I got to thinking and realized an important fact. When you perform an operation for so long it becomes second nature to you. You master it so well that you do it effortlessly without any complications.
It becomes so embedded in your bones that you forget the beginning stages of understanding the task. You may even forget when and how you came to learning to execute it properly.
Some of you veterans might have had a question mark when reading this title like
huh? A guide is needed for this?
There was a first time for everything we have learned.
As a curator it’s easy for me to encourage and remind folks to please cite their sources when publishing posts but as a content creator I forget I had to learn how to do this.
How did I learn you ask?
I had to search and find guides just like this one to teach me.
Creating guides like this is sort of a way I can pass along the favor in appreciation for those who paved the way for me.
First let’s talk about...
WHY Cite Sources?
Have you ever invented a useful tool that is being used by many? How about a marvelous work of art by your own hands? Or what about a poem or creative writing piece, have you ever created one that you’re proud of?
Well, according to Post A you didn’t create any of those things.
Wait what? What do you mean I didn’t create those things?
The post had no mention of you whatsoever so evidently those things belonged to the author of the post.
How would you feel if this were to happen to you? All the time and hard work you put into creating and there’s not one ounce of credit being given to you.
This is why we cite sources. All authors and artists deserve credit for their work. If you are using something whether it be a photo, poetry piece, a quote or gathered research information from a certain site, you should always acknowledge this in your posts.
When you don’t give credit where it’s due you are inadvertently saying the work/creation belongs to you. When someone comes along to curate your post and doesn’t see any sources cited they can mistakenly assume everything in that post belongs to you.
Citing sources also allows your readers to easily find more information about what you’re posting in case they want to look further. You may not be able to cover everything in one post so this helps and allows readers to dig deeper into a topic on their own.
If you want to avoid plagiarism and copyright issues down the line this is a very important practice to get in the habit of doing.
Let’s recap the WHY:
1. To give credit where it’s due.
2. To help readers further research.
3. To avoid plagiarism.
Now on to the...
HOW to Cite Sources
Citing sources is easier than you probably think.
All you’re doing is inserting words inside brackets [ ] and your source link inside parentheses ( ).
Let me show you an example...
I want to source a link I used when researching about dyeing yarn with natural plant dyes.
Here is the website link: https://timbercreekfarmer.com/dyeing-wool-with-natural-plant-dyes/
When sourcing there is a way you can add this link without showing the entire website. It looks neater on your post and takes up less space.
This is what you would enter:
I could have also given more specific details in the brackets instead of writing source and wrote [natural plant dyes] or [dyeing yarn].
After you write the description of your choice in the brackets you simply paste the website link of your source inside the parentheses (note there is no space between the bracket and the parentheses). It will look like this...
If you click on the link it should take you directly to the site I shared above.
You can also center it by adding in the regular markdown codes at the beginning and end:
I personally like to make my titles smaller so I use the sup/sub codes like this:
It will look like this...
Using these methods work for anytime you need to reference a website for an article, photo or any info used in helping you make your post.
If you are quoting someone from a website link, you can simply do it this way by using the greater than sign (I’m using the same website and quoting something the author of the article said):
Here’s how it looks...
Warm the water and keep the dye bath warm for as long as needed for developing the color.
Janet Garman
If there is no website to link you can just simply add the greater than sign, the quote and the source:
Here’s how it looks in your post...
This is what this person said and I’m quoting them to give credit where it’s due.
@crosheille
Note: When citing an image from a website you’ll want to cite the page containing the image and not just the site it comes from.
For example I pulled this image from Pixabay which is a free photo website...
I could simply put that I got this image from Pixabay. If you click the link you will be directed to the home page of that site. You’d then ask “where is the picture of the yarn”?
Instead of giving just the site link it is best to give the actual page that contains the image like this... Pixabay. If you click the link now, you will be directed to the image above ;)
I would then proceed by putting the source directly under the photo for easy access and to be easily identified.
Thank you to @greengalletti who mentioned this in the comments reminding of this important point to add about images ;)
I hope I was able to explain how to cite your sources in a way you could easily understand.
Finally the...
WHEN to Cite Sources
We should be citing sources anytime we use someone else’s work whether it be a photo, quote or information from a written article or book.
This is just something that has always been automatic for me. I wouldn’t feel right using someone else’s creative work without giving them the proper recognition.
There’s been an ongoing debate on whether to cite the source immediately after you enter it or waiting till the end of your post. I see both ways quite often but my personal preference is to list the source directly underneath what I’m using.
If I’m using someone’s photo I don’t wait to list the author at the end of my post but instead I enter the credentials immediately after right below it. I think giving immediate credit helps lessen any confusion or assumptions and the reader doesn’t have to wait or go searching for the source at the end.
This is especially helpful when you are sourcing multiple items. This way you can just list each individual source as you go right below the item it belongs to instead of trying to summarize it all at the end.
Honesty I just get excited when I see proper sourcing whether it’s at the end or not. As long as it’s somewhere in the post, I’ve got my eye on it for curation ;)
Another important thing I should mention is about posting in photography communities. When you are posting in communities like Photography Lovers or Feathered Friends, it is good practice to only use your original quality photos there.
These types of communities are meant for Hivizens to show off their own original creative work and not for posting other’s work where you are sourcing from a photography site.
I hope this citing sources post was useful for those who needed it.
I think a lot of times when we visit a post and ask the questions
why didn’t they do this? Or why would they enter it like that?
is because the author could have simply just not been aware.
If we don’t know how to perform a certain task or are intimidated with worries of making mistakes we simply won’t do it. Once informed and more confident about how something works we are more likely to get it done :)
I think it is essential to cite sources, whether they are texts or images. It is the best way to combat plagiarism.
