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Citing Sources and Avoiding Plagiarism

Citing and Documenting Sources

Avoid plagiarism by learning the basics about academic integrity and citation.

The following formats are recommended by APA, MLA, IEEE and other citation styles; however, you should format your citations according to your professor’s guidelines.

APA 7th Ed. Resources

The following format is recommended by APA guidelines; however, you should always format your papers according to your professor’s guidelines.

Below are a few of the videos created by Humber College libraries explaining how to reference different types of resources in APA format. See all videos in the playlist here

Citing AI-generated Content in Assignments

Can I use generative AI in my assignment?

  • Always check with your instructor first! Before starting your assignment, confirm with your instructor that you are permitted to use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT. Unauthorized use of generative software may constitute an academic integrity offence.

Do I need to cite content generated by artificial intelligence?

  • Remember to include a citation whenever you incorporate content generated by AI in your assignment. For example, if you paraphrased or quoted text generated by ChatGPT, cite the source in text and in your references list. Neglecting to cite this material may constitute an academic integrity offence. Since your reader can't access the exact AI-generated text, you may also consider including a copy of the text as an appendix, or as part of supplemental materials.

What if I use AI to come up with ideas or an outline for my assignment?

  • As part of using artificial intelligence responsibly and ethically, it is important to be transparent and acknowledge how you have used AI in your work. If you used AI to generate ideas or an outline or your assignment, include a statement in your work indicating which AI tools you used and how you used them. Neglecting to include this statement may constitute an academic integrity offence.

Are there risks to using AI content as a source?

  • Be aware that there is a possibility that the content AI generates is biased, outdated, or false. Always evaluate the information generated by AI tools. Students are responsible for the accuracy, factuality, and truthfulness of artificial intelligence content used to assist with, and in, assessments.

Text generated by an AI tool (e.g., ChatGPT)

Note: AI-generated content may not be considered as an acceptable source for your course work. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you are permitted to use it as a source. If you're using ChatGPT and other AI tools for coursework, include a description of how you used AI within your work. For example, you can describe in your introduction how you used ChatGPT to generate an outline for your presentation. When citing AI-generated text, remember to include both in-text and references list citations. For more information, see APA Style's How to cite ChatGPT.

Reference List

Developer. (Version Year). Name of generative AI tool (Version number) [Type of AI Model]. URL of tool

Example: OpenAI. (2023). ChatGPT (Mar 23 version) [Large language model]. https://chat.openai.com

In-Text Citation (Quote or Paraphrase)

Remember to include the prompt you used whenever you quote or paraphrase text generated by an AI tool. Since your reader can't access the exact AI-generated text, you may also consider including a copy of the text as an appendix or as part of supplemental materials. If you are including a copy of the generated text, you may refer to it in the body of your text, or as part of the in-text citation such as in the example below.

Example:

Given the prompt "What are large language models?" the text generated by ChatGPT described them as "artificial intelligence systems that have been trained on vast amounts of text data, with the goal of understanding natural language and generating human-like responses to text-based inputs" (OpenAI, 2023).

When provided with a follow up prompt of "What are examples of large language models?" ChatGPT identified OpenAI's GPT-3, NVIDIA's Megatron, and Google's LaMDA as some of the examples of large language models (OpenAI, 2023; see Appendix A for the full transcript).

Image generated by an AI tool (e.g., DALL-E, Midjourney)

Note: AI-generated content may not be considered as an acceptable source for your course work. Be sure to evaluate the content carefully and check with your instructor if you are permitted to use it as a source. The following citation examples are Seneca Libraries' recommendations.

Reproducing the image in your work

If you are inserting the AI-generated image in your coursework, start with a figure number followed by an image title. Beneath the image, include a note with details about the prompt and the source. Remember to include the full citation in your References List.

Reference List Citation

Developer's Name. (Version Year). Name of AI tool (Version number) [Type of AI model]. URL of tool

Example: OpenAI. (2023). DALL-E (Version 2) [Large language model]. https://labs.openai.com


Notes: This citation guide is based on the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). The contents are accurate to the best of our knowledge. Some examples illustrate Seneca Libraries' recommendations and are marked as modifications of the official APA guidelines.

 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. It is used/adapted with the permission of Seneca Libraries. For information please contact citation@senecacollege.ca. When copying this guide, please retain this box.

Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers (Oral Communication)

Reference List Citation

Format:

Last name, First initial., Nation/Community. Treaty Territory if applicable. Where they live if applicable. Topic/subject of communication if applicable. Personal communication. Month Date, Year.

Example:

Cardinal, D., Goodfish Lake Cree Nation. Treaty 6. Lives in Edmonton. Oral teaching. Personal communication. April 4, 2004.

In-Text Citation

For a quotation or paraphrase:

  • Format: (Last Name of Elder/Knowledge Keeper, Year of communication)
  • Example: (Cardinal, 2004)

Note: This template should be used when citing oral communication with Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers. If you are citing material authored by an Indigenous person, please follow the appropriate citation template for citing the source. For example, follow the citation template for a book when citing a novel written by an Indigenous author.

Other Citation Resources

Books in Our Collection

For spelling reference, IEEE uses The Merriam-Webster Dictionary. For guidance on grammar and source styles not included in the IEEE Editorial Style Manual, consult The Chicago Manual of Style, published by the University of Chicago Press.


The Literature Review is a comprehensive scan of previously published research on a specific topic. Authors use the literature review to provide readers with a current understanding of the topic, and identify existing research gaps. Literature reviews usually investigate peer reviewed literature as these research papers have undergone a thorough review for quality before being selected for publication.

Why is Academic Integrity so important?


Library/SLC Resources

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