Research and Citing Sources
Credible sources and citations support claims and avoid plagiarism.
About this topic
Research means finding, evaluating and using reliable information. Evaluate sources by authority, accuracy, currency, purpose and bias; prefer academic journals, reputable news, official statistics and books over anonymous websites. Take notes in your own words, and record details to cite. Good research makes your arguments credible and builds your understanding.
Citation gives credit to the original authors and lets readers check your evidence. Common styles are MLA, APA and Harvard, each with its own format for in-text citations and a bibliography or works cited list. A basic entry records author, title, publisher or website, and date. You must cite direct quotations, paraphrases, statistics and any ideas that are not common knowledge. Plagiarism is presenting someone else's words or ideas as your own, whether intentional or accidental.
Worked example: a student writing on renewable energy might find a government report, a university study and a news article, compare their dates, and quote a figure with the source in brackets, such as (Smith, 2022), followed by a full reference at the end.
Common mistakes include copying and pasting without quotation marks, changing only a few words in a paraphrase, trusting the first search result and forgetting to save source details as you go. Use a search method with keywords, cross-check facts across at least two sources, and keep a running list of references.
Key ideas
- Evaluate reliability
- Quote, paraphrase, summarise
- MLA, APA, Chicago
Quick check
Use cases: where Research and Citing Sources helps
- Homework: review the key idea behind Research and Citing Sources before you start a problem set.
- Exam revision: use the quick check to test whether you can recall Research and Citing Sources without notes.
- Visual learning: play with the interactive lab to see how Research and Citing Sources changes when you adjust its inputs.
- Teaching a friend: explain Research and Citing Sources in your own words, then compare your version with the key ideas.
Strong reading and writing are needed in every subject, job and exam.
Frequently asked questions
What is Research and Citing Sources?
Credible sources and citations support claims and avoid plagiarism.
What will I learn in Research and Citing Sources?
Evaluate reliability. Quote, paraphrase, summarise. MLA, APA, Chicago.
Is Research and Citing Sources part of English?
Yes. It is one of 60 English topics on LearnViz HighSchoolEdu, with 3 key ideas, a live animation and a quick check.
Does the Research and Citing Sources lab work on a phone or tablet?
Yes. The animation resizes to fit your screen and supports touch, so you can drag, tap and slide with your finger.
How should I study Research and Citing Sources?
Read the summary and key ideas first, play with the interactive lab to see the idea in motion, then answer the quick check. If you get a question wrong, go back to the key idea it tests.
Do I need an account, and is my progress saved?
No account is needed. Marking a topic as learned is saved in your own browser, so it stays on that device and is not sent to a server.