You must use citations when:
When in doubt, cite it!
The joy of finding footnotes and bibliographic entries that lead to the perfect original source can only happen when scholars carefully track their sources and generate citations in an appropriate style. Neglecting to track your sources as you move through the research process will cost you HOURS of precious time.
Try this excellent tool: (click the image below)
Noodletools will not only help you create your footnotes and bibliography, it also will help you stay organized. When you create a project, you have the ability to record, link, and track your sources, attach notecards, make an outline, export a bibliography, and copy/paste footnotes into your paper. You also may share your project with your teacher and/or classmates.
For history assignments, you should use Chicago Style bibliography and footnotes, and choose the "advanced" option to get the most types of citation forms.
Below are three online guides to citation. The information in each one is pretty much the same. Choose the one that you like the best or find the easiest to use.
Using Mendeley allows quick access to your research as you find, analyze, review, use, cite, and store your research findings. Mendeley is a very sophisticated software that integrates with the Internet and Microsoft Word. An account created in Mendeley can be accessed from ANY device if your primary device is lost, stolen, or breaks. The Mendeley community, primarily a scientific cohort, also shares materials within the community and supports each other when questions arise. This community is a great foundation for early budding scientists. For those who have completed their HSS 300 paper without Mendeley, welcome to the new way of doing research.
Below I have placed two images of Mendeley. The left one is the 'desktop client' and the right one is the 'web access client'. Once an account is created, these two work environments are continuously synchronized with one another so that your research is always up-to-date and available! If you have any questions about this software, see the science library liaison in the OWHL.