step 5, use and cite sources, of 6 step research process After you have collected strong sources, it’s time to add them to your work. This section of the tutorial provides suggestions for successfully using the work of others; the next page will cover proper citation.

Why is it important to use sources?

It allows you to:

Strengthen your work with credible information
Identify others' opinions/theories/contributions to research
Present statistics to your reader
Establish yourself as a reliable scholar/researcher
Point your readers toward further information on your topic

How can you integrate your sources?

In general, most of your sources should be integrated by summarizing and paraphrasing. Save direct quotations for when it's absolutely necessary. All three options require proper citations- you want your reader to clearly identify which ideas presented are yours and which come from other scholars to lead your readers to additional research when necessary and to avoid plagiarism.

Summary

A brief, objective account of the main ideas in a source in your own words.

Example: Jones conducted a survey and found that student debt is the number one reason Millennials are still living with their parents (2015).

Paraphrase

A restatement of a passage of text in your own words. It may structurally reflect the original passage but does not use the exact wording.

Example: A majority of Millennials (90%) indicated that their concerns over student debt was the primary reason they were avoiding moving out of the house, even when they had a full-time job (Jones, 2015).

Direct Quote

A section using the exact words of a source. Use when: an author has made the point so clearly you can't make it more clear; a certain phrase or sentence is especially striking or vivid; an important passage is so dense or rich that your reader will need to see it to understand your analysis of it; when you criticize or disagree with a source and your reader would benefit from seeing exactly what the source said.

Example: Jones concluded that "student debt creates panic and fear in Millennials, causing them to live at home with mom and dad indefinitely" (Jones, 2015, p.13).

Quick Check

Which of the following examples represents a summary of a source?

Recent research has found that dog lovers and cat lovers have more in common than previously thought (Garcia & Rodriguez, 2020).

Correct- the work has been summarized by someone else, who still provides attribution to the original work with a citation at the end.

Garcia and Rodriguez (2020) discovered that "although they disagree on their preference for house pets, dog lovers and cat lovers agree on numerous other social issues" (p. 57).

This is an example of using a direct quote.

Having trouble summarizing and paraphrasing?

Read about synthesizing sources, annotating sources, and contact the SLCC Reading and Writing Center below:

Synthesis notes

After reading information from any source, brainstorm and write down:

A short summary
An important quote if necessary (including page numbers)
A short reflection of how this source fits in with your topic and your other sources (does it present a new or conflicting point of view? etc.)
A short reflection of how you might use it in your work (as background info, etc.)
A short evaluation (is the author credible? etc.)
The citation

These notes are sometimes called "synthesis notes ". You can repeat this process with each source.

Annotated bibliography notes

A more formal version of this is called an "annotated bibliography", which consists of the citation for an information source, a summary of the source in your own words, and a short evaluation of why it's useful (or not) to you.

Writing Center

The SLCC Student Reading & Writing Center can help too.

Ask a question

Contact a librarian for basic citation assistance, get feedback from your professor, or visit the SLCC Writing Center.

Contact our Reference Desk with questions:

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