Dr.

Mitchell's Guide to Citations and Avoiding Plagiarism

Reasons for Citations:
1. 2. 3. To give credit for ideas and words borrowed from another source To give the reader a "road map" of previous work on a subject To show that the writer is familiar with existing works

Types of Citations:
Quotations: Put words in quotation marks and cite the source (including page) in a footnote when you use the exact words of another. You may want to quote directly from another source when the source has expressed an idea particularly well, or when your readers are unlikely to believe your description of anothers beliefs without verifiable evidence. The main text should also indicate who you are quoting. Example: Even though economists have long understood that it is comparative advantage, not absolute advantage, that determines the gains from trade, this idea has not yet penetrated the public consciousness. Yarbrough and Yarbrough (1997) put it this way: Failure to understand this simple but important point leads to one of the most common fallacies in modern discussions of international trade and policy: the claim that developing economies with low labor productivity relative to the rest of the world should isolate themselves from international trade (p. 45). Mythical MIT economist Jones (19??), however, has disagreed sharply with that view: Comparative advantage is simply a big wad of bunk doled out to pacify our undergraduates like so much pablum for screaming babies (p. 3). Paraphrasing: You have paraphrased material when you say substantially the same thing as another, but use your own wording. Paraphrased work should be identified, including the relevant pages. Examples: As Smith pointed out in his classic work, The Wealth of Nations, shopkeepers do not provide meat and bread to us due to their own satisfaction in doing so (pp. xx-xx). Friedman (1951) was right when he argued that fixed exchange rates made as much sense as eliminating daylight savings time (p. xx). Jones (19??) proved his result as follows: (insert description here) (pp. 33-38).

Warning: If you rely too closely on the writings of one person then you will find it nearly impossible to write anything without paraphrasing it. If this is what you do, then be sure to give credit to the source. Make it very clear to the reader where you are relying on the words of others! You will find that the better you understand the ideas contained in the source, the less likely it is that you paraphrase. This ought to be your goal! Citing Ideas: Sometimes you will be using or referring to the ideas of others without providing a paraphrase of their work. There are several reasons to do this. First, and foremost, is the moral reason. Presenting someone elses idea as your own is an implicit lie, and results in your having stolen the other persons idea. Many people (including your professor) earn their living through their ideas, and it is wrong to take these from them. Example: Cheng (1987) also provides a model capable of incorporating the effects of R&D subsidies on both consumers and oligopolists. Kovenock and Thursby (1992) introduced the concept of international obligation to the economics literature. My hypothesis is similar that contained in Friedman (1951). I use Engel's (1990) test for unit roots. A second reason to give a reference to the work of others is to give the reader the chance investigate earlier research on this topic. Example: Grossman and Helpman (1991) discuss a similar model of differentiated products, but with public knowledge capital instead of technology transfer. Finally, sometimes you want potential critics to know that you are familiar with other work on this subject. For example: Game theory has been applied to international trade negotiations in many other contexts. See, for example, Stahl and Turunen-Red (1990) and Riezman (1991).

When not to cite:

You must use some judgment to determine whether a citation is necessary. If the idea has become commonplace (e.g., demand slopes downward, monopolies reduce output compared to price-takers) then no citation is necessary. Example: A monopoly will maximize its profits by choosing to produce the quantity where its marginal cost is equal to its marginal revenue.

A Final Note:
All of the above examples show only the in-text reference to the author and year of publication. Your bibliography or list of references should contain a complete citation including the full name of the author, the title of the work, the date of publication, and the journal name and volume, if applicable. The exact style of footnotes and references is unimportant from the point of view of plagiarism. Follow the style suggested by your

professor or boss, or otherwise follow the style used in a handbook such as Turabian's A Manual for Writers of Term Papers, Theses, and Dissertations. In any case, be consistent.