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PSYC 250: Developmental Psychology

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Resources for Psyc 250 Students

Why do we Cite?

What is the Point/Why do we Cite?

Properly citing the work of others is important for a few reasons. 

  • Citations make your work more credible.
  • Citations make sure you are not plagiarizing someone else's work.
  • Citations allow the reader of your work to find the original sources for themselves.

Citations consist of both in-text citations and the reference page. 

In Text Citations

In-text Citations 

In-text citations go directly into the main text of your paper. These citations include the author, date, and sometimes the page numbers of the original source. 

  • If you do not mention the author or the date in the sentence, your citation will look like this: Scientists say that cats are animals (Author, Date). 
  • If the author is mentioned in your sentence, your citation will look like this: Author (Date) says that cats are animals. 
  • If both the author and the date are mentioned in your sentence, you do not need a parenthetical citation: In Author's Date paper, they explain that cats are animals. 
  • If you are directly quoting a piece of information, include the page numbers in your parentheses: She writes "Cats are animals" (Author, date, page number)

The Reference Page

What is a Reference Page? 

A reference page, also known as a bibliography or works cited, collects all of the sources used in writing a paper into one place. Usually, this page goes at the end of the paper. It is important to understand that a reference page is a part of the paper. In academic writing, you need to use sources as evidence to support your claims. Basically, if you use a source for your paper, it needs to be in your reference page, and if it's in your reference page, it should be mentioned in your paper.

Formatting a Reference Page

  • The reference page should have References written at the top, centered and bolded.
  • References should be alphabetized by author's last name, or the first word of the title if there is no author for a source.
  • The reference page should be double-spaced.
  • Each source should have a hanging indent.

 

Citation Creation Resources

Word References Tool

The references function on Microsoft Word can be a helpful tool for starting citations, but I don't recommend using it without carefully checking the citations it creates. Microsoft Word still uses the 6th edition of APA style, so references you create using this tool are likely outdated. If you want to experiment with the citations tool or use it to collect your resources as you work, I think it's a decent starting point, but please double-check your work! 

Someday there may be a citation tool that never makes mistakes, but today is not that day.  

  1. Click the References tab between Page Layout and Mailings on the Microsoft Word toolbar. The toolbar runs across the top of your document.
  2. In the middle of the menu, there is a section called "Citations and Bibliography." Click "Manage Sources" in this section.
  3. A menu will appear which displays your current list of sources. If this is your first time using this option, your list will be blank.
  4. To add a new reference, click the New... button in the center of the menu.
    • Make sure to set the source type at the top of the box.
    • Use the article's information to fill in the blanks. You will need to find this information in your source..
    • Many databases will provide a "citation" feature. Use this feature to copy/paste the necessary elements into the proper fields.
    • You will need to click the box labeled "Show All Bibliography Fields" to insert all of the required information.
  1. Remember to cite all of the information you have used from external sources. When in doubt, cite your source!
  2. To cite your source, click Insert Citation.
  3. Click the source you are citing. This will add a parenthetical in-text citation to your text.
  4. There is a placeholder function, but if you choose to use it, you will need to carefully proofread your paper to make sure you actually fill in all the in-text citations before submitting your paper. 
  1. Click Bibliography and select the appropriate option.
  2. The References list will populate. At this point, you will need to change the spacing to double-spaced. 
  3. Because the citations will populate as APA 6 instead of APA 7, check your references and correct any errors in your citations. They will be there!  
Subjects: Psychology