There is only one aspect that I would like to unify in the specific case of images.
Not long ago I published an article in the community @fulldeportes in which I cited an image by referring to its source (in this case Wikipedia) directly quoting the image page.
However, the community administrators have established that the exact rule is not to cite the page of the image but the page containing the image.
Excellent article. Regards
Thank you so very much for adding this very important note! I had it in my mind to explain this but it totally crossed my mind.
I have updated the post to include this in. I really appreciate you commenting and adding your feedback. I too did the same thing you did when first joining and a curation group taught me the same thing ;)
Congratulations @crosheille!
You raised your level and are now a Dolphin!
Whoo Hoo! That’s so exciting! It’s funny because at one point I was keeping track of it and then just got so busy with working and curating that it snuck up on me. When you’re not looking for it it seems to happen faster. 😂
Thanks so much for the notification ~ ❤️
Congratulations on becoming a dolphin @crosheille 🎉🎉🎉
Thank you!!! 😊
Thank you for addressing this... this will really go a long way very important piece...well done
It was a pleasure. I’m glad you took the time to read and appreciate the information. Thank you ;)
What a good treatise! Thanks for sharing. Indeed it will be a guide to both the newbies and the experienced. Regards!
Thank you @noble-noah! Its feedback like yours that helps us to keep bringing useful content. I greatly appreciate it!
Good contents, your post has a great impact on me, thanks for sharing ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Oh wow awesome! It was my intention to do so. 😃
Thank you for your valuable feedback!
Very useful guide thanks
You're welcome. It's always a pleasure ;)
Very on time, thanks) just what I was missing
So great to hear this! I am very glad to share what is needed.
Thank you for taking the time to read and comment ~
Thanks for sharing. It's very useful :))
You're very welcome! I enjoy it, especially when I receive helpful feedback.
Thanks for taking the time to visit and leave your input :)
My pleasure. We appreciate your work and time to show us this great stuff, especially very helpful for newbies :))
Timely posted.
It will serve where needed to cite correctly.
I learned something from the post
where you make the source word smaller.
!BEER
Excellent! So glad I could shed some light on something you didn’t know.
Thanks for your continued support and feedback. It’s always appreciated ~
Thanks for the beer!
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BEER.Very useful! I'm still learning how to cite the sources of each post correctly, sometimes I use phrases from authors and it's a bit complicated to cite them. This comes in handy
Well I am hoping you learned a new way that could make it a little less complicated for you :)
So glad you came to read! Thanks so much for leaving your comment ~
I share the idea of citing the source immediately after introducing the image: I find that visually it makes the publication neater and easier to read. Thanks for indicating how to decrease the size of the letters (I didn't know it, maybe it's somewhere but I hadn't found it), as well as placing the name of the author of a quote. Excellent tips.
I totally agree with you ;)
You are welcome. I am glad you found the tips useful. Thanks for reading and leaving your feedback ~
This is great as many people are finding it difficult to source their images. Normally, any image downloaded from any site need to be given credit as this is the best way.
I learned this when I was in steemit.
Well done for this great work you have done in teaching us all how to source images.
Yes, it is an important matter I thought needed to be addressed and explained for those who needed it :)
Thank you very much for your comment ~
thank you for sharing
Thank you for reading ~
Nice one, I appreciate your guidelines as regard citation.
Thanks once again.
It's a pleasure ;)
Please dear, I need your help.
I have been here for a while and I try my best to make a good post but I am not getting any.
What can I do to start making it big here. Please advise me.
Thanks for the tips. It is important to give credit to whom credit is due
Absolutely!! Thank you for reading and adding your input ~
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Thank you very much for this information we all need these little tips to improve our publications.... much appreciated.
Muchas gracias por esta información todos necesitamos estos pequeños tips para mejorar nuestras publicaciones....muy agradecida
You're truly welcome, I enjoy sharing this type of information :)
Thanks for visiting ~
I have learned a lot from your posts and tips, it has helped me a lot to improve my content. A big hug @crosheille ❤️
I am thrilled to hear this @ayleenr! It's great to know information like this is helping others.
I appreciate this feedback ~ ❤️
Citing source is very important for a content creator. It's a crime to use other people's work without giving them due credit.
The method you outline I'd easy enough to be practiced by anyone. Thanks, I'm yet reminded to always cite my sources when creating content.
Truth!! It is so very important. I wouldn’t want to be caught not crediting a source, it could end badly. I’m glad this outline was easy enough to follow. Thanks a bunch for your input ~
Esta info me ayudará mucho en mis próximas publicaciones. Gracias.
Props to you for teaching 'the basics' so comprehensively, I aim to do similar with a lot of my posts.
Interestingly, I had to research this on Google myself, and most info was scattered/messy/unclear. This would've helped me a lot, and I'm sure it will help others as well.
Great job!
😁
Gracias @crosheille tu contenido siempre me deja algún buen tip para mejoras mis publicaciones, tomaré nota para publicar futuras citas en mis post 😉👍
You’re so welcome @yosoyada! I’m glad that my content has helped you. Thank you so much for your positive feedback, I really appreciate it ~ 😊
Thanks for sharing. This is really useful. I usually only quote the source, put down a hyperlink beneath the meat and call it a day. Some of these good point I will make it for my future reference. Especially make it smaller so the quoted stuff doesn't over power my own article.
Reblog to my wall for future reference. Thanks again.
It is an excellente material about quotes, and your explanation is very clear with a nice language.
Thanks a lot for sharing this information.
Thanks so much Katty! I’m glad you found this post helpful :)