Not citing your sources can bring a charge of plagiarism, which can earn you an F for your assignment, an F for the course or even get you expelled from college. See WCCs Academic Honesty Policy for information on what constitutes plagiarism and cheating.
View the Plagiarism Tutorial and learn what plagiarism is and how to avoid it.
You need to cite where your information came from in the body of your paper (in-text) AND on a Works Cited page at the end.
If you need help citing your source, you should always feel free to ask a Librarian.
Citing Articles in the Databases:
In-text:
A degree in Chemistry may be more useful than a degree in Forensic Science, as DNA, drugs and and other chemicals are often examined (Fendley 9).
Or:
Alison Fendley, a forensic scientist, says that a degree in Chemistry is more useful than a degree in Forensic Science, as the examination of drugs, DNA and other chemicals is often part of the job (9).
AND
Works Cited Page:
Fendley, Alison. “Forensic Scientist.” New Scientist, vol. 206, no. 2761, May 2010, pp. 9–10. Academic Search Complete, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=51091422&site=ehost-live.
Citing Other Online Sources:
The above example is from a magazine in a database following MLA format. For sources not found in databases follow the example below.
Author Last Name, First Name (or organization or agency). "Title of article or page." Name of web site. Publisher of web site. Date of page day month year. Web. Date accessed day month year.
You can often find the publisher name at the bottom of the webpage near any copyright and date information.
Example from Occupational Outlook Handbook (Note: You can just swap out your occupation, publication date and URL to the citation below. Publish date appears below 'suggested citation' box on your occupation page):
Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. "Forensic Science Technicians." Occupational Outlook Handbook, 29 Mar. 2012. www.bls.gov/ooh/life-physical-and-social-science/forensic-science-technicians.htm. Accessed 3 Nov. 2018.
Figuring Out What to Cite:
It can often be confusing to figure out which parts of a website to use for a citation when there is no proper author or title like a typical article. Below is an example from Career One Stop of what to look for on your webpage. This is the main career profile page for Forensic Science Technicians in NY State.
I would use Occupation Profile. Forensic Science Technicians: New York as the 'title' in my citation. Since this website includes other sections with information about Forensic Science Technicians I need to note is is the Occupation Profile page. The website is Career One Stop. There is no date or "last updated" information at the top of this page, nor is there an author for this article, but if I scroll to the bottom...
I see the year 2012 by the copyright date followed by State of Minnesota. I will use State of Minnesota as my publisher. I can see above it reads "sponsored by the U.S. Dept. of Labor..." but that doesn't mean they created the site.
Next I need to add the URL from the website, but I can omit http:// or https://
I accessed this information today November 3rd, 2018 off the web (not from a printed book, a dvd etc). Last month the information on this page could have been different and next year it will probably change so I need to include the day I found it.
When I put this all together I get my citation:
"Occupation Profile. Forensic Science Technicians: New York." CareerOneStop.org. State of Minnesota. 2012. www.careeronestop.org/toolkit/careers/occupations/Occupation-profile.aspx?keyword=Forensic%20Science%20Technicians&onetcode=19409200&location=USA. Accessed 3 Nov. 2018.
You'll notice the previous citation I listed the Bureau of Labor Statistics as the author. Why didn't I do that here? Because the U.S. Dept. of Labor is only a sponsor (I assume that means they are providing financial backing). Had the site listed which department from the State of Minnesota had created this I would have credited that as the author, but I am not going to list the entire State of Minnesota as an author.
Many of the databases are provided through the EBSCO platform. EBSCO is not the name of a database. Look for the name above the search box to use in your citations.
While the librarians can help you find sources for your paper, visit the Writing Center (part of the Academic Support Center) for help with writing and structuring your thoughts on paper. Call them at (914) 606-7853 to make an appointment.
Hours for tutoring and writing center help at Mt. Vernon and other extension sites can be found below.
