Student's guide to writing college papers, Fourth edition - Kate L. Turabian 2010

(Almost always) Cite a source for ideas not your own
Preventing plagiarism
Writing your paper

The basic principle is simple: Cite a source for a borrowed idea whenever your readers might think you are claiming that you are its original source. But when you try to apply it, the rule becomes more complicated, because most of our own ideas come from some identifiable sources somewhere in history. Readers don't expect you to find and cite every distant source for every familiar idea. But they do expect you to cite the source for an idea when (1) the idea is associated with a specific person and (2) it's new enough not to be part of a field's common knowledge.

For example, psychologists claim that we think and feel in different parts of our brains. But no one would expect you to cite the source of that idea, because it's so familiar to psychologists that no reader would think you were taking credit for originating that idea. On the other hand, some psychologists argue that emotions are crucial to rational decision making. You would have to cite the source of that idea because it is so new and so closely tied to particular researchers.

QUICK TIP

When to Cite Ideas

If you are a new researcher, you have a problem: You can't cite every borrowed idea, but how are you supposed to know which ideas are too familiar to cite? Here are some signs to look for:

✵ If an idea is a main claim in the source, you should cite it.

✵ If the source spends time showing how the idea differs from the ideas of others, you should cite it.

✵ If the source cites an idea, you should too.

✵ If more than one source uses the idea without citing it, then you don't have to cite it either.