Skip to Main Content
Skip to Library Help widget
 

CTVA 309: Film as Literature

Citing your sources (MLA and Chicago)

Do You Need to Cite AI?

Is AI a Source or a Finding Tool? 

When using the AI research tools recommended on this site, you will cite the sources you found using the tool, not the AI tool itself. This is similar to how using OneSearch, you cite the sources you find, not OneSearch, in your work.  

Standard writing practice is to trace the source of a piece of information back to original source. Since Generative AI always draws on other sources and is not a source of original information, you are responsible for fact-checking the information and determining if the sources it provided are credible. 

Moreover, generative AI may produce citations or quotes within their content. or hallucinated information with phantom citations. If AI provides you with a source, use the library's OneSearch. to try and locate the material to evaluate. 

Avoiding Plagiarism

Plagiarism is using facts or ideas from another source without attribution, thereby presenting it as original work.

Adapted from CSUN Policies and Procedures

 

Best Practices to Avoid Plagiarism:

Adapted from: Vega García, S.A. (2012). Understanding plagiarism: Information literacy guide. Iowa State University. Retrieved  from http://instr.iastate.libguides.com/content.php?pid=10314. [Accessed February 8, 2018]

Citation Managers

Citation managers are software that keep track of your sources and automatically format your citations in a variety of styles.

  • EndNote Web - free to CSUN students, staff, and faculty; integrates with MS Word and any browser; can export references directly from many databases
  • Zotero - free to anyone; integrates with MS Word and/or Google Docs; must be installed on your own computer 

Report ADA Problems with Library Services and Resources