Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [citations]

Citations are references to published or unpublished sources other than the work one is currently reading. This tag should be used when asking for proper formatting for citations or information about the ethics of citations.

332 questions
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Citing parts of a thesis or dissertation using IEEE referencing

I've found myself extensively referencing parts of theses and dissertations for my own research paper. The IEEE editorial style manual suggests that they should be referenced in the following form: [1] J. K. Author, “Title of thesis,” M.S. thesis,…
Filip Dupanović
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10 answers

Do I need to cite ChatGPT in published writing?

If I use ChatGPT to generate the initial prose for, say, a 2 paragraph introduction (where I modify and rephrase a little) do I need to cite it or somehow give credit? This article implies "no" World's largest academic publisher says ChatGPT can't…
CJ Cornell
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Is it fine to use link shorteners for research paper citations?

I'm curious about the "properness" of using shortened links (a la bit.ly or tinyurl) in research papers. I haven't been able to find any sort of definitive reference about whether or not this is accepted or frowned upon. I found a blot post by a…
Hendy
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When should one use a section sign (§)?

When I asked this on English.SE, the question was closed; it was suggested that I ask on Writers.SE instead. To be clear, I mean the section sign § (utf-8: 0xC2 0xA7), which is available via \S in LaTeX, § in HTML, and Compose+s+o in the X…
Warrick
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5 answers

Citation in AP style journalism

I'm writing feature articles and trying to adhere to AP style, but I'm not sure how to attribute a source. I'm familiar with academic citation (APA, MLA), but have never done this in journalism. What's the preferred way to completely acknowledge a…
Caveatrob
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What's "fair use" for borrowing someone else's invented term?

Let's say I'm writing a sci-fi novel. I want to use a word which another writer has coined, which has become well-recognized outside the original book, for the name of an alien species in my story. I want to do something akin to this: Jacob walked…
Lauren-Clear-Monica-Ipsum
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What is the key reference documentation and how should I cite BASH?

I originally posted this question at SO, but two users there suggested that I take it here. I am writing a scientific research paper, and I want to know if it is appropriate to cite bash, and if so, how should I do so? I am having trouble finding a…
David LeBauer
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2 answers

An organization writes its acronym in lower-case - do I have to, too?

I'm writing an article that includes reference to an organization - let's say National Ecological Council of Concerned Citizens - which, instead of NECOCC, uses the acronym necocc, i.e. lower-case and italics. It looks silly (we're different),…
user13119
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How do I quote a graphic novel?

I am writing a paper for a Canadian Literature class, and want to quote portions of one of the graphic novels we studied. Do I quote the written portions as I would any other written work? I am using MLA, so would it be like (Author,Page), like a…
user2879
9
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2 answers

Quoting Yourself

I am editing a book for a writer who has quotes at the beginning of each chapter. The first chapter has a quote of her own. It's weird, but it's what she wants. Do I just treat it like the other quotes with her own name after it? Is this something…
Elizabeth Duncan
9
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3 answers

How to include external references when writing internal documentation?

In the IT industry, we often write a lot of technical documentation meant for internal use only. Those documents are often stored in an internal wiki and accessed when the need arises. The content of the documents is not relevant here; the only…
Liquid
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Citing two sources in one sentence

Which one is the correct/better way? 1) Although the oil price seems to keep decreasing (Smith 2017), the oil industry is still growing (Watson 2017). 2) Although the oil price seems to keep decreasing, the oil industry is still growing (Smith 2017;…
Saber
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Should DOIs ever be preferred to ISBNs?

Any ISBN yields a DOI. For example, the Chicago Manual of Style, 16th ed. has ISBN 978-0-226-10420-1, which maps to doi:10.978.226/104201, allowing any book to be digitally identified in a reference list by either ISBN or DOI. Which should be…
Charles Stewart
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Multiple MLA inline citation question

I'm familiar with the basic rules on inline citation, however, recently I've stumbled onto this problem numerous times so I thought I would ask. When using MLA style inline citations, is it legal to use multiple citations in one sentence? For…
laphiloctete
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Least distracting method of citing in a book?

I've written a book and I'm juggling citation styles. I haven't put my bibliography together yet, but there are, I would estimate, at least 100 abstracts referenced from the National Library of Medicine, as well of a number of other sources. It's…
Daniel
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