CSS 200 Introduction to Network Security - Security+

Why Cite your Sources?

Knowing when to cite can be a little tricky when you're first getting started. Here are some general guidelines for when to cite. These guidelines apply to papers, presentations, and any other academic project that requires you to use sources.

• Anytime you use facts, figures, ideas, or other information that is not common knowledge. 
• Anytime you use ideas, words, theories, or exact quotes that another person used in a publication.
• When in doubt, cite your sources!

The type of source you cite will depend on the source(s) you use for your paper/project. Everything from books to articles to tweets can be cited.

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism can be accidental or intentional and is a serious offense. It is crucial to acknowledge when information you are sharing comes from other people, which is why you are required to cite.

Plagiarism can be:

• Copying someone's words without giving them credit
• Quoting someone's words incorrectly or out of context
• Using or repeating someone's ideas without giving them credit
• Misrepresenting someone's ideas of concepts
• Copying images or music without permission or proper attribution
• Intentionally presenting someone else's work as your own

Step 1: Once you find the article you selected for your case project, click the Cite Tool located under the Tools section. 

Step 2: From the Cite Tool pop-up, scroll down to find MLA 8th Edition.

Step 3: Highlight the citation with your mouse, right click on you mouse and select Copy.

Step 4: Open your Word document. Paste the citation.

In MLA 8th edition, sources are described by their "containers," meaning the resource(s) that houses the source. For example, a scholarly article is in a journal, which is its "first container." A database containing that article and the journal issue in which it was published is its "second container." Details about a container (e.g. a journal issue) are separated by commas. Different containers are indicated by periods (e.g. between information about a journal issue and information about a database).

MLA style was updated to the 8th edition in 2016.

Now included in citations are:

• Permalinks, URLS, and digital object identifiers (DOIs)
  • When putting a permalink, URL, or DOI in a citation, remove http:// or https:// from it.
• Abbreviations for volume (vol.), issue number (no.), and pages (p. for one page and pp. for two pages)

No longer included in citations are:

• Place (i.e. city) of publication
• Medium, like print or web

The Purdue Online Writing Lab (OWL) offers a MLA Formatting and Style Guide.

Use Purdue OWL for help with:

• In-text citations
• Examples of citations by source
• Works Cited formatting
• Paper formatting

• Start the Works Cited on a new page after the end of your paper.
• Use 1-inch margins.
• Name it Works Cited. Center the words, "Work Cited," on the top of the page.
• Set to double space.
• Use a hanging indentation.
  • The first line of each citation is left aligned. If the citation continues on a second line(s), indent the second and subsequent lines by one (1) inch.
  • Use the hanging indentation feature in your word processor for easier formatting. 
• Keep numbering the pages consecutively.
  • Use the running head with the format of Last Name Page Number (e.g. Smith 5).
  • Don't use the abbreviation of p. before the number in your header.
  • Don't restart the count for the Works Cited page(s).