If you’ve ever written an academic paper before (which, if you’re reading this blog, I’m going to guess you have . . . ), you have had to cite sources. And, in an effort to save time, you may have turned to a citation generator. You may have also been shocked to discover that some of the citations were—*gasp*— WRONG!
In this post, we are going to cover what a citation generator does, why they might be wrong, and what to do about their wrongness. Stick with us to make sure you never have an incorrect citation again!
What is a citation generator?
There are many citation generators out there, including Citation Machine, EasyBib, and Zotero. You have probably also found citations that were generated when you have used search engines through your research library. Citation generators allow you to input the information from a source, and they will spit out a citation. Some programs will also store and convert citations for you.
But why is my citation generator wrong???
Citation generators are only as good as the information put into them. They are more likely to have errors than if you enter them by hand. For example, if you are accessing the citation from your library, the person or source that entered the citation information may have been used to APA format and therefore only entered the first initial of the author. If you are using Chicago style, you will be missing the first name!.
Ok, so there are errors in the citation? How big of a problem is that really? Well, some professors may deduct points if you have errors in your citations, leading to a reduced grade on the assignment and, potentially, the course. If you are trying to publish your manuscript, errors in citations my prevent you from having your document accepted. Furthermore, as a member of the scholastic field, errors in citations are disrespectful to your fellow scholars, who deserve to have their work treated with care.
So what should I do to make sure my citations are correct?
I actually recommend writing all citations by hand! However, citation generators don’t need to be completely discarded. Now that you know that errors may pop up, youc an double check your citations to make sure they are appropriate for the style guide you are using. And if you still have any doubts about the accuracy of your citations, we are here to help!
