Copyright & Citation

Copyright

Only one thing is impossible for God:  to find any sense in any copyright law on the planet—Mark Twain

Despite Mark Twain's quote, which we all know is true, a student must attempt to follow copyright guidelines as they access and use information resources.  Basically, to briefly summarize our Country’s copyright laws, you must use “borrowed” information only for “Fair Use.” The four factors which determine fair usage are:

  1. Purpose:  Are you using the material for educational purposes?  Will the material be “transformed” into something new?  (In other words, always make sure the information you find is written in your own words).
  2. Nature:  Is the source being used fiction/non-fiction; educational/commercial; audio/print?  Non-Fiction, educational and print materials, of course, are more favorably afforded fair usage privileges.
  3. Amount:  Basically, reproduce only a small portion of any work and do not use copyrighted pictures or most of a magazine article within your production. 
  4. Effect:  Will the effect of your work lead to any commercial usages?  If so, do not use copyrighted material within your project/production.

For additional information regarding Copyright laws, visit:

Citation          

Throughout your college career, instructors will ask that you construct bibliographies and/or footnotes in association with your research assignments.  Citation lists are necessary for several reasons:

  1. to credit your sources of information;
  2. to avoid plagiarism;
  3. to validate and support your research;
  4. to provide a listing of additional reading material.

The typical information needed to prepare a citation includes:  

  • Author
  • Title of book or article
  • Editors if applicable
  • Publisher or producer
  • Place of publication
  • Date of publication or posting
  • Page numbers utilized
  • Length of a video
  • Address of a website
  • Date the website was accessed

Your instructor will ask you to prepare your citation in one of the following formats:

  1. Turabian
  2. Chicago
  3. MLA (Modern Language Association)
  4. APA(American Psychological Association)

Briefly review the below given citation example, noting stylistic differences:

APA

Fleming, T. (1997). Liberty !: The American Revolution.
     New York : Viking.

Important Elements:

  • Author or editor
  • Title of book
  • Publisher
  • Place of publication
  • Date of publication

Note: Spacing is important.  Some citations appear identical but differ in slight ways, like spacing.  For example, compare Chicago, MLA, and Turabian.  Consult individual guides for exact spacing.

Chicago

Fleming, Thomas. Liberty !: The American Revolution.
     New York : Viking, 1997.  (Documentation One)

Fleming, Thomas. 1997. Liberty !: The American
     Revolution.  New York : Viking.   (Documentation Two)

MLA

Fleming, Thomas. Liberty !: The American Revolution. New
           York : Viking, 1997.

Turabian

Fleming, Thomas.  Liberty !:  The American Revolution. New
          York :  Viking,  1997.

You will find the hard copy style guides for each of these citation formats in the LRC.  Also, you may follow the examples provided at: http://www.lib.duke.edu/libguide/works_cited.htm

At the circulation desk, the LRC distributes a handout providing an example of a MLA citation for information retrieved from NCLIVE.  Always direct questions regarding any other peculiar citations to your instructor.