Why cite sources?

Ask a classroom of students, “Why cite our sources?” and you’re likely to get these responses: 

We were told to.

Those are the rules.

To avoid plagiarism.

To show that we did the assignment.

One or two might reply:

To show where we found the information.

Follow up by asking, “Why is that important?” and most students will fumble for an answer. 

My answer: “You are an essential part of an intellectual community!” We ask students to cite their sources so that other students and learners can recreate their results. The idea of sharing methods and results is easier to understand in the hard sciences. When we publish research in a science journal, we must list the procedures so another researcher can replicate the experiment. This is true in the humanities as well. When we write a research article, we hope a community of scholars will read it and want to learn more. The citations help the next thinker build on our ideas. 

Citations, bibliographies and footnotes are not “gotcha” moments. They were not created to trap students into mistakes. When students understand that the purpose of citations is to help the next learner or scholar, they may feel less frustrated by the format. Explain that the structure is designed to help us contribute to our community. We need to give enough information in an organized way so that another student can find the resource. 

So, the next time you ask students to cite their sources, remind them, “You are an essential part of an intellectual community.” You might see their eyes light up.