Research and Scholarly Guidelines

• APA Citation Style Quick Guide: produced by librarians at the University of Alberta.
• For further information, please refer to the APA website or consult the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association available at the library.
• Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.) - BF 76.7 P83 2020 REF (both campuses). A copy of the official handbook is available at each campus library.

• The Chicago Manual of Style (17th ed.) - PN 149 C54 2017 REF (Lloydminster). A copy of the official handbook is on reserve at the Lloydminster campus library. Request to see it at the library service desk. 
• The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Citation Quick Guide

• MLA Citation Style Quick Guide: produced by librarians at the University of Alberta. 
• MLA Handbook (9th ed.) - LB 2369 M52 2021 (Lloydminster). A copy of the official handbook is on reserve at the Lloydminster campus library. Request to see it at the library service desk. 

10 ways to avoid plagiarism in your papers

1. Understand what plagiarism is - Taking and using other people’s ideas, thoughts, pictures, writings, inventions, etc. as your own. If you don’t cite it, it’s assumed to be your own work, even if you just forgot.
2. Understand paraphrasing - Put ideas into your own words, without changing the author’s intention, and make sure you give credit with both an in-text citation and an entry in your reference list.
3. Manage your time - Don’t leave your paper until the last minute—rushing can lead to forgotten citations. Start well ahead of the due date so you can do your citations properly.
4. Take careful notes - It’s easy to accidentally plagiarize if you don’t keep accurate notes as you research your paper. Every time you write anything down, jot down where the idea came from, so you’re ready to cite it later if you do use it.
5. Use citation style guides - Ask your instructor what style is required (APA, MLA), and then get the correct style guide from the library. The full guide has examples of almost all the possible sources you could use, from books to websites, even radio shows.
6. Copy and paste with caution - Research on the internet has made it easy to copy and paste, and then forget to cite. Make it a practice to never copy and paste anything without also copying the URL (web address) and date that you retrieved the information.
7. Understand common knowledge - You don’t have to cite “common knowledge”, but what’s “common”? If you read the information somewhere, cite it.
8. Keep hard or electronic copies of all sources - When you finalize your reference list, it’s way easier to check for all the details from a copy than having to look up the source all over again.
9. Manage your stress - One of the top reasons students give for plagiarism is stress. They feel overwhelmed, and end up plagiarizing either accidentally or intentionally. The consequences are still the same, so don’t risk it. If you find yourself overwhelmed, seek help or ask for an extension.
10. When in doubt, always ask - If you have any questions about citations, ask your instructor, library staff or the teaching commons. Better to be sure than to unintentionally plagiarize.

These tips were developed by the University of Alberta and are used with permission.