Citing Your Sources Navigation Menu Citing Your Sources MLA Style APA Style Citing Your Sources When doing research we will need to document the sources we use in our paper. We cite our sources so that our reader can locate the information and determine its validity. They specify when they refer to another author's ideas, facts, and words, whether they want to agree with, object to, analyze, or interpret the source. This kind of documentation tends to discourage the circulation of error, by inviting readers to determine for themselves whether a reference to another text presents a reasonable account of what the text says. It is important that citations be uniform in style so that readers can properly interpret their meaning.
Citation styles vary.
The important thing is that whichever citation style you use, you use it consistently and uniformly.