Cite and Use Sources
It is important to give credit where credit is due when writing a research paper or working on a project. Citing sources can be an easier process with some basic knowledge and some helpful tools. The Library has a brief guide covering the basics of citation including avoiding plagiarism, formatting citations, and finding the citation information needed for different types of sources.
Library Research Guide - Citing Sources
View the research guide on citing sources for information on different citation styles and what they look like.
Citation Managers
Use one of the following convenient citation management tools to help organize sources--available for students, faculty, and staff. You can use them to compile lists of sources, format them into a bibliography for any citation style, and create in-text references or footnotes within a paper.
- EndNote (Desktop Client): for installation on your own computer. Access provided by WPI.
- Mendeley: desktop client and web-based version; Elsevier product, with WPI institutional accounts; Learn more about using Mendeley.
- Zotero: free, open source product with desktop client; Learn more about using Zotero.
- BibTeX: Free tool and file format used to describe and process lists of references, mostly in conjunction with LaTeX documents
Library Research Guide - Copyright
Copyright is another way to give proper credit, and applies when you are considering re-using large portions of textual content, or re-using images (pictures, figures, charts, etc.), sound clips, and video clips in your work. Learn more about copyright on our copyright research guide.
Copyright applies when your work will be published and made available beyond the classroom. Students completing projects (such as IQPs and MQPs) or theses and dissertations that will be made available on the web upon completion, will in many cases need to seek permission from copyright holders. If you are considering re-using large portions of textual content, images, or sound or video clips in your work, you will need to ascertain the copyright status of the works you wish to reuse. If the works are under copyright, you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holder before including these works in your final project or published product. Simply writing a citation is not the same as getting permission to reprint a copyrighted image, video, sound clip, large portion of text, etc. Learn more about copyright and how to navigate that in your work on our copyright research guide.
Contact Us
For any questions on citations, citation managers, copyright, and the ethical use of information, email reslib@wpi.edu and the librarians will be happy to help.