A citation is a way of identifying and giving credit to others' published works that you used to support your own research. Other than facilitating researchers to locate sources of works, including citations in a paper also helps avoid plagiarism.
There are two ways of creating a citation: in-text citation and reference list. In-text citations are brief references of sources within the text of the paper, while reference list is a complete list of references at the end of the paper.
Citation: A (Very) Brief Introduction - NC State University Libraries [1:54]
Generally, the citation style you use depends on your discipline. If you're not sure, check with your instructor. At PolyU, citation styles commonly used by various disciplines are listed below:
| Subject | Commonly used citation style |
| Business (FB) | APA / Harvard |
| Computer and Mathematical Sciences (FCMS) | AMS / Harvard / IEEE |
| Construction & Environment (FCE) | IEEE / Harvard |
| Engineering (FENG) | IEEE / APA |
| Health Sciences & Social Sciences (FHSS) | APA |
| Humanities (FH) | APA / MLA |
| Science (FS) | APA / Chicago / IEEE |
| School of Design (SD) | APA |
| School of Fashion & Textiles (SFT) | APA / Harvard |
| School of Hotel & Tourism Management (SHTM) | APA |