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History and Philosophy of Health and Healthcare

course guide for BMED 173

Citing Sources

In your academic writing you will often include quotes with ideas and opinions from scholars and other authors. Knowing how to cite another person's work properly helps you to:

  • give credit and acknowledge their ideas
  • avoid plagiarism
  • direct readers to the sources on which your research is based 

Citation Styles

Citation Styles are sets of rules or standards established by societies, associations or publishers for documenting various sources of information. These sources of information may include journal publications, books, thesis, online sources, unpublished manuscripts, magazines, etc. Detailed descriptions of the citation styles (known as Style Manuals or Publication Manuals) can often be found on the websites of those societies, associations or publishers who set and maintain the citation standards. Styles may be revised from time to time in which case new or up-dated Manuals are released. It is a good practice to consult the Publication Manuals for updates.

Different disciplines use different citation styles therefore it is important to know which citation style is most popular in your discipline. Ask your instructor which citation styles you should use in your assignments. In the Bachelor of Health Sciences instructors will often require you to use the APA citation style.

APA Style (American Psychological Association)

Vancouver Style

RefME