Citing sources

It is important to cite your sources correctly. When writing academic texts, you need to demonstrate that you are well-informed of relevant research in your field and you should relate such findings to your own work.

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Quoting and paraphrasing

What is the difference between quoting and paraphrasing? You either quote directly from the text or rephrase main ideas in your own words.

A quote is an accurate, exact rendition of what someone else has said or written, a piece of text that you copy into your own text. Put quotations marks around the quote.
A paraphrase repeats someone else's ideas, but in your own words. You paraphrase what others have written or said by conveying their ideas while using your own words combined with reporting phrases.

Citing

When citing, you select a number of relevant information sources which are closely related to your subject and which support your arguments and views. You always have to acknowledge that you are using someone else's ideas or formulations.

Your paraphrases and quotes are to be integrated into your text and commented on. Use adequate reporting phrases to introduce your sources. It is essential that paraphrases and quotes are correctly attributed to the original information source. By applying citation guidelines, you also avoid plagiarising someone else's work or ideas. Use the reference style that your lecturer recommends, for instance APA, Harvard, IEEE or Vancouver.

Read more about Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising

Reporting phrases

Reporting phrases indicate that you are using a source. Here are some examples:

Thus far, previous studies have shown that...
A number of studies have confirmed that...
According to Smith (2011), ...
In accordance with this, he/she also states...

More examples of phrases

Reference management with Mendeley and Zotero

When using reference management systems, you can import references from databases, insert references into documents and prepare a list of cited works for your essay or report.

At the Library we offer support regarding Mendeley. Support for Zotero is available online.

You can download Mendeley Desktop for free to your computer. With an add-in for Word or LibreOffice, you can insert references and bibliographies into your document. The Mendeley Desktop program is installed on computers in the library and in the University’s computer rooms.

Get started with Mendeley
Here you can create a free account or log in to Mendeley.com Note: Do not log in via institution, organisation or OpenAthens.
Watch a film on how to get started with Mendeley Desktop
Here you can find assorted guides for Mendeley

Zotero is a free program that works best with the web browsers Firefox, Google Chrome och Safari. With an add-in for Word, LibreOffice or Google Docs, you can insert references and bibliographies into your document.
Get started with Zotero
Here you can create a free account or log in to Zotero.org
Here you can find assorted guides for Zotero