Citations and source evaluation

Why should I cite?

This means you acknowledge the work of others and will keep you from getting caught plagiarising.

You must choose a citation style to use throughout your text. The citation style dictates the rules you need to follow for in-text citations and your bibliography. The most used citation style at UiS is American Psychological Association (APA).

How do I cite?

Once you have chosen a referencing style, you must follow the rules of that style both when citing sources in the text and when creating the reference list.

APA 7 is an author–date style that is widely used at UiS and has many good support resources, such as Kildekompasset.

Keep in mind that source use and referencing rules may vary across disciplines. Check with your course instructor or supervisor to see whether there are specific guidelines for source use and referencing in your field.

• The Citation Compass
• Search and Write
• APA Style and Grammar Guidelines

Plagiarism

Keep in mind that the University of Stavanger has rules on plagiarism and academic misconduct, we recommend that you familiarize yourself with them. 

On the library's Canvas pages for academic writing, you can learn more about sources, citing and references. You can also and test your knowledge about plagiarism. 

Courses from the library

There are several useful software that can keep track of your sources and help you insert citations and bibliography in your preferred citation style. The library offers classes in Zotero. You must always check your sources to make sure they are correct before using them.

It is entirely optional whether you want to use reference management software, and it’s not something you need to start using in your first year as a new student. Many find it helpful when working on larger assignments with many sources, but for smaller tasks, it may be easier to manage the references manually. The most important thing in the beginning is to learn how to use sources correctly and to evaluate them critically.

Once you master proper source use, a reference management program can be a great help when you have many sources to keep track of, such as in your bachelor's thesis. Feel free to start by practicing on a smaller assignment.