conduct observations or surveys, simply announce your findings as your own. Acknowledge people you interview as individuals rather than as part of a survey.
Materials that require acknowledgment
Some of the information you use may need to be credited to a source.
- Quotations, paraphrases, and summaries. Whenever you use another person’s words, ideas, or opinions, credit the source. Even though the wording of a paraphrase or summary is your own, you should still acknowledge the source.
- Facts not widely known or claims that are arguable. If your readers would be unlikely to know a fact, or if an author presents as fact a claim that may or may not be true, cite the source. If you are not sure whether a fact will be familiar to your readers or whether a statement is arguable, cite the source.
- Visuals from any source. Credit all visual and statistical material not derived from your own field research, even if you yourself create a graph or table from the data provided in a source.
- Help provided by others. If an instructor gave you a good idea or if friends responded to your draft or helped you conduct surveys, give credit.